item.86376

Rebecca Komer-Bright

I ordered a LaCie external hard drive from Macmall. I received it yesterday 1/30/09. The box was badly dented. I opened the box to find the product had been poorly packaged with a few bubble packs. We opened the La Cie box and when taking is out of its box heard a tinkling sound. Not what you want to hear, a loose piece in an external hd. So I called macmall today and was waiting for a rep for over an hour from 705am to 809am. At 809am when I did speak to Renaldo,ext. 7151 he transfered me to tech support at 811am without giving me the RA# I said I would need to return the product. I am waiting on hold right now it's 830am. I will never do business with this company again. EVER. I have never had a problem with my mac support and was expecting the same professionalism from a company using the mac name. I was sadly mistaken. This could have been prevented by proper packaging. It's a shame I didn't look online at this thread before ordering the product. I would have done better to buy at the Apple store paid more money but actually have a working external hard drive!
...still on hold!

item.87244

Bob Rydberg

Go to http://www.resellerratings.com/store/MacMall and enter your rating. It is presently 3.5/10 => not a company to deal with.

item.87312

Andrew Gillies

Regarding Rebecca Komer-Bright, fortunately, Apple isn't the only place to pick up an external hard drive. There are many companies who have been around for a long time with good prices and great customer service. SmallDog and Other World Computing are two companies that come to mind right away.
Good Luck with the replacement process through MacMall.

item.87352

Roger S. Cohen

Andrew Gillies writes about buying a spare hard drive from SmallDog.com and Other World Computing (macsales.com).

Today I received an email promo from LaCie, who offered a 1.5 TB drive for $259.99.

http://www.lacie.com/us/products/product.htm?pid=11166&adw=insider

item.87376

David Charlap

Roger S. Cohen wrote:

"Today I received an email promo from LaCie, who offered a 1.5 TB drive for $259.99."

Great deal, until the power supply blows out, which seems to be typical for all of LaCie's products. And no, this isn't a recent phenomenon. LaCie has had quality control problems with their external drive cases for well over a decade.

I'd go with a different brand, even if it means paying a little more or waiting a few months for prices to come down.

item.102473

MacInTouch Reader

Got the new MacMall catalog in the mail on Friday. Tried to order a machine on Tuesday. All gone, Apple discontinued. The wanted to down grade me to keep in my price point. I think it was bait and switch. Yes they have all the disclaimers but, you would think they have been through the process long enough to know stock flow.

Anyway I'm now a former Macmall customer.

item.102638

Colleen Thompson

Regarding

"Got the new MacMall catalog in the mail on Friday. Tried to order a machine on Tuesday. All gone, Apple discontinued."

I never look at print catalogs any more. The production time is too great. Always go to the web site instead.

In the immortal words of Dr. Egon Spengler, "Print is dead."

item.103133

MacInTouch Reader

I ordered a Macbook Pro last night, and today at work I get a call with a hard sell from MacMall to add items to my order - supposedly with full rebates and just one form to fill out online. I was at work, unable to research anything, and now I find I am charged for two computers, the rebates do not even come up when I put my order number in the rebate search form, and MacMall delayed shipping my original computer order so they could try to sell me extra items I did not need. This is a heck of a way to treat a customer; apparently the business I gave them wasn't enough, and they didn't care enough about me as a customer to keep my original computer on target for shipping out - trying to sell me something else was more important and the salesperson didn't even send me the confirmatory email as she promised. I am mad.

item.103754

Doug S

I was double billed for an Archos Media Tablet,
Why? I have a defective product and talked to Cust Serv about returning it. It was $350, I explicitly told them I did not feel comfortable about being billed again on something I did not know I would get. They spoke with management and said they agreed and would not charge me for the item. Would issue me a replacement. I got the replacement. Guess what I got an invoice for it too! Isn't that fraudulent? I would of not accepted the delivery of second unit if I knew that I was billed for a second one. No matter what I am not sure I even want to keep the one that works. This pissed me off and my best friend who was going to ship back the item for me, but twice the RMA # was not issued, then issued wrong I asked for FedEx, and they switched to UPS. I got the RMA for FedEx now but I still feel I was done wrong. I don't feel I would ever do business with them again. This is totally unfair.

item.104791

MacInTouch Reader

Dear Sir,
On April 30th, 2009, I bought a MacBook at MacMall in Torrance for U$1093.95. I paid by credit card and I mailed in for my rebate within a couple of days.
I have yet to receive the rebate check.
My order number is L 4252396.

