A few weeks ago I reported that eCOST was selling the HP EX470 MediaSmart Server at the low, low cost of $344. Well today only (and for the next 8 hours, 22 minutes and 18 seconds to be precise), they are selling it for $336.99. Remember that this is an "HP Recertified Model" (i.e. a refurb), but the product is backed by a manufacturer's warranty (or so says the fine print).
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19 comments:
I got an eCost refurb when the "new from HP" one I recieved arrived DOA. It's been working flawlessly ever since!
Donovan, do you know if HP has released an updated software for ex 470/475 that is currently on 485/487?
Regardfing your post of an HP ex470 Mediasmart server, I felt compelled to inform you of my problem purchasing from eCost.com to warn both yourself and your readers.
I bought one from eCost.com. When it arrived it had a 320GB drive installed in it. I spoke with "Rolf" at HP who told me that this wasn't the fist complaint of this kind from items purchased from eCost.com. I am still fighting with eCost 1 month later.
Below is the email sent to my credit card company as well as the follow up. please feel free to e-mail me for addition information or follow up. I can also send you my phome number upon request if you wish to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
Jamie Waterman
HP EX470 Mediasmart Server
On 3-11-2009 I ordered an HP EX470 Mediasmart Server from an online merchant “ECOST.COM”. Ecost order # EXXXXXX
The EX470 a centralized server for home or small office that allows you to back up multiple computers and allows access to files across the internet. This was purchased for my home business use. The device is advertised as coming with a 500GB hard drive. HP also sells other models with larger hard drives, but the EX 470 comes with the smallest available drive at 500GB.
The EX470 arrived on Wednesday 3-18-2009, although I didn’t have time to install it until Saturday 3-21-2009. Because the EX470 was not working properly I contacted “Rolf” at HP Support and generated help ticket #XXXXXXXXXX. Rolf had me physically open the case for the EX470 and remove the hard drive. It was then found that the unit was shipped out to me with a 320GB hard drive Seagate serial # 5qf25ne6. The drive had a blue ‘sticky dot’ stuck on it that resembles two sticky dots on the outside of the shipping box for the EX470.
Rolf told me that HP has never shipped EX470s with anything smaller than a 500GB hard drive and that the EX470 was not designed to function with anything less than a 500 GB hard drive. Rolf also said that this is not the first time that he personally has heard about consumers having similar problems with items purchased from Ecost.com. Rolf also told me that there was no way that the unit shipped from HP with anything less than a 500GB hard drive. Rolf told me that HP would conduct an internal investigation regarding this issue but that I would have to take up that hard drive issue with Ecost.com. Rolf also told me that Ecost.com would try to get the EX470 back so that they could cover up their obvious swapping of the hard drive and requested I hold onto the EX470 in case HP needed to do follow up.
The total time I was on the phone with HP was 1 hour 25 minutes.
A further check on Seagate’s website showed that this particular hard drive was meant to be installed in a pc and not as it currently was being utilized.
I then called Ecost.com and spoke with Armin. I informed Armin of the situation and that an appropriate solution would be for Ecost.com to send me a 500GB hard drive, which they sell on their website. Upon receipt, I would send them back the 320GB. I was even willing to reinstall the operating system of the server onto the new hard drive, saving Ecost.com time and money. Armin said he would have an upper level support manager call me back immediately. This never happened.
On Monday, 3-23-2009 at 2PM, I called and spoke with Debbie who put me on hold for Armin for 15 minutes. I then was disconnected. I called back and spoke with Cathy, who told me that All managers are in a meeting and could not speak to me. I asked for someone to call me back that day with a resolution to this matter, but no call came again.
On 3-24-2009 at 4:15PM, I called and spoke with James Baker extension 816) who told me that my case had been escalated with a ‘double follow up’ and that I would be contacted by the next morning at the latest.
On 3-25-2009 at 4:45PM I called and spoke with Jen telling her that, once again, no one has called me back as promised. Jen told me that she would have James Baker call me back first thing tomorrow morning as he had already left the office for the day.
On 3-26-2009 at 11:30AM I called and spoke with Jay who told me that James Baker was out of the office and that no one there could help me regarding this issue as James Baker was already working on it. Jay told me that he would have James Baker call me first thing in the morning.
On 3-27-2009 at 10:30AM I called and spoke with Anna who told me that James Baker would call me by the end of the day with a resolution to this matter. No call ever came.
On 3-30-2009 at 10AM I spoke with Debbie and told her I need to speak with James Baker regarding my case and that I was tired of being blown off. Debbie told me that James Baker was in the office and would call me that day.
At 2PM I received a call from Brian Alvendia, another manager. Brian told me he had been informed of the situation and that he would take care of me. I informed Brian as to what had already transpired and that HP was also investigating this. Brian asked me to send him a picture of the hard drive so he could verify it and then send me the appropriate hard drive. I told him I would within ½ hour and that I would call back to verify his receipt of the picture. I sent the first picture out of 5 pictures at 2:21PM, and the last picture with a follow up e-mail at 2:41PM. I then called back to confirm that he received the pictures and was told that he was busy. I left him a message on his voice mail asking him to call me to confirm receipt of the pictures e-mails. I did not get a call back.
