Beware Macsales.com / Otherworld Computing

Words cannot begin to describe the anger I'm feeling at this moment! I rely on professional people and always give the same in return but the folks at macsales.com / otherworld computing / OWC obviously don't care about notifying you of your order status until much later than the time it's supposed to have arrived! In this case, by FedEx overnight. Then they send me a form to fill out (AT THE END OF THE 2nd BUSINESS DAY) asking for a photocopy of my driver's license and credit card (after they ALREADY DEDUCTED THE AMOUNT OF MY ORDER) and want me to fax it to them which means that my order wouldn't be going out until the next day and I wouldn't receive it until the day after that. As a result I've lost a very lucrative client! They still haven't responded to my e-mails requesting that they cancel my order and issue a refund. As to be expected their 'customer service' phone line is a classic nightmare! NEVER AGAIN WILL I DEAL WITH THESE CHARLATANS! BUYER BEWARE!

Accumulator said:

Words cannot begin to describe the anger I'm feeling at this moment! I rely on professional people and always give the same in return but the folks at macsales.com / otherworld computing don't give a WILY WHITE WHOOPING CRANE'S LEFT TOE about notifying you of your order status until much later than the time it's supposed to have arrived! In this case, by FedEx overnight (which was a hefty sum)! Then they send me a form to fill out (AT THE END OF THE 2nd BUSINESS DAY) asking for a photocopy of my driver's license and credit card (which they ALREADY CHARGED) and want me to fax it to them which means that my order wouldn't be going out until the next day and I wouldn't receive it until the day after that. As a result I've lost a very lucrative client! They still haven't responded to my e-mails requesting that they cancel my order and issue a refund. As to be expected their 'customer service' phone line is a classic nightmare! NEVER AGAIN WILL I DEAL WITH THESE CHARLATANS! BUYER BEWARE!

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Shipping time is one thing. Order processing is another.
You may have selected an expedited shipping method, but that shipping period won't start until your order is processed... not when you place it.
According to their Terms of Service, payments are not fully charged and accepted until all information has been successfully verified.

OWC said:

Credit card billing address is verified. If ship-to address is different from billing address, this address is also subject to verification. An incorrect or unverifiable billing or ship-to address puts the order into a hold status until address is verified.

Authorization in the amount of the order is attempted using the credit card provided. No charge is posted at this time, but the authorization will reduce your credit line or debit line available. If the authorization is declined, order is put on hold until resolved. With a successful authorization.

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Well that's just it. They DID charge my card and then wanted more forms filled out. They are also not answering my e-mails to cancel the order and issue a refund.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I personally would say it doesn't fit the norm with my experience and others. I've dealt with them on numerous occasions and never had a problem. Even sending back defective ram, it was painless and they were extremely cooperative and friendly.

Accumulator said:

Well that's just it. They DID charge my card and then wanted more forms filled out.

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From my previous post (and their TOS):

OWC said:

Authorization in the amount of the order is attempted using the credit card provided. No charge is posted at this time, but the authorization will reduce your credit line or debit line available.

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More from the TOS:

OWC said:

Credit card orders require the correct billing address this being where the statement for the credit card being used is received, for the order to be shipped. New ship-to addresses that are different from the billing address may require additional verification that will temporarily delay the order from shipping until verification is complete. New customers with an international ship-to or billing address may also be subject to verification processing.

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If your information didn't match up, they would need to verify this information, hence the request for your faxed ID.
I would wager that you are seeing an authorization hold and not an actual charge, otherwise there would be no need for further verification like they are requesting. While I don't work for OWC, I have seen the same situation in other jobs I have held in the past. Authorization holds are placed on accounts and people think it is an actual charge.

This is all information that is made publicly available prior to placing an order. One must agree to these terms before they place an order.
I, as well as many others, have ordered from them many times and never encountered a problem. It is unfortunate that your order seems to have hit a snag, but they are only doing their best to rectify the situation.

Online order

D3v1L80Y said:

Shipping time is one thing. Order processing is another.
You may have selected an expedited shipping method, but that shipping period won't start until your order is processed... not when you place it.
According to their Terms of Service, payments are not fully charged and accepted until all information has been successfully verified.

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I agree with this person...Read the contract.... You entered into it when you placed your order..How can you be in business and have so called lucrative clients and not understand a simple contract?
Read the other posts on here from people... They aren't just practicing their typing skills.
You are the classic WHINER....

