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Adorama for riMac.
- Thread starter MrFriday
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I just purchased my nMP from Adorama. Long story short, UPS fumbled and DESTROYED the nMP! Once Adorama received the return shipment from UPS (UPS quit updating tracking info and "didn't know the status") they immediately issued me a FULL refund and called/emailed me to ask if I wanted to reorder at the same price (limited time offer on the nMP). I indicated that I did want to reorder so they upgraded my shipping to overnight and I had it at 9:00 the next morning.
In other words, you can't go wrong with Adorama. Order with confidence and enjoy!
In other words, you can't go wrong with Adorama. Order with confidence and enjoy!
In my 20+ year experience with both Apple Computers and Photo Equipment purchases, both Adorama and B&H Photo Video are stellar companies to do business with.
Adorama fo riMac
rebby, hfg,
Thanks for taking the time to give feedback. It's very helpful in making a final decision. The only thing I'm waiting for is the outcome of "Tax Time", and an anticipated refund. I need to know how much I will get before I order.
thanks again,
MrFriday
rebby, hfg,
Thanks for taking the time to give feedback. It's very helpful in making a final decision. The only thing I'm waiting for is the outcome of "Tax Time", and an anticipated refund. I need to know how much I will get before I order.
thanks again,
MrFriday
I ordered a new Mac Pro from Adorama and I had a terrible experience.
Placed my order on December 30th for a stock 6-core nMP w/ AppleCare bundle. It was $3499 tax-free, which is an excellent price. I *just* received the computer this past Friday.
There was no indication on their website that it was out of stock. I ordered, and about 30 minutes later received a "We're sorry, we are out of stock, we will ship it to you when we have stock, the rest of your order is on hold, you will NOT be charged until your product ships".
OK, that's fine, I can wait...I'm not in any hurry. Sucks that I just paid $55 extra to have UPS 2-day shipping, but whatever.
A day later, I get another e-mail stating that my order has shipped. Yay! But, wait...where is the tracking information? And just what does "drop shipped" mean? The only thing next to it was an un-trackable "PO#". The computer itself had been "drop shipped", and the AppleCare packet was sent UPS 2-Day, with tracking information. A day later, I received the AppleCare packet.
I called customer service. Apparently, "drop shipping" means that they have sent my order to the manufacturer directly, and they (meaning Apple) are sending it to me, since Adorama's warehouse does not have stock. OK...so what's the tracking number? "We don't have one". OK...so when will I have one? "We don't know, whenever the manufacturer sends it." I'm a little peeved at the moment.
A day later, I noticed the funds had been completely taken out of my bank account. The authorizations fell off and they took the money and completed the transaction. I called again, asking for a tracking number. "We don't have it." OK...has it shipped yet? "The manufacturer has not shipped your order" Why was I charged? "We charge immediately when shipping via drop ship, that is our policy". This policy is not listed anywhere on their website, at all. In fact, nothing about "drop shipping" is on their website whatsoever. Only thing I had was "We will not charge you until your product actually ships".
The next two weeks were spent calling nearly every day, asking where was my product that they had no problem taking my money for, but not actually shipping. Customer service noted on my order every time I called, and I even got some customer service people who told me I should stop calling them every day. I guess I annoyed them.
So, a Friday rolls around and I noticed that, there was now a message on the product page that said "Please Note: This item is on the way to our warehouse and is expected in a few days!". Monday afternoon, that message went away, indicating they had stock. I called. The customer service rep told me that was an "error" on their website, that they don't expect to have stock until the third or last week of January. I then proceeded to call sales and inquire about the SKU..."Yes, we just got stock in today. We are in stock. If you order today before 8PM, we will ship same day". Called customer service back to complain that their warehouse has stock, but my order is in limbo somewhere even though I was charged on January 2nd. "That rep was informed". I was clearly being lied to.
I then e-mailed their customer service social media person, Helen, about my order. She repeated the same "third week of January", but gave me a date of January 21st for the shipment, with it on my doorstep by January 23rd. OK, fine.
