I'm extremely dissatisfied with the service I got from eCost. I've order from them in the past and everything had gone very smoothly, but this time I actually wanted to cancel an order. I both sent them an e-mail and called them to cancel, where I was told that they cannot cancel the order (it seems they don't cancel orders), and that I could not return it for a refund (since when do stores not have refund policies?). Their customer service representative was very apathetic when I asked what I could do to get this resolved.  
 
I would recommend staying away from eCost. Personally, I will never buy from them again.

I ordered a computer and monitor from ecost.com against my better judgement. Thank you ecost for satisfying my gut instict. The one telling me not to trust this store!  
 
Enough of the postive, this is what happened.  
 
I live in TN, and decided to buy a computer during the state-wide Tax Free "Holiday". Once a year residents do not pay any sales tax on computers or clothing with few exceptions....  
 
I called before ordering to make sure that I would be refunded the amount of the tax, and was told it would be refunded within 7 days and directed to a tax exempt form on their website.  
 
I ordered and the next day at work faxed it to the number listed on the form... The fax machine wouldn't even pick up, it just rang and rang and rang.  
 
Calling customer service didn't help either. As soon as I mentioned being charged tax and living in TN they informed me that they have a warehouse in Memphis, TN and that's why I was charged the tax. When I tried to explain that once a year every one was exempt they kept trying to explain to me why they charged me tax...  
 
There was not one hint of recognition as to what I was saying, just that I lived in TN and that's why I was charged tax.  
 
On the 5th call I finally received a different number to fax in my "tax exemption" form, with documentation from the state's web page that explained how the system works.  
 
I never received any answer, confirmation, or denial, and I definately didn't receive my tax refund!!!!  
 
I'm out $87 in taxes, and about 5 hours of talking to "Bob" "Ralph" and "Sue" in India.  
 
When I asked to speak to someone who might understand me better I was hung up on once, told there wouldn't be anyone there who could understand me better twice, and was not allowed to speak to a supervisor all 5 times. Every time I asked they would tell me  
 
"Sir Buddy, Thank you very kindly, Tax is charged on all items in TN. We have a warehouse in Memphis. A supervisor is not needed, thank you come again!!!!"  
 
This is a very specific issue that should have been worked out.  
 
Even the highly regarded Newegg.com had a 45 day expected turn around time on the tax refund, but they also let you know that ahead of time.  
 
A quick sidenote:  
 
I ordered using paypal, because of the "Buyer Protection" and because it made me feel "Warm" and "Fuzzy" having that protection.  
 
It didn't help, Paypal quickly took away my "Comfort" when they told me they only provide protection from items bought on Ebay !!  
 
Using a credit card would have been a better (how much better I don't know) option, at least I could have disputed the charge.  
 
Paypal gave me the automated rejection response letter, stating it did not meet the requirements for a charge back.  
 
After reading lots of very negative reviews, I thought I should add to it....  
 
THIS EXPERIENCE IS MORE OF A RULE THAN AN EXCEPTION.  
 
Pay 5-10 % more from a reputable company with a reputable customer service department, and save the head ache!  
 
 
 
 

This company has problems with their pricing. I ordered this product twice. The first time it came up cancelled saying it was discountinued. The item was a TZ 180W SonicWall firewall. This is a current items so I called. I was informed that one wharehouse was out of stock but they could get it from another so they reordered it for me. I ordered it overnight and waited for an email telling me it was mailed. I sent an email the next day to get the tracking number. What I got was an email informing me "offered on a special price for Clearance Sale" and was out of stock for that price. Clearly not what the web site said and not what the person ordering it for me said. If they where just up front and said it was a pricing error I would understand and order it from somewhere else. Doing it this way cost me time and now I have to delay an install for a client. Being a computer professional I would not order from them again and will let my customers know not to order from them also.

I ordered a GPS unit from the company because of the price, and it flamed out within hours of first use, never to turn on again. I called the company and requested a RA number to get a replacement or repair of the defective item, and they wanted to charge me for a second item in order to get a RA number. This second charge policy is nowhere to be found in their written return policy either on their web site or invoice, so I refused to allow a second charge. I have bought from numerous online electronics retailers and NEVER had to pay to return a defective item unless I didn't return the defective item. Paying for the return shipping is bad enough without adding the additional insult of charging me for a whole other item. Granted, they said they would refund the cost of the second item once they received the first, but if they're going to throw in hidden charges once, who's to say I would get my money back on the defective item? They might conjure up some other way to screw me out of 100 dollars. I will never buy from this company ever again and I suggest others avoid them unless you want to roll the dice on losing your money.

After doing a Google Product Search for a brand new Samsung monitor I wanted to purchase, I came across eCost as the lowest price merchant for the product. I clicked the eCost link and was taken to a page providing basic information, price, shipping cost, etc. for the monitor. Everything looked fine, and so I ordered what I thought was a new Samsung 2053BW.  
 
