Overstock.com is a problem

[keats]

I am posting a copy of this letter I just sent through Planetfeedback regarding Overstock.com. I just want everyone here to know about the unethical way they conduct business so you can be avoid this merchant. In the past I have ignored their screw ups and dismissed their inept customer service reps as just untrained. But now I'm just plain fed up! Hope this is of help to someone.


Dear Mr. Byrne,

Consumers today have lots of options for buying the products and services they need, so I hope you'll pay attention to the problem I had with the experience on your Web site. I'm pretty upset about this.

I am having great difficulty regarding my order xxxxxx which came slashed and without its contents. I called Overstock.com's customer service and was told that I would be credited or could receive another item. I was also informed that you are having an ongoing problem with stolen and tampered pacakges. Because of this I opted for a refund as I did not want to go through the same difficulty again. After several days my account did not show a credit, so I called back and spoke to Darlene who informed me I would not be receiving a credit until a postal employee comes out and inspects the package and Overstock.com is reimbursed for the lost/stolen item. The time frame promised for refund was vague and unknown. In fact, the certainty of getting a refund is even more vague as you choose to ignore my repeated emails regarding stalling tactics and expediting my refund. The simple fact remains that you are the shipper of the merchandise, thus according to the USPS, responsible for making claims for lost/stolen/damaged merchandise. It is not my repsonsibilty to wait while you go about this process as you have my money and I have nothing but an empty envelope. The other troubling fact is that the mailer does not indicate it is insured and does not qualify according to USPS.com guidelines as reimburseable by them. Other on line merchants do not make their customers wait for such refunds and in doing so you have fostered much ill will and have lost a good customer. But most of all the unethical and unfair way that you have treated a customer is at the root of the problem as to hold the money hostage and offer no solution but "just wait" is the poorest customer service of all. In fact, when I stated to Darlene that I would be protesting the charge with Amex she invited me to do so. Thus once again customer service fails and so does the supervisor who let her conduct business in this manner. For the record, again here's my order number: xxxxxx.

I order from your online site all the time, so I hope you'll take my complaint seriously. I haven't had a good customer service experience with Overstock.com lately, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised by this latest complaint. I was attracted to your site because your prices are so reasonable. You can be sure, though, I probably won't spend any more even if you can resolve this problem.

Here's what I would like Overstock.com to do: I would like Overtstock.com to immediately issue me a full refund and apologize for the poor treatment I have received throughout this experience.

Because of this problem, I definitely won't give any repeat business to you; I definitely won't recommend Overstock.com to people I know.

Thanks for listening. I hope to hear from someone immediately regarding this complaint.. In the meantime I will be notifying the proper agencies that regulate online merchants (ie...Biz Rate BBB online Gomez etc...) about the poor treatment I have received during this transaction. Plus I will be notifying the BBB of Salt Lake City Utah as to how you are conducting business and handling consumer complaints.

[luckyme123]

Sorry that you had such problems.

I don't like like thier reply to you at all and I don't blame you for being angry. Such an occurance would make me angry too. Perhaps you just ran into an CSR who was in a sour mood.

However ..I have ordered from them twice and have had good results.

1. A Rugrats playhouse for my grandaughter arrived in perfect condition. She loved it, and I really got a great price on it from them.

2. A full size Down Comforter for my bed arrived in perfect condition and I love it. I have not found a better price anywhere on this item.

[Shermus]

Could not agree more ! Overstock.com is doomed. At first you order - it goes smooth. then again. Then you order a big ticket item. The screw ups seem to occur through incompetent employees. Digging deeper you find that there is some pattern here. Conclusion: It borders attempted Internet fraud.
Stay away ! Tell everyone !
P.S. Keep a record !!!

[imlu]

Wow...sorry to hear your problems. I have only ordered from them twice and did not have to call customer service so I consider myself lucky. I remember reading another post from someone who was unhappy with Overstock.com and here is someone who might be able to help you. I'll just paste the other message from him below. Good luck. I hope you get this resolved quickly and to your satisfaction.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I’m not going to pretend that I can solve all our customer service or product warranty problems. I can however, attest that we at Overstock.com try to provide the best products and customer service on the net. If you have a problem, email me directly and I’ll escalate it to someone in customer service that knows what they are doing. We appreciate your business and value you as a customer.

Cheers,

Steven Johnson
Data Feed & Affiliate Manager-Apparel, Jewelry and Accessories
Overstock.com
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now]

[crazytimes]

I've considered purchasing items from Overstock due to their prices, but wouldn't dare after reading all the horror stories!

I would totally dispute the charge with the credit company! I had to do that with HP once and it took 6 months but they FINALLY gave up and stopped pursuing it. They sent me a computer with a BROKEN HARD DRIVE and then proceeded to charge me for a new one! Couldn't believe it but got it all straightened out.

[errolw22]

I have 3 orders that have gone very well no problems.will buy from overstock.com again

I have ordered many things from Overstock and have been pleased with the product, promptness of delivery, and courtesy. Several family members have also ordered and been very satisfied.
You will find that almost any company, because of certain employees, can cause problems for consumers. They will also correct the problems in order to maintain their reputations. I find Overstock to be a very reputable operation.

[Rockabillie]

I've never had any trouble with Overstock. Just contest the charge on your credit card and you won't have to pay since you never got it. Deal with your credit card company, not overstock.

[dc94402]

I recently posted a chat dialog that has started some childish name calling. So....out of respect for the moderators, I have removed the post and will repost my opinions at a later time without the use of the chat dialog to avoid such reaction in the future.

