ZipZoomFly doing a Monarch?

[muddoctor]

I don't know about the rest of you here, but I've been a customer of ZipZoomFly since they were Googlegear and have ordered from them many times in the past with no problems. But I've seen an alarming trend in the ratings of the store here and I've also noticed a marked increase in negative postings about them in the vendor discussion forum at OCForums in the last several months.

I last ordered from them in November and had no problems with my order but I had also checked here at RR and was kind of shocked at the number of dissatisfied posts in their ratings then. This was around the time that Monarch was taking their last breath and ripping off more people before Christmas, so I was checking up on any company that I was placing a Christmas order with, not just ZZF. Like I already posted, my order with ZZF came through with no problems and I even rated them at Pricegrabber since I had rated them years ago here at RR and if you update a rating here it doesn't bring the updated rating to the front page where it would be relevant (hint, hint RR ). So yesterday I was reading at OC Forums and came across a thread of someone complaining that ZZF shipped him some ram in a Fedex envelope and of course they (Fedex) bent the envelope and broke the ram. So he tried to RMA it and ZZF gave him a bunch of hassle, lied to him about giving him a full refund and kept a 15% restocking charge after telling him they would give him a full refund. The thread is here, if you want to read about it. So after reading this I went and checked ZZF's 6 month rating here at RR and was astounded at how fast it has come down the last few months. They have gone from a lifetime average of 8.45 (roughly the same as Monarch's lifetime rating) to a 6 month average of just 5.36 and worse yet, their rating for February is down to 3.42! I then started reading the newest ratings on ZZF and it reminds me a lot of some of Monarch's tactics in their last year of operation with delayed shipping, atrocious customer service, shipping defective equipment and an outrageous 25% restocking fee even on defective components they shipped out to customers. And regarding the last statement about the 25% restocking fee, that is 10% more than what ZZF shows to be the restocking fee on their own web page! BTW, I have saved that web page right now in case they go and modify it in the near future.

I am not trying to diss ZZF in this thread and this post as I have had good success with orders from them in the past and it is good to have multiple competitive online vendors to use for ordering components from. I am merely trying to inform anyone thinking of ordering from ZZF to read the recent reviews on ZZF and decide for themselves whether they want to take a chance on ordering from them after looking at the large downturn in their service in recent months. Watching what happened with Monarch Computer Systems and how they took so many people to the cleaners before disappearing has made me check on all online vendors I deal with on a regular basis now and I am just wanting everyone to know that ZipZoomFly seems to be going down the same path, IMO. I would also suggest that if you do place an order with ZZF, to use a credit card and not a debit card, Paypal or e-check. In other words, only use a payment method that provides an easy way to initiate a chargeback in case the order goes sour.

As for me personally, I won't be ordering from them again until I see a big turnaround in their ratings here at RR.

[frostbitetwice]

Tanks for the alert Dr. I have order from them before and had no issues. I have not gone back, however, after seeing their ratings decline.

[Jusomeguy]

Frankly, I think occasionally people have problems with ANY company and I tend to base decisions on my own experience.
I have had absolutely no problems with zipzoomfly but then I've not had to return anything.
I'll stick with them based on the free shipping on most items and incredibly quick delivery. They may say 5-7 day shipping but next day delivery or second day is more the norm from my experience.

[frostbitetwice]

Justsomeguy, welcome to RR. Nobody wants you not to order from them, if you are happy with them, however, I would prefer to have a heads up.

[michaels39]

Doing a Monarch?Sounds like you just came up with a new catch phrase!
I never had occasion to deal with them,but it does look alarmingly similar to the Monarch scenario.

[muddoctor]

Jusomeguy, welcome to RR.

If you read through my first post, you will see that I have ordered from them numerous times and I personally haven't run into problems with any of my orders. But watching what unfolded last year with Monarch Computer Systems and the way they screwed over both new customers and also customers with a sizable order history with them has taught me to be vigilant in keeping up with the online e-tailers I deal with. After all, they had many folks that were loyal MCS customers that defended MCS until the time they got bit by MCS too. And I'm not saying that you are a fool to keep ordering from ZZF either. All I am trying to do with this thread is to raise awareness that something is going on with ZipZoomFly and for everyone to re-evaluate their position in regards to whether they want to chance doing business with ZZF while they seem to be in a downturn. I am sure that many of the MCS customers that got screwed out of hundreds or thousands of dollars wish they had looked at the ratings of MCS before placing their last order with them when they got ripped off.

Another item that is in ZZF's favor that might or might not mean anything is that I haven't seen any ZZF "Tech Support" people posting up (spamming) in hardware enthusiasts and ratings forums promising the moon and not delivering anything of substance (like MCS did). That tends to make me think they might not be in nearly as bad straights as MCS was for the last 6-9 months of it's existence.