UPDATE: Newegg’s Reputation For Customer Service Remains Unbroken
Reader RJ purchased an Nvidia graphics card from Newegg and submitted his $20 rebate information in January. Nearly 5 months later, he is still waiting for his cash. He wrote to Newegg for answers but received a tepid reply. RJ’s letter and Newegg’s response, inside…
To whom it may concern:
I wanted to let both Newegg and MyRebates411 know that I am displeased with the $20 rebate process for my Foxconn FV-N84SM2DT GeForce 8400 video card. (Newegg Order #72954831) I submitted my rebate in January following every rule MyRebates411 could dole-up including:
1.) Registering at the Myrebates411.com
2.) Writing my Myrebates411.com username on the rebate form
3.) Writing my Myrebates411.com transaction ID on the rebate form
4.) Writing Newegg.com, the promotion code and transaction ID on the
back bottom of envelope
5.) I included UPC code and original receipt.I have done all this only to be told that Myrebates411 had a server crash that lost all customer rebate submissions information from December and January and not to contact Myrebates411 until April. However I can be assured it will come. This information came from the Myrebates411 web site. My username on their site is also no longer valid to check my rebate status after the crash.
It is now May 7th and no rebate has come. I have contacted Myrebates411 via email and was told by ?John? to email him a copy of my rebate form. (Ticket #8076) I did so and emailed ?John back on three occasions for an update yet he has not responded. Apparently John has better things to do then right a wrong his company made. Why do I have to be penalized because Myrebates411 had a server crash??
It is quite obvious to me that Myrebates411 could care less. I want to let Newegg know that as a long time customer I am thus far unsatisfied with Newegg utilizing a rebate program via Myrebates411. Furthermore I will avoid future products advertising rebates if I find out the company behind them is Myrebates411.
Newegg’s response,
Dear Customer,
Thank you for contacting Newegg.
Please kindly note that all rebates are issued through the manufacturers directly. Any use of the aforementioned rebates is limited to the terms and conditions as determined by the product manufacturer. As for the mail-in rebate, we have contacted our related department for further investigation. Once I receive their feedback, I will update you as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to let us know.
Sincerely,
Ruby Luo
Have I exceeded your expectations today?
Some quick research revealed that myrebates411 is having some serious problems. Aside from the myriad of disgruntled customers, we discovered this statement from myrebates411 posted in March:
Our Customers,
***This is an automated message so please do not respond because it cannot be answered.***
Most of you know that we experienced a hardware crash on our servers at ipowerweb that was not our fault.
This crash affected our RAID drives which made it impossible to restore them on an as is basis. It does not mean that you lost your rebate. You will not lose your rebate. We are in the process of re-entering the data on our own systems from your mailed-in copies, and have almost completed the task.
It was not possible to restore all of the usernames and passwords of everyone on the website exactly as they were because new people are being added all the time and it might create duplications; therefore, some people will have their password NOT recognized when trying to check the status of their rebate.
If that happens, it will do no good to attempt to click the missing password link to get your password. Customers will need to create a new username and password and reregister when they apply for a new rebate. This new registration will not work to see the status of an old rebate. This problem only effects certain months.
We will begin issuing checks for November promotions to customers who have not received them due to the website outage. This will begin sometime next week.
We are asking customers to help us help you.
Attempting to answer the sheer volume of emails just to check a status is slowing down the main purpose, which is to help you get your check-because we attempt to answer every email.Our priority is to get you your check and the volume or emails is seriously slowing down that process. We cannot possibly answer thousands of emails and get your check issued in a timely manner. We have upgraded our site to insure this never happens again. The site is functional so all new entries and some old entries will be able to track their status; however, some people will need to reregister. Even if you reregister, this will not insure you will be able to track your old rebates. It only insures you will be able to track the new rebates you enter.
We thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Customer Service
Newegg blames myrebates411 and myrebates411 blames “ipowerweb?” We don’t even want to hear ipowerweb’s excuse. It seems like a big game of culpability hot potato. Hopefully, Newegg can put enough pressure on myrebates411 so that they’ll cough up your $20. If not, we would like to see Newegg, at least, step up with $20 store credit as not to put any cracks in their reputation.
