Trellot Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) I'm having a devlish time getting a response from BE! I've sent like 7-8 emails from 4 different accounts over the course of several weeks; no response. His site talks about a SPAM filter, so I changed my titles on the emails and on and on. Then I called it in and left a message and return number...nothing lol! His hours are like a few hours in the afternoon, so I'll probably have to call in although i'm so busy during that time ugg lol! Anyone else having similar issues? Note: I've used all these email accounts in previous purchases with Best, so I don't get what's going on... I know this isn't necessarily 8-bit related, although the parts are all for an Atari 400 repair so figured why not here lol! ~ Trellot Edited August 21, 2019 by Trellot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 13 minutes ago, Trellot said: I'm having a devlish time getting a response from BE! I've sent like 7-8 emails from 4 different accounts over the course of several weeks; no response. His site talks about a SPAM filter, so I changed my titles on the emails and on and on. Then I called it in and left a message and return number...nothing lol! His hours are like a few hours in the afternoon, so I'll probably have to call in although i'm so busy during that time ugg lol! Anyone else having similar issues? Note: I've used all these email accounts in previous purchases with Best, so I don't get what's going on... I know this isn't necessarily 8-bit related, although the parts are all for an Atari 400 repair so figured why not here lol! ~ Trellot As a guess I would say he does not want to have contact with you and somehow knows that all those emails are you. ? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Thag Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 You might reference a recent thread here called 'Worst Electronics'. Don't order from him. It's just not worth the hassle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manterola Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I ordered 3 week ago or so (I needed a keyboard connector and a Pokey chip), just after reading the Worst electronics thread... I have to say he answered next day, with a total $ including shipping. So I paid thru Paypal. The order was shipped after few days (2, 3, or 4 I don't remember). Pretty smooth transaction... I guess I just followed the rules (as Jerry Seinfeld did). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colleton Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 I called him week before last and had the keyboard and new mylar in 3 days. I've never tried e-mailing him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted August 21, 2019 Share Posted August 21, 2019 2 hours ago, Trellot said: I'm having a devlish time getting a response from BE! I've sent like 7-8 emails from 4 different accounts over the course of several weeks; no response. His site talks about a SPAM filter, so I changed my titles on the emails and on and on. Then I called it in and left a message and return number...nothing lol! His hours are like a few hours in the afternoon, so I'll probably have to call in although i'm so busy during that time ugg lol! Anyone else having similar issues? Note: I've used all these email accounts in previous purchases with Best, so I don't get what's going on... I know this isn't necessarily 8-bit related, although the parts are all for an Atari 400 repair so figured why not here lol! ~ Trellot Emails are 'iffy'. I always call him. I related one problem some time back about big orders, and the only problem I've had since then was a package he sent that had so much tape on it, I thought I was going to have to rent a jack hammer to get it open. That old Atari tape he uses has changed to shoe leather! David 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellot Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 9 minutes ago, DavidMil said: Emails are 'iffy'. I always call him. I related one problem some time back about big orders, and the only problem I've had since then was a package he sent that had so much tape on it, I thought I was going to have to rent a jack hammer to get it open. That old Atari tape he uses has changed to shoe leather! David I've ordered via email a majority of the time, one phone call only. Never experienced a complete Black Out like this though. I can't believe that ALL of my emails have become subject to his SPAM Filtration System however! I did read through the Worst Electronics thread posted here with much mirth and hilarity! ? Perhaps knowing now that Brad is every bit the curmudgeon...something that, as I look back on some of our email exchanges from the past, explains a few things...I wonder if he hasn't Blacklisted me due to having more than 4 items on list for purchase? Ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellot Posted August 21, 2019 Author Share Posted August 21, 2019 (edited) UPDATE: Just called in and spoke to Brad and only ordered 2 of the most necessary items on my list of 9...I resisted adding more! hahaha! That will be for another call. Ah well...If it's small orders he wants I suppose I can comply. The call went like this, "Hi, Brad got a couple items for order" ... "Hold-on..." then much rummaging and backround noise, sound of boxes dropping, then the sound of a television, finally back to phone "Ok, got a pad and pin shoot". Hehehe Edited August 21, 2019 by Trellot 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 It's sometimes hard to hit the minimum $50 needed for a PayPal order (my preferred payment method). I had to suck up a couple dollar penalty on my last order because I didn't hit the $50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deteacher Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 I've ordered from him a few times over the phone and I've even done troubleshooting with them over the phone. They are super helpful and stuff I've ordered from them is shipped quickly. I've got nothing but positive things to say about them. Not sure why you had trouble, but I'm glad to hear it worked out in the end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 I ordered a XDM121 a few weeks ago and it arrived in days, just like all of my previous orders. And he’s responded to all of my emails, so I can’t imagine what the trouble might be. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Isn't it that you have to put just "Atari" in the subject line or its spam filtered? He's a cranky sod for sure but if people are still getting parts then I guess it works for some....Strange working process though.....Customer unfriendly mostly unless you play his game.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Again, not my experience...Brad has always been very professional in my dealings with him. And I’ve never had to put “Atari” in the subject line. He did say that he was very busy placing orders a week ago; perhaps that’s an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 6 minutes ago, davidcalgary29 said: Again, not my experience...Brad has always been very professional in my dealings with him. And I’ve never had to put “Atari” in the subject line. He did say that he was very busy placing orders a week ago; perhaps that’s an issue. From the Best Site 1 min ago.. Quote E-Mail Because of the big volume of Spam E-Mails we receive everyday, we had to install E-Mail Spam filters on our server. When sending an E-Mail to Best, Please put the word "Atari", Atari item or Atari part number, It seems some people do get an ok experience but Bradley is well known for being a grump with orders, it does happen David, some people just seem to get lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+davidcalgary29 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Sure, not discounting anyone’s experiences. I just really haven’t had a bad experience with ANYONE here and it’s always a little surprising to me to hear of such stories. Or maybe it’s just that I’m such a cranky sod myself that everyone else seems nice in comparison. