Direct Deals

Full review
I bought a PC stereo system from the DirectDeals.com. It was the worst online shopping experience I ever had.

The unit I received was defective: there was clicking noise when playing music. The power output was low, even when the volume was set to the highest. The subwoofer had very distorted sound. I tested in two different PC at home and got the same results.

What made me very disappointed and frustrated was not the defective unit, but the way they handled this problem. I called their customer support and asked for a replacement or a refund. They asked me to ship the unit back. I paid the shipping charge from my own pocket and shipped it back. After abut 2 weeks, I had not got any email notice or anything from them, but from the UPS record they already got it about a week ago. I called them and asked what¡¯s going on? They reluctant acknowledged receiving thew unit. What was more, instead of shipping out a replacement unit or a full refund, they charged me for original shipping charge plus 15% restocking fee, not to mention the shipping charge I paid to send it back.

I bought many different things online. Occasionally, I did get defective product, but a reputable merchant handles this completely differently: I bought a camera zoom lens from B&H photo and it was defective, but they email me a pre-paid UPS shipping label and sent me a replacement lens right away after they received the returned unit. I was very happy and they got my trust and a lot more of my business after that.

I will never buy anything from DirectDeals.com. The lesson I learned here is that in the long run, you get better deals with reputable merchants by having frustration and trouble-free services. Initial saving of a few dollars with companies like DirectDeals can often cost you a lot more in the future.