Thursday the 22nd rolls around..still no tracking information. I called customer service...they were as clueless as ever. "We have no more information for you. Up to the manufacturer. As soon as we know the tracking number, we'll send it to you and update your order page online". Sent Helen yet another e-mail...Helen informs me that their warehouse clearly has stocked and she has no idea why it wouldn't have shipped. Says she'll look into it.
I'm raging and nearly in tears at this point that I spent and was charged $3500 on something I don't have, and for all I know, this back and forth and lies could go on for months. I made a decision in my mind that, by Feb 1st the latest, I was going to appeal to my bank to investigate for potential fraud and issue a chargeback to me. Meanwhile, I had this AppleCare packet staring me in the face the entire time.
Except, around 3 AM, I get an e-mail from UPS My Choice (the automatic delivery notifications you can sign up for). I have a package coming tomorrow...and it's the computer! Finally! But...it's not coming from Apple. It's coming from a third party distributor 20 minutes away from my house that I've never of called "Tech Data Corp".
This is what I think happened....Adorama sent my order to a third party distributor, who did not update them regarding my order (Adorama still does not have the tracking number, btw. They would have had no idea I actually received my computer if I didn't e-mail Helen and tell her about it). This distributor took a month to send me the order. It did not come directly from Apple, like they claimed. And they did charge me for the complete order way before it was ever shipped, which is apparently "their policy" for drop shipped orders. Good luck finding that on their website, though, which states the exact opposite. Finally, Adorama got the re-stock for their warehouse about 2 weeks before I received fine, but customer service did not want to admit this to me because they knew it would cause problems, so I was lied to repeatedly while giving them my order number, but the reps over in the sales department had no problem telling me it would ship the same day when they didn't know I had already placed an order the month before.
And, above ALL of that...the Mac Pro I received has the coil whine problem, so I will need to have AppleCare service or replace it. Adorama does not accept returns on opened computers or televisions at all, for any reason (it's the fine print. Their return policy is actually pretty lame, if you read through it). Also, I could not register my AppleCare packet online. I had to call Apple to do this....and the reason I could not was because the AppleCare Agreement number inside the packet was from 2008 and the website could no longer decipher it as a valid Mac Pro AppleCare Agreement. Yep. Thankfully they had no problems honoring it and put it in manually for me.
To be honest, I'd avoid Adorama like the plague. There are numerous consumer headache stories like mine all over the web if you search. I never thought it would happen to me, I thought those were just exceptions, but I'm being serious when I say that if you order from them, you better hope that they have stock and don't put your order in limbo with another distributor, like they did mine. Because once it is off to someone else, customer service cannot help you. They will not help you because they do not know anything about it other than "it's being drop shipped to you, you'll get it, we don't know when, but we charged you anyway because that's our policy when we drop ship things". Nearly a month of calling customer service every day, and that's all the information I ever received about it. Like I said, they still don't have a tracking number for me...I never would have known I was even getting it if I wasn't signed up for UPS My Choice alerts.
Oh, and the kicker? The distributor sent me a $3500 computer and required NO signature on the package! They would have left it on my stoop like it was nothing had I not been home, waiting for it. Anything could have easily happened to it had I not been signed up for the UPS notifications, and nobody would ever know because they have no idea what happens to their orders as soon as they get it drop shipped by another third party.
Wonderful company, right?
Placed my order on December 30th for a stock 6-core nMP w/ AppleCare bundle. It was $3499 tax-free, which is an excellent price. I *just* received the computer this past Friday.
There was no indication on their website that it was out of stock. I ordered, and about 30 minutes later received a "We're sorry, we are out of stock, we will ship it to you when we have stock, the rest of your order is on hold, you will NOT be charged until your product ships".
OK, that's fine, I can wait...I'm not in any hurry. Sucks that I just paid $55 extra to have UPS 2-day shipping, but whatever.
A day later, I get another e-mail stating that my order has shipped. Yay! But, wait...where is the tracking information? And just what does "drop shipped" mean? The only thing next to it was an un-trackable "PO#". The computer itself had been "drop shipped", and the AppleCare packet was sent UPS 2-Day, with tracking information. A day later, I received the AppleCare packet.