(Photo: Getty)
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@Ben Popken:
I would agree 100% with this statement. But in this case, how is Newegg offering the rebate? They aren’t, Foxconn is.
@Ben Popken: Agreed. So where’s the story about NewEgg not honoring their rebates? I’d be all over that.
NewEgg is not hiding the original price from the consumer, nor are they hiding the fact that this is a rebate from the manufacturer.
Maybe the argument is that NewEgg should pull all items that feature a manufacturer rebate, but I hardly see how that serves consumers.
I’ve had my rebate rejected recently, and they didn’t even bother to give a reason. Everything was done 100% correctly, but my envelope came back unopened with “return to addressee” stamped on it…
Let’s just face it…rebates are the newest scam going. Don’t buy anything that offers a rebate, no matter what company it is from. Mine was from Kitchenaid, which you would assume is an upstanding company. The fact is, trashy ripoff fly-by-night rebate companies handle the actual rebates, and once their quota is filled, they are just going to reject the rest they receive.
I haven’t seen the original product page, but if Newegg advertised the rebate alongside the product as an inducement to purchase, then they bear responsibility for seeing it properly fulfilled.
Wow they have some really nice RAID arrays if they can’t recover the data. I can hear it now:
IT MORON 1:”So RAID 0 is the one that is redundant?”
IT MORON 2:”Yes, the zero is for how much information you will lose if there is a failure!”
And seriously, ever hear of OnTrack, guys? Sheesh.
I have not had a problem receiving a rebate but they are too much trouble than they are worth. Between filling out the form, making copies of the paperwork, mailing it off, waiting in long bank lines to cash the check, all this doesn’t really seem like much of a savings to me. I shouldn’t have to jump through hoops if the manufacturer and retailer want me to spend my money.
As someone else said, I consider them a bonus but a rebate offer will not entice me purchase if the underlying price isn’t right. I want my savings up front and not at the whim of a manufacturer 4 months later.
Yeah, I’m going to have to give a thumbs-up to NewEgg. They’ve always been good to me.
That said, I pretty much avoid items with rebates. It’s only a discount I may or may not get, and I don’t really have time to mess around with this kind of paperwork.
Newegg is the new Tigerdirect!
I really don’t get the deal with blaming the retailer here. Is this an SEO move or something?
Newegg always seems to label their rebates as being from the manufacturer (newegg’s rebates are otherwise “instant” and done at checkout).
“RJ” is pretty dense based on this:
I blame The Consumerist for my soda being warm because I left it out while I was reading this post.
Absolutely love NewEgg, have spent thousands of dollars there over the last few years, using the exclusively for all things PC. However, I’ve also been burned by the mail-in-rebate scam their suppliers pull (HIS Hightech boned me on $40), and I do place some blame on NewEgg for even supporting this practice. Sure, I learned to always avoid MIRs, but NewEgg could really do some good by preventing other poor saps from falling for them in the future. I know this is insanely wishful thinking, of course.
I lost on a Foxconn/myrebates411 video card too.
I had the exact same experience as was described, including similar emails to me and from me. The first few were answered and the last few have gone unanswered.
Only ONCE out of years of rebates has this happened…and that was a manufacturer rebate in which the manufacturer went out of business. My opinion is that Foxconn ultimately owes the money on this, otherwise all companies could use third party rebate processors that do NOT pay out. This would save a lot of money, but is obviously fraudulent. Newegg (or zipzoomfly, in my case) only hurt their reputations a little by advertising a product for less than what they expect customers’ AR prices to be. I hope retailers spend so much on customer support regarding this that they find that it is no longer worthwhile carrying shoddily-rebated items.
Dear Newegg,
You could solve this problem for the rest of time by not allowing these stupid mail-in rebates (which I have noticed you doing more and more of). Yes, it is not actually Newegg offering the rebates, but it is your store, and you could mandate no more mail-in rebates. Help yourself, help the world.
Sincerly,
The World
I want to add my voice to those concerned about The Consumerist bashing a fine etailer like Newegg because some of the products they sell are covered by manufacturer rebates. The manufacturers are the sole responsible entities for their rebates. If the manufacture fails to honor their rebate it is a relfection on the company not on the retailers who sell the product on good faith. Newegg is one of the few honorable elctronics etailers and has always offered service beyond reproach. The Consumerist owes a big apology.
