Post by porchkitty on Dec 28, 2003 4:37:10 GMT -5
I'm still having an ongoing bad experience with BuyriteGames, and after reading message boards and going to the Boycott Buy-Rite website, I thought I'd share my saga. I work 12 hour shifts from 6:30PM to 6:30AM, so I rely on the internet at Christmastime. I find I can do most of my shopping during work downtime, and with relatively few hassles. I wanted
to purchase a Super Nintendo system for my 4 year old grandson who tends to be pretty hard on his toys. However, finding a used system in stock is difficult. Buyrite also had
extremely low prices on games, so I ordered a few of them also. Besides, you have to purchase at least one game with a
system, or they jack up the cost of the system. I went through their website looking for shipping costs, etc. I was unable to locate information, so I used the prices I found on other sites to give me a ballpark figure. Buyrite doesn't give you the shipping cost until you have already given them all of your information...including your credit card number...and
the total nearly knocked me out! It came to $24.49! I've ordered furniture on line that didn't cost that much to ship! Unfortunately, the screen that includes the shipping charge is also the one which says "Thank you for your order." I turned right back around and sent an email via their customer service template to cancel the order because their shipping charges were outrageous but, needless to say, I received no response. I played the voice mail nightmare game with their number in NC after reading that they will only take phone cancellations if your order has not been processed, but never got a human. I placed
the order on November 25, 2003. I never received a confirmation email from them, nor any acknowledgement that they had cancelled the order, as requested. I did notice that the charge had already been applied to my credit card. They wasted no time doing that. So I decided I would just wait for the shipment, and make a mental note to never order from the thieves again. I did receive an email from them on December 4th when the items shipped, complete with an invalid tracking number. It was an auto-generated message which contained the following caveat: "Please do not reply to this message or email address because it will not reach Buy-Rite Video Games." The originating email address was "email@buyrite.net." If it looks familiar, that's because its the same email address they provide on their internet site!! The package arrived on December 8th, and my $24 shipping fee apparently didn't include the cost of bubble wrap. When I opened the box, the system was in a plastic ziplock bag, and the controller and games just thrown on top. The power supply was missing, and one of the video games I ordered had not been included. I had not been charged for the missing game, but their website states they will notify you if an item is backordered or out of stock. They do not. The SNES was damaged. In fact, they included no packing material at all and the back end was in several small pieces. I was steamed. I called the customer service number the following morning and again got stuck in voice mail hell. That being the case, I called my credit card company to place the charges in dispute. I then did a search on theultimates.com and came up with three separate
telephone numbers and two addresses for this company in Raleigh. The first person I spoke to told me his name is Tim. He sounded very similar to the person in the recording on the Boycott BuyRite website. He said he didn't package the product so he couldn't help me. He told me that I need to call the number on the website. I told him absolutely I WOULD NOT call the number on the website, that he needed to provide me with the name of the owner or get me someone I could speak with who could do something about this. He claimed not to know the name of the owner...I told him cows are purple...and he gave me the number 919-556-3400. I said, "And who is this number for, Tim?" He said, "It may be a number that can reroute you to the other store, which is where we ship for the
internet from." I said, "It MAY be the number? And I MAY BE Santa Claus, Tim. What is this number for?" Tim's response was, "Ok, it IS the number. You should get someone when you call here, just push the #1 option when you hear the guy's voice." (Just an FYI, when calling the customer service number, never select the option for people who live out of state. It loops right back to the main menu. Select the option for people who are living in NC.) I asked Tim for his last name. He said, "I'm not giving you my last name." My response to that was, well, why not? I gave you my last name. He said he wasn't comfortable doing that. I said, why not? You're
simply a retailer, correct? And I'm a paying customer. I'm entitled to know your last name. He still refused it, and I said, "Well, Tim....if that's your name...I think you're running a little scam in Raleigh, and you haven't heard the last of me." I
called the number and it was the recording again. I went through the number #1 option and got Daniella. Daniella listened to my story, then asked me if I could hold. Without any explanation, another voice came on the line. "Can I help you?" I said, "I don't know. Who are you? I thought I was being helped by Daniella." She said her name is Tina. Daniella just answers the telephone and handles local orders. I said, "Tina, can you tell me why my $24.49 shipping didn't cover bubble wrap?" She said, "Excuse me?" I explained that the box containing the items I ordered had no packing material for protection, and the system was broken in transit. I added that for the exhorbitant price of $24.49, I should get a whole roll of bubble wrap! She said they hired additional help
