The camera sent was DOA as was proven after consulting the manuafacturer tech  
support who walked me through the testing.They issue me a case ID after the test proof camera defective. The case ID was given to UBID but UBID  
said the camera they received was never tested by me at all because the batteries in the return package were still intact and unopened. I told them it was ordinary "AA" batteries so I tried to be nice and test it with my own batteries first. They refused to listen and for $202 they charged me, they only agree to return me $158. Nearly $50 was lost on my part for a bad camera they sent even though it is not my fault.  
 
They always rule the issue to their advantage base on previous reviews from others.  
Just crossed your finger when you bid on UBID. As propably the only winner is UBID  
and not you. If the goods turn out bad. You are the looser not UBID always.  
 
Pros. Lots of refurbished items.  
 
Cons. Very bad return policy even with DOA. They do charged 20% restocking even when it is not your fault.

This review was modified by its author, ptsong, on 2/19/07 12:56 PM.

I bid on a refurbished AudioVox PocketPC. When it arrived, I immediatly charged the unit.  
 
But there's a problem, after I connect the AC adapter, the unit charged for 3 seconds and then stops.  
 
The LI-ION battery included with this unit is dead.  
 
And the only way I can use this Pocket PC is when I connect it to the AC adapter. Which is pointless since I have a computer I can use at home.  
 
I tried contacting Ubid for a even exchange or refund.  
 
They told me to fuk off and have a nice day.  
 
Basically, they gave me two choice.  
 
1. Call Sony and deal with them. Pay for two way shipping to get the unit looked at, and fixed.  
 
2. Return it to Ubid and pay for shipping + and %15 restocking fee.  
 
I nicely asked them why I was responsible for the shipping fee since it wasn't my fault the unit came defective.  
 
They again told me to fuk off.  
 
Not in those exact words, but that's what they ment.  
 
So, I returned the unit and payed the $10 shipping and %15 restocking fee.  
 
-------------------------------------  
 
So, the customer being right doesn't apply to uBID. We may set the price, but at what cost to the service?  
 
-------------------------------------  
 
Another problem I have with ubid is cancelling a bid.  
 
I requested a cancellation twice on a product I had bid on.  
 
When I made the request, I was told that they cannont cancel a bid while the auction is still open.  
 
So I waited for the auction to close.  
 
And when I made a request to cancell my bid, I was then told that they are unable to cancel a bid once the auction closes.  
 
WTF!!!!!!!!!!

I am outraged! Last night I bid on auction at Ubid  
 
Hewlett Packard Pavilion 520C Athlon XP 1600+  
 
Since I was willing to bid more for the item- I followed the bid process until it expired. No other bids were posted and the auction closed on time with me as the winning bidder. I counted down the seconds until the 'auction closed' page appeared using the refresh button. The auction was not extended.  
 
About 10 minutes after the auction closed- I logged in to 'my page' and the item appeared under 'Closed Winning Bids'. My page explicitly stated that I had successfully won the item.  
 
This morning after not receiving the win confirmation email- I log into 'my page' and now the item is no longer posted under winning bids... it now says I lost the auction to another bidder. I am flabbergasted!  
 
I contend Ubid defrauded me by canceling my low-dollar bid. Watch out... the fix is on at ubid

Be Very careful. A cell phone antenna booster was listed for $1.00, but the shipping would be $9.95. This item weighs about the same as a postage stamp, and can be shipped in a letter envelope, so why 9.95 S&H? Simple, that's where they make their money.

They charge way too much for shipping. I paid $13.96 for shipping for a ATI video card. I ordered it on April 19th, 2002. I didn't receive it till April 30th, 2002. Way too long. But here's the real irritation, they didn't bother to package it. It came in as the original retail box. If you want to look at, go to my site:  
 
http://www.geocities.com/shoebox56/box.jpg  
 
It's quite irritating that they charge that much in shipping and don't even put it in a real shipping box. ( I had the same issue a little while back where I ordered a $300 digital camera only to get it in it's original retail box, rapped in plastic. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of that. That camera was DOA.) I haven't had a chance to see if this video card even works, but I did want people to see how they ship things.  
 
