What to make of negative reviews of online merchants?
December 1, 2011 4:27 PM Subscribe
Appliance shopping online - what to make of the bad apples?
I'm shopping for a new stove, and have found that the prices online are considerably lower than in the local store. Moreover, I tried to go to the local store and they were sleazy and made me very uncomfortable.
But, the big online retailers for appliances - especially those with the lowest prices - all have a few seriously negative reviews. How heavily should I weigh the negative reviews?
I'm particularly interested if anyone has found any review websites that are particularly useful or trustworthy? Again, this is for the retailers not the appliance itself. I've checked a few with the better business bureau, and things from that end look reasonable.
A secondary question is what have your experiences been buying appliances online? With which retailers?
Here is the stove I'm thinking of getting (the google shopping page with some retailers).
I'm shopping for a new stove, and have found that the prices online are considerably lower than in the local store. Moreover, I tried to go to the local store and they were sleazy and made me very uncomfortable.
But, the big online retailers for appliances - especially those with the lowest prices - all have a few seriously negative reviews. How heavily should I weigh the negative reviews?
I'm particularly interested if anyone has found any review websites that are particularly useful or trustworthy? Again, this is for the retailers not the appliance itself. I've checked a few with the better business bureau, and things from that end look reasonable.
A secondary question is what have your experiences been buying appliances online? With which retailers?
Here is the stove I'm thinking of getting (the google shopping page with some retailers).
An unhappy customer is more likely to post a review. And when you are doing possibly hundreds if not thousands of shipments a day, some will get screwed up. I'd run from an on-line reviewer with no bad reviews before I'd worry about a few bad ones.
But then, I wouldn't buy something like this online. I'd buy it locally. Appliance prices are negotiable.
posted by COD at 6:11 PM on December 1, 2011
But then, I wouldn't buy something like this online. I'd buy it locally. Appliance prices are negotiable.
posted by COD at 6:11 PM on December 1, 2011
I was thisclose to buying our new oven online a few years ago (the difference in price vs buying local was several hundred dollars), but I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger. Too many things could go wrong, and no matter how tempting the price, I honestly didn't want to deal with a hassle.
So what I ended up doing was printing out the best price I found online from a merchant with excellent reviews (not one that was obviously low-balling), got the address of a local dealer who sold the model I wanted via the manufacturer's website, and drove over there unannounced during a slow part of the day. I then approached a friendly looking salesperson and stated my case: basically "this is what I'd like to buy today; can you match this price?" Without batting an eye, she said, "Sure; I think we can do that." Less than a week later, my new oven was installed and I've been a happy camper ever since.
Try local again; even if you have to go to a different merchant, most local appliances places these days are desperate for business and will more than likely price match a reasonable online offer. The shop I went to even threw in free delivery and half price on the installation.
I buy tons of stuff online, but things that are over-sized, heavy, or expensive (if Costco doesn't sell it), then I prefer to buy locally because I hate the hassles involved in returns. A local merchant is much more inclined to work with you if something goes wrong during shipment and delivery than an online store; a local merchant has his reputation to worry about, the online merchant can just ignore your calls/emails.
I don't trust any review websites 100% because they're all prone to advertizer influence and review tampering by competitors, but Reseller Ratings is one I often check.
[Sidenote: I bought a Thermador oven and the heating element burned itself out slightly after the 3 month mark while I was broiling steaks. One call to my local dealer and she had someone at my house the next day! He inspected the oven, ordered the part, and had it installed the day after it arrived. She also wrestled my rebate out of the manufacturer's grubby little hands months later when they conveniently kept "forgetting" to send it to me. I don't think online merchants offer service like that.)
posted by LuckySeven~ at 6:49 PM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
So what I ended up doing was printing out the best price I found online from a merchant with excellent reviews (not one that was obviously low-balling), got the address of a local dealer who sold the model I wanted via the manufacturer's website, and drove over there unannounced during a slow part of the day. I then approached a friendly looking salesperson and stated my case: basically "this is what I'd like to buy today; can you match this price?" Without batting an eye, she said, "Sure; I think we can do that." Less than a week later, my new oven was installed and I've been a happy camper ever since.
Try local again; even if you have to go to a different merchant, most local appliances places these days are desperate for business and will more than likely price match a reasonable online offer. The shop I went to even threw in free delivery and half price on the installation.
