Did Newegg scam Gamers Nexus? A former RMA inspector’s opinion…

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  • čas přidán 17. 05. 2024
  • Did Newegg scam Gamers Nexus? A former RMA inspector’s opinion…
    ▷ MY STORE - shirts, mugs, pint glasses & hoodies: paulshardware.net
    ► TIMESTAMPS
    0:00 Intro
    0:38 I was an RMA Inspector - Disclaimer / Context
    1:17 Thoughts on Steve’s Situation
    2:04 What is an RMA? How is it processed?
    4:32 RMA Exceptions go to RMA Inspections
    5:27 Common Reason 1: Missing Packaging/Parts
    6:44 Reason 2: Damaged Items, and why Open Box matters
    8:27 Reason 3: Wrong Item RMAs (and Sneaky Customers)
    9:44 Weird Returns, Rattlesnakes and Breast Implants
    12:28 How Newegg and other E-tailers Could Improve Returns
    13:46 Closing Thoughts
    ► LINKS
    Gamers Nexus video: “Newegg Scammed Us” - • Newegg Scammed Us
    Newegg RMA FAQ - kb.newegg.com/article-categor...
    Ingram Micro - corp.ingrammicro.com/
    D&H - www.dandh.com/
    LGA vs PGA: which is better? - • LGA vs PGA! Which is b...
    Please note that links above may be affiliate links -- clicking them earns me a small commission if you make a purchase and helps support my CZcams channel. Thank you!
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    ► Edited by Joe Aguilar - ShaostylePostProductions
    / joe_editing
    Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound
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  • Věda a technologie

Komentáře • 3K

  • @KyokujiFGC
    @KyokujiFGC Před 2 lety +4299

    The follow-up from Steve is pretty damning. It turns out Newegg was the one who RMA'd the board to begin with, specifically refused Gigabyte's offer to repair it for $100, and then still put it back on the shelf to sell to a customer.

    • @josephhodges718
      @josephhodges718 Před 2 lety +277

      Geez. That's despicable.

    • @SeraphArmaros
      @SeraphArmaros Před 2 lety +494

      All while it had a huge label from the manufacturer describing it as "irreparable" and "CPU Socket Damaged".

    • @scottanderson2871
      @scottanderson2871 Před 2 lety +119

      yeah, it's really shedding light on some things that never should be happening.

    • @allothernamesbutthis
      @allothernamesbutthis Před 2 lety +590

      possibly the most expensive $100 that company ever saved.

    • @pirojfmifhghek566
      @pirojfmifhghek566 Před 2 lety +372

      I think it goes to show that the issue is beyond simple laziness and ventures into actual fraud. Everyone in the company who touched this board is in on it.
      The RMA slip from the manufacturer was still taped to the front of the damn board. So EVERYONE who touched this board and RMA request knew that it was busted, why it was busted, who busted it, and what it would take to fix it. The first inspector sent it to be RMA'd and they chose not to fix it. They should have thrown it in the bin, but they sold it to Steve. The customer service rep who told him to send it back should have also known that the product was previously RMA'd from their records. The second inspector should have _immediately_ seen the RMA slip, so even if it was a different inspector it should have been obvious. The customer service rep who claimed it was "bent pins" and "thermal pate" should've been able to see the RMA in their records. At every level of this fuckup, it has become 100% clear that this scam is standard routine. You can't have this many people look at the same board and come to the same conclusion unless you're training them to lie for the sake of the company. So this is clearly known by management as well.

  • @jesuschristislord6790
    @jesuschristislord6790 Před 2 lety +1080

    Paul would fix damaged pins for people while making $4 an hour sitting in a dark corner of a factory alone all day. What a bro.

    • @pmcgee103
      @pmcgee103 Před 2 lety +75

      Yeah, he got my subscribe after hearing that. Shows a lot of passion towards technology and care for people. Says a lot about his personality trait/character that isn't really taught/learned, but is a positive mindset.

