Anyone that has Issues with Monarch Computer Read This !!

[Trikat]

Their customer support is faltering and it sometimes takes a while for them to get their orders shipped out. I experienced both of these problems and also experienced some good customer support and shipping.
Monarch is indeed not the best online store that I have shopped with. They really need to also completely redesign their inventory system, ordering system, and atleast some way for online accounts.
I find it annoying how their email invoice does not have the order date. And the invoice page you get right after you place the order doesn't have an invoice number.

 

[Kobb]

Order processing and shippping comparison. Very non-scientific but fun, thought I'd share...

On Friday and at the same time, I ordered 3 standard in stock items (PSU, HDD, & DVD Bruner) from 3 online retailers (Monarch, Frys, & Newegg). Free shipping on all but the Monarch order which I upgraded for $0.79 to THREE day shipping.

I received order updates (order complete and tracking) in the following order with the following expected delivery dates (as quoted by shipper):
1st Monarch, delivery in 3 business days
2nd Frys, delivery in 3 business days
3rd Newegg, delivery in 4 business days

Important to note that Monarch shipped my package 2nd day on their own accord. (others above have commented likewise).

AGAIN, this is not scientific, and yes some retailers warehouse locations were closer to me than others.

All in all, my experience with Monarch has been good with good prompt email response as well. They could do with out all their policy verification check boxes (makes em look shady).

 

[Shinare]

Thanks OP for this post. I was under the impression that Monarch was a reputable online e-tailer. I'm glad I was able to read this before making the mistake of ordering from them.

 

[Avalon]

No surprise that their RR has dropped. I haven't had a single, truly good experience with them. Yet, their ridiculous deals make me take the plunge once in a while.

My first experience with them was ordering an A64 3000+ Venice and DFI NF4 Ultra-D when those two items were relatively new. Combos are supposedly pre-tested before being shipped out. Well, the combo wouldn't even work when I got it because, as I found out hours later, the BIOS on the board wasn't new enough to recognize the Venice core. After flashing it, everything worked.

My next several orders were just simply fraught with delays. It took on average 3-4 business days just to process my order, and finally then shipped out. I don't care for the place at all.

 

[Tol]

Originally posted by: Iron Chef

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
B&M or not, three weeks for a refund is bullsh!t.

Try 3 1/2 months:|

I used a store credit towards the purchase of an Opteron back in Dec '05. I was charged full price at the time and told that the credit would be applied to my credit card. So I waited and waited and WAITED!!!

I emailed them several times to which they never responded. Finally, after three and half months, the credit showed up on my statement.

Unacceptable.

My refund took more like 6 months. When it came, I thought they had credited my card twice. I had to go back through my amex statements to realize that they had my $400+ for that long...

It's still very tempting to order from them. Low prices and no sales tax for us in CA.

 

[screw3d]

I've had bad experience with them too - mostly being really slow with fulfilling orders.. I'm talking about beyond the promised dates (which is OK), and not answering any of my emails (which is NOT ok).

 

[konakona]

Interesting read. I only had almost-a-customer experience when I eventually ended up going with ZZF IIRC. that was around april of last year, and their not so perfect reputation was one of the things that steered me away from monarch. Personally, I doubt their alledgely poor track record is something that just surfaced with conroe deals, though with whatever happened this time around their rep might have taken an even deeper plunge.

As for these personal "outlier" experiences killing potential sales, I believe the businesses deserve it by all means. If a retailer doesnt know how or care to treat one customer right, there is no guarantee that they would take their liberty with another victim. The burden of figuring out genuinely sound, well supported complaints from worthless pile of whining ultimately falls on the potential buyers doing their research for their next shopping run IMO.

Even if some of the posts on a popular messegeboard manages to hurt an etailer, not all is lost for them. Hell, I took a gamble and ordered from the notorious tigerdirect. At the time of my purchase, TD had initiated this new rebate program, and supposedely most if not all folks here seemed happy about it. The point is, when a businesses really try to clean up their acts, consumers do respond. According to this thread, that is precisely the course of action monarch needs to take immediately.

