Jump to content
IGNORED

BUYER BEWARE...Shady online Atari dealer (Best Electronics)


3DOMan

Recommended Posts

I'm not sure if this thread is even on the right board, apologies if it is not (mods please feel to move this thread to the proper section if it is not) but I feel the need to share my recent customer service experience with Best Electronics, a prominent online Atari dealer.

 

Before I get into it I'd like to say that I've purchased both games and hardware from their online store several times over the years, with no major snags. I've literally spent hundreds of dollars at their online store in the past and have always been a loyal customer.

 

Which is why I am even more disgusted with the fallout from a recent order I made...or tried to make.

 

Here are the e-mail logs (with only names/addresses/ads removed), they speak for themselves. The basic gist is that they tried to change the price on two items halfway through an order, effectively charging me an extra $18 on my order over what the list prices were. (I think what happened is they did an ebay search and decided they could get more for the games). I called them out on the list prices, even copying/pasting one of the list prices quoted from their own webpage. They sneakily went back and edited the list prices and then started to ignore/avoid my e-mails, when I insisted I still wanted to place the order, but refusing to pay the difference. Rather than work with me on the deal or own up to the mistake,, they continued avoiding my e-mails, then finally a week later they send me a message 'declining' my order and saying it was the decision of the 'warehouse' and out of their hands. Total BS. Has anybody else been the brunt of this online store's shady dealings?

 

"

In that case I would like to prepare a big order.
Atari Jaguar Sensible Soccer $39.95
Atari XE Airball $34.95
And some loose Atari XE loose cartridges...before I continue, I would like to verify, these are all the tan plastic/blue label XE carts right?

ballblazer 9.95
blue max 9.95
donkey kong 8.95
eastern front 8.95
fight night 10.95
hardball 9.95
one on one 4.95
rescue on fractalus 9.95
And of course some CIB Lynx games

pacland $29
pinball jam $14.95
rampage $28.50
roadblasters $19.95
rygar $14.95
gauntlet 3 $29
block out $19.95
awesome golf $29
slime world $14.95
baseball heroes $19.95
electrocop $19.95

Please send me the total, thanks!

 

profile_mask2.png
Best Electronics - Bradley Koda
cleardot.gifMay 7 (7 days ago)
cleardot.gif
to me
cleardot.gif
Thank you for your E-Mail dated 05-06-14
Q. In that case I would like to prepare a big order.
A. OK
Q. And some loose Atari XE loose cartridges...before I continue, I would like to verify, these are all the tan plastic/blue label XE carts right?
A. all of the loose Atari XE Game Cartridges on your list have the tan / light gray XE Game cartridge shells with the blue XE labels, except the Atari Eastern Front. Both versions have the older brown Atari Game shell with the metal back. There was one version with the blue XE label (do not have loose, only boxed) and a second version with the brown label with yellow letters (have loose).
Q. Please send me the total, thanks!
A. OK here is a complete break down of costs for your Atari order”
1 Atari Jaguar Sensible Soccer U$D 39.95
1 Atari XE Airball U$D 34.95
1 Loose Ballblazer U$D 15.95 (down to the last few of them)
1 Loose Blue Max U$D 9.95
1 Loose Donkey Kong U$D 20.00 (Non XE case version U$D 8.95)
1 Loose Fight Night U$D 10.95
1 Loose Hardball U$D 9.95
1 Loose One on One U$D 4.95
1 Loose Rescue on Fractalus U$D 9.95
1 Lynx Pacland U$D 29.00
1 Lynx Pinball Jam U$D 14.95
1 Lynx Rampage U$D 28.50
1 Lynx Roadblasters U$D 19.95
1 Lynx Rygar U$D 14.95
1 Lynx gauntlet U$D 29.00
1 Lynx Block Out U$D 19.95
1 Lynx Awesome Golf U$D 29.00
1 Lynx Slime World U$D 14.95
1 Lynx Baseball Heroes U$D 19.95
1 Lynx Electrocop U$D 19.95
Shipping U$D 12.35
Insurance U$D 6.75
------------------
Total U$D 415.85

Regards
Bradley Koda
profile_mask2.png
May 7 (7 days ago)
cleardot.gif
to Best
cleardot.gif
Did you just change the price on Donkey Kong and Ball blazer? Those were not the prices when I looked. I may have to remove some items from my order.
cleardot.gif
profile_mask2.png
May 7 (7 days ago)
cleardot.gif
to Best
cleardot.gif
And just so you know. Here is the actual quote from your page at http://www.best-electronics-ca.com/xe_game.htm#BL

"Atari Ballblazer, cartridge only, no instructions. RX8064-LM $9.95"

Is this a common business practice of yours? Charging more for an item than your list price? Do you often change prices half way through a transaction? I think you should honor the price listed on your page.