On 3-31-2009 at 1:30PM I called and spoke with Brian. Brian told me that he had not received the e-mails. I told Brian that I had received a return receipt disputing that, but that I was willing to resend the pictures, and did so as I spoke to him. After sending the 3rd e-mail my e-mails started ‘bouncing back’ as if they were being blocked. I told Brian this is getting beyond ridiculous as I received return receipts from the previous e-mails and that these were being deliberately blocked. I then obtained an alternate e-mail address and resent 2 of the images, which Brian received.
Brian then told me that he would take this information to his supervisor and call me back the next day. I reiterated to him that the only acceptable solution to their deliberate illicit swapping of the hard drive was to send me the appropriate drive which they sell on their website and replace the drive. To send the whole unit back would not only deprive me of the unit for at least two week but would also allow them to cover up their improper activity and keep HP from following up as well.
On 3-31-2009 at 5PM I received an e-mail tellingme that an RMA had been authorized and to call Ecost.com to learn how to get a replacement sent to me. I called Ecost.com immediately and spoke with Debbie. Debbie told me that Ecost.com was willing to charge me for ANOTHER EX470 and that when they received ‘a complete’ return of the defective ‘ until they would credit me back. Because Ecost.com has a history of not paying rebates and refunds in a timely matter, if at all, and that Ecost.com blatantly swapped hard drives, I told Debbie that Ecost.com was not working in good faith and that I would dispute the original charge.
This is not the first time I had a problem with Ecost.com. On 11-13-2008 I ordered an Onkyo audio receiver from their website. The item was listed as “In Stock” at the time of my order. After placing the order I was told the item was on backorder until an undetermined time. A refund took several weeks and was difficult to obtain. You would think I would have learned not to do business with Ecost.com.
I am not the only person to have difficulties due to their deceptive sale practices. A quick search online shows many sites such as Complaintsboard.com, bizrate.com, epinions.com, and the Better Business Bureau states about Ecost.com on their site ‘ Some customers experienced difficulty obtaining their rebates, claim ordered products could not be sold because it was on back order, or there was a pricing error. Others allege orders received were defective or contained the wrong parts’
Because of their obvious intent to defraud, their past poor history regarding the very same matter with other customers, and the fact that I had to fight so hard just to get nowhere with them I am disputing this charge.
Any materials requested, whether it be the original unit, the improper hard drive, pictures, contact information, and e-mails will be furnished upon request.
FOLLOW UP AFTER I RECEIVED A CALL FROM BRIAN ALVENDIA AT ECOST.COM
On 4-3-2009 at 4:36PM you called me at home and made an offer of settlement for what you said was the cost of the hard drive at the suggestion of management, and that ECOST.COM didn’t sell 500GB hard drives.
First of all, I don’t know where YOU think a 500GB hard drive can be purchased for only $40.00, but I know of no such magical place. Second, on your own web site you list the following:
http://www.ecost.com/Detail.aspx?edp=3388983&navid=155441519
Western Digital Caviar SE16 Hard Drive - WD5000KSRTL
500GB Capacity, 3.5" x 1/3H, Internal, Serial ATA-300, 300 MBps Data Rate Transfer, 7200 rpm Spindle Speed, 16 MB Buffer Size
Price: $86.99
Availability:
In Stock
Ecost Part #:
3388983
Manufacturer:
Western Digital
Mfg Part #:
WD5000KSRTL
and…
http://www.ecost.com/Detail.aspx?edp=3458041&navid=155441519
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 Hard Drive - ST3500630AS
500GB, Internal Hard Drive 3.5", SATA, 7200RPM, 16MB Buffer Size.
Price: $60.99
Availability:
In Stock
Ecost Part #:
3458041
Manufacturer:
Seagate
Mfg Part #:
ST3500630AS
I frankly do not know what is more insulting, your attempt at a low-ball price, or that you didn’t think that I knew that your company sold the appropriate hard drives. The LEAST EXPENSIVE drive you sell that meets HP’s specs is $60.99, almost $21.00 more than what you offered me. This doesn’t include shipping/handling costs. Both the above listed hard drives are comparable to the drive that was supposed to be included in the EX470.
I appreciate an attempt to resolve, but your call was an insult. I have spent several hours of my own time trying to resolve this in an amicable manner. If you were honestly trying to solve this, then send a comparable hard drive that meets the following specs as according to HP:
500GB capacity
SATA interface
7200 RPM spindle speed
Energystar compliant “green” technology low noise drive.
16MB or higher buffer size
A copy of this e-mail will be forwarded to my credit card company and to HP.
Sincerely,
Jamie T. Waterman
@Ty - All I can say is: soon, very soon. But yes, it *is* coming.
@Jamie - Good feedback. I'll forward this along to HP and maybe they can light a fire under eCOST.