    • @barryretmanski4763
      @barryretmanski4763 Před 2 lety +11

      Yeah, but don't think I would want to be the guy that bought the "repaired" CPU, the pin being bent back and forth like that would be weakened.

    • @OOZ662
      @OOZ662 Před 2 lety +80

      @@barryretmanski4763 The context pointed to the user having damaged the CPU themselves, and instead of saying "get rekt, no refund for you" he'd bend the pin back and it'd instead be "still no refund for you but maybe the CPU will work when it gets back to you."

    • @onecalledchuck1664
      @onecalledchuck1664 Před 2 lety +29

      AND all while protecting his coworkers from music copyright violations, random videos on burner cameras, breast implants(?) and death by rattlesnake. #TheHeroWeNeed

    • @KenS1267
      @KenS1267 Před 2 lety +38

      @@barryretmanski4763 Generally a CPU goes into a socket once and never comes out of the socket ever again. Most people do not care if the pin is weakened. Even as an enthusiast I can count the number of times I've pulled CPU's out of Mobo's on one hand.

  • @matthewf1979
    @matthewf1979 Před 2 lety +375

    There should be an addendum video to this. The motherboard had already been sent to the manufacturer with bent pins in July of 2021 and the sticker was still on the motherboard. Newegg sent Gamers Nexus a known defective item, blatantly blamed them for the damage and refused the refund.
    In my parts, that’s fraud.

    • @OnceShy_TwiceBitten
      @OnceShy_TwiceBitten Před 2 lety +2

      czcams.com/video/CL-eB_Bv5Ik/video.html

    • @Tixbomber
      @Tixbomber Před 2 lety +24

      The problem with that. And why companies LOOOVE long "chains of command". Is because they can just use plausible deniability for every bs, nefarious thing they do. Making them able to skirt fraud claims.

    • @Jrock420blam
      @Jrock420blam Před 2 lety +14

      @@Tixbomber all it requires is a variation of this statement "we will be retraining staff on proper protocol so this never happens again" and then they just continue being shady

    • @leestringer
      @leestringer Před 11 měsíci

      They went public 5 years ago. I have to wonder if that is when everything went to shit. Their stock price certainly did.

    • @ExecratedPlaysGaming
      @ExecratedPlaysGaming Před 8 měsíci +2

      @@leestringer That really is when it went to shit. Publicly traded companies get bought up by investment funds designed to enrich the rich and politically connected, and they do so in a very simple way: year over year profit increases. This allows their investors to borrow money against future profits, and in order to keep doing that, they need to show that their profits will increase year over year. They borrow a million dollars against next year's projected profits of 1.5 million, and then next year they need to borrow not only the 1.2 million they owe, but also another million to keep living, and so the third year profits need to exceed 2.7 million dollars. And they aren't just happy living within their means, either, so they want to borrow not just the 1.2 million they owe plus another million to maintain their lifestyle, but also an extra million to further enhance their quality of living, so profits need to exceed 3.7 million dollars.
      Obviously, this is a simplified example, but it shows just how differently the rich live. While you or I might buy stock with the intent of selling it when its price goes up in order to make money, the rich buy stock in such quantity that they expect to be able to continuously borrow against its value for a decade or more, but that necessitates the value of that stock increasing, and stock value only increases when profit increases. So when a company, like Gamestop or Newegg, reaches its market cap, there's only one way for it to continue increasing profits: cutting costs.

  • @jackka82
    @jackka82 Před 2 lety +171

    FYI, the Newegg that we all loved was bought out in 2017 by a Chinese company.
    I found out about it after Newegg started to feel a bit different and not as good as before in recent years. It's such a shame.

    • @karenelizabeth1590
      @karenelizabeth1590 Před 2 lety +19

      I had no idea. That explains a lot!

    • @chuuzu
      @chuuzu Před 2 lety +10

      Oh, that explains a lot actually.

    • @tacticoolrick5562
      @tacticoolrick5562 Před 2 lety +3

      Yeah they used to be great. Now they're utter shit.