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+-^CrossBow^- Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) I've only ordered from BE a few times over the past 20 years. Each time I've ordered, it has gone smooth without issues. As an example of this, I sent an email a week ago to BE asking about the availability of some parts I was interested in and asked about stock on a few things I couldn't find a PN for on his website. His answer was... terse but he did reply back to me later that same evening. Basically he just stated that if it is listed on the website, he has it in stock. And that because of the large volume of parts they have, they can't have everything listed on the website so he just wanted to know what I was interested in. I replied back thanking him for his reply and listed quantity and part descriptions of what I was specifically needing. He replied back within an hour stating he had everything I needed, and even suggested some other stuff based on what I was ordering. (I'm sure he was just upselling...but I'm okay if the items are relevant and I can use them). So I replied back with my confirmation of the order along with my name and address information. The next morning he had a final tally ready to go and since my order was nearly $100, he provided the paypal information as well. I paid via paypal late last Friday evening. He replied back about 11:30pm last Friday my time stating my order was boxed up and 'shipping'. Imagine my shock when the following Monday afternoon, I receive my order from BE. So I apologize for the length of this, but I wanted to illustrate my experience on my last order with BE. Because, this is how all my orders over the years have pretty much been. I've not had any issues and I think that as long as you put 'Atari' in that subject line and keep your email to the point, you will get a much better response and experience with BE. Edited August 22, 2019 by -^Cro§Bow^- 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 (edited) Maybe depending on time of day or the day itself he likes phone calls and email is in the not so much category.... Plenty of folks are like that. perhaps give him time to wake up and then get the order in before the day wears on and the aggravation or sunsetting for the day starts... Edited August 22, 2019 by _The Doctor__ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 All this got me to thinking, I've been buying from Brad for so long that he has my credit card on file, I call him and tell him what I want, he ships the order and I find out what it cost in a couple of days when the parts arrive. When you call, take a second and ask him how his day is going. Also I'd like to know what is the lowest Customer Order Number out there. Mine starts with BT06... Anyone got a lower number? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellot Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 9 hours ago, Mclaneinc said: Isn't it that you have to put just "Atari" in the subject line or its spam filtered? He's a cranky sod for sure but if people are still getting parts then I guess it works for some....Strange working process though.....Customer unfriendly mostly unless you play his game.. For sure I had "Atari" in the title for all of my email inquiries, however there was one that I had FWD in it since I forwarded the initial email to my work and resent from there ... that's when I started looking on his site and found the Atari requirement in the title and the SPAM Filtration System he has enabled and all the different ways to end up dead in the SPAM pot. However, to my mind, there's no way all 4 of my email addresses ended up as SPAM. I had 9 items on my list with a request of x1 of each, perhaps that was more of the reason + a particularly bad couple of weeks on his end? IDK. I've got two things coming, yay! I'll let him cool down now and order the rest in small fits, and starts and half-breaths, ha! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellot Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, DavidMil said: Also I'd like to know what is the lowest Customer Order Number out there. Mine starts with BT06... Anyone got a lower number? Mine is BT14 from just the last couple of years. But his site says you can use this number if you ordered in the last year or so -> Best Customer number (if you are placed a Best order within a year and have not moved) Does this mean you lose the number otherwise? Have you ordered something every year from the first order you placed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S1500 Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 Best Electronics' eCommerce solutions are as retro as the merchandise he's selling. What's a fax machine? Call the main switchboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellot Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 1 minute ago, S1500 said: Best Electronics' eCommerce solutions are as retro as the merchandise he's selling. What's a fax machine? Call the main switchboard! Lol! I thought about trying the FAX route too, but he's using E-fax so it would just be another email in PDF or TIFF format wouldn't it'? Bam, straight to SPAM again lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 4 minutes ago, Trellot said: Mine is BT14 from just the last couple of years. But his site says you can use this number if you ordered in the last year or so -> Best Customer number (if you are placed a Best order within a year and have not moved) Does this mean you lose the number otherwise? Have you ordered something every year from the first order you placed? I don't think you loose it. It may get removed from his computers though. I've had this number for so long, I can't tell you when I got it. At least 30 years ago. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidMil Posted August 22, 2019 Share Posted August 22, 2019 6 minutes ago, S1500 said: Best Electronics' eCommerce solutions are as retro as the merchandise he's selling. What's a fax machine? Call the main switchboard! He told me last year that he shut the fax off because no body was using it anymore. But fax is alive and well (if you've ever had to deal with mortgage or insurance companies you'd know what I mean)! David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trellot Posted August 22, 2019 Author Share Posted August 22, 2019 Just now, DavidMil said: I don't think you loose it. It may get removed from his computers though. I've had this number for so long, I can't tell you when I got it. At least 30 years ago. David Yeah figured as much, very cool. I've had my credit card on file with him as well, on my number, and it's worked well in the past until recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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