1/5

posted Nov-27-2012

"Horrible company and apparently I'm not alone in this problem from other reviews...Ordered the jellyfish aquarium on Sunday night (Black Friday/Cyber Monday weekend)stating it would ship the following day...Monday I check the order status on their web site and it says it's "back ordered" so I call customer service. The woman at customer service states it's "not back ordered and it should ship Wednesday". Monday night/Tuesday morning I receive an email stating yes the item is back ordered with an estimated ship date of December 30th. Fortunately I was able to call and cancel the order and find the same product $20 cheaper on another site, now I just have to wait for my refund as they already charged my account...looked at their website again today and it still shows the item is "in stock" they are selling things they don't have just to get orders and never bother to change their stock status on the web site in hopes people will wait it out once the order has been placed...ridiculous company ethics!!!!"

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1/5

posted Nov-20-2012

"I see that I am not alone in my utter dissatisfaction with this company. Bought a progressive light clock a little over a year ago and it stopped working properly. In my initial conversation with them I was told to send it back to exchange for a replacement. Then a couple weeks later I got a phone call telling me this was on back order and did I still want it. Of course I still want it and will wait the month until it comes in. Then a couple weeks after that I get a gift certificate in the mail for the purchase price. Confused, I called them and was told the clock had been upgraded and I would have to pay an extra $44 for the new model. I said no, was no fault of my own that the original one broke and this being the first I have heard of this new model, they should replace my clock sans the extra $44. They said no way. They would not credit my visa because that is not their policy. After a 35 minute conversation with a new employee and finally a manager, no one was budging and now I am left with this gift certificate and NO desire to ever buy anything from these rats ever again. Lesson learned."

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1/5

posted Jul-21-2012

"This was my worst shopping experience with an online store. I ordered 144X zoom binoculars. They were very poor quality. They were made in China. This was not revealed in the product discription. I would not have ordered them if Hammacher Schlemmer had disclosed where they were made. I have returned the product and their satisfaction guarantee is a lie. The cost to me for ordering and returning a $199.95 misrepresented product was $33.90. Customer service when I complained about it was absolutely disgusting. They just about told me they could care less. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER. YOU WILL BE SORRY IF YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THEIR "UNCONDITIONAL AND UNWAVERING LIFETIME GUARANTEE" "

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1/5

posted Jun-05-2012

"terrible customer service. Emails & letters basically unanswered. purchased a pet fountain which stopped working within a few months. told I had to return the entire thing including large ceramic bowl and insert which are separate from the pump that stopped working. I complained that the cost and effort to ship such a heavy item was unnecessary and unsatisfactory but oh well - that's all they could do for me. No follow up at all to continued letters. I will NEVER order from them again - satisfaction guarantee is a lie."

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1/5

posted Apr-02-2012

"Happens in Canada too.
They didn't say where the product was made in the catalogue advertisement. It was, however, stamped in big red letters on the box the item was in. The quality reflects the 3rd world country where it's made. Never would have ordered if all the information was in the catalogue description. Returned them immediately. Then I paid interest on the purchase price while wating on the refund, weeks after I shipped them back. Oh, and did I mention the shipping costs I had to eat to find out the inferior quality this item is? All in all really bad service for Canadians as well. Cost me approximately $50.00 (those pesky shipping & interest charges) to learn to NEVER deal with Hammler Schlemmer again.
"

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1/5

posted Mar-24-2012

"I have ordered shoes £80,23 from it's UK website size 7UK and I have received size 7US!!! Send it back, paid for shipping. Waited over 2 weeks for correct shoes ( I had to call 2 times and Tim Minelli from customer service reassured me it would take between 3 and 5 working days) to be told by a UPS courier of additional £23.97 for delivery!!!! So I decided to cancel my order with Minelli and again he reassured me that I will have my money back 3 to 5 working days...well it took over 2 weeks AGAIN and 2 more conversations with customer service ( female didn't ask for name and second with Mr Swamy Aguilar and when I told him I wanted to speak to the manager this time he refused!! ). Finally I have received my money back BUT without shipping charges £4,95. Contacted Aguilar via email and was told he'll call me back so we could discus shipping refund and he never did! And now UPS is chasing me because even thou I have cancelled this order invoice is on my name not Hammachers and they want me to pay!!! Customer service as they said will credit my account ( I hope ) so than I could pay UPS but after reading all this reviews I am not that sure anymore..."