I buy from them and it always arrives next day without hassle.
You have to realize everyone who tries to use fraudulent CCs online will choose to ship Next Day air. One, they don't pay shipping. Second, it arrives at their doorstop before the CC company can notify the seller, OWC, the card is bad.
I seriously couldn't stress to you how easy it is to get away with this sort of thing. It's sad because the retailer will be out the cost of the stolen goods even if the CC company originally approves the transaction.
Why do I say this? For exactly what DB pointed out- time to processor orders can take a day or two, especially when they're dealing with a new customer. We get a lot of people at work who demand next day air and get mad when we take a day to process a $20,000 order.

regardless of the actual charge it is THE UNPROFESSIONAL WAY that they have handled my order that has me infuriated. Not notifying me of the order discrepancy until well after it was supposed to have arrived is just simply unprofessional and smacks of a "2 guys in a garage" approach to business, as does their sales / billing support line (which closed 5 minutes before i received the e-mail about the discrepancy) and lack of response to my inquiries.

Also, it seems to me that if you're handling a $20,000 order that you would at least have the decency to contact the customer / client IMMEDIATELY to let them know there would be any sort of delay. Call me strict but that's what I mean by being professional about it. I deal with VERY high rollers who don't come back once they've been burned, and I lost a VERY BIG ONE relying on Otherworld Computing to get it right.

I've ordered from them a few times have have been impressed each time. Usually the item arrives ahead of the projected delivery date. I'd give them a second chance; perhaps you just got someone having a bad day?

Accumulator said:

regardless of the actual charge it is THE UNPROFESSIONAL WAY that they have handled my order that has me infuriated. Not notifying me of the order discrepancy until well after it was supposed to have arrived is just simply unprofessional and smacks of a "2 guys in a garage" approach to business, as does their technical support line (which was closed 5 minutes before i received the e-mail about the discrepancy) and lack of response to my inquiries.

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It's all their fault? If it was suppose to arrive next day how come you weren't on the phone that day calling them about the status of the order? Why'd you let them contact you first???

Did you need any help finding another retailer or are you here just to rant and blow off your frustrations while attempting to hurt OWC's creditability?

AGree with other posters. OWC are a reputable company who offer outstanding after sales service even air freighting replacement goods here to Australia no questions asked.

Rant on and get it over and done with. Joined today just to stir?

Accumulator said:

Not notifying me of the order discrepancy until well after it was supposed to have arrived is just simply unprofessional

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Again, you are missing the point. Regardless of how you would have liked it be or how you interpreted the situation... the order was not "supposed to have arrived" until they have received payment. Most companies aren't in the practice of shipping items to customers without first procuring their payments.
They hadn't received the payment, so it didn't ship yet. They notified you about it as soon as they could.
If there is a problem, a retailer may not receive an answer from the creditor right away. Things take time and rather than provide an incorrect assumption/wrong information, they waited until they had all of the facts before notifying you. Once they have received the exact reason for the decline, they can notify you of said reason and attempt to rectify it.

You cannot assume that just because an order is placed that it is processed immediately. As infrequent as they are, hang-ups happen. It doesn't matter who you are or where you order something from, that is just the way things work. They are handling the situation in the same professional manner as they outlined in their TOS... just as they would with any customer.
Quite frankly, you are the one acting unprofessional by ranting about it in the manner you are.
Don't blame a company for a situation that is out of their control or because you failed to read/misunderstood their terms of service.

Well, I was mistaken... in that I assumed this forum was for the most part populated by reasonable people would refrain from personal attacks and not respond like some rabid political bloggers! Look, OWC may get their orders right for the most part but my post is aimed to warn PROFESSIONALS who expect PROFESSIONAL customer service from a website that portrays itself as such, and not have to wait until AFTER the order was expected to arrive to find out that their OVERNIGHT ORDER hasn't even shipped! And to be notified so late in the day that their customer service number is closed is ANOTHER insult! Don't lecture me about how long it takes to process orders! The actual processing takes SECONDS! That is, if the particular merchant runs a tight ship, in which case my experience has shown me that OWC does not. Also there is no word OTHER than UNPROFESSIONAL to accurately describe a company that ignores e-mails regarding a customer's order.

I simply wish I had known how they conduct their business so that I could have taken my business elsewhere. You may be satisfied with their service and you every right to say so, but I also have a right to relate my experiences as well without getting snide and condescending remarks (and by the way my card was NOT declined, so I don't know where you got that idea). However, if you were the one who lost a very lucrative client because a supposedly reputable and supposedly professional company failed to process an order AND / OR notify you BEFORE your order was expected to arrive (and the whole purpose of overnight shipping is that you recieve it THE NEXT DAY), then I doubt you'd be singing the same tune!