Please advice on further action. Thank you.

Yasu

item.104978

Henry Karpinski

Avoid MacMall at all costs!
I purchased Altec-Lansing speakers (IM207) which were defective. When I called the customer "service" department the rep ADMITTED that MacMall was aware that many of the items were indeed defective. (!)

Why, if MacMall is aware of this problem, do they continue to sell it?
Sure, it's sale priced, but what good is that if the unit won't function?

I had to make several calls before I was able to get MacMall to pay the shipping. (!)

Once is enough for me.

item.105464

Wally Moran

The absolute worst experience online I have ever had. They cannot process an order to a Canadian billing address, even when it's purchased IN the US using a US bank credit card. They screwed up both my paypal and credit card to the tune of $1000 each. Promised my paypal would be reversed in two hours. Five days later, the order was still pending. Plus, a $1000 hold on my bank account. Finally had to call the local police and give them the details and contact information to resolve the situation. And Shawn Goldenburg, despite his promise to resolve the problems, did nothing.
I would sooner purchase a Windows-based computer than EVER deal with these people again. And this from someone who has an original Mac Plus in his attic.
Warn your friends about these people.

item.106577

Bill McKinney

My account executive at MacMall promised that she would send me an email with rebate coupons since they were very hard to find on the web page.

She also promised to send me a return label or directions on how to return a small portion of my order. I tried to cancel this portion of my order just a few hours after placing the order but was told that it had already shipped complete.

After reading all the complaints about the customer service or lack thereof why doesn't Apple do something about it?

As others have reported I too have been on hold for customer service for an extended period of time and then just had the call dropped.

A terrible company to do business with. Fortunately I put my purchase on my American Express card. I am reporting this as a disputed purchase and asking that payment be withheld.

item.106814

Jim DeLapp

I too have been "denied" my $100 rebate from 11/27 on a new iMac 21.5 inch which they clearly listed and had the form for which I sent in with everyting required. I intend on turning them in to LA BB and CA Attorney General. I hope I cost them thousands of dollars!

item.107554

MacInTouch Reader

MacMall would not honor a $100 Rebate #25201 on iMacs valid from 11/24/2009 - 11/27/2009. The order confirmation has been received on 11/27 and all sales receipts/packing slips sent promptly as required.

Unbelievable! ...

item.107638

Steve K

I wish we had thought to look here before ordering. We have experienced firsthand much of what has been reported here. We will NEVER do business with MacMall again. Buyer beware! My thoughts are as long as they are moving products, Apple will continue to look the other way but it is hard to believe that a Class Action suit has not been filed against this company.

item.108540

MacInTouch Reader

I wish I would have done a little research on Macmall before I placed my order!

I ordered four spindles of 100 Memorex Printable DVD-R's from the website.

I was sent the wrong discs. When I called customer service to let them know, I was told they never had the DVD's that I originally ordered and that there was an error on their website. Yet, my order confirmation stated that they did indeed have the discs I and confirmed shipping. And of course, they charged me for the order. I asked for a comparable disc. They then wanted to charge me more money for the difference in price. I refused and demanded an even exchange. After four hours of back and forth on the phone with customer service, They finally relented and said they would do an even exchange, but only after I ship the wrong discs back. They won't ship the new ones until then.

I called their corporate offices and left a voicemail with their national sales director. I'm going to let him know my experience and see what he has to say.

