Bored? Order from ChiefValue. You'll be Going Crazy in No Time.
ChiefValue
Every once in a while, you come across a website that looks like it has it all — good prices, lots of variety, professionalism, the works. Then you order from them and you realize that the site is smoke and mirrors. It looks great but behind the screen, it isn't such a great place to buy from.
That happened to me with ChiefValue a while ago.
First, let me say that I do not like ranting reviews about websites that don't cover more than just the rant so I will completely cover this site as I would any that I had a good experiences with but will definitely get into my rant after.
What this Site Sells
This site is enormous and sells name brand electronics from MP3 players to computers and accessories, digital cameras, and everything electronic for the home or on the go. They also sell software. They sell both factory new and refurbished items so be sure to watch carefully and know whether your chosen item is new or refurbished before buying. Also be aware that they do not have a price matching policy so you must be sure you get the best price as they will not match a lower one found elsewhere on the web.
Variety
Loads of variety and many names and styles of things to choose from. Or so it seems anyway. It didn't work out for me for some reason even though they carried the product I tried to buy and it was in stock, or so I was told.
Navigation
The home page is busy. There are specials splashed across the page, a timer counting down how many hours/minutes until the specials end, and a listing of all their categories and brand names. One could easily get lost on the site if they didn't know what they were looking for. If you do know what you are looking for, you can do a search for it. If you're browsing, you can do that by category or name brand. You could be browsing for days with all the different offerings on this site. The prices seem quite fair on most items and the specials seem to be good deals.
Once you find what you want, you add it to your cart. The usual information is needed to check out, with you filling out a form with your personal information and email address. Then it's on to the payment where they accept major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). You may NOT make a phone order. All orders must be placed through the website. I have no clue why.
Once your info is inputted, you will be urged to buy an accessory or some other item or items before you finalize your order. You will receive a letter after ordering to verify.
Normally, at this point, you would receive a letter telling you when the item was shipped and get a tracking number. This is where my problem came in so I can't tell you more about the process than the above.
There are several pages of information you can check out regarding sales tax, shipping methods, returns, and contact info which seems good but are so confusing that you come away with less knowledge than you went in with.
Shipping and Returns
Shipping is via FedEx. You must input your state and zip code after choosing which FedEx method you want (They have several choices ranging from supersaver to overnight) and you will be given the cost of shipping. That changes as you add products and you can recalculate as you go along. Shipping is fairly reasonable from what I can tell but it depends on the weight of the item.
Sales tax is only charged in California, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Tennessee.
Returns are sort of screwy. If a product is defective, you must pay for shipping back to them, but they will pay for shipping a new, non-defective one to you. I think that stinks. Why should a consumer pay to ship something defective back to the place it was purchased? And what if it is a heavy TV or computer? Buyer beware.
As far as regular returns, they do accept them (you must pay to return the items) after calling and getting authorization from them within 30 days for new items and 15 for refurbished. There is a 15% restocking fee that they say "may apply" so I don't know how they determine who gets a full refund and who ends up out 15%. This line also should be noted taken from their returns policy page: "Additional deduction will be made to account for current market value." What the heck does THAT mean? If the price drops within the 30 days after you bought an item, you get less back? The return policy is sketchy and evasive at best. Just hope and pray nothing is wrong with an item you buy from them.
They also claim that if you receive a defective item that you must go to manufacturer, not them for repair. You see if you can make sense of this policy taken from their returns page:
1. Refurbished items can only generate an RMA repair/refund within 15 days of the invoice date.
2. Retail, OEM, and Refurbished CPUs have a refund/replacement guarantee for 7 days.
3. All softwares, opened DVD-R/RAM/RW media, opened ink and cartridges are not returnable.
4. All Monitors, Notebooks, PDAs, Printers, Scanners, GPS Devices, Home theatres and Digital Cameras are serviced by the manufacturers directly. Please contact the manufacturer for service.
5. Monitors are only replaced with 8 or more dead pixels. ChiefValue does not service or repair monitors.
6. Contact the manufacturer for repairs/service/replacements for Televisions, LCDs, LCDTVs, and Plasmas, 26" inches and larger.
It looks like you could have a problem if you run into a defective item and it seems that this site doesn't want to deal with those problems and pass you off to the manufacturer where you're on your own. That makes me uneasy.
My Experience aka My Rant
I saw an MP3 Player that I wanted and the price seemed fair. The shipping was reasonable so I bought it. I used my credit card and it was approved and charged. I received a letter of verification and all seemed well.
After four or five days, I heard nothing about where my player was or if it was shipped out. I contacted them via email asking for information and received an email back saying my order was canceled. WHAT?
I then called their customer service department and they looked up the information. They said, yes my order was indeed canceled. I asked why and they said because my credit card was declined. I told them my credit card was charged the full amount and I could send proof to them.
After several calls — I know why some people who write rants get so worked up because I was very worked up at the time about this — I was told they would refund my credit card. But I wanted the MP3 Player! I asked if it was in stock and they said yes. So...my credit card was charged for the order. The player was in stock. But they canceled my order and then were going to refund my money. But why?
I went round and round with these people and finally, they told me they would refund my card and I could reorder the player. I don't THINK so!
I did get a refund and I did NOT get another player from them nor will I shop (or TRY to shop) there again.
No one could explain why, if my card was declined (it never was) it was still charged and why, if the player was in stock, it wasn't being sent to me. I wrote a few nasty emails (not cursing or threatening but simply telling these people that I shop on the web all the time and never have I had such a rotten experience) and got no response. They had washed their hands of me, apparently.
Was my experience an isolated one? From looking at the reviews here, it would seem so. However, I have found that it is not as isolated as it seems. Many others have had problems with this site that aren't a part of epinions but are a part of a consumer watch group.
I guess I should be happy that I ended up getting my money back all things considered but why a company would blow off a $400 sale when the money was in their pocket is beyond me. I have no idea what they were doing and neither did they.
Contact Info
1-888-611-4165
service@ChiefValue.com
No phone orders please
Mon-Fri 8:30-5:30 PST
Conclusion
The site looks nice and has a load of variety. Underneath the nice looking exterior are borderline deceptive return policies, no price matching, confusing shipping policies, and one heck of incompetent customer service team. While the variety and prices of a website are important, if you never get the item or can't return it without losing half the cost of the product, it's not a good site to frequent in my opinion.
The old Abbott and Costello routine "Who's on First" comes to mind when I think of the emails and phone calls I made to these people and the responses I got back.
"Did you get my payment?"
"Yes, but the card was declined."
"But you got the payment."
"Right."
"So how was the card declined if you have the payment?"
"It must have gone through."
"Right, so can I have my MP3 Player now?"
"No, we canceled the order."
"Why?"
"Your card was declined."
"BUT you just said..."
Arghhhhhhhhh!
My card was never declined, I was charged the morning after my order. I have no idea why they canceled my order and why, even after verifying they had the money, they wouldn't send my item. I am just glad I didn't deal any further with them. I found my item elsewhere and I am happily listening to tunes. I wouldn't shop at ChiefValue even if everyone on the planet told me they had great service with them.
There are way too many reputable companies selling the same products for comparable prices or less to ever go through that cat and mouse game again.
I give this website 1 star. Do yourself a favor. Take some Tyelnol before dealing with them if you choose to enter into a transaction. By the time I was done, I thought I needed a padded cell.
Recommended:
No