BTW, I just ordered the same item that I originally ordered from Overstock.com (the one that they were unable to deliver on almost a month later and in turn cancelled my order entirely) on Saturday from barnesandnoble.com and I received confirmation that it will be out for delivery tomorrow (Tuesday). Unbelievable. Although the item is $50 more there, it was worth every penny not to have to go through the ordeal that I went through with Overstock. There is truth to the saying "penny-wise, pound foolish".

DC

Maybe they should rename it Over****.com?

[kells3]

I have ordered from them 4 or 5 times and have never had a problem. I would not be afraid to order from them again. I am sorry you had a problem.

[laura669]

DC- I can see what the CSR Rita treated you like she did. Your behavior was extremely childish, and between your grammar, your spelling, and the way you choose to deal with the situation it made her treat you like the ****ing idiot you appeared to be. There really is no reason to treat a CSR like that, she was only trying to do her job. She did not personally cancel your order, so really your outlash on her was completely uncalled for.

[dc94402]

I just checked my email and Overstock had the nerve to send me one of their stock emails asking me to review the item that they were unable to ship to me.

Hilarious.

[overstock-hater]

Here is my dissatisfaction story:

I recently bought a jacket in size medium at Overstock.com along with some other clothing. When the jacket arrived, I noticed that the bag covering it said that it was size medium, but the tag on the jacket itself said that it was size small.

I immediately contacted Overstock.com via live chat and was told that they would issue a return tag and order me another jacket in size medium. You see, the stock at Overstock.com is transient. When something is gone, it's gone. They said they had more of these jackets in medium the day of the live chat and I was relieved that I would be able to get what I ordered in the first place. They assured me that it was ordered, because they had my credit card number, etc.

Two weeks went by, and nothing.

Finally I called them. I was informed that they didn't have anymore of the jackets in medium. They said that they would send me out another return tag, but there was nothing they could do about the jacket.

I am totally PO'd because I really liked that jacket. Actually, I loved it. I had been searching high and low for a jacket just like that and had been delighted to find it online. It was perfect for my needs except that it was too small -- which was THEIR fault, bagging it improperly and sending me the wrong size. I told them that I refuse to pay the restocking fee on that item. They told me that they would make sure that this didn’t happen.


Finally I got the tag and sent the jacket back and eventually there was a credit on my card – which had a re-stocking fee deducted from it! I have called my credit card company and am disputing the entire charge. Overstock.com “customer service” reps are a bunch of liars.

When I wrote and asked them how they planned to compensate me for my extreme disappointment in their horrible customer service, they sent me a generic response, basically just a pat on the head -- run along now, little customer, we can't be bothered. It was obviously a form email.

What's my opinion of Overstock.com? Two words: they stink. Their customer service is the worst I’ve ever experienced online. I think all they care about is moving the merchandise off their shelves. I will never EVER buy from them again. As far as I’m concerned, the “big O” stands for “Over-hyped.” I hope one day they become the “big B” -- Bankrupt.

[drk]

I happened on this post while trying to find some email contacts for Overtstock. I realize it is an old thread, but thought I would add my two cents.
First my experience with them has not been good. While looking for an Ipod video I was amazed to see that they were ALL running as much and ususally MORE expensive than you can buy them at most local retail stores such as Target and Best Buy...so why bother? After finding that MOST of the merchandise was more expensive than I could get it locally at retail, I became disinterested.....and then came the emails! I "unsubscribed" 7 times. Then I started sending emails back as replies asking for the sales emails to stop. Two weeks ago I called and asked a CSR To STOP! Take me off the list! Sigh...still they come. So today I looked up every Overstock company email I could find and set up my email client to automatically delete anything that came from "@overstock.com" and forward a copy to each of the company emails I found. Intense? Maybe but I have wasted enough time here!

Now to the original writer and the very nasty person who attacked the original writer with reference to spelling and grammar. To the latter: you are a jerk who needs to learn to deal with the issues at hand within the pertinent frame of reference instead of intensifying and emotionalizing a situation with your personal perverse need to abuse other people with criticism. Give the guy a break, not everyone is gifted in business writing and Planet Feedback has some significant flaws. Most importantly, a flawed letter does not excuse a miserable experince for a customer.

That said, to the original writer: Planet Feedback is a handy resource, but it produces a letter filled with "canned" additives based on the multiple choices answers you give in one section. Regardless of how much sense the self-composed part of your letter makes, the software adds prewritten sentences and paragraphs to it, with the assumption of making it sound more professional. Often it only serves to make it sound choppy and illiterate.

One issue that Planet Feedback needs to address is the inability of the program to accept copied/pasted prose from Word or other programs. This would allow people to spell and grammar-check. If you need help in these departments, you can transfer your letter to Word, check it and manually make changes in PF. Most importantly...ALWAYS go over your letter in the last window...after PF has added their "extras" and EDIT! Even if you need to edit out their additions to make it sound right.

I think Overstock is Over-Priced and Under-Responsive to customers. And I.O. is my professional career.

[jkg263]

I have been an Overstock customer for a long time (several years), but will no longer deal with them. I ordered an item with expedited shipping of 2 days, but the order was going to take 6 days to arrive. I discovered this when on day 2, I checked the order and it was not shipped. The Overstock rep online stated that it could take 1-2 days in the warehouse first. I requested cancellation, but they said that it couldn't be cancelled. If the order is still in Overstock's possession, then they should be able to cancel!
After this online chat, I called Overstock and the rep said that it is in the check out section, that when you order expedited, it could take 1-2 additional days to leave the warehouse. I have never heard of such "****".
Now it will cost me to return something that Overstock could have simply cancelled.
Overstock needs to make the delay clearly understood, when taking your money for so called expedite service. They simply use this as another tool to make money off of customers.
There are many other internet companies out there, who do honor their expedite policies and anyone thinking of using Overstock.com needs to consider the others first............
Oh well, live and learn........