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rilina · 04:13 PM

See this thread in the Pbook forum for another user's horror story.

Like the poster in the above thread, I made the mistake of taking MacMall up on their free memory deal. (I ordered a 12" iBook the day after it came out.) It crashed right out of the box, and it continued crashing so often that I had to send it right back the next day. They messed up my Fedex pickup, and my company got charged. They lost the computer for a day in their warehouse.

I'm on hold with their customer service as I type. I would strongly advise everyone on this board never to order a computer from MacMall, especially with their free memory deals. You might save a little money, but it's simply not worth the aggravation.

Edited to correct typos.

wvx · Nov 4, 2003, 05:00 PM

Friends don't let friends order from MacMall.

"Well, I have never had a problem with them..."

Wait.

SupahCoolX · Nov 4, 2003, 10:14 PM

I ordered my original Blueberry iBook from MacMall 4-5 years ago. No problem.

rlane · Nov 5, 2003, 12:28 AM

I hate those people. Yes, HATE!

rilina · Nov 5, 2003, 03:24 PM

Update on the iBook: The weaselly sales manager that I finally got on the phone yesterday basically admitted that they got a bunch of RAM supercheap which they've been using in their latest free memory promotion--and much of the batch seems to have been bad. I'm definitely not the only person whose new G4 iBook from MacMall had to be shipped back.

Oh yes, and I still don't have it back. I should be placing my daily nagging phone call in a couple of hours.

Gamoe · Nov 6, 2003, 09:06 AM

Check these links on MacInTouch:

Defective RAM:
http://www.macintouch.com/badram01.html

Rebate Problems:
http://www.macintouch.com/macmall01.html

And there's more if you search...

radarbob · Nov 6, 2003, 09:17 AM

While not having ordered from MacMall for some time - no reason - I did frequently in the past (PRE IBOOK). Always good results.

Memory is a problem, but not a biggie really. I bought our 700MHz from Fry's Electronics w/ a free memory upgrade. Didn't work. It was "the wrong kind" (see next paragraph). Computer booted but did not recognize the extra memory. The inconvenience of returning to the store to get it right was the worst part. I also seriously questioned their competence for for screwing that one up.

Tech guy told me that somehow the Mac firmware looks at the module and if it's not one on "it's list" it will not work - even if it's electronically the right kind. Over time more and more brands, models get put on the list (as I understand it).

As for rebates. I'll never again make a computer related purchasing decision based on a rebate unless it's "at the register." Years ago I bought a Zip drive and never received the rebate. There was a class action suit over that.

rilina · Nov 6, 2003, 10:58 AM

Once I did some belated research on the company, I realized that I should have never done business with them. After all, when you find a website called f*ckmacmall.com, you know a company has issues. They have a poor record with the Better Business Bureau and a poor reputation in many other Mac forums (do a search of the Macworld forums, for example, and you'll find plenty of MacMall horror stories).

I think many of the other Apple resellers will give you the same options with far better service. Period.

mblchris · Nov 6, 2003, 11:13 AM

When Apple has the same prices as the resellers for all their products and sells them all online and in their retail stores why would you buy the system from an online reseller? Just curious

dencamp · Nov 6, 2003, 01:08 PM

Originally posted by mblchris:
When Apple has the same prices as the resellers for all their products and sells them all online and in their retail stores why would you buy the system from an online reseller? Just curious

Tax on Apple Store products
No tax on other online retailers.

None the less, stay away from macmall.

dvwannabe · Nov 6, 2003, 01:13 PM

You buy from Mac Mall because of the extra incentives: Free RAM, Free Printer, Free Backpack, free shipping no tax, etc.

I have my iBook arriving today from MacMall... and after reading this I am very nervous. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Arkham_c · Nov 6, 2003, 01:25 PM

Originally posted by mblchris:
When Apple has the same prices as the resellers for all their products and sells them all online and in their retail stores why would you buy the system from an online reseller? Just curious

I just bought a G5 from MacConnection. Part of it was based on price (I got an amazing deal), but the common reasons are:

1) No sales tax
2) free shipping
3) Will negotiate on price and shipping

Before I found my MacConnection deal, I was going to use MacMall. I have a friend who orders more than $200,000 a year in hardware from them and he never has any issues. The deal at MacMall for the standard dual 2GHz G5 that I negotiated was :