The monitor arrived four days later via DHL. After having signed for it, I took it in the house and was about to open it when I noticed "REFURBISHED" prominently printed on the box. Since I never ever buy such items (no offense to people who do), I was dumbfounded. I checked my order confirmation, shipping confirmation, and the original link that led me to the product in the first place, and saw no reference to anything that would suggest this was anything other than a brand new monitor. Obviously (and per common sense), I wouldn't have ordered it in the first place had it not been. Consequently, I did not unseal the box.  
 
I immediately got on the phone and called eCost CS. The first rep I got told me that this was a "manufacturer recertified" item and, after some back-and-forth, that there was nothing she could do for me. A few minutes into the conversation, after having finished saying something to her to which I expected a response, there was silence. After a few seconds, I said "hello?". No response. "Hello? Hello?" Still no response. Don't know if she just hung up on me, or how much, if anything, she heard before she left me alone on the line.  
 
A little miffed, I called back and got a slightly more helpful CSR who, long story short, "promised" that he would have someone in the department that handles such matters review this apparent discrepancy and get back to me via email within 24 hours. I stressed to him this was kind of urgent (I really needed a monitor) and he promised a timely response. At issue was why there was no prominent notification that this was "manufacturer recertified," before I purchased it, and, perhaps more importantly, why the product I actually received was "Refurbished," which, to me, is something else entirely (suggesting a previously purchased, returned, "fixed up" product), as opposed to a factory product which might require recertification upon failing a QC test.  
 
Well, it's now a week later, and (surprise, surprise!) no response from eCost. Not even a courtesy "we-haven't-forgotten-about-you" response. My credit card company encouraged me to just return the item to the warehouse it was shipped from, so they can initiate a formal dispute on my behalf (can't do it while I still have the item), but I guess I felt eCost would do the right thing and work with me in good faith to resolve the matter. And, apparently naively, I believed that when someone promises they'll get back to you, knowing the urgency of the matter, that you could trust them.  
 
I will wait a few more days and, if no contact from eCost is forthcoming, contact my credit card company.  
 

This review was modified by its author, shoreman, on 8/27/08 11:07 AM.

Ordered a A/V reciever from ecost. Shipped next business day and arrived in 2 days. Everything looks and performs as advertised. Transaction was smooth and cost couldn't be beat. I am a very very satisfied ecost customer!

I've ordered parts from this company a few times previously, and never had a problem. Of course, it's how well a company handles problems that tells you just how good they are. Well, in this order there WAS a problem.  
 
One of the parts was missing a component. I called them and asked about it. I was told that the component I thought I was missing should have been in the box. Since it wasn't, they'd have to get it from the manufacturer, and they didn't know when it would arrive. The tone & attitude of the person I was talking to sounded like they didn't really care when, or if, it ever got to me.  
 
So, here we are, three months later, and I still don't have the missing component. It's time to contact my bank and initiate a chargeback. Perhaps that will get their attention.

8/12  
The reply from ecost only had info that I had already stated. NONE of the shipping has been refunded (I know... 7-10 days). The partial credit assumes that I only purchased the headset. A normal person would take the amount that would have been charged for shipping the 360 and subtract that instead of the other way around. This would not even be an issue if they did not ship TWO defective products. Pathetic!  
 
8/11  
I ordered an Xbox 360 and a Bluetooth headset. When I received the 360 it seemed to work, but then stopped reading the disk in the middle of a game. I thought maybe it was the disk so I tried another and it did the same thing. After several other disks failed I knew the unit was defective decided to return/exchange it. After a few customer support aggravations I discovered that my only option was to buy another unit and return the original. Because of this, I was forced to carry a charge of about $500 on my credit card until they received the other unit. There were issues in getting the RMA#, but finally the second unit arrived. I plugged it in and was greeted by the "red rings of death". In other words, the unit sent to replace the defective unit was worse than the original. Annoyed, I immediately called customer support and asked for another RMA# to return the second unit. There were more problems getting this number, but I finally shipped back both units. Two weeks later, I was credited the cost of the units (longer than the 7-10 days promised), but they did not credit the shipping. I sent this email and included the order information:  
 
"I see the credits to my account for the two defective units, but you did not refund the shipping. Please refund the $16.89 as soon as possible."  
 
They replied: "Please be advised that we have not refunded you on the shipping since this order was given free shipping when you placed the order."  
 
I replied:  
 
"Please note the order summary below and cross-reference it with your records. You can see that I did NOT receive free shipping. I was charged $16.89 for shipping on the original item (which was defective). I was then granted "free" shipping on the second item (which was also defective). Please refund the amount of the shipping as soon as possible."  
 
