I ordered an ATI X800 XT from Gateway at the beginning of June. It was a pre-order so as I was told it wouldn't be available until the end of the month. That was fine, however end of June came and went and they kept pushing the date back. I continued to wait while other merchants were shipping the card to their customers. Gateway continues to string me along all through July. When I would call up they would tell me "It will be here in one more week". It's now August 20th and I got a call it has been canceled. No explanation was given as to why. No apology, credit, or offer to purchase another card.  
 
I will never order something from them again. I've filed a complaint with the www.BBB.org and I advise everyone to stay away from them.

This review was modified by its author, Mrpuck, on 8/20/04 12:58 PM.

I ordered a video card they had labeled as "In stock" on June 2nd of 2004. AS time went by so did the ship date, continually my order was pushed back and was promised that the card would ship soon. Then finally they decided to go ahead and cancel my order without acknowledging me. Overall a horrible experience. You could call 10 times and get 10 different answers. I would stay far away from Gateway.

Ordered video card on 6/24/04. It's 8/15, and the ship date has been bumped twice. Not the Estimated Ship Date is "Not Available".

ordered an X800XT June 18..  
 
my order was cancelled Aug 22, no call, no e-mail!  
_I_ only found out when I checked the web status.  
called, got conflicting responses, one said it was not cancelled, another said it was.  
 
was unable to talk to someone about my existing order after calling customer service and being transferred to the addons department phone menu, I pressed 3 to talk to someone about my existing order, got a generic voicemail prompt, left a message about my existing order on two different days, have not recieved a call back.  
 
called customer service a fourth time, laidy claimed that their computer system was down and she could not check my order, (even though I had talked to someone not 3 minutes earlier that checked my order, same day as second voicemail) got transferred to the addons dept. pressed 1 to just to talk to someone.  
 
guy said that he could not do anything about my existing order, he gave me 3 options.  
1.) I could get a lower model card (x800 Pro) at a similar discount.  
2.) I could have my name put on a waiting list and they will call me when they actually get the card in stock.  
3.) just walk away and act like I never placed an order.  
 
I opted for 2. but I have a bad feeling they're not going to honor the discounts I was getting with my original order! which btw, was down to $416 due to tax, but with free overnight shipping.  
 
the fact that my original order was cancelled without notifyin me, makes me very upset. especially since they had called me back twice before to inform me my shipping date would be moved back.  
 
I don't know how it's possible, but their customer service has actually gotten _WORSE_ since I started dealing with them in June.  
 
unless they actually follow through, and I get this card for the price my order was at. my rating of them will remain very low.  
 
I don't plan on ordering from them again.

This review was modified by its author, MastarPete, on 9/3/04 6:01 PM.

Like many others, I pre-ordered the ATi X800 XT PE from Gateway.com. Also like many others I've twidled my thumbs for two months, wondering if my card would ever come in.  
 
Yesterday(8/5) I check my order and find that it tells me to contact customer support. I figured as much, they canceled my order. When I emailed CS about it they replied stating that I asked for it to be canceled. Now you know if you're waiting two months for this, you sure as hell aren't going to bail out anytime soon right?  
 
Pretty much they canceled my order without request to do so and gave me generic responses. Not only that, they placed an authorization on my cards three days before they canceled my order.

Most already said by previous review...  
 
No info on expected date x800 xt would be in stock/available. Continually getting bad info, such as "labels being printed" for shipping, "wait 72 hours before cancelling"....  
 
I have never dealt with a retailer who had no way of knowing when they anticipate having an item in stock. If the problem is with ATI, share some details with the consumer! C/S reps were "nice" enough, but of no help whatsoever due to a poor communication system between c/s and warehousing.  
 
Utlimately, my negative opinions could have been prevented if Gateway would have been more proactive with communicating to me what was happening with my 2+ month backorder.  
 
Unfortunate....

I think Gateway has some balls advertising the X800XT on their website still when they never had it over a month ago and won't get it for another 2 months.  
Even ATI pulled the X800XT from their website!

I recently purchased a Gateway Media Center PC only to have it shipped to my house and not connect to the internet the very first day. No technician was able to resolve the problem over the phone and I was advised to request a box from Gateway in which I could ship them my PC free of charge to be serviced. After waiting several days and receiving no box, I called back regarding the status of my request. I was told the request could not be found and that it might have been lost. LOST???? I again made a request for this majic box, and eventually got it. I mailed my computer back to Gateway and received it back about a week later. At this point, two weeks have passed since I first received the computer. The computer worked for roughly one hour at which point I shut down the system. Once restarted, the system was no longer online and the initial problem had returned. Again, no technician was able to resolve this problem and I was told it would have to be serviced again. At this point there was no way I was going to keep a computer that needed to be serviced twice before it could ever be used. That is just ridiculous. Had it been serviced again, I still might not have received a functional machine as the first "service" failed to help. I expressed my intent to return the machine to Gateway and end my transaction with them immediately. At this point I was told that because the computer had been in my possession for more than 15 days I was stuck with it. The 15 days that they supposedly claim to be their return period, ended while they were in possession of the machine for the first service. Even so, there is no way this 15 day policy should be backed when they sent me a BROKEN computer on day one and I reported the problem the very same day. Upon refusing to accept their insistance that the machine could no longer be returned I was passed through many levels of support over the phone. Some were nice enough and really did not know how to handle such a situation, but others were just plain rude and hot headed. It got to the point where one representative flat out said to either return the computer for a second service or the conversation was over and I would be stuck with a broken computer. Gateway has extremely poor business practices and even poorer customer service. I will never do business with this company again and advise anyone who is considering a Gateway computer to research other customer reviews and realize just how many people Gateway has screwed over with faulty products and poor service to correct the problems. I wish I had done so before choosing Gateway. I will take my case as far as I have to go to get this computer out of my house. There is no way I will pay them a penny for having shipped me a brand new computer that has never worked since day one. TERRIBLE.

