My NewEgg Nightmare: An Editorial

Posted by Edwin Soto Categories: Features, Misc. Tech, PC / Laptop

If you have ever been on our forums you know who NewEgg.com is.  If however you are a Newegg newbie, the company provides computer parts and accessories at fantastic prices.  I know there have been many positive experiences with Newegg so I give you some insight into what happens when the egg isn’t all its cracked up to be - a Newegg nightmare if you will.  Check out my impressions after the jump.

First I have to say that although this was my first time ordering from NewEgg.com for myself, it’s not the first time I have order from them for others.  I have setup various accounts for family and friends who are on a budget and have computer needs.  From this standpoint I have to agree with our forum members: NewEgg rules the earth.  Every time I have ordered for others they have gotten their orders in exactly 3 business days – no more, no less – using the $1.99 Fed Ex saver shipping.  Verification has gone quickly without a hitch.  For example, my sister-in-law needed a video card to play her glorious Sims 2 game, as she’s an addict. So I ordered what I believed was the best card for her money. We placed her order; it was verified the same exact day, shipped the next and received 3 business days later. Everything she expected.

So after placing several orders for others I decided “Heck, I’d like a laptop to post on Gear Live more conveniently.” So I created an account, logged in, and started to browse.  This is one of the best features on the site; their search is phenomenal. You can get just about as detailed as can be with what you need.  So after a few different searches I decided on an inexpensive value laptop: Acer Aspire 3000.  Good bargain for my buck and it would do the job. There was no need to go high end as I already get that performance for another PC.  So I placed my order, gave them my card, and waited…

I feel that I may be partially to blame for what happened but at the time, I felt like I was the customer being dragged around a bit.  I decided to have the laptop shipped to my office address. Wrong move.  Apparently, laptops are a higher fraud rate than other peripherals for NewEgg, so they take extra precautions through the verification process. I wish I would have know that before I ordered.  Basically, what it boils down to is having your banking information have the exact same information that you provided to NewEgg.  They tried to call to verify my order but the numbers didn’t match.  First, I had my bank change my phone number to my cell phone, making that primary. I gave that to NewEgg considering if there was going to be a problem they’d call that phone anyway.  This process takes 24 hours.  Next, I called NewEgg to find out why my status hadn’t changed.  The told me that the address I’m shipping to wasn’t what my bank had on file.  Why someone couldn’t tell me this the first time I called about the phone number problem?  So another 24 hours to go. Oops, actually the bank said one business day – since it was Friday, that means changes will apply Monday. Great.  So I called NewEgg on Monday to find out why I still wasn’t verified.  Well of course, even though I called my bank to change my primary phone, NewEgg (or I) didn’t change my number on my profile; therefore they were calling the wrong number for verification.  Wonderful.  So what is this laptopless person supposed to do?  Luckily, I decided to put customer service to the test.  I called back to see what they’d say to me; see if I go the same response.  Then I got Amy on the line.

Amy not only upgraded my shipping to 2-day. She made sure that they would put the verification through as soon as possible.  So I got verified that Tuesday and should have received the laptop on Thursday.  But then I was stuck on “Step 3” which is - Your order has been charged to your account.  Another problem - why isn’t it shipping? Well, I was patient and waited till Wednesday, however now I’m worried because that Friday is part of July 4th weekend and my office planned to close early and it still hasn’t shipped! So I called them back and someone there said that it would ship tomorrow – the horror! That means that I wouldn’t get the package until the next Tuesday. I had already waited a week. So I called Amy, the only person that actually seemed to care about what I had been going through. I waited double the time that I normally wait, just so I can speak to her.  She upgraded my shipping to next day and then made sure that I was able to get it before the weekend. She went as far as calling me on my cell phone to tell me it had shipped.

Overall, I must say that mostly my experience ordering from NewEgg has been positive.  This isolated order was indeed a pain.  Every time I called, it was at least a 10 minute wait for customer service.  Most of the time, service reps gave me the impression that I was just some idiot that wanted his laptop. Oh wait, that’s exactly what I was.  The thing is, if I pay for it, I expect people to not only help me but want to help me.  There was only one isolated person that showed that interest, which is why I mentioned her name twice before and I will do it again: Amy Chaleekul. Her boss is Eric, and I will make certain that he reads this at some point so that he knows that Amy deserves a promotion, if not a raise! She understands how important it is to keep clients.