What happened to customer service in America? It doesn't exist anymore. I will make sure to do my best to only do business with companies that have customer service based here in the U.S.

item.111085

Don King

My experience of a few years ago. Bought one of the last Apple 23-inch monitors (before Apple stopped selling them). It came with a broken screen. (This isn't the same situation as the problem Apple now has with cracked 27-inch iMacs.) The box the screen came in was physically ripped, and bent up and was obviously the problem. Okay, so I call Mac Mall. Got through to someone after a few tries. They wouldn't send me a new monitor until they got the broken one back. Understandable. BUT... THEY WANTED ME TO PAY 2 NEW SHIPPING CHARGES!!! One to send the broken monitor back to them and the other to pay shipping for the new monitor. The deal was supposed to be free shipping. So I refused. And of course they refused to do it any other way. I kept calling and calling (half dozen times or more over a number of days). At this point I'm at a standstill with them. And they hold all the cards. Then one day, I'm sitting in my studio, and lo and behold, I get a delivery of a new monitor from them. Without my ever sending back the broken monitor! So I now have 2 monitors! One good and one bad. They obviously screwed up badly. But now the cards were all on my side. I called them up and offered to send back the broken monitor (now that I had my brand new monitor). Guess what? THEY STILL REFUSED TO PAY SHIPPING TO GET THEIR BROKEN MONITOR BACK! I laughed at them. And couldn't care less, especially since they treated me with so much disdain up to this point. So I just put the broken monitor away in a closet and forgot about it. 3 or 4 weeks later, I received a "free shipping" return voucher from them, that I could use to send them back the monitor. They said they would appreciate it if I would pack up the monitor and send it back. Which I did (but it took me a few weeks or so to get around to doing it, because at this point I had had it with them). The bottom line and moral to this long story: STAY AWAY FROM MAC MALL. As someone else on this forum has already stated: it isn't worth the little less you pay. The inherent problems with dealing with them are way too great. (Don't want to pay sales tax on a high ticket item? Try somebody like Small Dog Electronics (smalldog.com). They're Apple specialist and good Vermont people. With some really good deals, with free shipping and great, great customer service. (I have no connection to them at all.)

item.111167

Don King

I just posted a comment on my own experience with Mac Mall (posted above). That was a few years ago. And I was interested in what folks were saying today about them and came across this recent article in the Huffington Post, an internationally recognized news commentary website. They are especially known for their political slant, but here is an except from one of their non-political articles. It was written today (March 17, 2010). By a CEO of a small company. And it's about Mac Mall:

"Then there's MacMall, a Torrance, CA. based distributor of Apple computers and related gear. It's the same firm as PC Mall. If you're on any technology mailing list, you've probably gotten at least 70 of their catalogs, or seen their multi-page magazine ads. I guess poor customer service is a core MacMall positioning element that I could have known about ahead of time. Note their low consumer rating on ResellerRatings.com. If you were ever to consider returning or replacing a product, it would be one of the worst places you could choose. Out of thousands of online resellers, to me it seems like it's just one step above a phishing site."

Enough said.

item.111257

David Charlap

Don King wrote: "... this recent article in the Huffington Post ...By a CEO of a small company. And it's about Mac Mall"

For those without the time to go Googling around, here's the article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tony-greenberg/why-good-service-is-about_b_463981.html

item.111276

Roger S. Cohen

Don King writes positively of Small Dog Electronics (smalldog.com).

I have also written in the past of Small Dog's good customer service. I have been doing business with them for over fifteen years.

I am sad to say that I am now having a severe problem with Small Dog. The problem is related to theft of data from Small Dog, and Small Dog's failure to do the right thing by their customers.

I wrote and emailed directly to Don Meyer, President, and to Cindy Fuller, Assistant Controller (and designated person for this issue). I requested specific information and a specific resolution.

Small Dog has not given me the courtesy of a reply. So much for Small Dog's recent marketing motto, "Always By Your Side." They know how to reach me. I've purchase a number of Macs, and other hardware and software from Small Dog for years. So have my clients, on my recommendation.

I know that Rob Amon, Sales & Consulting Manager of Small Dog, has sometimes read these MacInTouch pages, has commented on MacInTouch's readers' consumer issues with Small Dog, and has assisted with problem resolution.

