Best Electronics - problem with ordering

[Osgeld]

old plating connectors isn't snake oil, it helps prevent oxidation of the connector/contacts which allow for a more reliable connection over time.

 

yes, but as advertised its not presented that way, its presented as as a method to provide better contact, which is bullshit as its digital, 2 coat hangers can provide the contact in that relm

 

First you pick on Brad, calling his fine products "snake oil", and now you start on Keetah.

 

 

 

I start on brad cause he has a vomit fest of a 1993 website which was pathetic in 1993, and if you dare ask that asshat a question that is 1 grade above his logic level you are banned for life

 

I compare it to K cause he spouts pure bullshit and nonsince at any chance he gets, acting like he is cutting edge using terms that were impossible in his time-frame and pointless in this one

 

Do you have a good thing to say about anyone?

 

 

yes I question your hero and no I am a hate filled asshat that serves no usefulness to the universe, please, get over your own knee jerk opinion

I heard Keatah has "a small group of folks" working on a new platinum plated 5200 controller! He just needs time to give his final approval...being busy running the firm, flying a plane,

 

 servicing the Mercedes and Tesla, getting another PhD, etc. 

yes this is bullshit and pointless, its digital land people you could connect a coat hanger to a wad of tinfoil and as long as it exceeds a 1-0 threshold of what 1.5 volts its good to go, learn basic digital electronics, it might take an hour to read

 

I've got several of the Best gold boards now and it's not just the fact the dome contacts are gold plated (which obviously helps improve conductivity, etc) but they're also stiffer/more rigid, which gives them more of a "snap" or a clicky-type tactile feel.

 

 

 

I have bought the exact same contacts form the exact same company except in nickle plate, hell if anyone wants a set for joysticks to compare I have like 384 left, its not the fact they are gold plate, its the fact that the importance of gold is the main selling point of said product

 

Anyone here at AtariAge has the opportunity to read all these comments about Brad / Best. So, if you piss him off, it's your own fault.

 

I do not have the time or effort to produce a database of "what pissed brad off this specific time of the month" , I wont deal with emotional fuckwits that require me to navigate their word vomit pile of shit incomprehensible website jut to get shut down while waving a pile of money in front of their face

 

I am not here to placate some old douchebag for some generic parts I can mostly order off of jameco so he can have some jack-off power trip

Edited November 23, 2016 by Osgeld

[+mytek]

I can't let everybody have all the fun poking the bear...

 

I totally agree on the website being a complete mess, and I think this is the key problem to all of this. If the website was setup as a normal e-commerce site with a basic product category structure, add to cart buttons, product search, and most importantly tied into a database that was automatically updated as to quantity of remaining stock, people would not need to poke or interface with the bear, or the bear with them. There would be no waste of time, or need for the silly communication rules.

 

Of course setting up the e-commerce site would be quite a task, especially synchronizing to what BEST has to sale. But this would only be required one time, and then the automation would kick in keeping it automatically up to date. The long-term payback would be immense, and I would imagine come tax time each year, even more so. And unless I am mistaken, at least one or two people in the past even offered to do the majority of this setup for free.

 

So that's my 2 cents or whatever it's worth.

 

- Michael

 

Edit: I did place an order successfully last year with Brad, but it ended up taking probably 4 back and forth emails to complete. And I had spent quite sometime scouring the website, and then preparing a very detailed list of what, and how much I needed, including part numbers and pricing all put into my first email I sent to him. This would have been so much easier for me if the website was properly setup in the first place (yes vomit is a good description for its present state). Funny part was that IIRC Brad's first email response looked as if he had created his own list from scratch instead of just using the one I had prepared and sent him, so it looks like he creates unnecessary work for himself.

Edited November 23, 2016 by mytekcontrols

[Mclaneinc]

 

yes, but as advertised its not presented that way, its presented as as a method to provide better contact, which is bullshit as its digital, 2 coat hangers can provide the contact in that relm

 

 

I start on brad cause he has a vomit fest of a 1993 website which was pathetic in 1993, and if you dare ask that asshat a question that is 1 grade above his logic level you are banned for life

 

I compare it to K cause he spouts pure bullshit and nonsince at any chance he gets, acting like he is cutting edge using terms that were impossible in his time-frame and pointless in this one

 

 

yes I question your hero and no I am a hate filled asshat that serves no usefulness to the universe, please, get over your own knee jerk opinion

 servicing the Mercedes and Tesla, getting another PhD, etc. 