    • @derek8564
      @derek8564 Před 2 lety +19

      The chinese will do that to ya

    • @utubewillyman
      @utubewillyman Před 2 lety +4

      What is it about China and scams? They have new construction buildings thay fall apart. They ship bricks in place of electronics. The one time I ordered from AliExpress, my credit card was used for a $300 Uber ride a few days later--the only time I've ever been a victim of credit card fraud.

  • @juliuscheng5788
    @juliuscheng5788 Před 2 lety +1032

    11:14 Breast implants are sold as singles, not doubles. Reason being is that if used for things like breast cancer reconstruction, you don't need two.
    (Also: fun fact - sometimes when two implants are placed even for cosmetic reasons, breasts might not be symmetric, and you might need 2 different sizes anyway)

    • @paulshardware
      @paulshardware  Před 2 lety +663

      This is the insight I was looking for on that, thank you

    • @rhekman
      @rhekman Před 2 lety +594

      Thanks for keeping us abreast on the situation.

    • @ulrichkalber9039
      @ulrichkalber9039 Před 2 lety +24

      you spared me a comment, and better phrased as well.

    • @unclerubo
      @unclerubo Před 2 lety +59

      This is some random trivia I was not expecting to find before going to bed today.

    • @rushunt2131
      @rushunt2131 Před 2 lety +17

      you are correct boobs come in singles... look at you succeeding in life.... go you!

  • @toddabbott781
    @toddabbott781 Před 2 lety +845

    He has a follow-up and it is worse. The board was actually sold and returned damaged. They sent the board off to have it serviced for the bent pins. Gigabyte offered to fix it for $100, but NewEgg declined. The motherboard was returned to NewEgg and resold as open box to Nexus. The service tag is still on the board. Either they thought the board had been repaired or just screwed up and put it back on the shelf to re-sell, but it should NEVER have been re-sold... and NewEgg handled it poorly.

    • @KenS1267
      @KenS1267 Před 2 lety +49

      The thing is with the RMA sticker still on it, it proves it was non functional when sold. It has to have been a mistake. A simple photo of the board with that sticker is all it takes to put them into a very messy position.

    • @ccricers
      @ccricers Před 2 lety +5

      They should’ve just RTV (Return to Vendor) broken boards to Gigabyte. It would’ve at least be less worse than what they actually did.

    • @FragEightyfive
      @FragEightyfive Před 2 lety +6

      This sounds like what most likely happened, I had a very similar experience. I have a feeling there is very poor procedures/accountability in place. People not knowing what they are doing and putting boxes in the wrong pile to get shipped back out.
      I am in no way defending Newegg, I have a number of very negative experiences with them recently where I will never shop with them ever again.

    • @SevenandForty
      @SevenandForty Před 2 lety +11

      @@KenS1267 Probably why 'Egg still hasn't given Steve those photos they said they would

    • @LegitSav
      @LegitSav Před 2 lety

      @@KenS1267 That is what I am thinking. Newegg can suck, but this definitely sounds like a mistake. It is hard to believe they would outright sell broken items.

  • @brents2500
    @brents2500 Před 2 lety +44

    What I gather from this video is that NewEgg lost a damn good employee! You know you've gone above the call of duty when you're repairing mobo's, AMD cpu pins and detaining rattle snakes in an RMA office.

  • @geblah187
    @geblah187 Před 2 lety +46

    I work for a company that provides software as a service - Newegg is one of our customers. Not sure if they are under new management/bought out/etc, but they used to be great and they are now such a nightmare that our own support department plays rock/paper/scissors to determine who has to deal with them. Sad :(

    • @noclass2gun342
      @noclass2gun342 Před 11 měsíci +4

      if you watch the sit down steve did with some upper level executives (including the ceo) only one of them had been there for more than a couple years, and one had only been there a few months...

    • @_Aemse
      @_Aemse Před 4 měsíci +4

      Chinese owners took over and brought their business practices from overseas with them.