Don, Cindy, Rob? Are you always by your customers' side?

item.111297

Roger S. Cohen

I wrote yesterday of a problem I have been having with Small Dog, related to their resolving issues stemming from data theft.

I wrote again to Small Dog, and received telephone calls this morning from two of their staffers (including Rob Amon). Apparently they are a bit overwhelmed by the situation, and said they are doing their best to resolve the customer issues.

They promised to do more follow-up with me within a couple of days. I'll keep you posted.

item.111357

Alan Ramsey

My credit card number was also stolen from Small Dog in the same break-in as R. S. Cohen's, above. I was notified very quickly both by email and USPS of the potential for damage, and began watching for unauthorized charges.

I spotted two, hours after they were made, some $1500 dollars, and acted immediately. It took a lot of fuss and time, but I'm mostly over it now. Small Dog's heads up was exemplary.

But, like Roger, my experience with follow-up was less encouraging - a promised reply didn't come. My guess was, as Rob told Roger, a small company in over their heads.

I have been a customer of Small Dog for many years. Their personnel have always been knowledgeable and friendly, and a couple of times have gone the extra mile (step-by-stepping me through a messy memory upgrade, for example).

But this has got to be a real 'whoaa!' I've been using online commerce since it began, and this is only the second time a vendor let my credit card number escape (and that was a tiny used book vendor). Unless I hear something to make me believe that they weren't simply careless in their security (and they *are* computer guys, after all!) I'm afraid it'll be a long time before I go back.

item.111426

Roger S. Cohen

Continuing my posting about Small Dog:

I reported earlier that Small Dog had advised me that my personal data had been stolen from them. I asked Small Dog for specific remedial measures. Their response was delayed (certainly not as prompt as I wanted), I think because they are overwhelmed.

Small Dog agreed to my request, and provided me with the follow-up measure that I requested... but, it turns out that what they provided isn't really what they intended to provide. Small Dog and I are still in discussion, trying to have the proper outcome. Anyway, they are trying.

Sorry to be cryptic about the details. I think it's better to leave out the details for right now. But I'll update as the story progresses.

item.111505

MacInTouch Reader

Following-up on the posting about the security breach from Small Dog. Small Dog did the right thing, and provided me a subscription to a pre-paid credit monitoring service.

Small Dog originally advised me of the subscription to the service. When I signed-in, I found that the service arranged by Small Dog monitored some sort of changes to my credit status, but did not permit me to view my reports without paying $17.00. I advised Small Dog that that subscription was not sufficient, and that I wanted the higher-level service, which permits me to see the credit reports. Small Dog thought that they had already arranged that level of subscription. When they checked into it and found otherwise, Small Dog promptly modified (enhanced) the service level.

Comments on the scummy sales techniques of the credit monitoring service from ********.

You buy their "****** *********" service, and you get low level access to "alerts" on your credit status. They offer to sell you your credit reports for $17.00. You increase the level of your subscription to "Premium", and they show you some sort of summary credit reports from Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

BUT, they offer to sell you your credit reports from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion for $17.00. What's the difference between the reports they provide with your service and the ones they offer to sell you? Dunno.

What's the difference among the reports 1) included in your service, 2) the reports they offer to sell you for $17.00, and 3) the free credit reports you can order once-per-year from annualcreditreport.com?

Dunno. And I can't seem to find out.

Don't bother calling that provider's customer service and asking about the difference between the three credit reports they provide with your subscription, and the three credit reports they offer to sell you for $17. They can't explain anything. AAMOF, I don't think that their customer service people work for the credit reporting company. They seem to have no idea of what is provided in their service, and have very poor language skills.

(Remember, by the way, your free annual credit reports come from "annualcreditreport.com", NOT from the ubiquitous advertiser freecreditreport.com.)

This service also shows your "credit score" from that single provider. Is that the real credit score -- the FICO score -- which is widely used? No. It's that company's own number, which doesn't seem to be used by anyone. The site further advises "The majority of lenders use some sort of credit scoring model to help predict what kind of credit risk you may be. For each bureau's score and score explanation, click on the colored tabs below." So, go ahead and click on the "colored tabs." That brings you to a window where you can buy those reports for $17.

