Terrible buying experience. Item shipped 5 days later than promised with no explanation other than boilerplate excuses. Calls to customer service were useless with numerous pledges to e-mail with up-to-date status not followed up.

Sony Style... what a joke.  
 
Tried to order 1 game on 7/12/09. Their website was EXTREMELY slow and kept giving errors. Worst checkout experience ever. I eventually got the order in... but in the end, they just COMPLETELY wasted my time - and no compensation for it. Just a "Sorry, tough luck."  
 
 
I received this email the next day 7/13/09:  
"Thank you for your recent Sony Style purchase.  
 
 
We would like to inform you we are experiencing a delays with the shipping of your video game order. Your order has been rescheduled to ship on Wednesday the 15th of July.  
 
You will receive another email with your tracking information once the order ships."  
 
Okay, so a few days of delay would have been forgivable, but that turned out to be a LIE. No shipping confirmation or any updates received on that Wednesday.  
 
On Friday 7/17/09, I get this email:  
"Dear Valued Sony Customers,  
 
We regret to inform you that any video game which was part of your order SW0********** that has not yet shipped has been cancelled. If you have previously received an email with a tracking number, the items associated with shipping confirmation have not been effected.  
 
Your order had to be cancelled due to an overwhelming number of orders placed during a severe pricing error that occurred on our site. We have done everything possible to fulfill every order but we have exhausted all inventory.  
 
We are very sorry for the inconvenience this has caused but, we do not anticipating any further inventory in the near future. Additionally, because this was a pricing error, we are unable to offer other products at a discount.  
 
Thank you again for your patience and understanding,  
 
 
Sincerely,  
 
Sony Style Customer Care"  
 
Basically a slap in the face. A simple automated generated "sorry" letter doesn't cut it in this day and age. Thanks, Sony!  
 
How nice and convenient that some companies can just get away with it for their own mistakes; yet when a customer is at fault, we usually have to pay the price. Horrible.  
 
And to think it couldn't get any worse, on 7/27, they send me another "reminder" that the order was canceled. Yet, another slap in the face.  
 
"This is to inform you that the below item(s) on your order has been cancelled due to the following reason:  
 
 
this item is no longer available"  
 
I visit their site again and I find out they have it in stock at full price. Well, what goes around comes around. I got it for much much cheaper than their so called "price mistake" from another retailer. Thanks for canceling, Sony! I saved even more.  

This review was modified by its author, Robo209, on 7/31/09 8:01 AM.

Sony sucks big time. They advertised a sale on select PS3 games and then cancelled people's orders claiming they do not have enough in stock! Our economy is dragging because of mismanaged companies like this. People want to spend money on good deals, and then told Sony can't uphold their part of the agreement. Why send out an order comfirmation and 2 days after the 2 games were suppose to ship, I get a cancellation email?!  

Placed an order for three PS2 games during a clearance sale, with prices nominally on par with those of GoGamer's 48-hour sales. Promptly received an e-mail confirmation and a shipping date.  
Four days later, a boilerplate e-mail with the subject heading "Cancelled_Video_Games_Email_7-17-09 - TEST" was received stating that the prices listed were a known problem and that while other order were fulfilled at those prices, mine would not be nor would any discounts or offers be made for the inconvenience.  
While I can understand pricing issues, the fact that a supposedly known issue was not communicated *immediately* and that many other orders *were* fulfilled is not an appropriate way to do business. Either acknowledge the mistake immediately and across the board, or fulfill the orders. And certainly don't send out such notifications with a subject heading including "TEST"! It only serves to reinforce the perceived lack of professionalism on the part of the store.

Customer service? Fahgettaboudit  
Ordered a refurbished DAVHDX277WC Home Theater System. Shipping was fast, but I was disappointed to find that they didn't use anything resembling original packing materials and simply wrapped everything in bubble wrap. Fortunately there was only minor cosmetic damage and the DVD player/receiver looked perfect.  
The nightmare begins.  
When I hooked everything up I soon discovered that the DVD tray made lots of clicking and grinding noises, but would not open.  
As with other sonystyle.com victims I soon discovered that sonystyle customer service is a joke. I tried the recommended troubleshooting, but they determined that the unit would have to be repaired. They refuse to exchange the DVD player while insisting that I pay for shipping costs to send it in for repair. Estimated shipping cost is almost $50!  
My contact with them has been via email and live chat. I fear that I would lose my temper during a phone call.  
The customer is not king at sonystyle.com  
 

At this point I will never buy another Sony product ever again. After only 4 months my camera stopped focusing properly.  
 
I took the camera to the nearest Sony store to see if their proclaimed "camera-guru" would be able to ascertain if it was human or machine error. When I saw he was taking shots in the store at 1/800 @f8 with no flash, I was horrified. This guy had NO CLUE WHAT HE WAS DOING! I was further irritated when he asked why the image playback was flashing the blackouts and blowouts. Why should I have to explain to a Sony employee how their product works?  
 
