I am so dissatisfied with this company, I would never use them again. I ordered a GPS on Nov 10th, didn’t receive any information in regards to shipment or anything in general until; I asked for a cancellation to my order since there is a lack of communication and customer service. I was told that my order has “been processed” which I know to be false because I have recently spoken to Paypal with this matter. I asked for an exchange to a more expensive item, not a refund or anything and was bluntly told NO. I am very disgusted with the lack of customer service and after the 6th day of no informational change to my account I am so frustrated about my order, that I would never wish this headache to anyone!!!

This review was modified by its author, Cceasar, on 11/18/09 8:14 AM.

I wonder why this reseller has been getting bad reviews. I've purchased from eCost numerous times, and have never experienced bad service. My last purchase was a Canon digital camera, and so far so good! I will definitely order from eCost again!

I bought numerous items from eCost for our holiday party and am very happy with the products and services I received. Linda Potter assisted me from start to finish...from making product recommendations to making many changes to my orders. Not only did I purchase items for the office, I finished my Christmas shopping early this year!  
Here is an excerpt from a letter I sent to Linda Potter's manager to commend her...  
 
Cindy, I just want to let you know that Linda had been incredible. She is patient, thorough, friendly, informative, and most of all, keep me posted on the status of my orders. We exchanged many emails and phone calls and each time, I can hear Linda’s smile from my end of the phone and even in her emails. She is a great asset to your company, please acknowledge her great customer service.

I placed an order for a belkin notebook airline adapter which showed in stock when I placed the order. I added other items to the order as well and upgraded to two day air to receive the adapter before I left on my trip. The adapter was soon placed on back order and then canceled. I ended up paying two day shipping on items I didn't need and not getting the item I needed. The ecost site now shows a simular item (in stock) by the same manufacturer and for less money than the item I ordered. They could have easily provided a substitution.

I also placed an order and in less than 24 hours decided to call and cancel. Even they did not send me the shipping information etc. I was told that I can not cancel as processing has been done. But got the shipping information after 3 days! I wish I had read all these reviews before placing my order... I would not recommend this store

I ordered an xbox 360 pro on Monday 11/9, paid instantly through paypal, then rec'd the shipment via ups on Thursday 11/12 (today), we took it out of the box to test it..it did not work, it was defective. I called and they said for us to call tech support first. We did, they said it would have to be sent in for repairs at our cost of course. I called ecost back and told them that since it was out of the box defective that I wanted them to let me send it back and for them to send a replacement. They said that they would check with a superviser to see if I could do that, and if so, what they required of me was for me to purchase another xbox 360, pay for it, then as soon as my payment goes through, then they will send me a return shipping label to send back the other xbox, then, when they rec'd it, they would look it over to see that it defective and at that time if they agree, they will ok the return of my money within a few weeks. This is not acceptable. I pay for a new product, get one that does not work, then, I am either to send it off at my expense for the repair store, which I did not pay money to get one that does not work, that is not what any consumer pays money for when purchasing a product. I also do not think it fair to tell me that my alternative is to purchase a second one, you know, if they had been good at first and just agreed to take this back at their cost and then replace it I would have been fine, no issues, things happen, but this run around that I have gotten infuriates me to see that in this day and time that people are being scammed out of their money, when we should all be pulling together to help others. I am ashamed for ecost to have such policies in our country. But b/c I was treated so unfairly, b/c even though I am expecting a return call, I am sure that it is not what I want to hear. I do not have the money to waste, I have a family of 7 trying to work through hard times near the holidays and save money where possible, I guess a good deal is too good to be true. I am disheartened and depressed about this turn of events when I thought that I was going to be able to make some family very happy this year, instead I have made it worse on the others as I have wasted my money and have nothing to show for it. I wish I could say, oh well, chalk it up to a lesson learned, but I can't afford that. I will not buy from this company again, just please take your machine and give me my money back.