And although it is widely reported that credit reports drop information after seven years, my report has entries from 1981 and 1991.

Of course Small Dog has nothing to do with the credit report mess.

item.112220

MacInTouch Reader

I got a e-mailing today from MacMall welcoming customers from Club Mac since the stores have merged.

I always had good experiences when I bought from Club Mac, altho haven't used them recently.

MacMall, on the other hand, has some of the worst consumer experiences I know of and I have avoided doing business with them.

item.112254

Andrew Main

MacInTouch Reader writes,

"I got a e-mailing today from MacMall welcoming customers from Club Mac since the stores have merged."

Actually, MacMall bought ClubMac sometime in the mid-90s. I quit buying from both about then, after bad experiences with both. NB: OnSale.com is also part of MacMall.

item.112374

MacInTouch Reader

Avoid anything "MacMall" at all costs!!

item.115703

MacInTouch Reader

Over the last 3 years I have purchased 4 computers from MacMall, but today they lost me as a customer. I am on their email list and this morning I received notification of their Deal of the Day, a G-Force, 2TB Fantom Triple Interface, USB 2.0, Firewire, & eSata Hard Drive. for $99.99. Not only was this stated in bold type but also in three other places on the front page of the email. Based solely on the ad, I drove to the Santa Monica store to purchase the drive. The salesman told me it was a double interface drive (no firewire). When I complained and showed him the email by going online, he turned me over to the manager, Omar Alsibai, who although polite gave me every song a dance imaginable. But he refused to honor the Deal of the Day. Later in the day when I opened the email to print it, somehow Macmall changed the bold type to reflect that the promoted drive did not have firewire, but left the 3 other references to the drive being triple interface in place. From my point of view this is a material misrepresentation, not in any way covered by MacMall's price disclaimer. Any respectable company would have honored their promotion. Moreover, this kind of behavior is an embarrassment to Apple, who MacMall promotes itself as its major outside retailer. I won't deal with enterprises who lack integrity, and I am no longer a customer of MacMall for this reason.

item.119685

Nick Basso

Well my first venture into the world of Apple / MAC has been tainted by the poor service and fake promises of MacMall.
While I was ordering my expensive iMac i7 27" all-in-one the representatives were all about helping and calling me back.
The day after ordering it, I found the same thing at onsale.com for $80 less.

Well, I immediately attempted to contact them to ask them to match, (They technically are supposed to beat) the price.
Now, when I'm trying to get them to honor their "Best Price" guarantee it's as if no one is there...My calls and emails to multiple people go unanswered.

I initially got a hold of my original sales rep but as soon as I told him what I was after, he said he had another client on the line and would call me right back. No call ever came and now all I receive is "out of office" emails from his address.

So it looks like MacMall just sucks!
Stay away!

item.119966

Andrew Main

Re:

"The day after ordering it, I found the same thing at onsale.com for $80 less. ... [MacMall} technically are supposed to beat) the price."

What's really a laugh is that OnSale is owned by the same company that owns MacMall. I avoid both, as I did ClubMac after it was bought by MacMall back in the 90s.

item.128376

Mark Kal

MacMall is seemingly the worst company I've ever purchased from, via internet.

I ordered a WD 2TB NAS on a Friday morning, the site had an icon of the sun (Meaning it's available for same day shipping) at which point I ordered it with FedEx Saturday delivery. Saturday came and went without a delivery. I called MacMall to see what had happened and they started off with "If you look at the website it has a 'Moon' icon which means it will ship the following day". I immediately countered it with "Wrong -- It had the stupid sun when I purchased it (which I had taken a screenshot of). They backstroked, and I asked for a supervisor. He gave the story of it being in a different warehouse blah blah blah, but he would refund the shipping charge and it would ship out the next day (Monday? Who knows). Monday comes and I called in again to see the status at which point the CSR says it is shipping and gave me a tracking #. Hmmm, I'm smelling a lot of BS. Used the tracking # and it has *no* info. It states "No information for the following shipments/FedEx Office orders has been received by our system yet". I feel a blood vessel ready to burst now.