Months ago I purchased a graphics card from NewEgg that had a MyRebates411 kickback of $10. Immediately upon attempting to file for the rebate, I got a sick feeling in my stomach. The whole application was packed with disclaimers warning that if you screw up on one tiny bit of the process, your claim would be denied.
Midway through, I had to pick a very specific product identification from a drop-down list. Unfortunately, my *exact* item was not in their list. After explaining myself to a NewEgg rep, they instantly gave me a $10 credit on my charge card. I can see why though, they would not want to make wholesale coverage of MyRebates411 this time. It looks like a colossal f*ck up, and may well be the end of that company.
If a website (Newegg in this case) advertises said rebate as a method to entice a buyer into buying the product, they are as responsible as anyone.
If Newegg had any links or mentions on their website or the rebate, then they have entered into the rebate frey. Now if this was a direct manufacturer’s rebate that the OP got from the manufacturer’s website, then NewEgg has no responsibility…
Plain and simple….
@na2rboy: Great idea. Just pull all items as soon as the mfg offers a rebate or refuse to advertise the fact that a mfg rebate is offered for the item.
Next month on the Consumerist: “NewEgg forgot to advertsie that there was a $50 mfg rebate on my item and they won’t compensate me for this.”
@rellog: The NewEgg price is always listed more prominently than the after rebate price. So I don;t think you can say they are deceiving the customer as to the true cost of the item. Would you rather they not list the rebate at all? Because I’d like to know that I might get $50 back from the mfg.
Damn, but I’m sounding like a NewEgg fanboy. Sorry about that.
FWIW…it ain’t hard to go take a look at the NewEgg website and see how they advertise products with rebates. I’m pretty sure they aren’t blocked by your ISP. Yet.
It doesn’t matter how the rebate is advertised, it is still included in the advertisement.
If they didn’t want to shoulder any responsibility then they should not list any rebates for the product, or simply put a “see manufacturer for any possible rebates” on their pages.
No matter how proment they post the before rebate price, that lower number is still a deciding factor for many individuals.
For example- If NewEgg had video card that was $175 before rebate, but $125 after manufacturer’s rebate, and Zipzoom had the same card for $150 OTD, who would most people be more inclined to buy from?
Yeah… I’ve had nothing but the best service from Newegg. Fry’s and BestBuy? Well, they’re the ones that drove me to Newegg in the first place.
This has got to be a fluke.
@rellog: Right. Less information is better than more information. Why trust the consumer to make an informed choice.
I just don’t get it.
@rellog:
So let’s say Best Buy (or Circuit City, or Fry’s, or whoever) advertises an item with a rebate, which I buy and then don’t get said rebate. Should I be able to march into Best Buy and demand my rebate money? I’m thinking that’s not going to get me very far, and after reading some of the stories on this site, possibly arrested. How is this situation any different?
had something similar happen to me at Newegg. Hound them some more, they’ll eventually issue you a store credit….
Pretty bad rebate company here. Sounds more like a made up lie than anything. For you to have those kind of issues, it would require a significant failure. Ofcourse that wouldn’t be an issue if regular backups were made, something I would be interested in hearing their reponse to.
I would call Newegg up, you get far better service over the phone than via email. You can always argue you that as Newegg advertised this rebate, and you fulfilled the requirements, that they are partial to blame.
Try to be nicer about it though. Don’t see too demanding, you could just easily talk calmly and get a credit issue to your card.
I’ve never had an issue with any rebate from Newegg before, but since many companies handle them, there is no way to know. I have never had issues with ones processed via rebatestatus.com aka Continential Promotion Group Inc.
Don’t give up so soon, email customer service is always the worst of any company, you are likely to get a better response from phone customer service.
talk with ur $… I won’t be buying HIS products anymore… Customer’s are getting disillusioned by the rebate scam… NewEgg must be receiving a ton of complaints and still they continue dealing with these companies… Its NewEgg’s loss in the end. Shame.
@Franklin Comes Alive!: Legally speaking, yes you can. You may need to sue in small claims, but you are without a doubt legally entitled. Just because it takes some wrangling doesn’t mean it isn’t possible.