I called customer service. Apparently, "drop shipping" means that they have sent my order to the manufacturer directly, and they (meaning Apple) are sending it to me, since Adorama's warehouse does not have stock. OK...so what's the tracking number? "We don't have one". OK...so when will I have one? "We don't know, whenever the manufacturer sends it." I'm a little peeved at the moment.
A day later, I noticed the funds had been completely taken out of my bank account. The authorizations fell off and they took the money and completed the transaction. I called again, asking for a tracking number. "We don't have it." OK...has it shipped yet? "The manufacturer has not shipped your order" Why was I charged? "We charge immediately when shipping via drop ship, that is our policy". This policy is not listed anywhere on their website, at all. In fact, nothing about "drop shipping" is on their website whatsoever. Only thing I had was "We will not charge you until your product actually ships".
The next two weeks were spent calling nearly every day, asking where was my product that they had no problem taking my money for, but not actually shipping. Customer service noted on my order every time I called, and I even got some customer service people who told me I should stop calling them every day. I guess I annoyed them.
So, a Friday rolls around and I noticed that, there was now a message on the product page that said "Please Note: This item is on the way to our warehouse and is expected in a few days!". Monday afternoon, that message went away, indicating they had stock. I called. The customer service rep told me that was an "error" on their website, that they don't expect to have stock until the third or last week of January. I then proceeded to call sales and inquire about the SKU..."Yes, we just got stock in today. We are in stock. If you order today before 8PM, we will ship same day". Called customer service back to complain that their warehouse has stock, but my order is in limbo somewhere even though I was charged on January 2nd. "That rep was informed". I was clearly being lied to.
I then e-mailed their customer service social media person, Helen, about my order. She repeated the same "third week of January", but gave me a date of January 21st for the shipment, with it on my doorstep by January 23rd. OK, fine.
Thursday the 22nd rolls around..still no tracking information. I called customer service...they were as clueless as ever. "We have no more information for you. Up to the manufacturer. As soon as we know the tracking number, we'll send it to you and update your order page online". Sent Helen yet another e-mail...Helen informs me that their warehouse clearly has stocked and she has no idea why it wouldn't have shipped. Says she'll look into it.
I'm raging and nearly in tears at this point that I spent and was charged $3500 on something I don't have, and for all I know, this back and forth and lies could go on for months. I made a decision in my mind that, by Feb 1st the latest, I was going to appeal to my bank to investigate for potential fraud and issue a chargeback to me. Meanwhile, I had this AppleCare packet staring me in the face the entire time.
Except, around 3 AM, I get an e-mail from UPS My Choice (the automatic delivery notifications you can sign up for). I have a package coming tomorrow...and it's the computer! Finally! But...it's not coming from Apple. It's coming from a third party distributor 20 minutes away from my house that I've never of called "Tech Data Corp".
This is what I think happened....Adorama sent my order to a third party distributor, who did not update them regarding my order (Adorama still does not have the tracking number, btw. They would have had no idea I actually received my computer if I didn't e-mail Helen and tell her about it). This distributor took a month to send me the order. It did not come directly from Apple, like they claimed. And they did charge me for the complete order way before it was ever shipped, which is apparently "their policy" for drop shipped orders. Good luck finding that on their website, though, which states the exact opposite. Finally, Adorama got the re-stock for their warehouse about 2 weeks before I received fine, but customer service did not want to admit this to me because they knew it would cause problems, so I was lied to repeatedly while giving them my order number, but the reps over in the sales department had no problem telling me it would ship the same day when they didn't know I had already placed an order the month before.
And, above ALL of that...the Mac Pro I received has the coil whine problem, so I will need to have AppleCare service or replace it. Adorama does not accept returns on opened computers or televisions at all, for any reason (it's the fine print. Their return policy is actually pretty lame, if you read through it). Also, I could not register my AppleCare packet online. I had to call Apple to do this....and the reason I could not was because the AppleCare Agreement number inside the packet was from 2008 and the website could no longer decipher it as a valid Mac Pro AppleCare Agreement. Yep. Thankfully they had no problems honoring it and put it in manually for me.