I am also irritated by the way they indicate shipping charges during bidding. It's upto you to do the calculation of what the true shipping cost is. On their site it would say something like, 7.99 Shipping & Handling + .99/lb. You have sit there and calculate the shipping before making a bid. They could have easily calculated that for you.  
 
They do have some good deals which is why I still go back. But they really need to improve on their shipping and shipping charges. I've passed by quite a bit of bids mainly because their shipping is atrocious.. I wish they would learn from Amazon which usually has better shipping.

What follows is the transcript with UBid regarding my last order (A DOA 24" Toshiba television). Note that apparently Customer Care is not the department that handles the defective merchandise they send out.  
~~~  
Congratulations, Jonathan!  
 
On 3/5/02 6:41:28 AM, you placed a winning bid for:  
 
Lot #: 6822449  
Description: Toshiba 24AF41 24"Color FST Pure Flat Television  
Quantity: 1 of 1  
Price: $239 each  
Shipping, Handling and Processing: $91.19  
Thanks again for your order. Remember, when you shop at uBid you can  
save up to 70% off retail!  
~~~  
Thank you for your order at uBid. Please be advised that your order,  
number B7261723, shipped recently.  
~~~  
After receiving the package in a box with literally a 5 inch hole torn in the side and scratches on the front panel of the TV, I then emailed UBid asking to return the merchandise. That night I then turned the TV on just to see what would happen.  
~~~  
Since forwarding my inital email this morning, given case  
number 1302891, I decided tonight to at least turn on my Toshiba 24AF41  
television and see if the only defect was the series of scratches on  
the  
front of the casing. IN ADDITION to this, the screen displays all  
picture in greenish or purplish hues all down the left and right sides.  
I am appalled that a TV that doesn't even display a proper picture  
could  
ever make it past the testing that I assume is done when qualifying a  
"refurbished" product.  
 
I have dealt with UBid on numerous occasions in the past, from its  
first  
inception several years ago, and I must say this is the first time I  
have just been totally aghast. My friends have been telling me that I  
should stop shopping with you because of poor customer service and  
various errors with the products, however I would like to think that  
you  
are a credible outfit.  
 
Please return my message ASAP so that I know I did not just have $300  
stolen from me and do not have to resort to anything extreme to get  
either my money back or a functioning television with as little hassle  
as possible.  
~~~  
Thank you for contacting uBid. We apologize for any inconvenience that  
you may have experienced with Order Number B7261723.  
 
We are sorry to hear that you have to return your product. Since uBid  
is an auction site and merchandise is only available in limited  
quantities, we do not stock replacement products. Therefore, we will  
take your item back as a return and credit you the authorized amount.  
Listed below is the information along with the necessary procedures to  
return your order.  
~~~  
I do not see how you can say that UBid does not stock replacement  
products when your nature is dealing in bulk and I can plainly see that  
you have at least 6 more Toshiba 24AF41s up for auction, and probably  
hundreds more in your warehouse (Hopefully some that are NOT  
defective).  
I must say it seems you have altered your return policy to deviate from  
the standup company I once thought you were when I needed to replace my  
defective monitor a few years back.  
 
In addition, I distinctly recall being refunded my original shipping  
charge last time. Did this policy now change as well in order to make  
it decisively harder on your customers? Please note that I paid $330  
for a working TV to be shipped to me, NOT to be shipped an 80 pound  
paperweight and NOT for a week of frustration in dealing with your  
customer service. You may consider $330 to be the going rate for 7  
days  
of stress, but I unfortunately do not. I have been, and am still,  
fully  
prepared to dispute any charges made with regard to this transaction  
(Both for the item and the shipping) with my credit card company if  
needs be, as I quite obviously did not receive the merchandise that I  
was charged for and in a purchase agreement it is the seller's  
responsibility to ensure that what he/she is selling is functional.  
 
