Heartland America

Full review
I shop online constantly and I usually know when something's "just not right" about a website. After my frustrating experience with Heartland America, I can say with some certainty that something's just not right with the way that site is run. I TRIED to make a purchase but the item was suddenly out of stock after I asked for and supposedly recieved the sale price on the item I ordered. Me thinks the low price was a way to lure people in with the hopes that they would buy more once they got to the site. If they didn't - oops! Out of stock!

What the Site Sells

Heartland America sells a huge variety of items from electronics to household goods, from fashion to exercise gear and much more. The site claims to have the best deals on the net and, indeed, many of the prices are lower than the prices for the same things elsewhere. They have deals of the day that are deeply discounted and many other specials.

Navigation. Shipping, and Returns

The site is really busy. It's filled with cheesy graphics, text, links, lots of conflicting colors, assorted fonts - just too much of everything. Still, you can navigate the site by choosing the category links down the side of the home page where you can see everything in the category. You can also do a basic search for items by keyword or exact phrase.

When you do go to a category page, you will see more clutter. There are photos of other items related to, but not in the same category as, the items you are looking at. The site is just too busy! It's like listening to a used car salesman push a car and then another car and then another without giving you time to properly look at the first car before he's onto the next. Does that make sense? If you think about it for a while, maybe it will. :)

Anyway, there are decent photos of most items, cluttered descriptions, and way too many colors for one page when you look at any given item. They make sure you know where the "add to your cart" button is as it is right next to the item in bold green letters, in a box, almost flashing. Click to add items to your cart and, when you're ready to check out, you will go to the checkout page. Well, try to. Before you can get to the checkout page, you are offered a bunch of stuff you don't want that you have to click past. You will get there though.

Continuing the clutter craze, the checkout page is a mess. You will have to fill out your billing and shipping address(es) and choose your payment method. The site accepts all major credit cards as well as paypal.

Shipping runs from $6.95 to $44.95 and there is a strange fee of $2.99 also tacked on to orders. A $19.95 order would cost $7.50 to ship plus a $2.99 "ordering processing fee" for a total of $30.93. OUCH.

Returns are accepted for most items within 30 days of shipment,. However, most electronics and any computers and accessories are only returnable for seven days because "technological changes" occur so quickly with electronics. Because within 15 or 25 days, computers become unsellable, you see.

My Experience

I saw that the site was having a sale on a set of four king sized pillows for just $12.95 shipped. That was a great price even for low quality pillows and, believe it or not, my spoiled animals all sleep on pillows so I thought it would be a great deal even if we humans didn't use the pillows. The original price was $22.95 and, with a coupon code, the price was supposed to be $12.95.

I ordered the pillows, entered my code, and the shipping charges were reduced by $5.00. But that's all. I didn't know this until the last step at paypal. When I saw my order confirmation, I immediately emailed the site and explained the situation.

The site wrote me back that they reduced the price to just the order amount minus shipping. But the coupon was for $12.95 shipped. I wrote back again and explained the same thing I had the first time.

They wrote me back again and said that they had reduced the charge to the $12.95 price. Whew. That was a relief.

Well, not really. A few days later, I received a message that my order was canceled. There was no explanation as to why. I again wrote and asked what was going on and was informed that the item I ordered was out of stock and had been all along. So they spent all that time corresponding with me about an order that was out of stock in the first place? I don't think so.

I wrote one more time and basically said what I said above. Why did they not know an item was out of stock for several days and why would they engage in lengthy emails with me about codes and prices and such if the item wasn't in stock to begin with? Oh and why was the item STILL selling on the website (at the original price and the coupon code no longer works)?

All I got back was that the pillows were out of stock and always were but the site wasn't updated. Kthxbye.

Sorry, I don't buy it. The pillow set was inexpensive and there was no shipping charge and no "processing fee". Heartland America apparently hoped that people would be lured to the site and buy other items once they got there. I didn't. I didn't even LOOK at other items because the site was too busy and looked so cheesy. I should have known better than to believe all would go smoothly.

I wasn't charged (as far as I can tell) but I also didn't get what I ordered. I tried. I did everything right. They didn't hold up their end of the bargain. Not that it WAS a bargain because I never got it.

I won't go back to Heartland America.

Conclusion

My last sentence sums it up. I won't (try to) shop at Heartland America again. I have seen recent negative reviews now that I have looked (which I should have done before ordering. obviously) and, along with the almost too good to be true prices, the suddenly out of stock sale item, and the general overall impression the site gave me, I don't feel as though I would have a good experience at Heartland America even if I did end up getting what I ordered. I'll pass. Chance it if you dare. 2 stars. I would go with 1 but I am giving the site the slight benefit of the doubt that my case was a mix up.