 

profile_mask2.png
Best Electronics - Bradley Koda
cleardot.gifMay 7 (7 days ago)
cleardot.gif
to me
cleardot.gif
Thank you for your E-Mails dated 05-07-14
Q. Did you just change the price on Donkey Kong and Ball blazer? Those were not the prices when I looked.
A. Yes and No. Your Atari order pointed out a couple of mistakes at the Best Web site. The Best Catalog addendum has the correct price for the loose 8 bit Ballblazer game but the same price change never updated on the XE Game software listing page. The second mistake was we listed the 1st generation 8 bit Donkey Kong loose game for U$D 8.95 which we have a lot of them in stock and but we have very few of the XE versions Donkey Kong left in stock. Both corrections / updates should be done by our Best Web Master this afternoon
Regards
Bradley Koda
profile_mask2.png
May 7 (7 days ago)
cleardot.gif
to Best
cleardot.gif
Hi, the mistake is on your end, so you should own up to the original price. I'm not paying the difference. Do you want to risk losing a big order like this because you made a mistake?
cleardot.gif
profile_mask2.png
May 13 (1 day ago)
cleardot.gif
to Best
cleardot.gif

Hello? Are you going to respond to my e-mails? I've literally spent hundreds of dollars at your store over the years. I certainly deserve better customer service than this. You're about to not only lose my order, but lose me as a customer all together.

 

profile_mask2.png

Best Electronics - Bradley Koda
cleardot.gif4:33 PM (2 hours ago)
cleardot.gif
to me
cleardot.gif
Thank you for your E-Mail dated 05-13-14.
Q. Hello? Are you going to respond to my e-mails?
A. took a copy of your last E-Mails to our Atari Warehouse manager. He looked it over and our responses back to you. He said he will pass / decline your Atari order.
He said he is sure you can find all of the Atari items on your list on the Internet no problem.
Regards
Bradley Koda
cleardot.gif

 

"

 

Bottom line is they'd rather lose out on a $400 order (as well as a customer who has been buying from them for years) because they couldn't greed an extra $18 out of me. Sounds like smart business to me!

 

I know this may not be a popular opinion. Until recently, I myself would have likely ignored any negativity about Best Electronics, as I've always had success there in the past. That is why I posted the e-mail logs, to prove I'm not making this up or talking out of my ass. You be the judge.

Edited by 3DOMan
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have purchased from them before and never had any problems. If that's what happened, I can't believe they woukd loose such a big sale for such a small discrepancy. Not really good business practices if everything you are saying is true

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow. That's so shady. That's about only a 4.5% loss they would have taken which is really nothing for a $400+ order.

 

Makes me wonder if they jacked up prices on me without knowing. I've ordered from them a few times as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do agree with one thing that he said, in his last message. That all these games are available elsewhere on the internet.

 

And might I add, for much cheaper. For example he has Lynx Soccer, Chess, and Fussball listed for $46. These titles are all $10-$15 new on ebay. I'd say 200%+ markup is pretty good.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have purchased quite a few things there in the past few months and not had much of a problem personally. Though I do find it kind of funny how he acts like this is a huge operation like Amazon. He did get kind of defensive when I had a problem with the Lynx AC adapter I got from him, even though I thought I made it clear that I believed my Lynx was the problem. I will still be purchasing from him in the future, even though he does seem kind of delicate sometimes. The stuff I received has all been top notch.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never ordered anything from these people, but given the whole operation I will never waste my time with them... the entire concept seems to be ripe for bumblefucks to screw you whether its time or money (having dealt with many similar "dealers" in the past with the same setup)

 

I think in 2014 it should be just about braindead for a online store to be able to take your order and shipping information without having to beg for communication from someone who doesnt even bother to format their storefront better than a gigantic vomit pile of text.

 

and before anyone goes on about how hard it is to keep track of massive amounts of stuff on a website, again its 2014, these people have an inventory, even the most basic shop PHP file will import excel or CSV. so too lazy to copy paste, but not too lazy to send a half dozen emails jacking up the price based on some tidbit in the endless wall of vomit.

 

that should tell you to tip toe around this turd

Edited by Osgeld
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never ordered anything from these people, but given the whole operation I will never waste my time with them... the entire concept seems to be ripe for bumblefucks to screw you whether its time or money (having dealt with many similar "dealers" in the past with the same setup)

 

I think in 2014 it should be just about braindead for a online store to be able to take your order and shipping information without having to beg for communication from someone who doesnt even bother to format their storefront better than a gigantic vomit pile of text.

 

and before anyone goes on about how hard it is to keep track of massive amounts of stuff on a website, again its 2014, these people have an inventory, even the most basic shop PHP file will import excel or CSV. so too lazy to copy paste, but not too lazy to send a half dozen emails jacking up the price based on some tidbit in the endless wall of vomit.

 

that should tell you to tip toe around this turd

This gigantic vomit pile of text is the reason I never ordered anything from them. This isn't 1995 anymore.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The people running that site are jerks, plain and simple. I had a pretty disgusting e-mail exchange with them a while back, when I wanted to order a Jaguar and JagCD. It ended pretty much the same way yours did, with the exception that the responses I got were much ruder. I'd never recommend them to anyone and they're definitely not getting my business.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's such a shame that a store that has such a vast inventory of Atari products still insists on using such a crap website.

The site has scared me in the past. Just trying to find something has been a nightmare.