 

[herbiehancock]

I've had varying experiences with Monarch. I've ordered online from them three times and paid with each order with Paypal. This seemed to make quite a difference as compared to those using credit cards. The latest was the Opteron craze several months ago.......I ordered one, paid with Paypal, and received the cpu in just three days. Others on this board, who ordered at the same time or earlier but all paid with a credit card, had their orders take much longer....sometimes up to two or three weeks......and all under the guise of "verifying credit card address" or other various reasons. So maybe ordering from them online is best paid with Paypal perhaps?

In another Monarch order, I actually visited their "showroom/storefront" in Atlanta. I was looking for three cheapie AGP video cards and since Monarch is quite close to Fry's, I decided to give them a visit to compare prices. Monarch was much cheaper than Fry's for the same part, so I decided to buy from them, figuring of course that it'd be in hand when I purchased at the store.

Oh contrare, my friends. First, two guys were working the "sales floor," as it is and one customer in front of me. He was waiting for some server motherboards, cpus, RAM, and other parts for some server builds he was doing, from what I gathered from some of his conversation and parts that came out.....slowly.....from the back. The balance of the 20 minutes I waited for "service" was spent listening to the three try to outbrag each other on their home computer setups.......and why his Crossfire setup was better than their SLI setups. (I guess I was deemed "unworthy" of being helped quickly because after the question of what I needed and finding out what I wanted, I was relagated to a computer terminal and dumped there......had to almost scream to get attention after 15 minutes of standing at the counter to ask if the parts were in stock, which I finally found out they weren't at the Atlanta location but instead in NC or TN or somewhere else remote.)

It seems Monarch is very hit-or-miss.......whether you're online or in their physical store. Personally, cheap prices don't make up for lack of quality customer service. I'd rather pay a bit more for attentive service.

 

[Ike0069]

I might as well throw my 2 cents in.

I bought from Monarch once, back around Jan. 2005. It was a MB/CPU combo, a VC, and maybe a couple of other small items. After four days, it still hadn't shipped. I called several times before I was able to actually speak with someone and they told me the initial MB had failed to post , but the tech got a new MB and it would ship it out that evening. Of course it did not ship out until the next day.

They didn't even bother shipping my other items out early. Now I really didn't care about htis because I needed the MB to use the VC. But still, an entire shipment should not wait on one part if the rest is ready to go.

After I received my items, I set everything up and it posted but my CPU seemed to run hot. So I removed the CPU and put some AS5 on it, tried to restart it it failed to post. I called Monarch to get an RMA and they said I voided my warranty on the MB and CPU by putting on AS5. WTF!

After many calls and research they finally changed their decision, but the whole process left me with a negative view of Monarch and I do not even consider buying from them anymore. (Of course there is a lot more to this story that was played out in these forums).

At that point there RR was still very high, but the complaints were starting to come in. Their defense was that they had been overwhelmed with their increased business growth and CS would be much improved as in the near future as they hire mor reps. Well, I see that they have not improved, and actually gotten much worse. Well done, Monarch.....

 

[you2]

Never delt with monarch so no comments but AS5 does void the warranty on amd chips. I asked amd this question (when trying to decide if i should use AS5). They noted two problems with the substance and recommended i did not use it and said it would void the warranty.

 

[Zap]

I also have gotten things from Monarch very fast... and very slow. Mobo/CPU combo took a long time. Also, their claim of updating BIOS is just a claim and may or may not be reality. :roll: Besides all that, many of their deals in their emails now are with rebates, lots and lots of rebates. Also, has anyone noticed that now they are pushing "pay for warranty?" Anything you buy from them has either an incredibly short warranty, or none at all. Oh, sure, go to the manufacturer. Try that with OEM stuff, or with stuff that the manufacturer's warranty is a vendor warranty and not an end-user warranty.

 

[kwo]

Well, I have but one experience, and it was not good - bought my eVGA 6800GS and, while saying it was in stock, took over a week just to "Prepare for shipping" and another week to actually get it.

This after numerous calls.......

I'll have to give a negative on this one.

 

[xboxist]

As a buyer, I absolutely LOATHE online inventories that aren't real-time accurate. My only experience with Monarch involved buying a video card that was "in stock", only to have the order "processing" for a full week (but they took my money on day 1). It took a call from ME to figure out what's going on. The rep on the phone looked at the order and simply said, "It looks like it's out of stock."