  • @LadyEmilyNyx
    @LadyEmilyNyx Před 2 lety +658

    I used to buy all my hardware exclusively from newegg, to the point that I never even looked elsewhere to price match or anything. Over the years, they've given me reason after reason to change that habit, and now newegg is a last resort, behind even Amazon... and I'm REALLY not fond of Amazon's company practices... so that's saying something.
    My most recent purchase, my two available options were newegg... and a chinese seller on ebay. After 6 weeks of fighting with newegg, I issued a dispute with my CC and ordered the ebay part. Zero issues.
    When random ebay sellers in China offer a better experience than your company... you're not just doing SOMETHING wrong... you're doing everything wrong.

    • @TheSjuris
      @TheSjuris Před 2 lety +21

      Maybe that seller in China owns Newegg.

    • @montreauxs
      @montreauxs Před 2 lety +12

      Tiger Direct.

    • @goblinphreak2132
      @goblinphreak2132 Před 2 lety +37

      Newegg used to be "bought and shipped from newegg only" basically you shopped newegg, you got newegg. Now Newegg has 3rd party sellers.... And they in my opinion are scummy as shit. Its the same with Amazon, but at least with Amazon I get free shipping. I also make sure products i buy from Amazon are official Amazon "sold and shipped" or "official product brand" sold and shipped. If its some 3rd party seller i generally dont buy from them. I will even pay a few dollars more to get the Amazon shipped and sold item. Because more than likely the 3rd party seller is scamming. I learned my lesson the first time i bought 3rd party on amazon. I ordered laptop ddr3 ram for my laptop. When it came, one chip was a different color than the other. Some asshole ripped off the g.skill sticker and places it on a hyundai ram chip (aka oem chip) put it in the package and resold the g.skill kit as new. I was furious. Luckily amazon handled it and i got my money back. But the hassle itself is bullshit.

    • @edwardellis7611
      @edwardellis7611 Před 2 lety +1

      I agree with this 100%

    • @AshenTechDotCom
      @AshenTechDotCom Před 2 lety +7

      glad im not alone..... i have had better luck with sellers that spoke google translate....

  • @macleod1592
    @macleod1592 Před 2 lety +647

    They've been doing the "bent pins" crap for many years, almost as long as I've been in this hobby. I'm glad that they are FINALLY feeling some heat about it.

    • @whiskizyo2067
      @whiskizyo2067 Před 2 lety +21

      yeah unfortunately only now did Gamers Nexus bring it up - because it finally happened to them. better than nothing i guess

    • @IanBPPK
      @IanBPPK Před 2 lety +65

      @@whiskizyo2067 they didn't have direct firsthand evidence to make content in good faith with something to back it. They wanted to make content but didn't want to put their audience nor vendor trust at risk with what wasn't substantiated to their expectations.

    • @Somethingaboutthat
      @Somethingaboutthat Před 2 lety +4

      I've got some concerns with Ryzen 4 CPU's going with the pins on the board vs the cpu. I have fixed a few bent CPU pins over the years but the motherboard pins seem almost impossible to fix. I understand why AMD wants to switch and I also understand some people have pulled cpu's off the boards when pulling the heatsync off but at least IMO the cpu pins you'll likely fix. The motherboard on the other hand will need to be tossed.

    • @_miyu
      @_miyu Před 2 lety +3

      @@Somethingaboutthat Unless an object directly lands on the socket, nothing is going to damage those pins. They are very safe on the motherboard. Think about it, its the chip that gets taken out and moved around, pins on the chip are in danger, but rarely does anything go near the motherboard.

    • @IanBPPK
      @IanBPPK Před 2 lety +2

      @@_miyu they're mildly prone to damage by beginners building systems or doing maintenance, or even sending it in used packaging. Not saying it's the absolute norm to have bent LGA pins but it's an understood issue.