yes this is bullshit and pointless, its digital land people you could connect a coat hanger to a wad of tinfoil and as long as it exceeds a 1-0 threshold of what 1.5 volts its good to go, learn basic digital electronics, it might take an hour to read

 

 

 

I have bought the exact same contacts form the exact same company except in nickle plate, hell if anyone wants a set for joysticks to compare I have like 384 left, its not the fact they are gold plate, its the fact that the importance of gold is the main selling point of said product

 

I do not have the time or effort to produce a database of "what pissed brad off this specific time of the month" , I wont deal with emotional fuckwits that require me to navigate their word vomit pile of shit incomprehensible website jut to get shut down while waving a pile of money in front of their face

 

I am not here to placate some old douchebag for some generic parts I can mostly order off of jameco so he can have some jack-off power trip

 

Look, I can agree with the whole gold connectors thing just as much as people using T&E cable rather than £50.00 a metre oxygen free cable and especially those who pay $100 for a super HDMI cable that performs exactly the same as a $5.00 one, I get all that but I don't get the hatred, we had customers like you who would come in to Maplin and ask for a huge list of components and then if you didn't have a 1k resistor would shelve the lot and walk out ranting about how shit the shop was. Yes Brad sells some generic stuff but a lot of what he sells is not and its easier to get off him than sitting down and making your own PCB's from scratch, that is what makes him important and judging by the way you have spoken about him with absolute zero decency its no wonder he would ban you.

 

As many have said, dealing with Brad has been fine, we don't get on our knee's and beg him, we just place and order and he sends it..

 

"An old douchebag"....Jeez, show some respect...

 

You have the total control option of NOT buying from him but show some respect even if you don't like the man, have you served the Atari community as much as him?

 

I respect him for that and the fact he's older than me and I was taught to respect my elders, I'm 55 now and I still have time for those morals these days.

[tep392]

I must be really lucky. I'm made all sorts of successful purchases over the last 7 years and never knew I had to kiss his ass.

[Osgeld]

we had customers like you who would come in to Maplin and ask for a huge list of components and then if you didn't have a 1k resistor would shelve the lot

 

Yes cause if you do not have one common part that means people have to order it, and at that point just order the whole thing and not deal with your useless store

 

 

the way you have spoken about him with absolute zero decency its no wonder he would ban you.

As many have said, dealing with Brad has been fine, we don't get on our knee's and beg him, we just place and order and he sends it..

 

Funny thing is, he hasnt "banned" me

"An old douchebag"....Jeez, show some respect...

 

 

Why, he has not earned it from me, the few things I have bought from him showed me that he has an ego problem and I wont give him anymore of my time or money

 

You have the total control option of NOT buying from him but show some respect even if you don't like the man,

 

Respect is earned not a granted right

 

 

have you served the Atari community as much as him?

 

 

I dont run a store "serving" the atari community

Edited November 23, 2016 by Osgeld

[Mclaneinc]

You really have an attitude problem, you just ignored the point of anything there to justify yourself..

 

As for an elderly earning your respect, sigh, how times have changed and the youth revolt. Make it simple, don't buy from him and stop your whining, he obviously does not deserve your self important custom.

 

It gets me when you see this, there's nothing wrong in saying you don't like his system but to use fuckwit, douchebag, vomit pile just says reams about you, totally un-needed, immature (at best).

 

Another one on the ignore list

Edited November 23, 2016 by Mclaneinc

[Timothy Kline]

 

Why, he has not earned it from me, the few things I have bought from him showed me that he has an ego problem and I wont give him anymore of my time or money

 

The fact that you're continuing to whine and whinge about Brad is proof enough that you are, in fact, giving him more and more of your time.

 

Respect is earned not a granted right.

 

 

Until then, as you've made abundantly clear: all anyone other than you is entitled to is your contempt and disrespect, based on your lack of even a modicum of civility throughout this thread/topic.

 

I dont run a store "serving" the atari community

 

 

So, bottom line, you're speaking from ignorance, then. And trolling. Let's not forget that part. This is less and less about Brad and how he tries to stay in business offering the last remaining vestiges of Atari supplies and parts he managed to secure when Atari went under— and more of a reflection of you as a person.

 

I'll be honest here and say that I think you're barking up the wrong tree: you don't need customer service, Atari or otherwise— you need a catering service.

 

Because, really, if you are so convinced that Brad is doing things wrong, then you should be opening up your own Atari warehouse and showing the rest of us how it's done right. I'm sure your winning snarkisms and armchair critiquing will go over well with your soon-to-be customers.

 

Oh, wait, you did point out that you offer no such "service" to the Atari community— you're only here to whine, whinge, and complain because you confused BEST Electronics with a catering service.