Of course it seems on this forum that if someone dares to relate their experiences and give an obvious OPINION about something then you're considered a 'bad guy' to people who probably consider themselves rational and supporters of 'freedom of speech'.

How they operate is published on their site. If you indeed lost a lucrative client because of such a minor slight then two things have occurred. You were unprofessional in your lack of research and you were close to loosing the account in the first place.

Additionally, you have the right to express your displeasure with the experience. Just like everyone else has the right to express their opinion of your post and the contents wherein.

Accumulator said:

Of course it seems on this forum that if someone dares to relate their experiences and give an obvious OPINION about something then you're considered a 'bad guy' to people who probably consider themselves rational and supporters of 'freedom of speech'.

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Your first post was a rant. The rest of your posts are borderline trolling.

9 out of 10 buyers from OWC have nothing but good things to say. Considering you apparently joined just to bash them doesn't say anything good about your intentions on these forums. Odds are you joined to troll and wouldn't be seen around here again anyway once this has boiled over.

And, where exactly did someone (before myself, at least) make a personal attack at you?

I would assume that someone who works with "VERY high rollers" would be a little more adamant than to just email them and hope for the best. Why wouldn't you call them and find out what was up?

I mean, christ, orders get screwed up, and it's obviously out of your control, and very possibly theirs.

It also states on their site that if you order before a certain time of day (and I definitely did so) that you would receive your order the next day by 3pm! I trusted this company to be true to their word and they were not. For trusting them it cost me dearly, hence the anger that inspired my post. This is a completely rational response.

And I did try to obtain a tracking number prior to delivery, all to no avail, so those who want to assign blame to me for lack of trying are simply wrong in this regard.

Also, they DID take the order amount from my card RIGHT AWAY (so there's where their priorities lie) and have yet to return it, however they had no problem telling me more than a day later (well after my order was expected to arrive) that the order couldn't be shipped until I filled out additional forms and faxed them!

Call it what you will but I believe that by any reasonable person's standards the lack of communication, and time that it took to recieve word of my order was at the very least, disrespectful.

One quick question, was the Shipping Address of your order the same address that your Credit Card is connected to?

The shipping address was different than the billing address but their shipping form made no mention of this being a problem (it just so happens that their TOS contained mention of it so not reading the fine print was indeed an oversight, but who can actually say that they fully read EVERY TOS?). The professional standard is that any possible shipping issues concerning addresses are clearly stated on a company's shipping page and not buried in the TOS.

While that fine print may excuse the initial problem with shipping my order it's the fact that they waited until AFTER it was supposed to have arrived to tell me that there was any problem that really makes me angry! In fact I did inquire about the possibility of a shipping / billing issue by e-mailing them immediately after placing my order but I didn't receive a response. I also e-mailed them to get the tracking number (which professional companies routinely provide) when it was close to the time that the order should have arrived, but I didn't receive an e-mail until much later (when it was definitely too late for my client) and that was pertaining to the shipping discrepancy (which included the form I mentioned). This, as I stated before was the MAIN ISSUE I HAVE WITH THEM. When they don't contact you until AFTER the expected time of arrival that's just simply rude.

This post isn't intended to be a huge issue. It's great if you have had positive experiences with OWC. I'm just very angry about the whole communication thing and what it has all cost me.

I have just read this whole thing, but what has it "COST YOU." You have to wait an extra day or two for the computer? If you are in some kind of business where you needed the computer immediately, why wouldnt you go to an apple store and purchase it on the spot. You cant argue that its not a stock computer because all apple stores will do whatever upgrade you want on the spot. If you are a reseller trying to sell the computer YOU just purchased online, then I feel that is immoral on your opinion because you are making money off of someone else's product... unless of course you become a certified apple reseller, which you obviously aren't if you are purchasing from a another apple reseller...

The fact of the matter is that I was ordering specific drives that could NOT be picked up at any local Apple store and which were needed on a movie set that is in the middle of the desert in Nevada. My partner was going to drive them out to the set so that they would have them for transferring a massive amount of footage from their digital HD camcorders as they shot it and as a result of this preventable situation they were screwed and were forced to send a crew member out to buy unreliable drives at the first store they came across which was MANY miles away! So my connections with them are now completely screwed.

I've also planned to buy a MacPro Quad for my studio at the end of the month as well as upgrading my laptop to the newest MacBook Pro for travel but there's no way I'm ordering them from OWC.