I dearly hope that this situation is rectified as it may salvage some  
of  
my remaining faith in your company, but as it stands I feel that I may  
never again feel safe shopping with you and cannot conciously recommend  
your site to any of my customers anymore.  
~~~  
Thank you for contacting uBid. We apologize for any inconvenience that  
you may have experienced with Order Number B7261723.  
 
We are always grateful for customer feedback and do take it seriously.  
Your concerns have been forwarded to the appropriate department.  
 
It is comments from customers such as you that help ensure that we  
continually  
improve in order to meet and exceed customer expectations.

Quality and Safe products, shipping and tech support could be better/faster.

I was concerned about purchasing from this company after seeing the rating here. But the lack of recent entries was odd, so I checked the onlineBBB, where they have an A+!!  
 
http://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/auctioneers/ubidcom-in-tilton-il-9002499  
 
What's going on reseller ratings?

Great prices but non-existent customer service. If you buy something like a used computer (which is what I purchased from them) be prepared to deal with any issues yourself (I figured them out eventually)

This was my first purchase from ubid.com. I was a little apprehensive given the checkered reviews they've gotten here, but I also figured more people take the time to tell about bad experiences than good. Mine was, for the most part, good. Their email communication was excellent, my item (a home theater receiver) shipped promptly and arrived very quickly, and it works as advertised.  
 
I was a little disappointed that, although it is a factory refurbished unit, "minor wear" turned out to be a pretty good sized dent in the metal front faceplate. It only affects the asthetics and, I suppose, that's why it's $200 cheaper than non-refurbished.  
 
All in all, a good experience.

I am happy with UBID service and will purchase again from them.

This review was modified by its author, cnb2606, on 9/19/05 9:19 PM.

This was the latest of many purchases with Ubid. I purchased a refurbed Compaq laptop, for about $300 less than Compaq's own outlet store. Very Happy with purchase. No sweat at all. Other times in the past when they screwed up, it becomes a puzzling and wrenching experience. When an IBM Netvista was ordered, it came with a French language- what a nightmare- but thats foranother time. I would always consider the high shipping charge before bidding, and if your successful bid is messed up so will you.

Purchased a Minolta Dimage F100 refurbished for $300 flat w/ $17.99 2 day FedEx Shipping. Bidding wasn't a hassle. Package arrived quickly.  
 
The packaging box had a quarter sized hole on the bottom. From the looks of it, it was punctured from the inside out. Luckily, the actual camera box was fine.  
 
It came with all the accessories. The only problem was the lithium battery it came with was DOA. So I bought a couple of Duracell Ultra AA's. Those are practically useless. I took a total of 4 shots before the camera ran out of juice. So, I picked up a Lithium CR-V3. (waiting on my maha recharger).  
 
 
Camera itself works fine and great. Overall the purchase was smooth and quick. I actually wasn't expecting the camera for a good week or more. It was a nice suprise. Last time I ordered a CD-RW about a year ago, the thing took nearly two weeks to get to me.  
 
Satisified with the purchase. Although, the thought of having to send the item back and deal with their CSR people scared me to death after reading the horror stories on here.  
 

After reading many of the reviews here, I was pleasantly surprised when my refurb cell phone arrived in perfect shape with all accessories three business days after the close of the auction. Only real complaint is their slowness in posting tracking numbers to the Web site.

I purchased sony clie 610 - manufactured refurbished. This item arrived in perfect working condition. The box was even packaged in waterpoof seal, and it needed it the day it was delivered because it was pouring.  
 
Anyway, this is my 3rd purchase with UBID, and I haven't had any problems. I live in Illinois, so I was even charged sales tax. I would have probable gotten a better deal if I had enough time on my hands to bid at UBID for several days.  
 
I do agree that shipping is a bit high.  
 
Bid carefully. If you don't win, just bid again later because they constantly put new autions on the same product. If you can find one ending in odd hours, that's when you'll get the best deals.  
 
Overall I'm happy with UBID, although judging from what people have been saying I probably would not order something big like a monitor or sort.