It's Tuesday now and I just got off the phone again with the morons. Still not shipped, but he will track the order and call me back.

If I hold my breath, I bet I'll hit the floor from lack of oxygen. Maybe that would be ok since I wouldn't smell the BS anymore.
Funny how my account was relieved of the funds and I *still* have nothing!

The corporate office is down the road from me and I'm seriously thinking of going over there. It's probably full of moron's too, so I'd be wasting my time -- kinda like I've been since last week.

I just checked FedEx and it has the same info as before "No information for the following shipments/FedEx Office orders has been received by our system yet"

It's now 10:13am PST and I'm waiting to see (As if I didn't know) what happens next.

I'll keep you all posted as I'm sure your dying to read the ongoing saga.

item.128464

Mark Kal

Well, here it is on Wed 1/26/11 at 2pm. MacMall has done nothing unusual in telling me that the product has shipped out on the 24th -- Until I have them track the package. Oops, I see we have not shipped it out since it's in our affiliates warehouse. We will send it out today (Wed?) and you should receive it tomorrow.

Ummm, I don't think so bucky!
I've now put a stop payment on the account and there will be no payment. I suggest you cancel the order, instead of telling me that I have to wait for it to arrive and then reject the package. Then I have to call you to obtain a refund? Ha Ha Ha, Not gonna happen!

So, the moral of the story is: Don't deal with morons who are selling things they can't even spell, let alone use.

MacMall is the worst internet company I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. I've gone in the local store (Torrance) and had fine experiences, but I'm not going anywhere near them, virtually or physically.

item.129316

H Collins

I placed an order on 9/15/10 after reading reviews that state they are "slow to ship/receive product". I took my chances and bought something for $75.96. About 6 weeks later I contacted MacMall and recieved a prompt response back stating the product was backordered and they were to get a shipment 2 weeks later. Now, 5 months later I emailed them again to get an update/answer and I received this email, also promptly:

Thank you for contacting MacMall.

We regret to inform you that your order was cancelled due to unavailability of the product. If you have additional questions, please contact Customer Service Department at 1.800.622.6255 option 4.

Our team at MacMall is dedicated in providing you an outstanding shopping experience. For over 20 years, MacMall has been proud to provide you the finest care and support in all your technology needs.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

They did not even address the fact that I was due a refund. I was never contacted via email/phone and told my order was cancelled, never received a refund and then when they tell me the order was cancelled, they ignore the fact they charged me. This is unethical and illegal to keep payment for items not shipped. I plan on filing with the Better Business Bureau and a complaint with PayPal although PayPal is just as unethical and horrible to work with which we have experienced and then started reading horrible reviews that are 10 times worse than macmall! Ugh, why can't companies and people just be good and ethical?

Now I am concerned about receiving my refund. I will never shop through them again and am only glad it is a minor dollar amount in the overall big scheme of things.

item.129571

Andrew Main

H Collins quotes an email from MacMall:

... For over 20 years, MacMall has been proud to provide you the finest care and support in all your technology needs

For over 20 years, I have been avoiding MacMall (and its subsidiaries, ClubMac and OnSale) because of just these kinds of experiences. Whenever I see either mentioned in a forum, I post a link to this thread. Yes, you can save a few dollars (at most), if your luck is good.... If not, what is your time and aggravation worth?

Otoh, rival MacConnection has been consistently excellent over those same 20+ years, and of course, any MacInTouch reader should visit Amazon first.

item.137346

MacInTouch Reader

I've been a Mac person since '84 and confess to having bought stuff from MacMall in the past. Minor irritations, but nothing really serious. (Like their annoying rebate policy, which is, IMO, a scam.)

Over a month ago I ordered a iPad from them. Told it would be 30 days. Then, late last week on the *same* day I received from them (1) a snail mail saying the product wasn't available yet and they would cancel my order automatically after 60 days; (2) an email crowing that they were "Now taking orders for iPads!"

