4/5

posted Apr-02-2007

**EDIT: The overall rating that I have for VPC is still a 7.5/10.

-Packaging: Definitely well-insulated. No signature signing was required upon home delivery.
-PC Analysis: My case was actually upgraded from the see-through side case to the Cooler Master case. This was fine by me, however, I REALLY was banking on having a titanium silver case (I know, I'm ridiculously vain), AND VPC didn't inform me of the upgrade. I was very impressed with the internal structure of the case--all professional wiring, nothing was broken, dented, unhooked, etc. None of the parts that I bought were swapped out for generic models, either, which was a real treat.
-Overall: I have a kick-ass PC, built *almost* to specification, and I'm sure that it will last me for QUITE a long time. Graphics are absolutely gorgeous, and the system is uber-fast. I'm moderately happy with what I got. =)

My rating for ViciousPC.com: 7.5/10

The Good:

-They have a very easy and coherent ordering system.
-The Customer Service Rep (I had Angela) will supply you with their actual phone number/extension so you can take any complaints/questions to a human instead of an automated phone tree.
-The phone line itself takes you to different extensions, instead of just one main line.
-The CSRs are very prompt in answering phone calls and emails.
-The ratings for ViciousPC are a helluva lot better than some other half-assed, lackwit companies out there (see my other review for ibuypower.com).
-They do not charge you until your entire PC is built, tested, and ready to ship. Personally, I was very pleased with this option, as my other experiences with the aforementioned fuckwit company now make me very protective of any eletronics purchases that I make.
-The shipping: If my Fedex notification email is correct, my box will arrive approximately 5 days after it was shipped from Pomona, CA. (This remains to be seen, but hey, fast shipping is fast shipping.) They provide you with Fedex tracking #'s for each transaction--as a result, it's easy to watch your box make its lonely trek across the world...

The Eh-kinda-good:

-Variety of parts: While the computer that I ordered is definitely a kick-ass rig, I wish that I could have had a few more choices of brand names for hard drives and such.
-Customization: Again, this could have some improvement. The colors that you can choose for the case/lighting are either red, black, blue, or silver--not much to 'em. However, I happen to be a red-silver person, so I was ok with the options.
-The price: Is actually pretty good for the parts that you put in your box.
-Construction of the actual PC: Yeah, they definitely took a lot longer than 10-15 business days to ship my box. My PC took almost a month and a week to make (ordered on 2/23/07, shipped 3/29/07)--they tacked on an extra week because a part wasn't in, but they told me immediately about what caused the delay. Overall, I would rather them be late but thorough in testing/building/shipping my box than shipping it out half-built.
-Customer service: Could use a little work. Angela was extremely polite and friendly, and again, she called me back every time that I left her a voicemail. She was also very willing to work out the issue w/ my bank (I had a $1,000 limit on my card, which I can only raise to $1,500 at certain times of the year). Twice I raised my bank account in the morning and asked Angela to charge my card--which she did--but she waited until the absolute last second to do it. I live on the East Coast, so when it's 1:30 p.m. in CA, it's 4:30 p.m. over here. Needless to say, the transaction didn't occur in time since she waited until bloody 1:25 p.m. to charge my card (twice, dammit), and I ended up using my father's credit card instead. Blergh.

Some tips for the would-be ViciousPC purchasee:

1.) Call, don't email them for questions about your purchase. The CSRs will glady answer your questions, but you have to call THEM. These guys handle tons of orders per day, and if you want them to consider you important, you must let them know what is important to you.

2.) Also, be firm with what information you want from them. I should have asked Angela to charge my card at a certain time instead of letting her wait until the last minute. It would have made things MUCH easier for both of us. Granted, I understood that she was extremely busy, but I emphasized to her numerous times that I only had a few chances to raise my limit.

3.) Don't expect the 10-15 business days. Expect more of about 3 weeks to a month for your order to process, be built, and then shipped.

Overall, this is not a bad company. My fiance also bought his PC from Vicious two years ago, and he bloody loves it. I may buy a laptop or something from here again, but in the meantime, I am very intrigued by Avadirect's 9/10 lifetime rating...