NOT RECOMMENDED. The term "REFURBUSHED item" does NOT apply to this store. It should be specified "AS IS" since it was my case when i got a Samsung L100 dig. camera. Remember, "ALL SALES ARE FINAL". I have bought a few refurbished electronics products in the past with very minor dislikes, but in this cases with ecost.com, it was expected to be received in a plain package, but you can clearly see the amount of scratches and bumps in the camera body, no instruction manual (this is not a basic item?) and no memory card included (quite frankly, I got so upset that i even haven't test the camera, so who knows...). When i called to complain, Cust. Serv. they talked to me like reading a "tele prompter" saying "I was lucky if i received with some of the included cables". I could get less frustration if i bought it "AS IS" on ebay or craightlist

Product was not as advertised. eCost advertised a new computer monitor but shipped me a refurbished one. I notified them the day it arrived and had lots of trouble getting them to take back the monitor. Ultimately had to dispute the charge to my credit card. Their customer service is horrible. I'll never purchase from eCost again.

I also placed an order and in less than 12 hours decided to call and cancel. I was told that "they would try" but it was "processing"..and I would know if I either receicved and cancellation email or a tracking #.... I wish I had read all these reviews before placing my order...now I am not sure what to expect.

An ecost representative have contacted me...

This review was modified by its author, ALILTOMUCH, on 11/4/09 3:30 PM.

I promised ECOST that I would definitely review them. I am: they are THEE WORST, with customer service...there is none!! I will never purchase there again. 4 days later and three phone calls later I am still waiting for a response to my situation from a supervisor (my request was escalated last thur....today is tues) HA, my MOM is still waiting for her Birthday Gift from me...oh that's right ecost cancelled the order 5 days after the order was placed and wouldn't "replace" the item with something comprable...they told me to look again. I had already spent hours finding the right item at the right price that was "IN STOCK" and ready to ship, which I thought would be from ECOST, since that is what my order read....After this debacle from ECOST I went to Sears who shipped the same item at the same price in under 12 hours. Goodbye Ecost and GOOD RIDDENS.  
 
Oh by the way form reading the reviews it seems like this is ECOSTS common practice. I imagine there will be some ridiculous apology and excuse posted here by the same named customer service person with the standard answer. HOGWASH...this is a new slant on the bait and switch...but they just cancel your order leaving you high and dry...and I am sure they hope you have ordered other items while you were shopping.One thing, at least they supposedly credited me my shipping on the other items. But not until I called!!!!  
 
So here it is over a week later and now the bluetooth I ordered dosnt work...can I wait 3-5 business days for RA? HA!!! what choice do I have. I asked about crediting my shipping while I was requesting a RA, no they haven't done that yet. Oh by the way a supervisor hasn't called me back yet either....If you are thinking of ordering from ECOST good luck...I would use Buy.com they are super reliable.

This review was modified by its author, jagssm26, on 11/7/09 3:12 PM.

Ordered a "Refurbished/Recertified" HP server. The item arrived and the system still had the prior owners password on it, so the hard drives were clearly NOT erased. Within 12 hours, the network connection from the server failed completely. Clearly, the unit was just a reboxed return and was in no way tested or prepared for a new customer. Contacted eCost four times demanding a refund and they refused the first two three times stating that my only recourse was through HP. Each time I contacted them, I was told that my request for a refund would take up to three business days because they need to check with management. I requested to speak with a manager, and was told that was impossible. The last two times I contacted them, they never responded at all, much less within three business days.  
 
In no place in the ordering process was their "no return" policy disclosed. Nor was the fact that "Refurbished/Recertified" in no way referred to the actual product, but only the packing. It is patently unreasonable for me to have to have a "BRAND NEW" [a quote from an email I received from a customer service representative] repaired using my time and energy. How could one possibly trust that any replacement unit from them would not fail equally quickly?  
 
Their customer service is clearly trained to get rid of people as fast as possible in the hopes that they will give up. I encourage anyone else that has had similar issues to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Maybe enough complaints will get them to improve their customer service.  
 
Addendum: After contacting Linda Potter directly, she was able to resolve my situation to my satisfaction.

This review was modified by its author, jlarish, on 11/4/09 12:30 PM.

