Product: Fiio E7 1.1" OLED USB DAC 3.5mm Earphone Volume Booster Power Amplifier (Black) (http://www.dealextreme.com/p/fiio-e7-1-1-oled-usb-dac-3-5mm-earphone-volume-booster-power-amplifier-black-34383)
Availability: "In Stock: ships in 2 to 4 days (5 to 8 during new year season)"
Cost: $84.33 (free worldwide shipping)
Background: I went with DealExtreme (hereafter referred to as "DX" for short) because I had about three weeks to spare. DX advertises 2 to four days prior to shipping, with the actual shipping taking about 10 to 14 days. Ok.
I ordered online and paid in full via credit card. Here's what happened:
Day One
- I received a receipt number but did not receive an order number.
- I received an immediate payment confirmation from PayPal. I never received a confirmation from DX.
Day Three
- Two days after ordering I tried to followup on my order via the online account status. Not able to do so because I didn't have an order number, and the receipt number and my email provided a "no order found" message.
- I called the phone service numbers during Hong Kong business hours and no one answered, or I received phone prompts in Chinese.
- I tried the Live customer assistance chat. Waited one hour without a response and gave up.
- I filed a customer assitance ticket requesting an order number and status on my order.
Day Six
- I received a response from DX regarding my order, and got an order number and an assurance that my order was received, was processing, and would ship as soon as possible.
Day Eight
- I checked my order status online. Order was processing "waiting for shipment from supplier". Really? I thought the merchandise was "In Stock: ships in 2 to 4 days".
Day Ten
- I checked my order status online. Order was still processing "waiting for shipment from supplier". Okay....
Day Twelve
- I checked my order status online. Order was still processing "waiting for shipment from supplier".
- I put in a second customer assitance ticket requesting to cancel the order.
- I tried the Live customer assistance chat again. Waited one and a half hours without a response and gave up.
Day Thirteen.
- Cancelled my order online via account options.
- Found out that it can take 10 to 14 days for DX to actually process a cancellation refund.
Day Fifteen
- PayPal confirmed that DX was issuing a refund for my order.
- Still waiting for confirmation from DX.
Keep in mind that it took 12 days for DX to get to the "processing order stage". I still had about 14 to 21 days worth of shiiping time if and when they actually shipped. I shudder to think what would have happened if I had to return a defective product.
Conclusion:
DX really cannot keep up with their orders right now. The forums are littered with complaints of uneven and slow service. You take your chances regarding shipping times and customer service is more or less timely with written responses but very slow with actual follow through on promises. The language barrier is very difficult to overcome.
My advice is to spend the extra $20.00 dollars (or whatever) and try to buy anything directly from a vendor in the US or the UK.
DealExtreme is NOT RECOMMENDED at this time.
- Moonboy242
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