@backbroken: It isn’t an “informed” choice, is it now? The consumer is being offered an incentive to buy from a specific retailer, with the promise of a rebate. They are advertising the price of the product after rebate (even if it is less prominent that the retail price) and as such become responsible for that rebate fulfillment. If the store doesn’t like it, then they don’t need to participate in offering the rebates.
And BTW, many of these rebates may be from the manufacturer, but those rebates are conditional on where you purchase. So while something may have a rebate offered by the manufacturer, the store is usually deeply involved.
People that expound on how companies should have the right to do whatever, whenever piss me off.
Isn’t this why Office Max did away with rebates all together? Anyway, in my limited experienced with Newegg, it’s been ok.
The first time I ordered thermal paste UPS shipped to the wrong place, and I ended up waiting 10 days for it (I had ordered rush processing, which actually isn’t any faster than regular processing, and which makes this story even worse). I got the product after 10 days, but at around day 7 I said fuck it and went to Worst Buy and got better paste for the same price (that will probably be the only time I will ever say a positive thing about Worst Buy unless they close up shop and start giving away their shit for free). Yes, Newegg/UPS were so bad in that case that I had to end my unofficial boycott of Worst Buy for a day.
The second time I ordered from Newegg was a week or so ago, and the product (a DVD Burner) had an awesome price and was delivered to my door in two days. It couldn’t have been any better.
I guess the moral of this story is that Newegg isn’t as bad as some people claim it is, but in some cases it isn’t as good as people claim it is either (you’ll hear a lot of people going on and on about Newegg, and like everything it should be taken with a grain of salt). BTW, just because Newegg has a high reseller rating on X website doesn’t mean it’s a perfect company.
With all of that said, Newegg is probably where I’ll be mostly shopping for computer stuff from now on, given that CompUSA closed and Worst Buy/Circuit City are a joke. There is always Office Max too, but they usually have a limited selection of everything. I don’t know what happened to Office Depot, but it used to be a great store that’s just ok now. The deals are hard to find there.
Also, I have no idea what Newegg’s rebate system is like, but it sounds like something I might stay away from.
As for your problem with the rebate, if you put more pressure on Newegg and the rebate company and you still get bullshit, you might want to consider small claims court.
Curiously, I got a laptop from Circuit City in 2004 that came with $300 in rebates, all of which I had no trouble getting. You would think of all companies, Circuit City would be the one to fuck something like that up. Then again, that was in 2004.
Good luck.
For the record, since I hadn’t really mentioned it, I don’t think this is a negative for Newegg yet. I’m speaking in general about ANY store that advertises with a rebate…
@na2rboy: Why should the rest of us pay more because your lazy? I’ve gotten back hundreds over the years.
If you don’t want rebates, don’t participate. It’s simple.
@rellog: How did I ever say that NewEgg has the right to do whatever, whenever?
Simply saying that if they sell a product that comes with a rebate from the manufacturer, you are better off knowing that than not knowing.
How is this NewEgg’s fault? They don’t issue the rebates.
@Metropolis: Take a look at Newegg’s rebates…. First off, the ADVERTISE the rebate on the product’s page. That is an enticement, plain and simple.
Second, many of the rebates on Newegg are specific to NEWEGG. That means that the rebate is inextricably linked to said rebate.
Which means they are completely complicit in the offering and therefore legally bound to fulfill it if the manufacturer or “fulfillment center” should fail to do so.
Argggggg! I hate not being able to edit my posts! How about adding that feature mods…
For clarification…
“Second, many of the rebates on Newegg are specific to NEWEGG. That means that the store is inextricably linked to said rebate.”
All i want to know is.. where do i buy all my computer parts! I’m going to build a computer for my cousin next month and i need cheap parts! And please don’t tell me tigerdirect, their shipping is brutal…
I’ve had a similar problem also. I don’t blame Newegg, they are wonderful. It’s the rebate companies they contract through.
I don”t know if it’s the shear volume of rebates. Postal service error…lost in the mail somewhere. Newegg is now using Status Now and I’m been waiting over 5 months for my $50 rebate.
I called Status Now and they said I should receive it in a week…sometimes, maybe it takes just a phone call…but we will see if in a week.