Over the last few years I have made several purchases at Buy.com. I am on their "Buy.com Deals" mailing list. So every once-in-awhile, when presented with a good deal, I have made a purchase. To date, I have had great luck with Buy.com. Their prices have been low, their shipping free, and their return policy reasonable. I have even recommended them to friends and family. But after a recent experience, I am now questioning Buy.com's credibility.
In January, 2007 I purchased a KWORLD TVBOX 1440 from Buy.com after seeing it advertised in a "Buy.com Deals" e-mail. The primary reason I purchased the item was because it was only $12.99 after two rebates from KWORLD. So, I paid $57.99 for the item with the understanding that I would be recieving $30 + $15 = $45 back from KWORLD within a few months. After properly submitting both rebates, and waiting the specified amount of time, I learned from KWORLD that they were not going to honor my rebates. They told me that I had submitted the wrong UPC symbol, and therefore they had rejected my submission. I am not sure how this could have happened, given that I had ordered the only KWORLD product on Buy.com with an advertised rebate, the box of this product only had one UPC on it, and that was the UPC I submitted. I have submitted many, many rebates over the years. I know how to submit a rebate. So in short, I got scammed by KWORLD, as have many other people.
My battle with KWORLD is ongoing, however what caused me to question Buy.com's credibility was when I tried to inform others of my experience with KWORLD. In May, 2007 I submitted a product review for the KWORLD TVBOX1440 on Buy.com's website. I wanted to warn other prospective buyer's that KWORLD had not honored my rebates, and therefore KWORLD may not honor their rebate(s). My review never showed up on Buy.com. Other reviews showed up though, some of which warned of the scam. So, I tried again. This time I gave the product a good numerical score, but I still wrote of the scam. Again, a no show. I then tried a third time, this time limiting the length of my review hoping it would slip past any auto-review filters. My third review never appeared either. So after trying three times, I began to suspect Buy.com of filtering out my reviews. The only problem was that some bad reviews had made it through, just not mine. Because of this, I couldn't emphatically conclude that my reviews had been filtered out ... at least, not until today.
Today, June 13, 2007, I checked to see if by chance any of my bad reviews had finally been posted. Not only had none of my reviews been posted, but all of the bad reviews that were posted had disappeared. Just last week there were 62 reviews for the KWORLD 1440TVBOX. This week there are only 59 reviews. The three bad reviews had been removed, and a new rebate offer added!
Now assuming Buy.com retains 100% control over their website, this fact calls into serious question Buy.com's credibility. I still can't believe Buy.com removed the three bad reviews, but I know what I saw, and there is no other explanation. Buy.com filters out the bad reviews of its products! This of course means that Buy.com's reviews are worthless. They might was well write the reviews themselves. In fact, now that I think about it, maybe they do. If they lack the integrity to post all reviews, good and bad, then perhaps they would have no problem outright fabricating all of their reviews. I am now in a quandry.
I genuinely like Buy.com. I like being able to purchase name-brand products at a low price and not have to pay shipping. I also like being able to return the products when necessary. But, I no longer respect Buy.com. I no longer feel that I can trust Buy.com. I have shared my expereince with you in hopes of preventing Buy.com from misleading you about the quality of their products. If you are considering making a purchase at Buy.com, read the product reviews on some other sites first - sites such as pricegrabber.com.
By filtering out the bad reviews, Buy.com has effectively made their review feature worthless. What a foolish thing to do. The only thing anybody has, whether it's a company or a single person, is its credibility. Buy.com has sacrificed their credibility for the sake of short-term gain. Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake on the part of what appears to be an otherwise good company.
Buyer beware.
June 13, 2007
May 14, 2007
Introduction.
Greetings,
I have created this blog to serve as an outlet for all of my rants and raves (frankly, probably more rants than raves - :) ). Daily I see things that drive me crazy to the point where I feel I must speak out. But to whom, where, and in what forum?
I find myself simultaneously occupying both wings of every spectrum imaginable - political, moral, philosophical, etc. I believe a lot of my views are what most others want to think, but are too afraid. (Yes, "think," we haven't even gotten to the part about speaking out yet.) I consider myself a freethinker. That is, I think without bounds. No thought or topic is off the table. This scares some people. Why? I am not exactly sure. Just because one thinks about something on the fringe, does not mean that person is truly on the fringe, or would actually act in the extreme. That person may just be thinking objectively, considering ALL options. That's me.
Now let's talk about speaking out. I would LOVE to scream out to the world my free thoughts. I have visions of taking a bullhorn to some public place, and just letting it fly. But voicing ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal thoughts has ramifications for a minority living in a majority's world. In short, I am not ready to "die on that mountain" yet. I have other things that I must accomplish first - things that would be most easily accomplished by tempering what I speak.
Setting up this blog is my compromise. It allows me to quietly speak with a bullhorn while maintaining my anonymity. This is what I need to do right now. So from time-to-time, when I feel the urge and I have the time, I will let it fly here - at PYSCHOBOLIC.COM.
Welcome to my world.
- RMW
I have created this blog to serve as an outlet for all of my rants and raves (frankly, probably more rants than raves - :) ). Daily I see things that drive me crazy to the point where I feel I must speak out. But to whom, where, and in what forum?
I find myself simultaneously occupying both wings of every spectrum imaginable - political, moral, philosophical, etc. I believe a lot of my views are what most others want to think, but are too afraid. (Yes, "think," we haven't even gotten to the part about speaking out yet.) I consider myself a freethinker. That is, I think without bounds. No thought or topic is off the table. This scares some people. Why? I am not exactly sure. Just because one thinks about something on the fringe, does not mean that person is truly on the fringe, or would actually act in the extreme. That person may just be thinking objectively, considering ALL options. That's me.
Now let's talk about speaking out. I would LOVE to scream out to the world my free thoughts. I have visions of taking a bullhorn to some public place, and just letting it fly. But voicing ultra-conservative or ultra-liberal thoughts has ramifications for a minority living in a majority's world. In short, I am not ready to "die on that mountain" yet. I have other things that I must accomplish first - things that would be most easily accomplished by tempering what I speak.
Setting up this blog is my compromise. It allows me to quietly speak with a bullhorn while maintaining my anonymity. This is what I need to do right now. So from time-to-time, when I feel the urge and I have the time, I will let it fly here - at PYSCHOBOLIC.COM.
Welcome to my world.
- RMW
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)