I have shopped here many times. And all in all i am happy with the service, prices, and shipping time. But, i am also pretty easy to deal with, and i always read the full listing. Customers who complain because they failed to read that the items are refurbs have no one to blame but themselves. i will be ordering again from ecost.com. The platinum member thing is pretty silly though. Dont waste your time with it. And if you are able to get the "outrageous offer" that magically is gone in a split second, then you probably have too much time to waste. ;-)

I ordered a Westinghouse LCD from Ecost. I have ordered from Ecost before but never had had to return an item. This item was refurbished and upon receipt the lcd made a loud humming noise and would turn off after several seconds. I called Ecost and they put me on a 3-way conference call with Westinghouse who diagnosed the unit as defective and instructed my to return it. Ecost sent me an RMA and label to ship the unit back. Ecost scammed me as I was credited back 117.18 dollars for my 141.98 order. I called Ecost and they stated "their" return department said the item was fine. This is not the case, as Westinghouse diagnosed the problem and I actually ordered an exact same replacement from Ecost and it is not having the issue. The Ecost representative said they would "look into the matter and if Westinghouse did say it was defective they would credit." I still have not received the credit for the item. Horrible customer service for a return customer. I plan to dispute this transaction with my CC company if this issue is not resolved.  
 
UPDATE: Mrs. Potter promptly returned my call after I left her a voicemail. Overall she provided outstanding customer service and represents the company well. If you have any issues I recommend you contact Mrs. Potter directly and she will do everything in her power to take care of you.

This review was modified by its author, alschmid, on 11/3/09 1:13 PM.

I've used ecost.com previously and had problems on my previous order. Even after calling them 3 times regarding an issue they finally refunded me the money (because my item came broken) but they did not ever care to refund me the warranty I purchased through their website. In any case half of their customer service staff seems friendly and the other half have pent up anger ready to burst.  
 
So today I called within 5 minutes of placing my order and was told to call back because I had called too soon and the order was not showing up completely. Well I did call back a few hours later and they told me now I was too late because the order had been processed.  
 
The problem with my order was that I had been looking at different ways to save money because of the Platinum Premium Membership offering free shipping. In any case I decided I would not want to do that and so proceeded to check out with my cart that showed the items I wanted. After logging in and entering my billing info, I get a confirmation screen that my order was placed for the Platinum Premium (which was NOT in my cart).  
 
So I called up customer service and explained it to the gentlemen and he told me that since the order was processed I was too late. I asked to speak to a supervisor and so he put me on hold for about 7 minutes and came back saying that since the order is processed and a tracking number is being referenced to it I couldn't stop the order. And with the Platinum Premium I agreed to the terms and agreement to a 1 year membership. (What makes no sense to me though is where did I agree to this terms and agreement? The item was not in the cart I was trying to process nor did I click anywhere stating I would agree to anything.)  
 
In any case I asked again to speak to a supervisor and his response was that I would get the same answer. He told me speaking to a supervisor wouldn't change anything. So again I explained that I realize there is a chain of command and I need to move up the ladder to hopefully get where I wanted. He finally got the supervisor after a 5 minute wait.  
 
From here I thought it would be easier, but aparently the supervisor I got had all the pent up anger from a long day. She was very rude and had a sharp tone to her voice in how she was talking to me. She actually gave me a similar but different answer to the previous person. She stated that the order was processed so she would attempt to stop the order but could not give me any guarantees.  
 
I understand if the waffle machine is shipped today then it's shipped today. Fine. I lose $10. But the platinum membership...that's just something on a computer screen. That's not an object I can hold and keep in my hand, nor does it cost any money to ship. Why can't they guarantee me a refund of that?  
 
In any case she offered to e-mail me exactly what we discussed today and then aparently put me hold without letting me know. I waited about 5 minutes and I hung up.  
 
I would like to use ecost again in the future, but it's very frustrating and you waste a whole day on the phone if you have any troubles. They need to hire better customer service staff that are friendly and helpful, especially at the supervisory level.  
 
Edit: As expected an e-mail that I requested has not been sent. I assume they will not work towards canceling the order either.  
 
Edit: I am pleased to say that E-cost has followed through with everything I requested. They succesfully canceled all parts of my order and even went ahead with refunding me the money that was from a previous order. The supervisor was quick to give me a call and handle the order herself.  
 
I'm glad resellerratings has helped e-cost to try and put them in the right direction towards beind a repuatable company. It seems like if you have a problem there is a better solution than just calling customer service, and that's placing a review here.

This review was modified by its author, Tagxak, on 11/13/09 4:21 PM.