... wtf?? So they were just going to keep my money, and have my order fake-processing, and not let me know about it? Horrible. F'in bastards. I have no tolerance for suck-ass service like that and the company can go under before the year's end for all I care.

 

[ra990]

I posted a couple of messages on Monarch's forum asking why it takes them over 3 months to issue a refund for an order that was never shipped in the first place. The messages were deleted by their mods within minutes of posting them. Try to do that here biatches. (I hope they are reading this thread)

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: you2
Never delt with monarch so no comments but AS5 does void the warranty on amd chips. I asked amd this question (when trying to decide if i should use AS5). They noted two problems with the substance and recommended i did not use it and said it would void the warranty.

When did you ask this, and for what CPU?

True, AMD states that they will void the warranty for "using a metallic based thermal compound" for processors with exposed electronics on top (i.e. socket A CPU's). They do not have a problem with using metallic based compunds on CPU's with an IHS that completely covers the top of the CPU (i.e. socket 754/939/949/AM2). This was the major part of my issue with Monarch, and is the reason they eventually changed their policy on AS use. But they also refused to let me RMA my MB, saying that AS5 use also voided the MB warranty.

My biggest problem with them was the way I was treated. Only after reading threads I started on their own forums and here at AT (where they saw they were getting negative comments about this subject from many other people besides myself), did they even bother to try and speak with me. Not until after they themselves checked to find AMD's official policy on AS use did they decide to change their policy. It shouldn't have to be a customer that explains what a suppliers policy is.

There's a reason Monarch's ratings are falling fast. They simply do not care about a customer's complaints until he makes them public (negative RR review, start a negative thread in a forum, etc.). And now they have so many complaints coming in, it appears they can't even keep up with them all.

 

[Mr Fox]

I am blown away at the response to this thread, and appreciate everyone that has contributed so far, and that the thread has stayed on task, and properly directed.

60+ Posts and 2500 views in 24 hours !!

Thank You One and All !!

 

[Ns1]

I have purchased from monarch before and had a good experience, but this does look pretty bad on them now

 

[SwiftWind]

EDIT: I went ahead and removed what I said since I got multiple PM's about it. I still think though that regardless of the thread being watched by the mods, it doesn't look right when a member who just joined AT starts to complain about monarch right off the bat.

 

[amd4life]

sounds about right to me personally. Monarch USED to be one of my favorites a few years back, until every RMA started takeing 3 weeks +, and I always had to wait 3 dasy for tem to ship out units that were purchased with 2 day air mail due to understcoking.


I always like there ram availability, but recently (last year or so) hey have reall had some in house issues. Wouldnt buy from them again

 

[Mr Fox]

Originally posted by: SwiftWind
I'm surprised this thread isn't locked. No offense to the OP but you don't have much credibility for someone who just joined AT. It seems too suspicious. I think if you have a problem with Monarch, take it up with them directly rather than try to ruin their reputation on AT (The fact that posters are already being convinced not to use Monarch who never shopped there before).

I wouldn't care so much if you weren't a new member. Right now it just looks like you joined AT just to talk about bad experiences with Monarch. If you still insist on reflecting your experiences, then do it on OT, or another category. There's no reason for this to be in Hot Deals.

I have not posted my own personal issues with them for the simple reason that it is not relavent to the information that I posted, and would have distracted from the the main issue at hand.

As far as this being in the proper forum... I belive that the Moderators Comment at the beginning of the thread should have been an indicator that this was posted in the correct place, as well as the Excerpted portion of the Forum Rules. But I guess that your impulse to thread crap got the best of you.... This thread has been on task and well directed until now ...

Excerpted from Forum Rules :

What about COURTESY?

No thread crapping. If the subject matter of a deal does not interest you, do not post negative comments about it, or about other members, in the thread.


What about CONSUMER RIGHTS and BAD DEALS?

We all know there are dishonest dealers on the Internet. We also know that, at one time or another, everyone makes honest mistakes. Legitimate Hot Deals are Hot. Dishonest, deceptive and fraudulant offers and practices are NOT.

If a company has acted dishonestly or fraudulantly, threads discussing legal ways to enforce your rights are a valid and important topic for discussion.