  • @Ferro_Giconi
    @Ferro_Giconi Před 2 lety +121

    I've been avoiding newegg for years now. The writing was on the wall when they added that awful marketplace thing where you could accidentally order something and then realize it has 8 week shipping if you weren't paying attention because of being used to shipping from newegg being reasonable. I started getting suspicious that their overall quality would decline in other ways too. Then, sure enough, searching became horrible, littered with all kinds of things that aren't even close to matching my search terms(and that all have awful long shipping times), and they changed other things that also just made me not trust them anymore. I eventually got to the point where I decided to try trusting Amazon with computer parts purchases to get myself away from Newegg's untrustworthy feeling changes, and it turned out to be totally fine. I think it's been at least 5 years since I've made a single purchase at newegg. I know it's not much to a company of their size, but they could have had another $10,000-20,000 from my purchases and recommendations to relatives who trust me to give them good computer advice and my job in those 5 years if they hadn't f-ed up their website and trustworthiness so badly.
    And now after how badly this RMA was handled, that just adds icing to my distrust.

    • @Murasadramon
      @Murasadramon Před 2 lety +16

      I realized things weren't quite the same years ago when I went to Newegg's front page and there were ads for My Little Pony, Magic: the Gathering, and rice cookers on the front page.

    • @drowningin
      @drowningin Před 2 lety +4

      That's when I stopped I ordered everything for a new computer and it all appeared to be shipping together from warehouse and only after submitting it was like these things will be here in 3days, but your motherboard in 3 weeks. Like hold up! Why is that information only crystal clear after I submitted order?

    • @futuza
      @futuza Před 2 lety +1

      Yeah they got bought out by a Chinese company in 2017 and they've been slowly mismanaging things into the ground since then.

    • @barongerhardt
      @barongerhardt Před 2 lety +7

      The marketplace is what killed my relationship with newegg too. The way they stuck it in with very little notice that newegg wasn't backing the product in any way was slimy. I got a used laptop (lenovo thinkpad) for my mother that arrived with only half the screen working. Newegg said they didn't sell it to me and the reseller wanted to claim it was my problem for buying used. I would have been fine with some giant scratches on the case or a slightly wonky key, but literally half the screen was busted. Zero help was provided by either company. I was able to replace the screen for about $50.
      Years prior, and in the course of some $20-50k, of merchandise, I had a few bad purchases with newegg and they always handled them well. The laptop was a real stinker on a cheap item. After that every time I have gone to newegg, it seems like more of their offerings are third parties. I dislike Amazon, but they handle being a third party market place much better. Thankfully, I have microcenter close by and has become my go to.

    • @oglej
      @oglej Před rokem +3

      The thing about amazon and i personally saw this multiple times working with the usps is they will either slap a shipping label on the manufacturer's box and send it or throw it loose in a oversized box with the rest of your order and very little packing material, either way it is then placed on a pallet with the rest of that shipment stacked on top of it not too uncommon to be half a ton of crap stacked haphazerdly 6 feet tall, saran wrapped together and shipped, ive seen too many things come off their truck broken or left unattended on a front porch for all to see with the manufacturers packaging advertising its contents for anyone that happens to drive by since they just want it delivered regardless on whether anyone is there or not to ever trust amazon.

  • @LonSeidman
    @LonSeidman Před 2 lety +239

    I wonder what customer service policies were changed after it went under the new ownership in 2016.

    • @N0RD0M
      @N0RD0M Před 2 lety +33

      This explains why my newegg experience since around 2016 has sucked. I have wondered why they were like a shell of their form selves. Now I know.

    • @zeron851
      @zeron851 Před 2 lety +11

      No doubt. CS in general has been trimmed down and had hard metrics thrust upon it in damn near every single industry there is. It's often seen as a cost center when in reality it can easily be the backbone of your business. Pretty much the only reason the place i work at got as popular as it has was due to it's incredible CS.

    • @Bjorick
      @Bjorick Před 2 lety +8

      @@zeron851 same, i started at a start up about 6 or 7 years ago that was really small, excellent CS has turned it into a million dollar company, however, the dedication of the tech team was a major part of that, every part of the system needs to be focused and hard working, and when any of those parts fail, the whole company will suffer

    • @tsdobbi
      @tsdobbi Před 2 lety +14

      @@zeron851 It's nuts how much shit fell off the face of the earth in terms of customer service since the late 90's. As a highschool student in the late 90's I worked full time to save up for my first PC (a pre-built, had no clue about building back then). I got one from gateway. Went to a gateway store, the rep helped me configure it, With the video card I wanted the cost was going to be more than I had. Dude said don't worry about it added the card and just slashed the price down. Any time I had any issues going forward, service was great and they always considered what makes everything easier for the customer.