This review was modified by lad253 on April 04 2007 09:42:20 AM

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1/5

posted Feb-05-2007

*Buyer BEWARE!*

*Introduction (1/19/07)*: After months of interrupted gaming due to my current computer sputtering and crashing every 20 minutes, I decided to buy a new box. I was originally going to buy from ViciousPC.com, as my boyfriend had bought his box from there and was very satisfied with his purchase. However, we stumbled across iBuyPower a week later; smitten by the idea of saving a few hundred bucks (and getting a neat customized case at the same time), I ordered from iBuyPower. My original order was submitted on Friday, January 19th. I called iBuy on that Friday to check on SLI capabilities. I spoke to Lee, who was professional and courteous with my questions. He was quite prompt in alerting me to a bank issue (I forgot about my $1,000 limit on my debit card), and my card was charged on Tuesday, January 23rd. Ever since then, my order has literally been at a standstill. The only status that Lee has been able to give me is that he has no idea if my order "will be delayed" or not. I was operating under the impression that it WAS already delayed, and now I'm patiently waiting for my damn box to show up. It has technically been about 10 "business days" that I've been waiting, (not including Saturdays, I might add), and my computer hasn't even had its parts gathered. I desperately want my box, but my patience is growing thin. I'm waiting until the end of this week, and then I'll most likely cancel and buy from somewhere else. Blah...

*UPDATE (2/12/07)*: I spoke to Brian on Wednesday, February 7th, about canceling my order. He pulled a very slick routine with me, empathizing with me about the wait, and basically begged me to give-us-another-week-and-I-guarantee-you'll-get-it, etc. His excuse for the lack of updates to my order was that they had a new tracking inventory system in place and obviously, it's working so well that nobody bothered to update my order. (I'd also like to point out that I've seen that very same excuse in previous complaints that were made MONTHS before my order. Do they freakin' train these people to do that?) Brian assured me that if I didn't get my computer by next Friday, he'd personally cancel my order.

Well, two days later, I check this site again, and what do you know, another unhappy customer has a computer with a punch dent on the side of his case. At this point, I asked my boyfriend to call and cancel my order, because honestly, I do not want to deal with this slimy company anymore, even to cancel my order. He calls, gets Lee, and my order is promptly canceled. I *should* be getting my money refunded by this Wednesday, February 14th. That would be a helluva V-day present.

Oh, and their excuse for my order being completely dropped off of the radar? "We're really backed up this week." So backed up in fact, that my order is still being displayed on their wildly efficient "Order Status" page.

Please heed the reviews that you see here--this company is absolutely terrible. You're better off spending the extra cash to ensure that your PC is built properly and has a good technical support structure reinforcing it--from a company OTHER than iBuy.

*UPDATE (2/19/07)*: Well, my refund (as expected) did not show up when it was supposed to, (Valentine's Day). I ended up on hold for 20 minutes waiting to talk to the Customer Service Manager, Mark, (after a half-hour of busy signals because they only have ONE line), because the original Cancellation Order was unavailable on "hard copy."

Ten minutes later, I get Mark, who I begrudgingly admit was professional and concerned about my situation. He personally canceled my order and (finally!) updated my order form with the cancellation. I had to argue for the refund of my money though--he told me it would take 10 business days from V-day to get my money returned. WTF, my order was supposed to have been canceled on February 9th!

To end, my money was refunded this past Saturday, the 18th of February.

I'm glad this nightmare is finally over. RUN from this company as fast as you can. They have a "C" rating with the BBB, with most of the complaints centering on "undelivered performance." Take your money to AVADirect or ViciousPC.

Viciouspc, you BETTER treat me right!

Edit: I find it absolutely hilarious that iBuy now had a Resellerratings.com moderator in here trying to refute how terrible their system is. Their customer service page includes all the good testimony from this website but it has NONE of the bad comments that pop up on this site almost daily. What a joke...

This review was modified by lad253 on April 03 2007 12:31:46 PM

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