The order in question was a large, expensive LTO 4 tape drive with auto-loader. I called ProVantage to get some advice on which SCSI interface would work with my system, and they told me to call HP. I called HP and they told me to call the reseller. (Insert muttering here.) I finally convinced HP to get me to a technician, who promptly gave me the wrong information.  
 
I found that out 3 days later when my new drive arrived and I opened it. I called ProVantage and wanted to exchange it for the correct (and more expensive one). They told me a return was not available as the box had been opened. (This was a $5,000 purchase, incidently.)  
 
I explained that I spent in excess of $50,000 with them a year, and that was not a good enough answer.  
 
They came back with a 20% stocking fee. ($1000)  
 
I looked harder at my invoices which said "Standard 30 Return Policy". Only then did they aquiesce and "allow" me the privilege to return the first drive and buy the more expensive one. We ate the shipping costs for both directions.  
 
I love the fact that ProVantage almost always is quick and accurate about whether they have something in stock, but this adventure made me think twice about giving them future business for large ticket items such as this one.

Product was packaged well and received on time.

Provantage has very good prices and good customer service. I've had generally good experiences on multiple orders, and you don't need to worry about your stuff arriving and arriving in good shape.  
 
However, they do have a rather nasty and surprising shipping policy which I've just learned about the hard way. Some warehouses, they say, can't ship to California (huh?). So they have to ship to their Ohio warehouse and re-ship from there. Come on, this doesn't make any sense, does it?  
 
At any rate, so I ordered a CPU on September 4, thinking it would be here in the quoted 3-5 days delivery time. Well no. When I pulled up the status using the confirmation email, I see that my order is taking two hops. There is no tracking or expected delivery date for the first hop. But on September 6, I see a big "COMPLETED" for this. Turns out it didn't get to Ohio until September 9. Misleading.  
 
So this morning I finally called customer service to see what the heck was going on, since the status hasn't changed in 4 days. So it finally did ship from Ohio on September 9 and is due to get to me on September 15.  
 
Sorry, this is unacceptable. Don't place an order from these guys if you care about delivery time.

I always visit Provantage first for all my computer needs because of their wide range of products and great price. I also like their website because when I purchase an item I know if it's a special order or if they have it in stock, this helps a lot when ordering parts that are needed fast.

This review was modified by its author, odds75, on 9/9/09 12:28 PM.

Provantage continues to be a reliable supplier of quality products at competitive prices. The product on this order arrived in 3 business days.

This company is great! Always fast shipping and low prices.

Service was excellent. Placed order, and almost immediately recieved confirmation. FAST shipping, and tracking number provided allowed me to follow order thru the system. Have never had a problem with Privantage, and am happy to say I will be a repeat customer!!!!!

Excellent in every way. You cant go wrong buying from them.

Provantage usually has the best prices on the items I'm looking for and the standard shipping is quick. I always receive exactly what I order but I don't like the way shipping charges are calculated for multiple items, especially when weight and size are negligible.

I purchaesed an Eee PC 701SD-BLK008L Netbook online in which the product was in stock on 1 Aug 09, with estimated shipping time being 2-5 days and then I get an email a week later saying that it had to be back ordered and will not be shipped until Aug 20th. I don't get a ship notice on the 21st so I email them for the status of my order and they tell me it will not be shipped until 10 Sep 09. When I complained to Customer service about my disatisfaction with their fogging their availability of merchandise, I was completely ignored and to that it will be shipped on 10 Sep 09. So I cancelled my order. Why should anyone have to wait 5 weeks to get something shipped when there are half a dozen other companies that can have it to you door for a dollar or two more within 3 to 5 days.  
 
Recommendation: Don't buy from Porvantage if you want your product anytime soon.  
 
Chris Anderson  
cougar1966@gmail.com

This was my first experience with ProVantage. There was a mistake with my order, but a simple e-mail to the company resulted in super fast resolution of the mistake. No fuss, no muss - I plan to order from them again and recommend them to my friends and family.

Placing an online order with an unfamiliar website can feel like being lead through a busy intersection while blindfolded. You have to trust the person who is leading you. That's why when an internet vendor makes claims about it's services, i feel they should live up to them.  
 
Provantage.com makes the following claims: "Realtime Inventory", "No one can get your orders to you faster than we can!"), and "Most orders are sourced, filled and confirmed within minutes."  
 
However, none of these claims seem to apply to a recent order I placed.  
 
For several weeks I had been searching for an accessory for my camcorder. The Canon DM-100 shotgun mic has been backordered on most online storefronts. Then, I found it listed on Provantage, and to my surprise, the listing stated there were 15 units in Stock.  
 
However, I was skeptical since I had seen similar claims on other websites, which proved contrary after placing an order. So, I called Provantage customer server and asked if the item was in stock. I was told that it was and the inventory on the website is listed in realtime.  
 
So I placed my order around noon and almost immediately received a confirmation email. The email contained a link to the "Real-time Status of this Order." I checked the status, which said Processing.  
 
The next morning I checked the "Real-time Status" again, and it still said processing. This started to concern me. So, I picked up the phone and called. I was greeted by the after-hours voicemail even though it was 8:50 AM EST. The voicemail states regular hours are between 8:30 and 5 EST. Oh well. I'll call back.  
 
30 minutes later I was connected to a customer service representative. I gave him my order number and asked if the item will ship today. He told me as soon as my payment is approved they will ship the item today.  
 
Just out of curiosity, I checked the Real-time Status again at noon. The status now said "order has been sent to specialist for further processing." Strange. I called back to inquire what this meant. I was told that although there were units available when I placed my order, someone must have snatched up the last one before mine could be shipped. They could not give me an ETA on my order.  
 
This frustrated me. It seems their Real-time inventory is broken. And, in my opinion, someone should have called me before I had the chance to call them. I wonder how long it would have taken for me to find out my order wasn't going to be delivered. A day? A week?  
 
I don't believe that Provantage is trying to take advantage of buyers. I simply believe they make claims that they can't or don't live up to.  
 
Bottom line is this: if you don't mind waiting an indeterminable amount of time to receive something, go ahead and order here. You may save some money. But I'm going to avoid them.

This review was modified by its author, w84me2p, on 8/26/09 2:54 PM.

I received my 26" LCD on time and as expected.  
Condition was perfect and the NEC monitor had no dead pixels. Very happy with my pruchase experience.

When it comes to technological hardware, no other single company can bring my small business the price points we demand with the inventory levels that we require and the ability to ship dynamically.

I searched the internet for the lowest price on the Student edition of Lightroom 2. This place seemed to have the lowest price (other sites\stores had the same price, but just didn't look reputable). So I ordered from them, and I am glad I did! They processed the order, and shipped the software out, within an hour of placing my order! I didn't have to deal with customer service, so I can't really comment on that, but this definitely won't be my last time ordering from this company.