To be honest, I'd avoid Adorama like the plague. There are numerous consumer headache stories like mine all over the web if you search. I never thought it would happen to me, I thought those were just exceptions, but I'm being serious when I say that if you order from them, you better hope that they have stock and don't put your order in limbo with another distributor, like they did mine. Because once it is off to someone else, customer service cannot help you. They will not help you because they do not know anything about it other than "it's being drop shipped to you, you'll get it, we don't know when, but we charged you anyway because that's our policy when we drop ship things". Nearly a month of calling customer service every day, and that's all the information I ever received about it. Like I said, they still don't have a tracking number for me...I never would have known I was even getting it if I wasn't signed up for UPS My Choice alerts.
Oh, and the kicker? The distributor sent me a $3500 computer and required NO signature on the package! They would have left it on my stoop like it was nothing had I not been home, waiting for it. Anything could have easily happened to it had I not been signed up for the UPS notifications, and nobody would ever know because they have no idea what happens to their orders as soon as they get it drop shipped by another third party.
Wonderful company, right?
Just curious.....why would you pay $55 for 2 day expedited shipping when you were not in a hurry to get the computer?
Wouldn't have been in a hurry if I knew it was out of stock. Since their website indicated they had stock, I wanted it sent 2-day. If it was out of stock, I would have had it shipped cheaper. However, their shipping options started at like $30 for 5-7 day ground, so going up to 2-Day wasn't much more money than the lowest cost shipping option
Also, I want to stress that I would not have been this upset and angry had they not charged me immediately, weeks before the thing had shipped. At least then I would have known the order was going to take awhile. Instead, both my email correspondence and my order page listed my order as having been shipped all along. "Shipped" doesn't actually mean shipped, which is a ridiculous way of listing an order status page. I had started to feel that I was being scammed, which added to my stress and emotions during the entire process.
All of that could have been avoided had they just practiced what they claim to practice, that they don't charge until your order is shipped.
I'm still upset that the website claimed they had stock when I placed my order, leading me to believe I would get it in 2-business days. I feel like I should at least have my shipping charges returned to me due to the miscommunication and error, but I'm not going to fight them or ask them for anything again. They won. Now, I'll deal with Apple in repairing or replacing the computer and be done with the ordeal.
All of that could have been avoided had they just practiced what they claim to practice, that they don't charge until your order is shipped.
I'm still upset that the website claimed they had stock when I placed my order, leading me to believe I would get it in 2-business days. I feel like I should at least have my shipping charges returned to me due to the miscommunication and error, but I'm not going to fight them or ask them for anything again. They won. Now, I'll deal with Apple in repairing or replacing the computer and be done with the ordeal.
Very strange. I ordered my system in roughly the same time frame from Adorama. I believe that I ordered on, or roughly, the 9th of Jan. Same deal on the website as it was listed in stock until about 30 minutes after placing my order, then it was updated as out of stock. Like you, I figured that it was no big deal. It was a very solid price so it's possible that demand pushed it out of stock. I opted for standard shipping and was not in a hurry so this gave me a chance to change my mind (I was on the fence between the nMP and retina iMac).
A few days later I get a shipping notice from Adorama and UPS notes that the package is leaving from the same location as all of my Adorama orders. No reason to suspect that it was being drop shipped. Here is where my experience takes a turn for the worst though. UPS indicated that it would arrive just 2 days later (for a total of 3 days). 2 days rolls around and nothing shows up so I initiate a chat w/UPS on their website. UPS is unable to tell me anything. They have no idea where the package is or when it will be delivered and that I should call Adorama and ask them to check things out from their perspective. First thing the next morning I call Adorama (and email Helen) and update them as to what is going on. They note (correctly) that standard shipping can take 4-6 business days and we're only on day 4. I should give it another 2 business days and call back if it doesn't show up. Fast forward 1 business day and I have an email from Helen waiting for me when I wake up indicating that the box was returned to Adorama and was "damaged beyond recognition". She also noted that a refund has already been issued and to expect a phone call later in the day with the same information and an offer to reorder at the discounted price. Sure enough, an hour or so later, one of the sales reps at Adorama calls to break the bad news. After confirming that the item was in stock I elected to reorder except this time, I requested overnight delivery at no additional cost (which he obliged). I received the expected shipping notices (again directly from Adorama) as the next 20 hours played out and at roughly 9am the next day, my nMP arrived at my front door via UPS (with the bundled AppleCare in the same box). Good thing that I was at home too since I did have to sign for it. Like all of my other Adorama orders, I found an Adorama invoice and some promo materials nestled in the box as well.