 

Looks like you found your calling, though.

 

--Tim

[Mclaneinc]

Don't worry Tim, he's the sort that if KFC are out of boneless chicken he calls 911 and screams abuse down the phone..Self important whiner...

[GlowingGhoul]

I see a lot of people making a lot of excuses for what would be considered by most to be the opposite of good customer service. Those who've had nothing but good experiences attack the credibilility of those who say they were treated badly.

Then there are those who say that if someone is foolish enough to shop at best without reading this 10 page + thread, they are to blame, not Brad and his rediculous unspoken rules.

Those of you who think this kind of nasty, vindictive treatment is acceptable because "he has the goods" are the kind of bootlickers who encourage this behavior.

Being mean to people who "don't know the rules" of dealing with someone's mental illness is not serving the community, it's hurting it.

Edited November 23, 2016 by GlowingGhoul

[Timothy Kline]

[syn]

I never ordered from Best until a month ago. I ordered 2 keyboards and three dust covers with no problems. Brad seemed like a good guy.

 

It's sad to read others had a different experience.

[Jdubya]

Placed my first ever order today! Hope all goes well

[GlowingGhoul]

Placed my first ever order today! Hope all goes well

 

Did you ask any questions? If so, don't ask anything else. Second question without a confirmed order will result in a 1 to 6 month ban.

[Mclaneinc]

I see a lot of people making a lot of excuses for what would be considered by most to be the opposite of good customer service. Those who've had nothing but good experiences attack the credibilility of those who say they were treated badly.

 

Then there are those who say that if someone is foolish enough to shop at best without reading this 10 page + thread, they are to blame, not Brad and his rediculous unspoken rules.

 

Those of you who think this kind of nasty, vindictive treatment is acceptable because "he has the goods" are the kind of bootlickers who encourage this behavior.

 

Being mean to people who "don't know the rules" of dealing with someone's mental illness is not serving the community, it's hurting it.

 

Here's my last add in, I've never attacked the credibility of people other than to say to one person that their behaviour is childish, other than that I can't criticise Brad if he's been ok to me and I broke the two question apparent rule, maybe I was lucky but I can't just join the pack because others have had problems. I'm sorry they have but if any of them behaved the way the guy I have just 'ignored' has then I can perfectly understand why he banned them.

 

I think I remember w1k moaning about Brad but if you follow how he posts you can see problems were ahead for him, I'm from an industry where customer service is key but to say the customer is always right is not an honest answer nor is it in some cases worth the agro to keep that custom. I've been on both sides and yes Brads site is horrible to use but when I've asked if an item was in stock because I was not sure he happily told me, he's not there to offer me tea and biscuits, as long as he helps, sells and sends I'm fine, no happy chat needed. Just because that is how it went for me does not make me a boot licker, just because I say I have had no issues also does not make me a boot licker. I've also tried to offer simple advice incase people are getting problems like just picking the stuff, making sure he has it and pay.

 

As said, both you and him have the control, he's entitled but daft to refuse custom and you have the right to not offer him custom, I just think the way one person talked about him was below the belt. I really hope people DO get their parts and have smooth sales, to those that don't I suggest not buying from him again, if his antics spread then he becomes his own worst enemy with folks voting with their feet. On the other hand it would be a shame to see what he has go to waste but I myself would not prostrate myself in front of a bad dealer but I simply have not had that issue so have used him.

 

That's it, I'm out...

[+mytek]

Well said Paul

Even though his site is atrocious, I really shouldn't have invoked the 'vomit' description in my post (me bad ).

In my one and only experience ordering from Best Electronics, Brad was very helpful. I guess I'm just too spoiled by site's like Lotharek's and Bruce's B&C ComputerVisions eBay Store.

 

- Michael

[Turbo-Torch]

I ordered a Lynx screen a while back and had zero issues. Called up, gave him a cc # and it was in my mail box 2 or 3 days later. Seemed like a really nice guy on the phone.

 

For someone who's been in the business for so long, he probably just has a low tolerance level for time wasters and scammers. I'm sure he also deals with people who destroy electronics through their own stupidity and then insist on a free replacement or refund.

 

Hell, I'm the point I'd rather throw things in the trash instead of listing them in the Free section of Craigslist. Offer cool, useful stuff for free and you still get 10 assholes for every 1 serious person.

[gilsaluki]

It's Thanksgiving here in the USA. Let's all give Brad our thanks for serving our community for over 3 decades! Thanks Brad, I will order from you in the future. I always know where to come to get "the goods".

