Is CompUSA this bad a seller???? (1 Viewer)

[Dave Mack]

Hey Y'all,

Looking eventually to get a new laptop with a DVD burner. Saw a great deal on A Tosh. through CompUSA

http://www.resellerratings.com/deals.pl?id=10539

but then I read the reseller ratings store reviews and was VERY surprised!

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1912.html

I have seen stores that were obvious B-stock sellers with invalid warranties getting better reviews. Some of these reviews indicated that CompUSA tries to waggle out of their extended warranty coverage and there are many people wanting to sue them for fraud. Are they that bad? The store in NYC always seemed decent to me. BUT I never bought a computer there. I'm quite surprised as this is such a huge chain.

Any thoughts guys? We had a Dell once with major issues (Inspiron laptop had bad design and overheats, dell only sent out band-aid solutions that we had to deal with again and again and never owned up to the design issue which we and many thousands of owners had...) and don't want to go that route again.

Thanks! d

And are extended warranties on computers just a load of hooey...
(Even though thank GOD we had one on the Dell...)

 

[Bob Graz]

I've gone to CompUSA twice with a friend of mine. He's bought a couple of PC's from them. Both times it took hours (at least several) to purchase the sale items. I couldn't believe what a hassle. Nothing showed up right in the registers. Everything had to be handled manually with manager's ok, etc. It's an ordeal I'd never go through, I don't care what the price is. Now, to be fair, both times he ended up getting the advertised price in the end and I'm not aware of any technical issues with the product he bought. It's not a place I have any interest in doing business with. I have no experience ordering anything from them but given the problems and chaos at the store, I can only imagine what trying to deal with them through an on-line or telephone order must be.

 

[ThomasC]

To sum up a few experiences of a friend of mine as well as myself, CompUSA does things pretty slow and inefficiently these days. I wouldn't buy from them. If you really want that particular laptop, Toshiba is a decent brand, but at least go with a seller with a better rating. The savings aren't worth it if you get piss-poor service. If you can afford it, I would buy from Apple or Lenovo. You'll have to pay a bit more, but the build quality is top-notch.

 

[Dave Mack]

Thanks Thomas!
I was interested in the Tosh because our IT guy says they make very good laptops for the dough and he sees less repair issues with them unlike the Dells. Yeah, after reading those "reviews" of compusa I would wind up on the news if I had a similar customer service issue with them.

 

[David Norman]

I've never had a problem with them though most of the things I've bought from them have been parts and pieces (hard drives, fireware cards, UPS, etc) and software. The few things I've returned have been easy. I've never bought a computer or monitor there so nothing too costly.

Like most big box stroes, I suspect it's a store to store variation.

 

[MarkHastings]

Dave, this isn't meant as a crack at you, but I always take the user into consideration when reading reviews. Since CompUSA is going to attract the majority of people who don't know much about computers, I would highly suspect that these people will also have major complaints with CompUSA.

It's the old "This computer sucks...Not the user!" routine where most people blame the system for their own lack of computer skills. That's why I'd be a little more forgiving when reading user reviews of CompUSA.

But there probably is some truth in the lack of service there, so it probably would be best to look elsewhere.

 

[Dave Mack]

That's what I was looking at. The claims of crap customer service. I think that a store this big should cater even BETTER to the less computer savvy. This isn't a little niche computer geek store hidden away. A store shouldn't give better customer service to the better informed. Many of these issues relayed were bordering on fraud. Also compare the rating to say B&H's...
http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1914.html

 

[Carl Johnson]

I've heard those same complaints about Best Buy and Circuit City too. For the sake of selling more hardware all of these discount merchandisers advertise to their customers thru their employees how much they care about servicing the product after the sale but it's not true. The most profitable item that they sell is an extended service plan. As far as the company is concerned it's like free money. If you don't buy the service plan any problem you have with the product will be referred to the manufacturer for a solution. If you do buy the service plan any problem you have with the product will be referred to the manufacturer for a solution. The sales drone is trying to pimp you into buying the plan because if he sells one plan a day it boosts his take home pay from minimum wage to $10.00/hr.