Overall it was a slightly frustrating experience due to the mix up with UPS but I order enough things throughout the year that it's bound to happen here and there (and does). It just so happens that this was a big-ticket item so the blood pressure does spike a touch when the tracking trail goes dark. I never doubted that Adorama would take care of me in the end though. I spend a significant amount of money with them on a regular basis and they've always taken care of me (camera gear is expensive). FWIW; I've placed 5 orders with Adorama since Dec 14th and, other than the UPS fiasco w/my nMP, every order was filled immediately and showed up as scheduled.
I don't doubt your story one bit but it is very unlike all of my other experiences with Adorama. Especially the part about drop shipping, that's just strange. I wonder if they had a flood of orders that they couldn't fulfill themselves (either due to their stock and/or Apply supply) and reached out to parters to help rather than cancel orders? Either way, it's totally 100% unacceptable! I would be very interested to hear from Helen on your situation and why it was allowed to play out in the manner that it did. Would you like to send her the link to this thread or should I?
ETA; Just wanted to note that I was not charged until the nMP shipped. After being issued a credit, Adorama even waited to re-charge me for the reorder. In fact, I had my nMP for roughly 24 hours before I was charged for the reorder. This coincided nicely with the credit since the credit cleared before the second transaction hit.
Very strange. I ordered my system in roughly the same time frame from Adorama. I believe that I ordered on, or roughly, the 9th of Jan. Same deal on the website as it was listed in stock until about 30 minutes after placing my order, then it was updated as out of stock. Like you, I figured that it was no big deal. It was a very solid price so it's possible that demand pushed it out of stock. I opted for standard shipping and was not in a hurry so this gave me a chance to change my mind (I was on the fence between the nMP and retina iMac).
A few days later I get a shipping notice from Adorama and UPS notes that the package is leaving from the same location as all of my Adorama orders. No reason to suspect that it was being drop shipped. Here is where my experience takes a turn for the worst though. UPS indicated that it would arrive just 2 days later (for a total of 3 days). 2 days rolls around and nothing shows up so I initiate a chat w/UPS on their website. UPS is unable to tell me anything. They have no idea where the package is or when it will be delivered and that I should call Adorama and ask them to check things out from their perspective. First thing the next morning I call Adorama (and email Helen) and update them as to what is going on. They note (correctly) that standard shipping can take 4-6 business days and we're only on day 4. I should give it another 2 business days and call back if it doesn't show up. Fast forward 1 business day and I have an email from Helen waiting for me when I wake up indicating that the box was returned to Adorama and was "damaged beyond recognition". She also noted that a refund has already been issued and to expect a phone call later in the day with the same information and an offer to reorder at the discounted price. Sure enough, an hour or so later, one of the sales reps at Adorama calls to break the bad news. After confirming that the item was in stock I elected to reorder except this time, I requested overnight delivery at no additional cost (which he obliged). I received the expected shipping notices (again directly from Adorama) as the next 20 hours played out and at roughly 9am the next day, my nMP arrived at my front door via UPS (with the bundled AppleCare in the same box). Good thing that I was at home too since I did have to sign for it. Like all of my other Adorama orders, I found an Adorama invoice and some promo materials nestled in the box as well.
Overall it was a slightly frustrating experience due to the mix up with UPS but I order enough things throughout the year that it's bound to happen here and there (and does). It just so happens that this was a big-ticket item so the blood pressure does spike a touch when the tracking trail goes dark. I never doubted that Adorama would take care of me in the end though. I spend a significant amount of money with them on a regular basis and they've always taken care of me (camera gear is expensive). FWIW; I've placed 5 orders with Adorama since Dec 14th and, other than the UPS fiasco w/my nMP, every order was filled immediately and showed up as scheduled.
