Adorama - Complaint -

I vowed never to use Adorama again after several orders taking far longer than I was told. But, I gave them another shot and again they fouled things up. I couldn't be more irritated.

A few days ago I canceled my order with B&H, because of what I read on their site and confirmed with a phone call to Adorama. The product is a new 27" iMac. They advertised that it would ship in 2-4 days beating B&H by a couple weeks, not to mention a bit of savings, not much but making the deal even sweeter. They also advertise that they do not charge your card until the order has been shipped. Based on all of this and the fact that it's being drop shipped directly from Apple I ordered the machine.

The same day that I made the order my card was charged, yet for two days I called for tracking info and they kept telling me that they'd email it to me when they get it from the manufacturer since it's being drop shipped. Today I called again and still no tracking info, just a PO#. I dug more and they said that my machine is back ordered and won't ship for 2-3 weeks, yet my card was charged the full amount. The sales person went on to say that nothing could be done and that I'm welcome to cancel my order. I won't do that as I feel that it will only push me further down the list and lengthen the time even longer. BTW, their site now reads that the machine in now pre-order.

I looked online and their local Apple Stores can have the same machine by next week.

I'm stuck with them for now, but again vow never do business with them again. I'll have my wife smack some sense in me before I do. She feels it's a bait and switch and I'm wondering the same.

Adorama has been great for me on many transactions. Sounds like you're caught in the order process for the new iMac. Apple always seems to not have enough product when they announce new items. It's not really Adorama's fault though..

Adorama confirmed with me over the phone just prior to my order and advertised that also on their site.

Are you talking about the iMac 27" with Retina 5K that is listed as "In Stock online" (aka, we can order it for you and have it shipped directly to you), that has the "usually ships in 1-3 days"?

I can't find anything on their site that claims beyond any doubt that they're going to ship within a firm timeline.

Again, I called them and believed what they said and what I read (2-4 days) as well as believed what their site reads as far as not charging my card until the order is shipped. Did you read the latter?

"We do not charge your card until we actually ship."

I don't get it. If you live in SoCal and they have a million Apple stores there then why didn't you just walk in and buy it instead of going through a third party (Adorama) when they can't control Apple's shipping? To save the tax?

Sounds to me like you're massively over-reacting over a minor delay. If they drop ship to Apple they will have to charge your card before they send the order to Apple. Maybe they haven't communicated clearly and accurately, but it's not that big a deal.

If you want something immediately buy it from a local brick and mortar store. If you order online you may get a better price but less certainty.

Ynot wrote in post #17764603
I vowed never to use Adorama again after several orders taking far longer than I was told. But, I gave them another shot and again they fouled things up. I couldn't be more irritated.

A few days ago I canceled my order with B&H, because of what I read on their site and confirmed with a phone call to Adorama. The product is a new 27" iMac. They advertised that it would ship in 2-4 days beating B&H by a couple weeks, not to mention a bit of savings, not much but making the deal even sweeter. They also advertise that they do not charge your card until the order has been shipped. Based on all of this and the fact that it's being drop shipped directly from Apple I ordered the machine.

The same day that I made the order my card was charged, yet for two days I called for tracking info and they kept telling me that they'd email it to me when they get it from the manufacturer since it's being drop shipped. Today I called again and still no tracking info, just a PO#. I dug more and they said that my machine is back ordered and won't ship for 2-3 weeks, yet my card was charged the full amount. The sales person went on to say that nothing could be done and that I'm welcome to cancel my order. I won't do that as I feel that it will only push me further down the list and lengthen the time even longer. BTW, their site now reads that the machine in now pre-order.

I looked online and their local Apple Stores can have the same machine by next week.

I'm stuck with them for now, but again vow never do business with them again. I'll have my wife smack some sense in me before I do. She feels it's a bait and switch and I'm wondering the same.

I was concerned to see this - can you please email me: Helen@adorama.com with your order number so I can check this out?

flowrider wrote in post #17764738
I don't get it. If you live in SoCal and they have a million Apple stores there then why didn't you just walk in and buy it instead of going through a third party (Adorama) when they can't control Apple's shipping? To save the tax?

Yes, tax and software.

tim wrote in post #17764745
Sounds to me like you're massively over-reacting over a minor delay. If they drop ship to Apple they will have to charge your card before they send the order to Apple. Maybe they haven't communicated clearly and accurately, but it's not that big a deal.

I don't feel I'm over reacting at all since I was told by the sales person and believed him and what I read on their site. Why would I doubt either of those sources? I would never have cancelled my order with B&H otherwise.

Sent you an email with my order #.

So this is the response I received from the Purchasing Manager:

"These items are only ABLE to ship if we drop-ship (which = being charged). It’ll be weeks before we have stock in our warehouse.

Please let customers know that they are amongst the first consumers receiving these products (Apple store and limited retailers have in stock, but at a significantly higher cost to the customer) and that we’re making great efforts to ensure that their orders are expedited in as efficient and effective manner as possible.

My apologies for not conveying this message to customer service earlier. I see that it would have been helpful. I’ll adjust the message to reflect a longer ship time".

Thanks for all your work Helen.

What exactly did you read on the B&H site that was confirmed by Adorama. Did you pre-order from
B&H and cancel the order based on what was promised by Adorama. Seems like you created your own
problem.

Ynot wrote in post #17764635
Adorama confirmed with me over the phone just prior to my order and advertised that also on their site.

The problem here, is that the information on the website is led by the Purchasing Team. When you call and speak to somebody in 'sales' or 'Customer Service', they are basing their responses upon what is written on the website.
Therefore, if the Purchasing Department have messed up - as in this case - you are going to continue getting incorrect information.

Which is why......when you have an Adorama query, first stop should always be Bat-Girl aka me!!