I called B&H, got a courteous sales rep, ordered what I needed, which was in stock. (It shipped the same day-- and for a total less than MacMall's).

I cancelled the MacMall order and doubt I will deal with them again. The smarm-factor is just too high.

(PS... I have nothing to do with B&H, except my relationship as a pleased customer.)

item.139097

Patrick Augie

I ordered a macbook pro. They charged my account twice the same item. It has been a struggle trying to get them to refund my money. They say they only charged me once but my bank account was charged twice. They said they will refund my money. I am still waiting. I will contact my credit union and a lawyer next week if I don't get my monies refunded....$2100 is a lot of money to be taken out of your account..

On top of that it has been an extreme struggle to get any support from their customer service department. They all say they can't do anything without getting their manager's approval. I am still waiting for my money..

I will NEVER buy from macmall again.

item.139115

Gregory Tetrault

Patrick Augie said about MacMall:

"I ordered a macbook pro. They charged my account twice the same item...."

That's one reason for using credit cards. If your credit card is charged twice, it can be fixed in minutes by calling the toll-free customer service number. If you have a problem with a vendor, the credit card company has the clout to help you resolve it.

However, when you let a vendor deduct directly from your bank account, you have no protections against multiple charges or wrong charges. Your bank generally won't be as responsive as a credit card company (partly because it may believe that you were at fault, and partly because it doesn't have staff dedicated to such problems).

One-time, online purchases without a credit card are best made via a third-party payment system (such as PayPal) or by using an electronic check or an electronic fund transfer from your bank account. The latter two options are unidirectional and do not give the vendor direct access to your checking or savings account.

item.141990

MacInTouch Reader

I recently tried to purchase two Macbook Airs from MacMall, but I ended up canceling my order because of their slowness and untrustworthiness. The 13" Core i7 had just come out and all the other companies (even Apple) admitted that stock levels were low and that waiting would be long. Everyone was honest except for MacMall. I checked with 3 different employees the date that my delivery would arrive and the exact number of units they would be getting in on that day, before I placed my order. I paid them and waited patiently.

The day came and went by and no stock arrived. I was then told by a certain employee that they never actually thought that stock would arrive that day, they were just told to tell customers that it would. Does lying to customers usually work for them? Next time, same story - no stock had arrived. Finally I was phoned and told that stock had arrived and that my order was put on priority - it would be sent that same day! I ordered overnight delivery, but the next day nothing arrived. After following up, I was told that a shipment had indeed arrived but that ours was too late on the list. They were now out of stock again. This seemed strange since I was originally told my two units was number 8 and 9 on the waiting list. Did they only get 7 units? Or did they lie again?

What frustrated me most was that lying seems to be the company policy: if you can't offer your customers the service they require, just make promises to keep them hanging around. In the end they asked if I would rather cancel my order. I did, after weeks of waiting and being lied to constantly. They probably still don't have stock, but they are probably still telling customers that they do. The sad part is that I had to leave for a sabbatical and really needed these little Macbooks in time. I took a gamble in trusting MacMall, and I lost.

item.148333

Elsa Chen

I had heard about Black Friday shopping spree before I came to US this past August, and I had been waiting for the arrival of the Black Friday excitedly. But I was really frustrated with the experience on MacMall.