I don't doubt your story one bit but it is very unlike all of my other experiences with Adorama. Especially the part about drop shipping, that's just strange. I wonder if they had a flood of orders that they couldn't fulfill themselves (either due to their stock and/or Apply supply) and reached out to parters to help rather than cancel orders? Either way, it's totally 100% unacceptable! I would be very interested to hear from Helen on your situation and why it was allowed to play out in the manner that it did. Would you like to send her the link to this thread or should I?
ETA; Just wanted to note that I was not charged until the nMP shipped. After being issued a credit, Adorama even waited to re-charge me for the reorder. In fact, I had my nMP for roughly 24 hours before I was charged for the reorder. This coincided nicely with the credit since the credit cleared before the second transaction hit.
I'm very glad your order went so much more smoothly than mine, I would not wish this kind of experience on anyone. This might sound completely ridiculous and like an overreaction, and maybe it was, but there were nights I could not sleep because I was literally shaking and on the verge of being sick to my stomach because I could have potentially been out of $3500. I paid with a debit card, because I do not have that amount in a line of credit, which only made the situation worse for me, as the process for issuing a chargeback on a debit card takes more time (at least that's what I've read online).
No need to send this to Helen, I've been debating putting this up on their Facebook page (although I'm glad it's over and part of me just wants to forget about it and move on). I want to stress that my dealings with Helen were pleasant and I'm very grateful she took me seriously and came off like she genuinely wanted to help. Every time I called customer service though was a test in patience and the fortitude of my stomach. I wanted to cry, I wanted to puke, I wanted to hit someone. They are seriously terrible. I don't even care that they obviously an overseas operation and all of that, it's just they had no idea how to talk to me or answer questions, because they had no answers to give me. They fed me lines that they were trained with. I always tried to remain as calm and polite over the phone as possible with them, but it got really tough. Out of all of my calls, I got more reps telling me that I didn't need to call them every day versus reps that gave me even a half-hearted scripted apology. At the same time, I know it's not completely their fault, they are just human beings who have a call center job and are doing the best they can. So I couldn't truly be angry at them personally.
Adorama for riMac
MMcCraryNJ,
Thanks for telling me your experience. I'm glad it finally worked out, but those are the kinds of problems I want to avoid getting a new computer is supposed to be a fun, happy event. It sounds like you handled it better than I might have.
I guess the question for me is: is saving about $250 in savings worth not buying directly from Apple?
Thanks again
MMcCraryNJ,
Thanks for telling me your experience. I'm glad it finally worked out, but those are the kinds of problems I want to avoid getting a new computer is supposed to be a fun, happy event. It sounds like you handled it better than I might have.
I guess the question for me is: is saving about $250 in savings worth not buying directly from Apple?
Thanks again
For $250, I probably wouldn't have done it. When I did the math, I saved over $1000. That's just my opinion though. I'm sure they don't botch all orders like they botched mine, I just wanted to give you my experience.
Adorama for riMac
I understand they're not all bad. I guess the mere fact that I asked the original questions, tells me I have not been real toasty about trusting them. I've bought a significant amount of photo equipment from them with most results very good, but not all.
Not sure what I will do at this moment, but again I really do appreciate you sharing your experience.
I understand they're not all bad. I guess the mere fact that I asked the original questions, tells me I have not been real toasty about trusting them. I've bought a significant amount of photo equipment from them with most results very good, but not all.
Not sure what I will do at this moment, but again I really do appreciate you sharing your experience.
And quite right that you did share. In your position I'd have been equally frustrated (and have also used Social Media to express my frustration with a company when unable to get results via their CS)
Please be assurred that your experience isn't the norm. BUT, more important, I've asked for the whole sorry business to be investigated, and for measures to be put in place to prevent this from happening in the future.
Helen Oster
Adorama Camera
And this is one of the big reasons that I love Adorama, HELEN! She's is always on the ball and actively looking out for us. I didn't even have to email her a link to the thread, the found it herself and is taking the necessary steps to drive improvements in service at Adorama.
Thanks Helen! Nice to see you here at MR.