When I called customer service, I was informed that I had to ship it to their repair center (at MY cost even though the camera is in warranty and the problem in question was "something common"). When I informed them that I professional photographer who needs the camera by a certain date, I was told they could not guarantee that I would have my camera back by said date (understandable). When I asked if there was a possibility I could get a loaner, he said "I'll talk to my boss and do all that I can to see if that's possible." only to come back with, "I'm sorry, there really is no loaner program for consumer-level product. Not unless you want to buy our pro-sumer equipment. Yeah you know you spend the bazillion dollars and then you get it..." Then I was then kept on the phone for 2 HOURS while the CSO waited for the screen to come up that would get me a work-order number. Instead of offering to call me back, he just left me hanging there saying every few minutes "I just don't know why it's so slow." After he did get me a work-order number, there was no added courtesy for the wait such as, "I understand your urgency and need for the camera so I will do all that I can to see that this issue is expedited." or "Let me check on that loaner again, perhaps there is something I can do."  
 
I shipped my camera out - which would not be arriving overnight thanks to the 2 hour service call.  
 
I ended up calling back the next morning still furious at how the initial call was handled. I spoke about how poor the support was in-store and during the previous service call. The gentleman told me that when the repair center receives my camera, they will look at it and determine what needs to be repaired, in which instance I may be able to have Sony provide a loaner.  
 
I called back the day after that and was informed that the camera had been received at the service facility, but not yet assigned to a technician. The camera would be assigned around 3:30. I called back later wanting to know the status and was then told that it takes 24-48 business hours to assign the camera to a technician. The CSO then said she would expedite my issue to the best of her ability but that there is no guarantee I will have it back in time.  
 
I do not want to worry about having my camera back in time. If they check it and it needs repair fine. But, while it is being repaired I would really appreciate if Sony would get over themselves and provide me with a loaner. I doubt that a customer would call back everyday if they weren't passionate about their equipment or the function it serves. You would think Sony would have common sense to realize this.  
 
To top it off, their service number is not an 800 number. It is a 239 number. Meaning that not only were my minutes eaten up by the first CSO's incapability to perform customer service, but I don't just get to be upset about their poor customer service and incapacity to provide great customer support, but I also get to be angry about the minutes that are eaten up on my phone-plan and the very real possibility that I will have to pay for a phone-call that lasted much longer than it needed to.  
 
I have Never Ever experienced such poor service. It is clear that Sony does not trust its customers and has no interest in fostering lasting relationships with their customers. I look forward to calling Sony back every day until I get my camera, and asking Nikon and Canon what they would do for a customer in a position like this.

I placed an Order on Sony Style on March 17, with an estimated shipping date of March 18, but my order kept showing Processing status, and on March 19, I received an email from them saying that my order was canceled since they cannot advise a shipping date for my order???  
 
The interesting thing is that I got my order canceled after I asked them about the Paypal coupon that I could not used on their website although I should be able to (since I contacted Paypal to ask about my eligibility to use that coupon).  
 
Sorry Sony, but you have lost a royal customer who always buy Sony products.

The only Negative thing I have to say about SONYSTYLE.com is the shipping company they used. If you find a local retailer that has the same tv for a little bit more, do yourself a favor and avoid the headache by going with sony's mandatory shipping company (BAX Global which is now BB Shenker). They are a bunch of incompetent fools. I purchased a tv, and it was at the Los Angeles shipping facility. My TV suddenly disappeared. I think one of the shipping employees stole it. Needless to say, they never called me to inform me that my package was lost. I called in twice to schedule a delivery, and they did that; exceptionally well, to my surprise. Well, my scheduled delivery never came, and when I called back to see what happened, it was then that they informed me that my tv is now missing and that I would have to talk to sony about getting it replaced. The order itself had a promotional discount on it as was purchased during some holiday special that sony will not honor anymore as the promotion is now void. If you are reading this, please spend a little more to find whatever sony product you are looking at locally. BB Shenker/BAX Global sucks!

This review was modified by its author, weaponx25, on 2/17/09 3:37 PM.

I was really counting on Sony when I bought this 8GB Walkman MP3 player. It was just a few weeks before Christmas, and was the right price to finish off my holiday shopping. A full week after the order was placed, I was notified by Sonystyle that the order was canceled and I would not be receiving the MP3 player. This was very disappointing, and I will never buy from Sonystyle again.

The website says my notebook will ship on Dec 16th. On Dec 15th, they cancel the order due to "no longer availble" but you can order the same exact notebook on their website the same they canceled the order. After waiting on the phone for 45 mins to talk to a customer representative, this Jeff guy drops me instantly. This is a completely unacceptable.

I ordered a VAIO notebook computer on Black Friday and it is on back order. They have it schedule to be shipped out on Dec. 8, which is next week. I just saw a new promotion with the same spec as I ordered with ~ $350 less (the one I ordered was $1277.00 shipped). I called customer service and ask them to price match it or cancel it so I can order the new one. He refused to cancel it and eventually after 1 hour 45 minutes on the phone (including about 1 hour hold initially) and many offer he gave me from $50 to $100, he agreed to give me the website price which is $356.05 off the original one I paid).  
 
