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grand total
join:2005-10-26
Mississauga
·Fido
MikroTik RB750Gr3
MikroTik wAP AC
Panasonic KX-TGP500

1 recommendation

grand total to horacebork

Member

to horacebork

Re: voip is digital - why use an ata?

said by horacebork:

ah, now, this is more like what i am very thankful for: endorsements of online vendors, which i haven't heard of before.

I'm not sure it matters where you place your order. I bought my base unit and extension from different vendors on Amazon. They both left the same facility in Austin TX on the same day within an hour of each other and travelled via different carriers arriving at their destination within an hour of each other. My point is that most vendors do not hold stock these days and yours will probably be dispatched from Austin no matter which vendor you buy from.

horacebork
Premium Member
join:2011-03-17
09001

2 edits

horacebork

Premium Member

said by grand total:

I'm not sure it matters where you place your order. I bought my base unit and extension from different vendors on Amazon. ... My point is that most vendors do not hold stock these days and yours will probably be dispatched from Austin no matter which vendor you buy from.

understood. however, different vendors handle sales very differently. amazon is just terrific with their return policy. they provide prepaid return labels and are very lenient about packaging (although i always include all packaging with a return).

i also value timeliness and professionalism. amazon is top flight on both. i don't pretend that amazon doesn't have it's problems. i just like to know and trust who my money is going to. amazon is pretty solid. their third-party vendors have not always proven to be so.

case in point: 8774e4voip.com (.e4) does not issue refunds of any kind. voipsupply.com will issue a refund minus a '10% - 20%' restocking fee. both of these are outmoded business policies.
PX Eliezer704
Premium Member
join:2008-08-09
Hutt River

PX Eliezer704

Premium Member

said by horacebork:

case in point: 8774e4voip.com (.e4) does not issue refunds of any kind.

voipsupply.com will issue a refund minus a '10% - 20%' restocking fee.

both of these are outmoded business policies.

Outmoded compared to what? These are often smaller companies who could be driven out of business by abusive customers. They can't be held to the same standard as Amazon itself, or LL Bean.

It's pretty standard, actually:

TelephonyDepot, another good vendor, requests that you try to work with the manufacturer first. And returns otherwise are subject to 15 percent restocking fee.
»www.telephonydepot.com/RMA-Form

You said you like Newegg, but they have the same 15 percent restocking fee.
»www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/ ··· Module=6

TigerDirect wants customers to work with the manufacturer first, and many of their returns have a 25 percent restock fee.
»www.tigerdirect.com/sect ··· turn.asp

Fry's charges 15 percent restocking fee for lots of stuff:
[Unless defective, a 15% restocking fee will be charged for all returned opened GPS/Navigation units, network-attached storage, projectors, cameras, camcorders, notebooks, netbooks, tablets and iPads, desktops, monitors, MP3 players and iPods, and Apple TVs.]

horacebork
Premium Member
join:2011-03-17
09001

1 edit

horacebork

Premium Member

we are pretty far adrift of the topic. it is one that deserves more discussion than this topic should bear. if there is enough traffic to bear on this topic, perhaps we could start another one in a more appropriate forum?
said by PX Eliezer704:

Outmoded compared to what?

compared to modern business practices of taking anything back for a refund. and this is not just large vendors that operate in this manner. i do this with my customers, and i run a shop of 2 people. i also know other small vendors that operate the same way and i do business with them regularly.

i can spot a lemon customer a mile away and will do business with them until they turn into the lemon i know they are. i'll do what is right to resolve the basic problem. from there on i execute my 'reserve' on the right to refuse service to any customer.

*my opinion* is that small vendors have been to too many economics and accounting seminars telling them that products being sent back are more expensive than products being sold and they buy into that business model. *my opinion* is that there is no economic or accounting technique that can measure how customer satisfaction affects your bottom line.
said by PX Eliezer704:

These are often smaller companies who could be driven out of business by abusive customers. They can't be held to the same standard as Amazon itself, or LL Bean.

not sure i totally agree with this stance. manufacturers set return policies. some vendors (myself included) refuse to do business with certain manufacturers based on their policies.

given manufacturer 'a' with a liberal return policy and two vendors selling products from manufacturer 'a'. vendor 'x' could offer unqualified full refunds and vendor 'y' offer none based on their *own* policies, not the manufacturer's stated one.
said by PX Eliezer704:

You said you like Newegg

never said any such thing. please reread my post and indicate where i qualify newegg in any way.

all in all, i get to make the choices, so i choose my vendors as carefully as possible. when i'm spending $5 or $10, i may cast caution to the wind. when i'm spending $200, i'm just a bit more cautious about vendors that avert their glance after a purchase.