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Am I being scammed?

1K views 22 replies 7 participants last post by  StormX2 
#1 ·
I've been desperately searching for Western Digital Red 3TB drives for a reasonable price. Every online retailer that I've heard of is either out of stock, or is charging a huge mark up. I found one site that was selling them at a reasonable price.

www.ctistore.com

They were going for $184.99 when the same drives on Newegg are $259.99+$7.28 shipping.

Anyway, I placed my order on September 2nd, and the ETA was 14 days. I waited, and I waited some more. Fast forward to today. I got tired of waiting, and decided to cancel my order. I gave CTI a call, and the rep said they are on back-order, and they don't know when or if they will ever get them in stock? What? You don't even know if you're ever going to get any stock at all? Fed up, I told her to go ahead and cancel my order, that I would explore other options. I go back to their site a few hours later and.... they are in stock. Wait, what? They are listed as shipping in 1-2 Days, and (IN STOCK). Am I crazy? Does anyone here have any experience ordering from this site? I feel like I'm being tricked somehow, but at the same time, I usually have bad luck when it comes to situations like this. Maybe it's all just a coincidence or a misunderstanding? Any input would be appreciated.
 
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#3 ·
Initially, they took the money from my account. After a few days though, it was added back into my balance, and I got a call from them saying that the drives were on order, and it would be up to a two week wait. I told them that was fine, and that I would wait for them to ship. I waited the two weeks, and still heard nothing. I'm usually very patient, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer as.. Amazon, Newegg, NCIX, and many other large retailers were also out of stock. After the third week, I got a bit annoyed, and decided to call them today. That's when I got the whole.. "We don't know if we will ever get them in stock." response, which prompted me to cancel my original order.
 
#4 ·
NCIX's lowest price on the drives was $169.99 + FS - so you aren't necessarily being scammed. The price doesn't set off warning bells to me.

They've been out of stock at NCIX for... 3 weeks? 5 weeks? I'm not sure how long, but it's a long time. Either they've got a massive backorder to fill thanks to the awesome price they put them on at, or WD is having supply issues for their 3TB model. I'll contact them and see what they say.
 
#6 ·
Seeing how everyone is getting their money back, and I did end up getting mine back, my curiosity has peaked. I placed the order again last night. They were listed as in stock most of the day yesterday, and they are still listed as in stock now. I was hoping to wake up to a "Your product has been shipped!" email, but there was nothing. I logged onto the site and was given this message:

"Due to Yom Kippur, all order that placed after 3:00 PM EST on Tuesday, September 25, 2012 will be processed on Thursday, September 27, 2012. Thank for your Business."

I guess that's just bad luck again on my part. I'll post a status update on Thursday. I'm interested to see what they come up with next.
 
#8 ·
Yeah... I want to know if they're ever going to actually ship me anything. I'm also desperate. I have 1GB of space left on my 2TB RAID 1 array. I've been storing everything else on a 1.5TB green drive, so my data is no longer redundant. If that drive fails, I'll lose a lot of files. Also, I'm almost completely out of space, unless I start storing stuff on my SSD. I've done a little more research on the site, and have seen quite a few more people recommending it. So at this point, I'm just interested in their awesome price, and their excuses if nothing is shipped out in the next few days. If they aren't going to take my money, I want to see this through to the end, because only NCIX comes close to their listing price. I'll keep this post updated.
 
#9 ·
NCIX:
Quote:
I see none in Canada at all, we just got some 2 TB's though and I think we're the only ones with them according to supplier info.

No idea when more will come at this point my friend, I haven't seen any mechanical drives this back ordered in years. And we have a bit of a back order list to go through too, so I would anticipate at least a few weeks at best.

Sorry I couldn't provide any better news.
 
#10 ·
Well, that's not good. CTI has all of the drives listed as In Stock at this point. That makes me wonder if they have any actual drives to ship. Well, I should know something tomorrow. They are supposed to start processing orders again Thursday. Thanks for the information.
 
#12 ·
Sounds to me like they just are not updating the page.. You should be calling in your order rather than processing through the website, "Hi this is Omegawd, Id like to check stock on Item # ddasdfasdf

You will generally find out what you need. At this point if I were you however, I would not be satisfied with a generic answer like, We don't know when they are in stock, you needed to go above that individual and make a complaint right then and there. a simple threat and you will probably receive some form of gift card or they will place the order personally at a lower sell price.