because they're having a busy holiday season (ugh! not good), and whoever packaged it was probably inexperienced. She gave me a RMA number, and said I could ship it back and they would ship another system when they received the broken item. I asked if they were paying for me to ship it back. She said, "We'll refund the cost." I said, "Tina, I don't think so. I
have already paid through the teeth for shipping and got gyped out of my bubble wrap. How do I know you'll refund the shipping?" She said, "Because I said so." I said, "Tina, have you ever heard the saying...I only trust 2 people, one of them is God, and you aren't the other one"....? I continued..."You need to do better than that. You need to tell me how to ship this broken item back to you at your expense." She put me on
ignore. (Don't fall for the "we'll reimburse you" routine. It is expressly written on their website that they will not refund any shipping charges for returns!) She came back about 5 minutes later with their UPS account number. I called UPS as soon as I got off the phone to verify the information. It was legit. I shipped the items back to them the following day with a letter
of explanation and instructions to cancel any future shipments, once again using the information they provide on their website against them. Tina stated they could have the items here in plenty of time for Christmas; however, their site states that it could take up to 30 days to process credits, returns, repairs, or exchanges...and longer during the holiday due to customer volume! I explained in my letter that this was unacceptable, and that I expected the full amount credited back to my VISA...including the $24.49 shipping...because the whole unfortunate situation was a result of their own neglect. I ran their IP and domain through SamSpade.org, and came up with the name of the owner, Steve Wright, and possibly a better
email address (see attached information). I believe that I may also contact their ISP and give them the link to Boycott Buyrite and all the message boards so that they know what type of business these people are running. Perhaps, they'll want to reconsider providing their internet service. Everyone with an unresolved dispute should consider filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov. If they begin to see a pattern, they can refer the business to their division of enforcement, who conduct investigations of violations of consumer protection laws (including e-commerce and the internet, and online shopping). There are many ways to deal with these buzzards, all of which require persistance and patience. But a buzzard, like any other opportunist, will be the victim of its own greed. Buyrite is no exception. Keep the faith!
I'll post the outcome when I have one.
The following information was obtained from SamSpade.org:
Registrant:
Buy-Rite Video Games (BUYRITEGAMES-DOM)
3132 Calvary Dr, #107
Raleigh, NC 27604
US
Domain Name: BUYRITEGAMES.COM
Administrative Contact:
Wright, Steve (SW7587) email@BUYRITE1.COM
Buy-Rite Video Games Inc
Suite 107-3132 Calvary Drive
Raleigh, NC 27604
US
919-850-9473 fax: 919-872-7561
Technical Contact:
Bednarik, Rick (RB8116) rick@DYDACOMP.COM
11-D Commerce Way
Totowa, NJ 07512
US
973-237-9134 fax: 973-237-9039
to purchase a Super Nintendo system for my 4 year old grandson who tends to be pretty hard on his toys. However, finding a used system in stock is difficult. Buyrite also had
extremely low prices on games, so I ordered a few of them also. Besides, you have to purchase at least one game with a
system, or they jack up the cost of the system. I went through their website looking for shipping costs, etc. I was unable to locate information, so I used the prices I found on other sites to give me a ballpark figure. Buyrite doesn't give you the shipping cost until you have already given them all of your information...including your credit card number...and
the total nearly knocked me out! It came to $24.49! I've ordered furniture on line that didn't cost that much to ship! Unfortunately, the screen that includes the shipping charge is also the one which says "Thank you for your order." I turned right back around and sent an email via their customer service template to cancel the order because their shipping charges were outrageous but, needless to say, I received no response. I played the voice mail nightmare game with their number in NC after reading that they will only take phone cancellations if your order has not been processed, but never got a human. I placed
the order on November 25, 2003. I never received a confirmation email from them, nor any acknowledgement that they had cancelled the order, as requested. I did notice that the charge had already been applied to my credit card. They wasted no time doing that. So I decided I would just wait for the shipment, and make a mental note to never order from the thieves again. I did receive an email from them on December 4th when the items shipped, complete with an invalid tracking number. It was an auto-generated message which contained the following caveat: "Please do not reply to this message or email address because it will not reach Buy-Rite Video Games." The originating email address was "email@buyrite.net." If it looks familiar, that's because its the same email address they provide on their internet site!! The package arrived on December 8th, and my $24 shipping fee apparently didn't include the cost of bubble wrap. When I opened the box, the system was in a plastic ziplock bag, and the controller and games just thrown on top. The power supply was missing, and one of the video games I ordered had not been included. I had not been charged for the missing game, but their website states they will notify you if an item is backordered or out of stock. They do not. The SNES was damaged. In fact, they included no packing material at all and the back end was in several small pieces. I was steamed. I called the customer service number the following morning and again got stuck in voice mail hell. That being the case, I called my credit card company to place the charges in dispute. I then did a search on theultimates.com and came up with three separate