I suggest all members of the Home Server community (or anyone else for that matter) to stay AWAY from eCost (Donavon please don't post any more of their "specials"). My father purchased a refurbed server from eCost that was DOA, and while their site and all literature indicates they will replace DOA's with out any trouble. When I called regarding the matter not only were they rude, they also refused to help and suggested I contact HP. When I contacted HP they said it was up to eCost to replace the server. HP did replace the server and has been tremendously helpful in resolving the issue (I can't say enough good things about HP's customer service), they did indicate they've been having many problems with eCost (as evident from Jamie). My suggestion to all is to stay away from eCost and purchase directly through HP.
... and again ... Donavon (or any one else) PLEASE don't post specials for eCost.
My 2 cents.
John Reed
@Ty - unofficially I've heard no sooner than June(ish)
Thanks for the kind words, all. I would rather have a shotgun enema than deal with eCost ever again. Still have not heard anything from them. /sigh
I find it quite useful to check out Internet resellers on resellerratings.com ..
E.g., "ecost.com" is rated at a "1.95" out of "10" over the last six months (123 ratings).
Compare to Newegg.com which has a 9.84 out of 10 over six months (3,856 ratings).
I am not affiliated with resellerratings.com, just a big fan.
Well sadly I ran into this thread after the fact. My EX470 is sick upon arrival, first call to eCost indicated an RMA would be sent top refund my purchace price, the email I got only indicated a credit towards another purchace. When I called back I was told I would have to deal with HP.
Well HP ony has givin me a runaround for over an hour and numerous dropped calls to support. I asked for an Email address to provide the "proof of purchase" and it has bounced.
DON'T Buy from eCost!
@Dan... try to get to HP's Canadian support center (I think they say they specialize in Servers or something). My experience was they were extremely helpful and ended up resolving my issue with little problem.
UPDATE:
My credit card company has credited me back the cost of my purchase through eCost. ECost may still attemopt to get its' money back, but at this point I will be credited back the entire puchase amount of the server. I don't expect eCost to "eat" this chargeback and anticipate a fight, however I am hopeful they do not. I will report my buying experience to several other websites, as I don't want anyone to go through what I did with them.
I finally reached a support person in Business Servers at HP, even gave me his email. New disks are on the way and we think a solution is at hand.
Now does anyone have a lead on the disk drive holders, mine only had one, and HP does not seem to be a source for those parts.
Anyone who is interested in getting a refurb unit may want to check out the refurbs available directly from HP:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/can.do?landing=outlet&lanAttr=column2&category=server&catLevel=1&storeName=storefronts
BTW, if the link above stops working for some reason, here is a link to HP's site for all things refurbished:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/outlet
@Dan... this may be a dumb question so please forgive if it is... did you ask the guys at HP's Business Server support division?
gumby, I sure did, he said the only thing he could help me with concerning the drive tray was if it was damaged, which the one I have is not...sigh
They're doing it again, but cheaper right now! $325 for the next 57 hours!
http://www.ecost.com/Detail.aspx?edp=43006146&navid=155441519&source=k190473&cm_mmc=Affiliates-_-Performics-_-k190473-_-EX470
DONT FALL INTO ECOST'S MEMBERSHIP SCAM!! I DID AND PAID THE PRICE, THEY ARE HOLDING ITEMS IF YOU GET LUCKY AND GET AN OUTRAGEOUS DEAL (EVERY TUES AND THURS) ONCE THEY HOLD THE ITEMS, RIGHT NOW ITS BEEN OVER 3 WEEKS OF PROCESSING, CALLED MULTIPLE TIMES, ASKED FOR A MANAGER THEY SAY THEY GET MANAGERS VOICE MAIL EACH TIME TOO AND CANT TRANSFER ME TO ONE. WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS, ONCE YOU PAY THE MEMBERSHIP FEE AND YOU WIN THE ITEM, THEY WAIT UNTIL THE ITEM SELLS AT NORMAL PRICE THEN GO OUT OF STOCK, THEN THEY EMAIL YOU REFUNDING YOUR MONEY OF COURSE AND SAY SORRY ITEM IS OUT OF STOCK. THEY ARE THE WORSE PLACE TO BUY YOUR STUFF, I ORDERED REGULAR REFURB ITEMS AND THEY COME TO ME IN POOR CONDITION, PLUS THEIR SHIPPING CHARGES ARE OUTRAGEOUS, $12.95 FOR A BLUETOOTH ?
I HAVE REPORTED THEM TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, VERY POOR CUSTOMER SUPPORT!! SO BEWARE OF ECOST!!!
in addition ECOST - yes they are outrageous deals if you signed up but you have to get very lucky (i think its a scam but i rarely see the item get posted then you see its already been sold such as when they have a quantity of 15 or 20) ECOST - THEY ARE CROOKS - WHAT I MEAN TO SAY ABOUT THE OUTRAGEOUS DEAL - SURE THEY SOMETIMES ARE 50 TO 70% IF YOU GET AN OUTRAGEOUS DEAL, THEY'LL HOLD YOURS FOR LAST UNTIL THEY RUN OUT OF STOCK THEN THEY'LL TELL YOU ITEM IS OUT OF STOCK, YOUR ORDER HAS BEEN CANCELLED.
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