MacMall announced two-day Black Friday sales on Nov. 24-25, so I placed an order for an Ipad 2 via phone, as you could only call a MacMall accountant executive to place the order. On Nov. 25 I received an email from MacMall's credit processing department asking me to call a credit representative in order for them "to verify and confirm all aspects of orders and we would like to confirm the information of yours". So I called and the person who answered the phone was actually the account executive whom I placed the order with. She checked with me my billing and shipping address and my Master Card number and I affirmed it. But the next day on Nov. 26 the same email came again and asked me to call them again. So I called again as required and talked to the same person who told me the credit processing department thought something wrong with my billing address and asked me to prove it. I had successfully done quite a lot of other online shopping including on Amazon through this billing address. so I forwarded MacMall an email from Origins.com informing me the shipment of my order with both my billing and shipping address for their reference. On Nov. 27 I heard nothing from MacMall and on Nov. 28 the same account executive called me saying the shipment email I forward them couldn't prove anything I must fax them something that I can prove the address I'm living. So I faxed them my lease agreement with the owner of my apartment. On Nov. 29 I called the account executive asking about the progress and she told me the credit department was still processing it and would let me know if she heard anything from the department, but later that day I didn't get any response, so I emailed her also called on the morning of Nov. 30 again and she said the credit department staff was busy and she would help me to contact the credit department. On Dec. 1, I got an email from her telling that my order was placed on Nov. 30 and also the tracking number. I immediately felt a relief as it had been a week since I placed the order. But when I checked my bank account I found that I was charged the original price not the Black Friday promo price. So I contacted the account executive again and was told that the promo price was effective only on the Thanksgiving Day and the Black Friday and my order was placed on Nov. 30. What? This makes me believe that they just made excuse of my billing address to delay the processing so that they could give no sale price as they had promised.

I used to believe that American online stores are trustworthy and accountable, but I know now that I cannot trust all of them.

item.150235

MacInTouch Reader

Two words: Dishonest business. I ordered a stereo receiver from MacMall on Thanksgiving day. It arrived D.O.A.--wouldn't even turn on. MacMall first said it was a warrantee issue and tried to pass the buck to the manufacturer, but mfgr said to return it to MacMall. After multiple phone calls and hassle, the MacMall rep agreed that I could order a new unit so I would have it in time for x-mas and I could return the defective one for a refund. However, the price had gone up significantly and MacMall wouldn't honor the original price, so now I had to pay more.

I asked the rep for something in writing saying that I'd get a refund and he sent an email saying this. He told me I'd get an RMA and prepaid return shipping label and they would credit my credit card as soon as they received the unit. Two weeks later, nothing. I called MacMall again and the very same rep now told me that could not return the defective unit back and they would not give me a refund. I reminded him that they had already said in writing that I'd get the refund (and obviously that was obviously the only reason I had ordered the second unit). He basically said "too bad." He actually said that the email promising the refund "IS NOT A BINDING LEGAL AGREEMENT." That is a direct quote. Unbelievable and shocking.

It goes on. I complained, and the rep said I'd have to speak to his manager, but it was after hours and no manager was available. He told me to call the next morning. I requested his manager's extension and he refused to provide it. I called the next morning as agreed. The rep put me on hold for a few minutes and then said his manager was in a meeting and told me to call back in 5 minutes. I called three more times, got disconnected twice and got a busy signal once. The 4th time I got through and the rep told me that manager was still unavailable and asked me to call back again later. I said the manager could call me when he was available and gave them my cell number, and the rep promised that I'd get a call from the mgr in a little while. I never got a call.

Fortunately I paid by credit card so I called my credit card company and requested that they cancel the charge for one of the units. I actually HOPE MacMall tries to dispute it with the credit company so more people will know how they do business.

item.157482

MacInTouch Reader

They have very unethical and deceptive advertising. Example, for Mother's Day they advertised that if you purchase an iPad for Mom you will get a "$100.00 Gift Card" from Restaurant.com. After you buy the iPad and receive the so-called "$100.00 Gift Card" and go on line in order to utilized the benefits you discover that it is not a Gift Card but rather a "Discount Card" should you decide to patronize some local restaurant.

item.158702

Pedro Gelabert

I have ordered several computers from MacMall through the years. On June, I ordered an anti-glare MacBook Pro for my son's graduation that was claimed to be in-stock. It arrived promptly and I got a good deal using the AppleInsider discount code. My previous order from them also arrived promptly and in good working order. Now I have not dealt with rebates, nor custom configurations.

item.160117

MacInTouch Reader

I sent a letter with an order and questions
Questions weren't answered
Order not received
CHECK WAS CASHED
MacMall refuses to acknowledge the incident
I can't get my money back

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