I buy tons of stuff online, but things that are over-sized, heavy, or expensive (if Costco doesn't sell it), then I prefer to buy locally because I hate the hassles involved in returns. A local merchant is much more inclined to work with you if something goes wrong during shipment and delivery than an online store; a local merchant has his reputation to worry about, the online merchant can just ignore your calls/emails.
I don't trust any review websites 100% because they're all prone to advertizer influence and review tampering by competitors, but Reseller Ratings is one I often check.
[Sidenote: I bought a Thermador oven and the heating element burned itself out slightly after the 3 month mark while I was broiling steaks. One call to my local dealer and she had someone at my house the next day! He inspected the oven, ordered the part, and had it installed the day after it arrived. She also wrestled my rebate out of the manufacturer's grubby little hands months later when they conveniently kept "forgetting" to send it to me. I don't think online merchants offer service like that.)
posted by LuckySeven~ at 6:49 PM on December 1, 2011 [2 favorites]
Purchased KitchenAid french door refrigerator and KitchenAid gas range online - different sellers.
Refrig seller was eBay seller. Miniscule number of reviews were neg and seller had taken time to explain each one (most were along the lines of 'we called you X times and you didn't call back'). Appliance arrived in great shape.
Range (slide-in model) arrived with shipping damage on one side. Knowing that damage would not be visible after installation, anyway, I got on phone with seller (with shipper standing there beside me) and used knowledge of his return shipping costs (times 3 to include his costs to obtain and ship a replacement) to negotiate a satisfactory rebate. Took a few weeks for check to arrive, but he was good as his word.
Tips:
1. Deal in credit cards so you have recourse via card issuer.
2. Keep careful records of all persons you communicate with.
3. Be prepared for shipping notice to be a day or two off re: arrival date - be flexible.
4. Do not sign for shipment until you have thoroughly inspected the item. Don't let an antsy delivery truck driver deter you.
5. Get multiple pix of any damage. Seller will likely request them.
posted by John Borrowman at 11:33 AM on December 2, 2011
Refrig seller was eBay seller. Miniscule number of reviews were neg and seller had taken time to explain each one (most were along the lines of 'we called you X times and you didn't call back'). Appliance arrived in great shape.
Range (slide-in model) arrived with shipping damage on one side. Knowing that damage would not be visible after installation, anyway, I got on phone with seller (with shipper standing there beside me) and used knowledge of his return shipping costs (times 3 to include his costs to obtain and ship a replacement) to negotiate a satisfactory rebate. Took a few weeks for check to arrive, but he was good as his word.
Tips:
1. Deal in credit cards so you have recourse via card issuer.
2. Keep careful records of all persons you communicate with.
3. Be prepared for shipping notice to be a day or two off re: arrival date - be flexible.
4. Do not sign for shipment until you have thoroughly inspected the item. Don't let an antsy delivery truck driver deter you.
5. Get multiple pix of any damage. Seller will likely request them.
posted by John Borrowman at 11:33 AM on December 2, 2011
When it comes to ordering appliances, really carefully watch Consumerist. Best Buy and Sears currently have the worst reputations on there (I did a quick search for 'appliances' in their search box). That's no surprise, as Sears is always getting called on the Consumerist carpet for appliance issues. I'd be wary of ordering from either Sears or another vendor listed on Consumerist's site more than once because that's bad news territory.
I would definitely suggest looking at a super local appliance seller (but one that's larger and established--not as sketchy, hopefully, as the ones you've gone to). For example, there's one in town here that just sells televisions and appliances; it's not a big box store and I think that's important. They'll talk to you about quality of individual appliances.
posted by librarylis at 6:58 PM on December 3, 2011
I would definitely suggest looking at a super local appliance seller (but one that's larger and established--not as sketchy, hopefully, as the ones you've gone to). For example, there's one in town here that just sells televisions and appliances; it's not a big box store and I think that's important. They'll talk to you about quality of individual appliances.
posted by librarylis at 6:58 PM on December 3, 2011
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Thousands of good reviews-
A smattering of horrifying bad reviews-
Ordered four major appliances-
Two arrived damaged-
They "couldn't" ship replacements-
Asked for a credit back to the card I used for the purchase-
They said that they would take care of it-
They didn't-
They said they had taken care of it-
They hadn't-
They said take it up with the card company-
More than six months had passed since I placed the order-
Pleaded with my card company (thanks AmEx)-
They reversed the charges-
Big online store did not get my $1,500, but they sure tried.
posted by leafwoman at 4:49 PM on December 1, 2011