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1/5

posted Mar-07-2012

"I have had many bad experience with this company most recently with a clearly defective product that never worked - they refused a refund and want to put you through the trouble of boxing and shipping back a useless product. This is the third time this has happened to me with Hammacher. Avoid this retailer - very poor customer service."

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1/5

posted Jan-16-2012

"I purchased a $300 pair of TV headphones for my father. He had to send them back because they wouldn't recharge properly. He included in the package, in large, 18 font type, his name and return address. Instead of returning the headphones to my father, Hammacher Schlemmer shipped them to my house, even though when I originally purchased them I had them shipped to my work address. When we contacted the company about this mistake, they said all they could do was wait for me to refuse the shipment and then send the headphones to my father. I had to put a note on the door for UPS refusing the shipment. When Hammacher Schlemmer received these headphones back it had been 4 or 5 days since they originally had shipped them to me. They then shipped another pair to my parents (supposedly; my parents haven't receive them yet), stating they will receive them in 3- 6 business days. The least they could have done was ship them overnight, particularly since the error was their's. I am completely unimpressed with Hammacher Schlemmer's customer service and will think twice before placing another order with them."

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1/5

posted Dec-21-2011

"My worst online shopping experience ever. Web site says order cutoff for Canada is Dec 11 for standard shipping and Dec 15 for priority. I ordered 2 in stock items on Dec 9 and decided to splurge the extra $35 for priority to be 'safe'. They called me on Dec 10 to request my phone number for a credit card check--I confirmed my pkg was shipping priority. They called me on Dec 11 to ask me for my address--I confirmed my pkg was shipping priority. On Dec 13 web status said still not shipped. I called to check on it and the operator said it 'should' ship within 24 hours--I confirmed my package was coming priority. On Dec 14 web still said my package hadn't shipped so I called and was told that my package was just being loaded--operator confirmed item was shipping priority and I would receive it within 3-4 business days. I asked why I was being charged over $130 for shipping when I was quoted less earlier and she said it was brokerage fees and HST & priority shipping fees. Awfully high, but to get my gifts before xmas I decided it was worth it. I relaxed, confident I would have my items by Xmas. On Dec 19 I received a letter saying there was a problem with my order and they had been unable to get hold of me on the phone, please call. I figured it was an old update, but decided to call anyways just in case they were trying to clarify billing info. They told me the item had shipped on Dec 15, ETA was Dec 26 (BTW, that means Dec 28 in Canada). I was stunned. If you read my sad tale and count, 5 separate people had confirmed my package was shipping priority and I had been billed for it. When I complained and pointed out that I had ordered priority and had this confirmed several times, he said the package had been shipped standard and it was out of his hands, there was nothing they could do to help me. When I complained further (gifts not arriving before xmas, excessive shipping charges, inaccurate confirmations, took almost a week before they even shipped my priority order) my answer was essentially "Gee, we're really sorry about that. I understand that you are unhappy. There is nothing we can do. But since you called, we'll refund you the $35 we charged you for priority". And that was it. They wouldn't do anything more to help me. They wouldn't give me any credit on the $86 shipping fees. They wouldn't give credit for shipping so I could return the items and buy something else for my brothers. He blamed everything on the original person who took my order, despite the 4 other confirmations. I think Hammacher Schlemmer is counting on the fact that returning the item is cost prohibitive -- To return the items, I would be out the shipping fee, the return shipping fee, the brokerage fee, the currency exchange fees, duties, and possibly the HST = ~$200. Their gamble will probably pay off this time because I can't afford to throw away $200 on a lesson learned but of course I'll never order from them again. I guess they don't care since they have my $500 now."