And this is one of the big reasons that I love Adorama, HELEN! She's is always on the ball and actively looking out for us. I didn't even have to email her a link to the thread, the found it herself and is taking the necessary steps to drive improvements in service at Adorama.
Thanks Helen! Nice to see you here at MR.
No Returns on Computers Unless Sealed
I was concerned about a previous post saying that Adorama will not accept returns on computers if you open the carton, so I looked it up myself:
http://www.adorama.com/help/returnPolicy#restricted
Adorama does not accept returns on computer purchases if you open the box.
IMO, that is way out of line with Adorama's website copy which promotes "easy returns" on its web pages selling iMac Retina computers. YMMV, but buyer be aware if not beware. Depending upon your opinion on the variability of displays and fan noise, that might make Adorama a risky choice for an iMac Retina purchase.
FWIW from my experience with two base model iMac Retinas: two good displays, but fan noise at idle at least twice as loud on one (after SMC reset).
I was concerned about a previous post saying that Adorama will not accept returns on computers if you open the carton, so I looked it up myself:
http://www.adorama.com/help/returnPolicy#restricted
Adorama does not accept returns on computer purchases if you open the box.
IMO, that is way out of line with Adorama's website copy which promotes "easy returns" on its web pages selling iMac Retina computers. YMMV, but buyer be aware if not beware. Depending upon your opinion on the variability of displays and fan noise, that might make Adorama a risky choice for an iMac Retina purchase.
FWIW from my experience with two base model iMac Retinas: two good displays, but fan noise at idle at least twice as loud on one (after SMC reset).
I just had to return a dell LCD to adorama and filled out all the necessary forms for the return, 2 weeks later they e-mailed me a tracking # and sent out a replacement even though I explicitly put return for refund on the paperwork. The return process is not seamless (especially if you've ever used amazon's return), and now with this mistake on their end my faith in them has dropped.
Yeah, I'm feeling that now. My Mac Pro has both the coil whine issue, as well as a fan issue where, at the idle fan speed, it's rumbles more than it should. Going to have to schedule an AppleCare appointment at the Genius Bar for it, and hopefully get a replacement versus them replacing part after part hoping to fix it.
You really have to read their return policy, there is a lot of limitations to it.
LOL -- return policy is crazy...
"We believe that in order to have the best possible online shopping experience, our customers should be 100% satisfied with their purchase. So, if you're not happy with your purchase for any reason, just go through our easy self-service return process."
Yet you can't return almost nothing once opened: Software, Film, Paper, DVDs, Bulbs, flash tubes, Batteries, Ink cartridges, Notebooks, Netbooks, Tablets, iPads and Computers, Memory cards, any item which has been removed from its "blister-pack".
LOL -- return policy is crazy...
"We believe that in order to have the best possible online shopping experience, our customers should be 100% satisfied with their purchase. So, if you're not happy with your purchase for any reason, just go through our easy self-service return process."
Yet you can't return almost nothing once opened: Software, Film, Paper, DVDs, Bulbs, flash tubes, Batteries, Ink cartridges, Notebooks, Netbooks, Tablets, iPads and Computers, Memory cards, any item which has been removed from its "blister-pack".
I'd feel pretty OK about Apple products...if something is wrong, they have excellent customer service obviously. It just ends up being more a hassle if you need to immediately schedule a Genius Bar appointment.
Adorama for riMac
Thanks for everyone taking the time to respond to my original post. I also appreciate all the advice and experiences that were shared and thanks to all of you, I have made my decision. I will buy directly from Apple.
As I mentioned previously, I've purchased a good deal of professional photog equipment from Adorama with mostly very good results. But cameras can be returned if they are DOA or have significant problems. Their return policy on computers sealed the deal for me..
Thanks again,
MrFriday
Thanks for everyone taking the time to respond to my original post. I also appreciate all the advice and experiences that were shared and thanks to all of you, I have made my decision. I will buy directly from Apple.
As I mentioned previously, I've purchased a good deal of professional photog equipment from Adorama with mostly very good results. But cameras can be returned if they are DOA or have significant problems. Their return policy on computers sealed the deal for me..
Thanks again,
MrFriday