I ordered an X800XT video card on June 3, 2004, the website said it was in stock. Just to make sure, I called a Sales Rep and the confirmed inventory. Gateway then bumped ship date to 6/11 then 6/18. I tried to contact my sales rep several times and only reached his voice mail. He never returned my calls. Finally, I called from another number, which he promptly answered. I was very cordial with him, and he confirmed a new date in July. Called today to reconfirm and they already canceled my order without telling me. One rep even said ATI is no longer making the card. Talked to another rep and was told I could place a new order. This time they tried to make me pay for my "free" shipping. Rep couldn't reissue the order so offered assistance in replacing. Said I could get a card with "identical" specs and suggested a Geforce 5900 or an X800 Pro. Umm, yeah right. To sum things up: a) Reps don't know what they have in stock. b) Their product knowledge is limited to what the computer tells them. c) They seem to make things up in an attempt to pacify you. The people I did talk to were cordial and tried to help. As for the company, if you like playing the lottery then you might enjoy your next purchase from Gateway.  
 
How to improve:  
1) Get better distributors. Know what you have in stock. (hint: find out how Newegg operates)  
2) Train your sales reps. Make sure they know what the are talking about when suggesting products.  
3) Be honest with the customer. Don't make things up. (i.e. Stock quantities, Due Dates, etc.)  
4) Provide feedback to the customer when things change. I had to call and get updates, since the website doesn't provide any information. (i.e. my order still shows that it arrived on 6/18)  

Just another person screwed by the X800 Fiasco.  
I saw the reseller rating was low after i ordered and Gateway lived up to it's reputation.  
I'll never do business with them again nor will my friends.

Gateway is the lamest company out there. They leave you HOLDING the bag. After waiting 6 days for my item to SHOW up they send me this email... When all along they are telling you your order will be shipped out soon.  
 
 
The item you had ordered (Radeon X800XT 8X APG 256MB) is currently on backorder until July. If you do not wish to continue with the order please respond back and we can have it cancelled. If you would like you may visit our website to locate a comparable item. You may also chat in or call in (at 1-800-428-3929) to sales for additional help. We are very sorry for this inconvenience.  
 
Natasha.Ward@gateway.com  

I, too, was a victim of the ATI Radeon X800 XT PE fiasco. The video card was never in stock, though the site said they were. In reality they won't be getting the cards in for a month. The CSR I spoke too was nice and all, but he really had no idea what was going on. Gateway had an internal breakdown in communication on this one.  
 
From a company as large as Gateway I would expect better handling of the situation. My major discontent is not that they accidentally posted a sale for an item they claimed to have but did not, rather my discontent is with the way they dealt with the dilemma when they found out about it.

Gateway.com is a complete joke. I too was lured into purchasing an ATI Radeon X800 XT, that was supposedly in stock. Turns out they never had stock of the product, lied about it and then cancels my order without even telling me. I canceled an order with COMPUSA to order with Gateway and then this shit happens. No wonder Gateway is going downhill. They Customer service reps are completely clueless as well as incompitent. One word of advice for you: if you are thinking of ordering from these clowns, please have your head examined.

This company is an absolute joke. Gateway computers is awful. Do NOT ever deal with them. They listed the ATI X800 XT PE on their website as available and in stock. Numerous people have placed orders with them, have received confirmation of their orders and even ETAs on the shipping date and now suddenly they have cancelled all orders without warning or without even notifying their customers. Disgraceful and deplorable. I would NEVER deal with this company ever again.

I ordered an X800 XT as well, around 9:15AM, EST on June 3rd. The card was listed as IN STOCK. Ordered it and picked overnight shipping...  
 
Received two e-mails. One order confirmation e-mail, and a second one indicating a link to check order status online; quick check shows order is pending.  
 
June 4th, check status; order is suddenly slated to ship June 10th; okay, so they lied, and the card is not in stock. At least it'll still ship out June 10th, right?...  
 
June 5th, check status; "Order Shipped 6/10" WHAT?!? It's June FIFTH, how can it HAVE shipped NEXT WEEK?!?! Call in to customer service...  
 
...CSRep informs me that they no longer carry the item. No ETA on arrival of stock. No idea if it will ever arrive even. Order is on cancellation hold. I have her cancel it on the spot; what started off as a good deal on an item that's supposed to be in stock has become nothing but a HUGE sham! I asked about my charge card and she informed me that the credits are on hold but since the order is being cancelled they will be released without charging; I will check with my charge card company on Monday to verify this.  
 
If they charged me and she lied, there is going to be WAR.  
 
-Ed  
 
EDIT: Just wanted to update that I got lucky, unlike many others, and it really was only a credit hold, not authorization, and nothing was actually charged. That raises them from a 0.01 to a 0.03 in my eye. So their rating of 1.04 is still FAR too high!

This review was modified by its author, edwardng, on 6/15/04 10:28 PM.