They sent an email telling me I needed to call the 800 number (and waste time on hold). I replied:  
Dear sir or madam,  
 
I've already wasted several hours troubleshooting two defective items, dealing with your customer "service", waiting on hold, sorting out mis-information, and packaging back up and returning the defective items. I do not have time to waste on hold or re-telling the entire situation to an analyst. I do not understand why it is so difficult to simply refund the shipping costs that were charged to my account. In this entire transaction I've ended up with nothing but wasted time, resources and am still out the cost of shipping.  
 
How can you sell an item that does not even function? Then, when trying to correct the problem you send ANOTHER item that DOES NOT WORK? This is unacceptable and to expect the customer to pay for the shipping of these items is insulting at best and bordering on fraud.  
 
I realize that you expect most customers to simply cut their losses, but I refuse to do that. The time I've spent on this email alone is worth more than $16.89 and I'm sure your time spent dealing with this issue is also costing money. Please kindly refund my money to avoid wasting more of your and my time.  
 
Thank you  
 
After that, a rep called me and we "discussed" the situation. I spent more time on hold and they basically told me I would still have to pay for the shipping of the headset. After this, they sent this email:  
 
"We have issued you a credit back on the shipping difference for the amount of $8.27. "  
 
I replied:  
 
"Wow, how generous. I'm astounded! Is it customary practice for your customer service to go from unreasonable to downright insulting? As I stated before, this is no longer about the money. You could have just refunded the shipping as I requested and I would have dropped the whole issue, but now your nickel and diming is going to cost you much more than $8.62 (the remaining shipping charges that you clutch so desperately to). What do you think I'm trying to get out of this? Do you think my time is really worth just $8.62? Am I somehow trying to scam YOU now? What do I have to gain? I simply wanted to order a functioning XBOX 360. Must I remind you that you sent me not one, but TWO defective units?  
 
On the phone you tried to justify not refunding the entire shipping amount by stating that I had purchased a Bluetooth headset during the same purchase (which is true). However, as I stated on the phone, the only reason I purchase the headset was because I was combining the shipping on that with the 360. I would not have purchased a (refurbished - I should be thankful it even works) Bluetooth headset for $11 when the shipping is $8.62. By splitting the shipping charges between the items, you must believe that they are equal in size and weight. A few minutes of research would teach you that an XBOX 360 weighs about 12 pounds and a Bluetooth headset weights a few ounces. How does the shipping for the 360 amount to $8.27, but the shipping for the headset is $8.62? (Please note that $8.62 is greater than $8.27. I admit I'm no math wiz, but I picked up on that fairly quickly.)  
 
I've already wasted enough time on this that it will not take much more to report this experience to various websites:  
 
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/eCost (eCost rating is already 1.5 out of 10 here - too bad I didn't check this before ordering)  
http://www.ripoffreport.com  
http://www.epinions.com/  
 
...and possibly others.  
 
So, go ahead and savor the spoils of your victory (the whole $8.62), you really got me didn't you? Whether you split it among all employees or it goes directly to the "customer service" representative involved, I hope you spend it wisely.  
 
Have a fantastic day!"

This review was modified by its author, meskue, on 8/12/08 3:35 PM.

I purchased a clock radio and some Sony headphones from ecost. Since this was my first purchase with the company, a prominent ad on the website said I would get free shipping on this order if I used Bill Me Later for the purchase. I signed up for an account with Bill Me Later, but I never did receive free shipping. After SEVERAL emails and phone calls with both companies, I gave up. Basically, ecost told me that the offer expired before I placed my order. I asked them why the link was still available when I placed my order, but they did not reply. Bottom line: don't purchase from ecost. If you do, make sure you keep proof of any rebates or shipping offers.

Ordered HP Pavilion Notebook DV9260NR computer from this company, product was delivered in a reasonable time, however they did not honor the $29 rebate that was predominatly displayed on the order page. Do not expect to get a rebate from this company.

I Purchased a Westinghouse TV on 04/28/08, order #E8186581 (Westinghouse case #783955). It has a dead pixel on the screen. Called ecost customer service several times Each time they said that they would contact me with the resolution. No one ever called. I call them on 07/16/08 and they said that they did not consider the TV defective and would not do an exchange. Nobody ever got back with me, so apparently customer care, after the sale, is not something they wish to support. I filed a formal complaint with the BBB and ecosts response was for me to contact Westinghouse which I had already done several times. My last option is to file a complaint with the Attorney General, which I have already done, but it is looking like I am stuck with a $700.00 tv with a red dot on the screen that no one wants to watch.  
TO ALL FUTURE ECOST CUSTOMERS BEWARE! DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

This review was modified by its author, Eagle670, on 8/11/08 3:25 PM.