If a company posts a deal and then cancels it for reasons such as a pricing error, before you scream for blood or go looking for a lawyer, consider the circumstances:

* Did the original ad contain enough information to show that the company knew (or should have known) the true value of the items offered and the amount of the discount they were offering?
* Did the company announce the cancelation in a timely manner?
* Did the company offer any reasonable compensation (discount, gift certificate, etc.) to those who were legitimately inconvenienced by their actions?
* Does the company have a documented history of "bait-and-switch" or other questionable tactics?

If, after considering these questions, you believe a company has acted dishonestly or fraudulantly, we welcome threads discussing your rights and legal ways to enforce them. Please remember:

* Uninformed rants and misinformation accomplish nothing.
* Calls for illegal acts of retaliation can only lead to trouble. Those who engage in such acts may lose any rights they had and end up with legal problems of their own.
* If a bunch of greedy people actually manage to hurt a good company, it will only ruin future good deals for everyone.

Try to keep all posts about a given problem in one thread. If you start a consumer action thread, you get to maintain it. If the thread gets too long, start a continuation thread, and post links from old thread to the new one and from the new thread back to the old one.

 

[ActuaryTm]

Originally posted by: Mr Fox
As far as this being in the proper forum... I belive that the Moderators Comment at the beginning of the thread should have been an indicator that this was posted in the correct place, as well as the Excerpted portion of the Forum Rules. But I guess that your impulse to thread crap got the best of you....

Edited: 09/24/2006 at 01:08 PM by AnandTech Moderator

In SwiftWind's defense, the Moderator commented after his post.

I tend to agree with his assessment as well, and find that most intelligent members meet such seemingly "helpful" information offered as a first post with at the very least a modicum of incredulity and skepticism - more often than not, rightfully so.

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: ActuaryTm

Originally posted by: Mr Fox
As far as this being in the proper forum... I belive that the Moderators Comment at the beginning of the thread should have been an indicator that this was posted in the correct place, as well as the Excerpted portion of the Forum Rules. But I guess that your impulse to thread crap got the best of you....

Edited: 09/24/2006 at 01:08 PM by AnandTech Moderator

In SwiftWind's defense, the Moderator commented after his post.

I tend to agree with his assessment as well, and find that most intelligent members meet such seemingly "helpful" information offered as a first post with at the very least a modicum of incredulity and skepticism.

I might of agreed as well, but it doesn't seem very likely that all of these RR ratings that have popped up were made up - even if most of those users created an RR account simply to share their Monarch experience. There are also quite a few posts now in this thread that show what kind of company they are.

Personally I'm glad for this, definetely opened my eyes and now I probably won't buy from Monarch. Even if its not the majority thats experiencing these issues, it looks to me like a significant enough amount of people.

Funny too because I was just pondering the Opteron 165 for $150 on a thread right above this one (at time of this post) but decided against it after reading this thread in its entirety.

 

[lxskllr]

I don't have personal experience, but I wouldn't buy anything from them. This isn't anything new. I've been reading about bad experiences with Monarch for well over 1 year now. There's been too many issues involving customer service to risk sending them my money when there's other known reliable merchants out there.

 

[mb]

Wow, this is sad. I bought a custom desktop from them ~3 years ago and my experience with Monarch was fantastic - absolutley top notch.

One thing everyone should realize, though, is that people are far more likely to complain about a company than praise them. Hopefully Monarch can turn things around as I wouldn't consider ordering from them at this point.

 

[Mr Fox]

Originally posted by: ActuaryTm

Originally posted by: Mr Fox
As far as this being in the proper forum... I belive that the Moderators Comment at the beginning of the thread should have been an indicator that this was posted in the correct place, as well as the Excerpted portion of the Forum Rules. But I guess that your impulse to thread crap got the best of you....

Edited: 09/24/2006 at 01:08 PM by AnandTech Moderator

In SwiftWind's defense, the Moderator commented after his post.

I tend to agree with his assessment as well, and find that most intelligent members meet such seemingly "helpful" information offered as a first post with at the very least a modicum of incredulity and skepticism - more often than not, rightfully so.

Swiftwinds post was : 9/25/2006 12:35 PM ....
The Moderator posted : 9/24/2006 01:08 PM ...... 23 1/2 hours Prior to Swiftwinds Comments....


It would really be good if people actually read ......prior to engaging keyboards.