Called the next day to confirm it is in my account. Guess what? It is not in. After holding about an hour, I talked to a live person and she said it takes about 24 to 48 hours for a supervisor to approve it. WHAT? He needs to approve it???  
 
Called today (Dec. 4, 2008) and after holding about an hour to talk to a live person. They refused the offer and said that it is being built and I cannot cancel it. I called my credit card and dispute the charge. I also sent Sonystyle an email cancel the order. I won't accept the shipment if they ship it out.  
 
And remember, my order is not even shipped yet.  
 
I would never buy from them again and would never recommend anyone I know to buy from them either.

This review was modified by its author, vinh1234, on 12/4/08 10:06 PM.

I went to order 2 camera accessories at the Canadian sony style (sonystyle.ca) and expected them to ship it out immediately because I am going overseas in a week. I expected the delivery times to be 2-3 days. It has been 4 days since I ordered and they still haven't shipped out the items. I received no e-mail about the tracking number. I called them to see what's up since both accessories were in stock when I ordered them, and "Melvin", the rep, gave me his attitude problems by saying that I can't cancel the order. Hello??? THE ITEMS WERE NOT SHIPPED YET. His reason for the delay was 24 hours of "verifying credit card information". Other merchants verify credit cards almost immediately, why not Sony? Now if the package ships tonight or tomorrow, I have to call the courier not to leave it in my front door. I wouldn't order from Sony directly ever again. Avoid at all costs.

This review was modified by its author, jaeteriusd, on 11/20/08 10:55 AM.

I wish I had checked the reseller ratings before purchasing from this company. In a time when consumers' dollars are extremely valuable I would expect something more from a company that has so much competition. We had a Sony laptop purchased from a major retailer that melted it's own casing. No service. Another that pretty much crashed the minute it went out of waranty. No service. So we decided we would only purchase form Sony directly. Surely they would be better about customer service... HA!! I tried to purchase a camera underwater housing online. I needed it in 2 days. I paid for expedited shipping. The order was placed on a hold that gave me a resolution date too far in the future so I called. They said it was a credit hold. (After a half hour on the phone) I called the credit card. They said it was not credit. I tried to place the order again. Same problem. So I called them again. They couldn't give me an answer as to what the problem was. So I tried again with different payment info. This went through. I called back to make sure the other two were cancelled. They then informed me that the other two orders had cleared. So they would try to cancel them but wouldn't guarantee it. They cancelled one but sent the other one. As it was, the expedited shipping came in a day late but not a deal breaker. Here's where the customer service falls apart. I was out of town form July 10 thru Aug 8. Came home, to the chaos of getting kids back in school and out of town again to get my son off to college. Returned home to Hurricane Gustav. Finally today, with power returned, I called for an RA. They will not make an exception of their 30 day return policy even though all the problems have been their fault since before the shipments were even sent. Even though the product is not out of the box. Even though their is no depreciation on this type product. I expect a RA and an apology for how difficult the entire process was but instead I am stuck with a $250 housing that I can't use. I would have been happy with a company credit. ANYTHING. I am officially done with Sony. Too much of our electronics graveyard is filled with their product anyway.

they r just bunch of lost people over there at cusomer care and technical department and all other departments...  
i purchased this freakin $2400 viao ux micro laptop and when i called them for a backup dvd they first said send us ur purchase reciept i told them i purchased it online directly from sonystyle.com u shud have it in ur database... (what kind of company is sony which do not keep record of sale reciepts)... anyhow... i located it on sonystyle.com and then they said for backup dvd u have to call parts and repair... then i called that department next day they said we do not have access to customer service department data so u need to send us ur purchase reciept.... i didn`t save my purchase reciept email from 3 months back... i didn`t knew that sony is that kind of crappy company...  
anyhow then next day i called again and then he said we charge for backup dvd... what the hell... why u charge for backup dvd ... the reason i bought this freakin expensive vaio is just so that i don`t have to deal with bunch of creepy suckers who have bad customer service....  
anywayz then finally one day a guy gave me a number to fax them my purchase proof... he asked me for my billing info n the shipping address to ship the backup dvd... then i faxed them my purchase reciept n called them... they said call back after 3 hours so that we can verify ur purchase... i asked them u`ll be closed by then... he clearly said we r open 24 hours... but when i called back... all those numbers were closed for the day... bull shittt....  
its been almost 2 weeks ow and im calling them just to get a backup dvd... n the company which charge u hell lotta money give u this kind of customer service... really really insane....  
i have a compaq laptop its way cheaper just $600 laptop but they took less than a week to send me backup dvd after i called them,... i had to call them 2 times but still i paid them $600 so i can understand.... dell which is cheaper and u always get good deal on that... i will place its customer service at #1... they always listen to u.... n one single call always solve ur problem...  

This is about the lowest-rated seller I have seen on Resellerratings...hard to fathom, but apparently true. They sent me somebody else's order and it took a couple of months to get my account straightened out...it was a large sum, too. It took phone call after phone call after phone call. None of the representatives or supervisors seem to care. I never even thought to check out Sony's ratings before I ordered.

This review was modified by its author, mckeough_k, on 4/23/09 10:07 PM.