telephone numbers and two addresses for this company in Raleigh. The first person I spoke to told me his name is Tim. He sounded very similar to the person in the recording on the Boycott BuyRite website. He said he didn't package the product so he couldn't help me. He told me that I need to call the number on the website. I told him absolutely I WOULD NOT call the number on the website, that he needed to provide me with the name of the owner or get me someone I could speak with who could do something about this. He claimed not to know the name of the owner...I told him cows are purple...and he gave me the number 919-556-3400. I said, "And who is this number for, Tim?" He said, "It may be a number that can reroute you to the other store, which is where we ship for the
internet from." I said, "It MAY be the number? And I MAY BE Santa Claus, Tim. What is this number for?" Tim's response was, "Ok, it IS the number. You should get someone when you call here, just push the #1 option when you hear the guy's voice." (Just an FYI, when calling the customer service number, never select the option for people who live out of state. It loops right back to the main menu. Select the option for people who are living in NC.) I asked Tim for his last name. He said, "I'm not giving you my last name." My response to that was, well, why not? I gave you my last name. He said he wasn't comfortable doing that. I said, why not? You're
simply a retailer, correct? And I'm a paying customer. I'm entitled to know your last name. He still refused it, and I said, "Well, Tim....if that's your name...I think you're running a little scam in Raleigh, and you haven't heard the last of me." I
called the number and it was the recording again. I went through the number #1 option and got Daniella. Daniella listened to my story, then asked me if I could hold. Without any explanation, another voice came on the line. "Can I help you?" I said, "I don't know. Who are you? I thought I was being helped by Daniella." She said her name is Tina. Daniella just answers the telephone and handles local orders. I said, "Tina, can you tell me why my $24.49 shipping didn't cover bubble wrap?" She said, "Excuse me?" I explained that the box containing the items I ordered had no packing material for protection, and the system was broken in transit. I added that for the exhorbitant price of $24.49, I should get a whole roll of bubble wrap! She said they hired additional help
because they're having a busy holiday season (ugh! not good), and whoever packaged it was probably inexperienced. She gave me a RMA number, and said I could ship it back and they would ship another system when they received the broken item. I asked if they were paying for me to ship it back. She said, "We'll refund the cost." I said, "Tina, I don't think so. I
have already paid through the teeth for shipping and got gyped out of my bubble wrap. How do I know you'll refund the shipping?" She said, "Because I said so." I said, "Tina, have you ever heard the saying...I only trust 2 people, one of them is God, and you aren't the other one"....? I continued..."You need to do better than that. You need to tell me how to ship this broken item back to you at your expense." She put me on
ignore. (Don't fall for the "we'll reimburse you" routine. It is expressly written on their website that they will not refund any shipping charges for returns!) She came back about 5 minutes later with their UPS account number. I called UPS as soon as I got off the phone to verify the information. It was legit. I shipped the items back to them the following day with a letter
of explanation and instructions to cancel any future shipments, once again using the information they provide on their website against them. Tina stated they could have the items here in plenty of time for Christmas; however, their site states that it could take up to 30 days to process credits, returns, repairs, or exchanges...and longer during the holiday due to customer volume! I explained in my letter that this was unacceptable, and that I expected the full amount credited back to my VISA...including the $24.49 shipping...because the whole unfortunate situation was a result of their own neglect. I ran their IP and domain through SamSpade.org, and came up with the name of the owner, Steve Wright, and possibly a better
email address (see attached information). I believe that I may also contact their ISP and give them the link to Boycott Buyrite and all the message boards so that they know what type of business these people are running. Perhaps, they'll want to reconsider providing their internet service. Everyone with an unresolved dispute should consider filing a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at www.ftc.gov. If they begin to see a pattern, they can refer the business to their division of enforcement, who conduct investigations of violations of consumer protection laws (including e-commerce and the internet, and online shopping). There are many ways to deal with these buzzards, all of which require persistance and patience. But a buzzard, like any other opportunist, will be the victim of its own greed. Buyrite is no exception. Keep the faith!
I'll post the outcome when I have one.
The following information was obtained from SamSpade.org:
Registrant:
Buy-Rite Video Games (BUYRITEGAMES-DOM)
3132 Calvary Dr, #107
Raleigh, NC 27604
US
Domain Name: BUYRITEGAMES.COM
Administrative Contact:
Wright, Steve (SW7587) email@BUYRITE1.COM
Buy-Rite Video Games Inc
Suite 107-3132 Calvary Drive
Raleigh, NC 27604
US
919-850-9473 fax: 919-872-7561
Technical Contact:
Bednarik, Rick (RB8116) rick@DYDACOMP.COM
11-D Commerce Way
Totowa, NJ 07512
US
973-237-9134 fax: 973-237-9039