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1/5

posted Dec-14-2011

"I purchased the remote control millenium falcon for my son for christmas. I paid $59.95 plus $11.95 for shipping. I found out that amazon sells the same product for 42.95 with free shipping. I called customer service to see if I could at least get a refund on the shipping, but the answer was no. Their customer service is terrible. They don't want to help at all. The icing on the cake was when I saw the same item at T.J.Maxx for $19.95!!!!! I called the company again, and for the second time they said there was nothing they could do. They said they offer a lifetime replacement guarentee and that is why their products are more expensive. I was given the option to return it (for another $10!). I plan on keeping it and exchanging it every year for something new until the day I die!!!! "

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1/5

posted Dec-13-2011

"Terrible customer service. This company let me purchase an item on backorder without letting me know. According to their customer service the product went on backorder after my order online. They claim an email was sent to notify me but no email was received. If I received the email I would have cancelled the order because this is a christmas present and it would not have shipped until 12-30-11. Here is their email:

Unfortunately, when you placed your order the childrens atm may have been in stock. Once the orders that was placed prior to yours. May have caused this item to go out of stock. Therefore, it was placed on backorder. Our system automatically generates backorder letters to customers whose order was placed on backorder. On 12/5/11 our system sent a backorder letter to email address cbrown7575@gmail.com. to notify you of the backorder.
They did nothing to help me out and insure I will come back to shop. I will never order with this company again.
"

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1/5

posted Dec-08-2011

"We ordered 2 prelit Christmas wreaths from HS and one arrived a few days later. When I called the HS customer service about the missing wreath, they blamed their vendor/drop shipper and promised to contact them immediately. It took 5 business days and multiple calls from me for HS to finally contact the drop shipper. Then I had to insist that they ship the missing item overnight. All along HS refused to step up and take responsibility for their catalog item. It really should not matter who is shipping the item, the merchant selling it owns the responsibility to get it delivered. This is the first, only, and last time I'll be purchasing from Hammacher Schlemmer."

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1/5

posted Dec-05-2011

"FOLLOW UP: I ended up e-mailing CS and finally got an appropriate response. I was promptly reassured that the appropriate shipping costs would be refunded to my account. I hope they change their website and the way their CS phone reps deal with such issues.

Worst customer service ever. Basically steals your money.

I found a promo code online for free shipping on purchases over $100. I entered my shipping address, along with the promo code and it appeared to have worked. Despite the fact that I live in Canada, the shipping charge reflected $0.00. I even called customer service to verify that it worked. Upon receiving my order, however, I was charged the full shipping cost of $31.90 ($16.95 base cost which was supposed to be free + $14.95 additional for shipping to Canada). I called to complain that they hadn't honored my coupon code when TWO sources from their company (their website and their CS rep) told me it went through. They told me that coupon codes don't work for Canadian addresses and that there was nothing they could do for me. I tried to explain that there was a problem with their website and that I might not have ordered had I known I'd be paying so much for shipping, but they said it was the final word. No exceptions, no refunds.

So basically, I was quoted one amount when I agreed to paid on my Visa and was actually charged a much higher amount. With no possibility of refund. Stealing? You be the judge.

Never again. "

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2/5

posted Aug-29-2011

"Purchased neck massager 3 1/2 years ago. Used no more than 15 times. Stopped working. They state their items come with "Lifetime Guaratee." Had to talk with 2 customer service people, one hung up on me. Wanted to give me gift certificate instead of refund, even though their guarantee states you can get refund, credit, or exchange. I insisted on refund, customer service put me on hold for about 30 secs. to "talk to supervisor," and suddenly I could get a refund. Even though the product doesn't work, I have to pay the return shipping cost. Company shows lack of integrity forcing customers to demand something that is guaranteed. They should either stand by their guarantee without a hassle or make a different guarantee."

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1/5

posted Jan-25-2011

"Warning to all my friends and friends of friends; please pass this along. I ordered a product from Hammacher-Schlemmer (from SkyMall) in early December 2010. They said it would be shipped Dec. 8. On Dec. 23 they sent a postcard saying that the item was out of stock so they would not ship until Dec. 13 (yes, the postcard was 10 days late or more). I called to find out if the package had shipped and they said it had. I verified the address for the shipment which is my friend in China. I thought everything was fine until today when they called and told me the package was abandoned by UPS because UPS couldn't find the address. Furthermore, they were not refunding my money and I could order the same thing again (morons!). I called them and spoke to 3 different levels of management but all said the same, no refund, take it up with the credit card company. Please BOYCOTT HAMMACHER_SCHLEMMER and tell your friends the same. "

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