[fujidude]

A few points in response to several of the posts here IMHO:

• His web site is a hot stinking mess. To adopt a phrase from the movie "Deadpool"; It smells like two hobos fucking, inside an old shoe filled with piss.
• That said though, due to the scarcity of supply of some of the things he sells, I personally would put up with that web site to get those kinds of things. However, for anything I can buy elsewhere and have a more confident experience; I would do so.
• Even if he is the only supplier of a certain product, I would never buy anything from someone who treats me badly. Dignity is worth more to me than some widget ever could be.
• As to respect being expected vs. being earned; it's both. It depends on the context, and thus the version of it that is being considered. Showing one kind of "respect" is similar to what people might call being polite or cordial. It involves things like please, thank you, hello, and not being demanding or rude. That type of respect is generally socially expected anywhere outside of informal interactions with people you know. Another kind of respect, has to due with things like admiration, approval, etc. That is the kind that must be earned.
• Gold contacts are superior to most any other kind, but not supernaturally so.

Edited November 24, 2016 by fujidude

[fujidude]

No soup is worth me kissing someone's ass to take my money

 

Besides half of what he sells is snake oil

 

I agree 100% with the soup part. I can't endorse (or criticize) the snake oil part, since I haven't dug in too much.

Edited November 24, 2016 by fujidude

[Kyle22]

Forget about the website. Just phone him like we did in the good old days before the Web existed. Politely ask him if he has the parts, and pay for them. He will happily ship them to you.

 

No problem.

[GlowingGhoul]

The website isn't really the problem. I kind of like it, to be honest, and it's Brad's business choice to run it that way. Fine by me.

 

But you don't invite people to do business with you and then treat them badly based on standards that are, frankly, bizarre and impossible to know beforehand, unless you happen to see this thread.

[Kyle22]

Yeah, I know... I have known Brad for many years. Please understand his idiosyncrasies and deal with them. Just try to understand his personality. It all boils down to the fact that he has the goods and you want them. Respect him and he will respect you.

 

In my daily life I meet all sorts of people who visit my store, and yes, I don't particularly like some of them. I am as polite as I can possibly be to most of them, but if certain assholes (especially bratty kids) keep pointing at different items and keep asking "how much is that" and don't buy anything, I may throw them out of the shop if they do it too many times.

 

I had one of those today. The kid wasted a half hour of my time, and only bought one $7.00 item (Which I politely sold to him).

 

Please realise that Brad is in business to help us by selling Atari stuff, but the more important factor (especially for him) is to make a profit in order to stay in business, make a living, and keep Best Electronics going.

 

If we support Brad, he will support us.

 

[Mclaneinc]

I really don't want to see community falling out over Brad, yes the sites a mess, yes its pretty obvious from the size of the thread Brad has some demons about how he deals with some people (is he just cranky that day or is it more?) but there's also some very satisfied people. No one expects people to kiss ass, I just suggested politeness and if that fails vote with your feet, if its a part only he has then you have to decide if you try again, I personally would not try more than twice because if you are that bad / rude at selling I'd rather do without.

 

I can understand people being frustrated but when it gets to serious name calling like fuckwit I think those doing it show a school yard mentality and we are ALL better than that I hope. Thankfully there lots of wonderful sellers of an assortment of Atari stuff here and we love you guy and gals(?), Brad has his moments it seems, he's a fair age now, it does not get easier with age and for that I wish him all the best (sorry, poor pun),

 

Life's hard enough...

 

(yeah I broke my last post promise )

[tuf]

• Gold contacts are superior to most any other kind, but not supernaturally so.

 

Greatest comment of all time.

Edited November 29, 2016 by tuf

[DavidMil]

Been dealing with Brad a LONG time. Only time he got a little stern with me was when I ordered about $250 worth of IC's. The problem

arose with the amount of each IC (5 to 10 of each). Must have been about 30 different IC's for: 800, 800XL, 130XE, 850, 1050, and a 835 modem.

He told me to keep my orders down to 5 to 10 things. Other than that, I now send PDF's only, no more phone calls. About five to ten business

days later my stuff shows up on the porch, my card has been charged, and the invoice is in the package. Sometimes it's all there and sometimes

it's not. I called him about once and he said if it's not on the invoice, he's sold out of that item. Simple enough. I've been wanting to place another

order for a while but with Christmas around the corner and 3 children, 8 grandkids and 3 great grandkids (along with brothers and sister and nieces

and nephews) I might have to go back to work next year just to pay for the holidays. My wife told me the other day that next year everyone is getting

gift cards. Smart girl!

David