I have started a small online which I basically setup using the built in tools provided by my provider and if I paid someone like $2k they would be able to pretty it up. From the sounds of these guys turnover that would not be much in the scheme of things and the lost orders alone from people just saying "To hell with this site" would more than cover the admin costs of the site.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BE should have notified the OP of their pricing changes instead of just adding them to the bill and hoping that he wouldn't complain. Whether they give him the lesser price or not is their choice, but they should have been more communicative about their intentions.

 

I've only ever had one interaction with BE. I was interested in buying a refurb Lynx from them and got a grumpy rant about how it wouldn't be cost-effective for them to ship a Lynx to the UK.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you're going to gouge me, at least come up with something clever. Like, pretend the items are out of stock, and then at the last minute miraculously discover that you can get me copies of the two games I wanted, just at a slightly higher price. I might have actually fallen for that.

 

To just blatantly change the prices right in front of my face and act like I'm too stupid to notice, how insulting.

 

I know I must come off like an idiot that wants these games so badly that I will pay any price you throw at me, and I know there's just hundreds of people lining up to play these dusty old Atari XE games like it's the TitanFall 2 beta or something, but come on :-o

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've generally had good interactions with Brad over the years, but I know some people have had issues with him recently. Having said that, I think the OP's tone was overly aggressive and inappropriate. "Hi, the mistake is on your end, so you should own up to the original price. I'm not paying the difference. Do you want to risk losing a big order like this because you made a mistake?" This is frankly the kind of statement an a-hole makes. If I felt strongly about the pricing issue, I would have said "Thank you, is there any way you'd be willing to honor the listed price as that's what I had budgeted around and I would really love to move forward with this entire purchase". If he said no, I would have had sympathy for you. Telling a seller that they made a mistake, that they should own up to it, that you're not paying the difference and that you will pull your order is just really over the line and not necessary in this context. Frankly, I have a lot of respect for Brad for walking away from a big order like this when the buyer is being a jerk.

Edited by bojay1997
  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

and how exactly should one handle a bait and switch? I thought it was a rather civil response

 

the tactful thing would have been to honor the advertised price and hurry up and change it before anyone else got to it

Edited by Osgeld
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, that's why I said both parties could have handled it a little better. It does strike me as strange that they're willing to lose business and that larger order in particular, but for better or worse - that's their prerogative. I think at this point, especially those of us who have dealt with him in the past or have done some research here, just have to expect the potential of some level of quirkiness when dealing. It is what it is. In this case, I think they're doing 3DOMan a favor - some of those prices, oy!

 

And we all know that Bradley isn't worried about making changes (especially quick ones) to his site, so that would be an unrealistic expectation to project. The guy definitely has *his* way of doing things for sure! :rolling:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've ordered a 4-5 times over the more recent years, and I've never had a problem. However, I've read of occurrences such as this, before.

 

We just have to remember that - frankly (and miraculously) - there are only a couple of places to get new Atari stuff in 2014, and having heard of these occurrences, we very may well have to deal with "quirkiness" (to borrow a term from save2600, above) if we want to shop there. If we're wanting to buy a Swiffer to clean the kitchen floor, we certainly do not, as they're available on every street corner. I suppose it all depends upon how much one values the stuff.

 

Personally, if I was willing to spend $400+, I wouldn't balk over a few more bucks, although I wouldn't care for it. But choices are limited, and we must contend with the way things are....or not....don't buy anything. I'm not taking sides, but if I were on the other side of the fence (I was the seller) I'd have easily backed off on the additional bucks for a $400+ order.

 

So what we have is a situation that depends upon how badly the buyer wants the stuff, and how badly the seller wants to sell the stuff. It seems that the seller isn't in a hurry to dispose of the inventory, so a deal wasn't made. Evidently, you have to tread carefully with the seller, the alternative being to NOT buy. That's just the way it is, right or wrong. When buying a Swiffer, however, one is free to assert "customer rights" all day long since there are so many for sale.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I do agree with one thing that he said, in his last message. That all these games are available elsewhere on the internet.

 

And might I add, for much cheaper. For example he has Lynx Soccer, Chess, and Fussball listed for $46. These titles are all $10-$15 new on ebay. I'd say 200%+ markup is pretty good.

 

This. Everything they have is overpriced, and in many cases way overpriced. Many times BINs on eBay are cheaper. Besides a warranty on hardware, what's the big deal with his store?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

 

We just have to remember that - frankly (and miraculously) - there are only a couple of places to get new Atari stuff in 2014, and having heard of these occurrences, we very may well have to deal with "quirkiness" (to borrow a term from save2600, above) if we want to shop there.

 

The problem is, B.E. seems to know this. From the bad experiences that get posted here, they seem to have an "our way or the highway" tone because they realize they are one of the few non-ebay ways of getting these items. For the record, I only ordered something from them once - an Atari 7800 europad - and it went just fine. This was about 5 years ago though so perhaps things are going downhill over there. Is this a one man operation? Two? Is there actually a warehouse and if so, is it as jumbled and hard to find things as their website is? If so I'd be grumpy having to go through it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...