5/5

posted Aug-11-2010

I used to have a B2B accounts at both the OLD CompUSA, as well as Tiger Direct (both are now SysteMax companies -- along with CircuitCity.com).

At first, I was not very happy with the changes. But over time, I have seen a number of improvements -- to the point that I now get a significant portion of my hardware purchases from CompUSA -- especially when I need things FAST! After all, I have 2 stores within a 30-minute drive from my office, and most of their shipped items come from Miami -- so groud shipping gets to me in a day!

I have found their prices to be very competitive -- usually. There have been incidents where I found things elsewhere at significantly lower cost, but I don't expect perfection. In fact, what I DO expect is that an effort be made -- and in that regard, I am VERY pleased. Especially since they have gone back to having a B2B sales rep IN THE STORE.

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5/5

posted Aug-11-2010

I have used NewEgg for years. To be honest, if it wasn't for shipping fees & delays, I would probably use them for nearly EVERY item I sell or use!

It's not their fault that most of their hardware ships from the NE or out west -- and I'm in Florida, so I cannot ding them for either cause -- it costs them money to send items to me, and it takes the shippers time to get it "down here".

The true test of a distributor is not what they do when things go right -- it's how they handle things when things go wrong... and NewEgg strikes an excellent balance. When its their fault, or the product's fault, they bear the burden of fixing things. When it's our own fault (like ordering the wrong part), they're willing to meet us half-way.

My only complaint is that NewEgg hasn't opened a Miami or Tampa warehouse for shipping to Central/South America! (much less to ME!)

It would also be nice to get "better discounts" the more we order from them (so some kind of volume discount could apply)... but that's a double-egded sword -- I don't like it when I go up against a larger competitor and lose because they get better pricing!

So overall, I would say that I find NewEgg an OUTSTANDING company to do business with!

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1/5

posted Jul-09-2010

This will more than likely be our LAST order with MA Labs... I have to assume that they changed their name in an attempt to get away from their poor ratings as knowledgemicro, but unfortunately their performance as a distributor will re-earn them a poor reputation quickly.

I ordered parts for 4 systems -- Asus motherboards, SuperTalent RAM, iMicro case (never heard of them before, but hey... it was worth a shot!)...

In any case, of the 4 Asus motherboards and 16GB of RAM ordered, 2 motherboards and 4GB of RAM failed within a week of delivery.

Now product failures are a part of doing business - and I cannot fault MA Labs for Asus having a design problem in their M2N-68plus motherboards... but I CAN fault MA Labs for their RMA procedures!

When we reported the first failure, we were supposedly sent a replacement in a cross-shipping arrangement -- only upon receipt of the failed MB, they shipped us (and billed us) a REFURBISHED replacement. Now I wouldn't complain if this was 90 (even 30!) days out -- but this was an initial use failure!

On top of that, they are billing us for all the shipping! So in effect, I have paid for TWO motherboards when I only needed one, and I've paid 3x the shipping (here twice, and there once!)

When the second (and not the refurb) MB failed, I asked to be credited for the return (after all, I have a refurb unit already sent in error), but was told they don't do credits, only replacements. Funny thing is that when I called to find out where the replacements were (after 7 business days!), the sales rep said she could see the credit, but not the shipping date. Then I was told that they were back-ordered (on the refurb items, not new ones), so I'd have to wait.

These might be acceptable terms for very large clients (who are building dozens of units at a time), or even a hobbyist (who can wait to build their own personal system) -- but it is wholly untenable for a small system builder. Needless to say, my clients have not been willing to wait and wait and wait for us to fix (or replace) their failed brand-new computers.

On a separate invoice, I ordered a pair of replacement power supplies for a server model that used SuperMicro hot-swappable supplies. The part number they provided matched the SuperMicro part number, and the link to their website showed the right part -- but the items shipped didn't even come close. Again, shouldn't be a big problem -- wrong item shipped. My gripe here is that when they figured out that they didn't have the supply I needed, and I shipped them the wrong parts back... they only credited me for the parts themselves! I wound up paying shipping BOTH ways for THEIR mistake!

As a system builder, I need suppliers that work with me in a partnership, and who take at least SOME responsibility when they ship bad (or incorrect) parts. THAT IS NOT MA LABS, unfortunately.

As an aside, I will say that I enjoyed working with our sales rep -- she was helpful, reasonably product knowledgeable (for a sales person), and really tried to make things right... but the corporate policy seems to be "we-re just the middle man, so it's never our fault... for everything we do, we either bill the supplier or the customer, but we never take responsibility".

As a result, once I finally get our account and the outstanding RMA's resolves, I have no intention of ordering from them again... even if they change their name 5 more times!

This review was modified by it4soho on August 11 2010 09:03:35 AM

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