Code:
G5:        $2,820.32
512M RAM:      39.99
SHIP:          63.48
---------------------
TOTAL      $2,923.79

Compare the same thing to Apple (getting the RAM from a third party to keep cost down. I used $0 for shipping because Apple has a free shipping promotion going on right now:

Code:
G5:        $2,999.00
512M RAM:      80.00
SHIP:           0.00
TAX:          209.93
---------------------
TOTAL      $3,288.93

Just for fun, I will mention that I got a brand new dual 2GHz G5 with 1GB of RAM and a Radeon 9800 from MacConnection for $2599 with free shipping.

rilina · Nov 6, 2003, 02:01 PM

Update: I finally got my computer back. It seems to be working fine with the new RAM installed (no more freezing and kernel panics). Even if the RAM does prove to be bad again, I'm not dealing with MacMall anymore. I don't want them anywhere near my computer.

Bad RAM happens, just as bad hardware happens. There's always the chance that you'll get the lemon, even if you're ordering directly from Apple. That said, it's the service afterwards that makes all the difference. I already mentioned the messed up Fedex pickup, the computer lost in their warehouse, etc. I also got the runaround from their account executives and customer service reps at every turn.

Again, I'm not saying never deal with a reseller. Just don't deal with MacMall if you can avoid it. It's the only Apple reseller that consistently attracts these sorts of horror stories. Just compare the reports on MacMall and MacConnection at the Better Business Bureau. Both have attracted complaints, but MacConnection has a much better history of trying to resolve those complaints in good faith.

dvwannabe, I hope you're one of the lucky ones!

discotronic · Nov 6, 2003, 02:46 PM

Originally posted by Arkham_c:
I have a friend who orders more than $200,000 a year in hardware from them and he never has any issues.

If I gave a company that much business I would expect them to roll a red carpet out for me when I walk up to the place.

Good deal on the G5 by the way.

dvwannabe · Nov 6, 2003, 10:42 PM

My iBook came from MacMall tonight. No problems at all. I ran tech tool and checked out the RAM and there were no problems.

So MacMall's fine with me!

ryaxnb · Nov 7, 2003, 02:22 AM

Then good thing I didn't order from MacMall. iWas tempted but wanted a Mac now (it was our first modern mac, i.e. the first one PCI-based even though the iBook doesn't have PCI slots.) So we went to some "local" (about an 1hr. to 1hr 20min away, forget, not to bad actually) and got the iBook.

One2meny · Nov 19, 2003, 06:12 AM

I have the RAM issue too, but why you had to send your iBook back I have no clue, they're just sending me some Viking Component RAM. To me it's better this way because I get a higher quality RAM than I would have gotten in any free deal from any reseller, cause they all use cheap RAM. So, I have to admit I'm happy. Then again, my guy at MacMall Dave Rosario used to work for MacWarehouse and has the attitude that the small guy who buys a computer once every 5 years is just as important as the 200000 a year guy.

dvwannabe · Nov 22, 2003, 12:34 AM

I ordered my iBook from Mac Mall. I've had no problems.

However, I just got around to filling out the rebates and discovered that they only give you 20 days to mail them in... so it looks like I'm out of luck getting a rebate!

I'm sending them in anyway, keeping my fingers crossed.

So if you order from them... mail your rebates right away. And obviously, save all the tags, boxes, etc. You'll need them

NYCFarmboy · Nov 22, 2003, 11:48 AM

My sister just got a 12" powerbook from them..

they were complete @[email protected] to charge her 120 bucks for Panther when you can upgrade for 20. You would think by now that Powerbooks would ship with Panther.

On the memory thing..she ordered over the phone and didnt' realize they had the free ram thing..so she paid full price for it...plus the installation fee.

Plus she paid extra for overnight delivery..and it didn't come for 5 days after her order.

I guess the salesman/girl was just doing his or her job getting as much money from my sister as they could which is their right. But still..left a very bitter taste in my mouth towards them.

I'll never use them again.

The moral of the story... comparison shop.

I think all the resellers have their good points and bad points. ClubMac was awful to deal with when I purchased by G4 1.42 from them...the salesman actually hung up on me for not ordering the ClubMac extended warrenty.

So I called back to make sure my order was canceled but they said I would have to ship it back when it arrived...

Anyhow it came... and I needed it so I set it up..and its been a terrific fantastic computer...

But...maybe the hassle of ordering from these catolog people is not worth it and I'll pay the extra to buy direct from Apple in the future.