I cant say for sure that they WILL do this, but Ive been working Sales/Purchasing for a long time, and tends to be if I am in the right, I get my way.

Simply put the argument is , You dont have stock, dont advertise that you do...

In all fairness, these people are most likely going out of stock quickly because of Online E-Tailers and other HomeTown re-sellers, who then add a markup, preferably above 10% so not to get owned by credit card purchases.

I doubt the site is Ripping you off, but there is something to be Gained, BY YOU< for how you have been treated and by the negligence of the website.
 
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#13 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by StormX2 View Post

Sounds to me like they just are not updating the page.. You should be calling in your order rather than processing through the website, "Hi this is Omegawd, Id like to check stock on Item # ddasdfasdf
You will generally find out what you need. At this point if I were you however, I would not be satisfied with a generic answer like, We don't know when they are in stock, you needed to go above that individual and make a complaint right then and there. a simple threat and you will probably receive some form of gift card or they will place the order personally at a lower sell price.
I cant say for sure that they WILL do this, but Ive been working Sales/Purchasing for a long time, and tends to be if I am in the right, I get my way.
Simply put the argument is , You dont have stock, dont advertise that you do...
In all fairness, these people are most likely going out of stock quickly because of Online E-Tailers and other HomeTown re-sellers, who then add a markup, preferably above 10% so not to get owned by credit card purchases.
I doubt the site is Ripping you off, but there is something to be Gained, BY YOU< for how you have been treated and by the negligence of the website.
Thanks for the tips!
thumb.gif


Status Update:

Order placed early Tuesday afternoon, drives listed as shipping "Same Day".
Wednesday: Yom Kippur (They listed that all orders would be shipped Thursday due to Yom Kippur)
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: Order status changed to "Reviewed"? CTI customer support sent me an email.
Quote:
"Signature will be required at the time of delivery. Please contact us letting us know if someone will be home to sign for this item&#8230;and is there an alternate phone # to contact you at.?

Customer Service

516-501-9139

Computech International"
That's where I stand as of now. I'm sure they're closed at this point, so I don't know what will happen next. I don't understand why they need to confirm if someone will be home to sign for the delivery.That sounds like something UPS or FedEx would do. I've already paid the drives, I wish they would just ship them, instead of trying to contact me while I'm at work. If I'm not here, then the carrier simply won't deliver it, and I can pick it up later, or reschedule the delivery for another day. Also, how am I supposed to confirm if I will be home or not when they haven't even given me an estimated delivery? The item hasn't left their facility yet. I just don't understand the way they go about doing things.
 
#14 ·
they dont sound very bright =/
 
#15 ·
Yeah, I don't understand the way they go about doing things.

Status Update:

I received a very powerfully worded reply from their customer service rep today. It answered all of my questions and put me at ease.

Response:
Quote:
Ok thanks for replying
rolleyes.gif


I did however notice that my order status was changed to "IN PROGRESS". I'm HOPING that means they are going to send out the drives today. The drives are still listed as "IN STOCK" and shipping "SAME DAY", even though I played my order last Tuesday. Hopefully something good happens today.
 
#16 ·
i still think you shouldcall and make a formal complaint to management

this is where you get free stuff and money back + the drives.
 
#18 ·
At the time, the only other retailer that had them in stock was Newegg. They wanted $259.99 per drive, plus $7.28 shipping.

Total from Newegg: $1069.08
Total from CTIstore: $739.96
Money saved: $329.12

It was just too good to pass up.

Status update:

The drives still haven't shipped.

Was looking around at NCIX, saw this:

http://us.ncix.com/products/?sku=74269&promoid=1387

I must literally be cursed. The exact same drives I'm waiting on, from a completely reliable source. $159.99 and Free shipping. $25 less per drive.

$640 NCIX vs $740 CTIstore

I lost it. I ordered them. I'm done. CTI returned the money to my account after the drives didn't ship in a week. I used that money to pay for the drives at NCIX. I don't have enough money in my account to cover the $740 if CTI bills me when it's finally time to ship the drives. I wonder what will happen now.
 
#19 ·
call them to cancel and order from NCIX now, if CTI charges you your bank will take care of it as a fraudulent transaction
 
#21 ·
yah these people might end up sending you cardboard for all we know..

GL!
 
#23 ·
There you go
 
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