I'm actually still in shock over this, as I've purchased probably 1-2 million dollars from Newegg over the years and have rarely every had a bad experience with them.
I want to start out by saying I'm not a competitor trying to besmirch them and I really have had wonderful experiences 99.9% of the time with Newegg. Bringing this in a public light is not to bash them, but rather prevent this from happening again.
Here's the deal: I own a computer repair shop and online Boutique PC company. Most of my purchases are from the same places Newegg buys from (D&H, ASI, etc etc). However, for single parts or sometimes even single systems, it's way easier to buy from Newegg, as I'm on wire transfer terms with my distributors and it's a huge pain get a wire transfer for 1-10 parts. Not to mention, Newegg's volume gets them a better price and it's often cheaper just to order from them.
So needless to say, Newegg gets alot of business from my companies.
Recently, I purchased a small case from Newegg for a PC build for a local customer. Turns out the little door that conceals the USB/Firewire ports was busted. One of the little pegs holding it in were broken and it fell off just as soon as I opened it.
No biggie, I get bad parts all the time (more recently as of late for whatever reason), but my customer is chomping at the bit to get his new PC and I'm nervous to order the same case, as the door was extremely flimsy.
I go to file an RMA and see:
"The warranty policy provided by the product manufacturer for this item explicitly requires that any returns, repairs, etc. be requested and processed directly by the consumer (or "end-user") of the item. Manufacturers' warranty details are typically available at the manufacturer's website"
The product details page did NOT state this! So I hop on Newegg's live chat and explain the situation to Tyrone and tell him I'd feel more secure with a different case, as this one feels flimsy and the return policy on it is...unusual.
The following is from a transcript of the live chat (and yes, I cover my a$$ by saving all transcripts to text files and recommend everyone else do the same)
Tyrone: Do you think it was damaged in shipping the door of the case?
Richard: I dont think so, the box is in perfect shape, no dents or anything. But when I pushed the panel to open the door it fell off :/
Tyrone: Oh okay, how much was the case for?
Richard: looks like $54.99
Tyrone: Okay.
Tyrone: If you'd like we probably can just file a claim for refund for the case.
Tyrone: This way at the end of the claim you would receive a refund.
Tyrone: You would keep the case you have there.
Tyrone: And simply wait to be contact by us, and UPS concerning what to do with it.
Richard: ugh, damage claims take weeks/months in my experience >.<
Tyrone: Then you could simply order another case.
Tyrone: A replacement would basically take a week also.
Tyrone: So if you do it for a claim for refund.
Tyrone: You'll receive a refund in about a week.
Tyrone: In the meantime you could simply place another order and have it shipped to you.
Richard: a week? omg, you guys have some special deal with ups! 
they take forever whenever I file a claim
Richard: seriously it only takes a week?
Tyrone: Well we refund you before we get paid.
Tyrone: We don't wait for the claim to complete.
Tyrone: We refund you or send the replacement then we just wait for them to refund us.
Richard: oh ok! well that's perfect then 
let's do that!
Tyrone: Okay cool.
Tyrone: Okay I'll fill out a claim form for you for refund.
Tyrone: That way you'll just simply be waiting on the refund.
Tyrone: Will be about 7 days the whole process then a couple of days processing to return to your card.
Richard: *cheers* great, ill order another case that's SO much better than sending it in!
So Tyrone wants to file a damage claim, even though I specifically stated that the product was not damaged in shipping. Dishonest, but whatever. It saves me money shipping it back and might get me my little refund a bit quicker.
Week goes by and I hear nothing. So we tossed the case in the bin. UPS damage claims don't need to inspect a $54 item to process a damage claim anyways and it was taking up space in our cluttered little office.
I then get an email from Tyrone:
"For order number 67030108 we had begun a claim for the case with the damaged door. I was informed by the claims department that instead of a claim we should simply just set up an RMA for the case"
To his credit, they actually sent a shipping label, which is a VERY good thing to do, but on the other hand, he waited a WEEK to change his mind. Had he done an RMA as I had asked in the first place, the matter would have been resolved. I told him the box was not damaged.
So I email him back with a transcript of our live chat saying "yeah, this is a contradiction. I told you it wasn't damaged, we could have had this resolved already. We dumped the case, but as much as dumpster diving repulses me, I'll see if it's still there"
So I did just that and got the case out of the trash, no biggie. He replies back and basically says "forget it, we'll just refund you". Ooooookay.
So I get the refund invoice email from newegg today and under item it states:
"Com Customer Error 67030108 -1 $54.99 ($54.99)"
Customer error. So somehow, Newegg trying to rip off UPS for a bogus damage claim and then turning around and changing their minds became MY error.
Instead of feeling like a valued customer, I end up insulted and will forever have that comment in my customer records, which pisses me off as a matter of principle. The refund amount is too paltry to get upset about, but the total refund time ends up being alot longer and hassle filled than the "week" they claimed.
And here's the kicker - The motherboard that I ordered at the same time as this case was incorrectly listed as a Micro ATX motherboard, when it was roughly an inch too long for any MATX case (an unusual size I've never seen before) and the original case wouldn't have worked anyways! Upon trying to RMA that for a refund, I realized I would have gotten a restocking fee....for an error in Newegg's description. (nowhere on the manufacturer's site did they claim this to be an MATX motherboard).
And nowhere on Newegg's product page did they state that this case had 'special' warranty requirements, either.
Not wanting to bug their live support again, I just ordered a more expensive full sized ATX HTPC case and called it even.
This on top of some other recent refund related issues I've had in the past year (refunds taking 2-3 weeks to process after they receive the part, when their website states 3-5 days) and I found the experience insulting enough to mention here.
Newegg's always treated me REALLY good in the past and I hope my recent experiences are the exception and not the norm, because I like ordering from them. Their return policies need some work though.
Sorry to be so long winded, I just needed to get all that off my chest
Linear Mode