    • @David-xl8zf
      @David-xl8zf Před 2 lety +5

      All. They changed it to "we need more money".

  • @tommylai9896
    @tommylai9896 Před 2 lety +255

    Paul, I remember dealing with you 20+ years ago regarding my RMA. I bought a thermaltake PSU from newegg and it burnt my Hard drive. You offered me a refund for the PSU plus a voucher to buy another hard drive from newegg. It is sad to see what newegg has become.

    • @MrKeefy
      @MrKeefy Před 2 lety +5

      About 2005/6 I bought a thermal take psu and it was trash. It would overheat and shut off and not switch back on until it cooled down. I sent it back, but claimed since it was a non standard size it didn't fit in my case and the website description had no dimensions so had no way of knowing it wouldn't fit.

    • @sirmonkey1985
      @sirmonkey1985 Před 2 lety +5

      @@MrKeefy the good ol thermaltake toughpower series psu's, lol. i remember when they silently released the updated version of those psu's, still have my TT TP 750w from 2007 which i stopped using in 2018 but now it's output is closer to 600-650w.

    • @robertb6276
      @robertb6276 Před 2 lety +3

      @@sirmonkey1985 TIL what was wrong with my Thermaltake toughpower PSU back in the day. Holy hell that thing gave me problems.

    • @stephenvoss6092
      @stephenvoss6092 Před 2 lety

      Thermaltake PSUs were they ever good?

    • @Wulthrin
      @Wulthrin Před 2 lety

      @@stephenvoss6092 🤷‍♂i never had an issue.

  • @Dudummeskind
    @Dudummeskind Před 2 lety +750

    I expected a short video about Steve’s problem. Suddenly I‘m watching an awesome story about rattlesnakes and a fake tiddy.
    Please more of this.

    • @DaleEarnhardtsSeatbelt
      @DaleEarnhardtsSeatbelt Před 2 lety +13

      TIDDY FOR SCALE

    • @blueblade455
      @blueblade455 Před 2 lety +2

      Let this video marinate a little longer for more views and then can you imagine how much that breast implant with Paul's signature on it would sell for on eBay? Just sayin.

    • @G_de_Coligny
      @G_de_Coligny Před 2 lety +2

      yup, holy non sequitur batman...

    • @LoriB02
      @LoriB02 Před 2 lety

      This is really interesting.

    • @DJTanner5
      @DJTanner5 Před 2 lety +2

      Where did the tiddy come from? Is someone out there with one implant? I need to know more

  • @RogueCylon
    @RogueCylon Před 2 lety +15

    The decline of NewEgg has been going on for a decade now. I’ve received secondhand goods, broken goods, and extremely poor packaging that ensured damage, their RMA experience is in the toilet as well. Some favorite shipping was stuff arriving out of box with fingerprints, heavy good mingled with delicate goods, and shipping memory in an envelope.

  • @AtotehZ
    @AtotehZ Před 2 lety +18

    9:27 I don't know what Newegg did, but if someone abuses or is denied an RMA here in Denmark you pay the equivalent of around $50 for the inspection based on the situation. The CD to DVD burner swap would've been one such case.

  • @MTNRanger
    @MTNRanger Před 2 lety +341

    I think Newegg started a downward trend when 1) they started to sell non-computer products (like Amazon), and 2) when they started listing tons of "marketplace" crap sellers on their site.

    • @totz808
      @totz808 Před 2 lety +15

      @@JuicerNation I think it's easy to blame the Chinese company, and I'm sure they have a big role to play in the modern crappiness of Newegg, but a lot of the shitty stories I've been reading lately also came from stuff before 2016 when they were bought out. I think the downward trend of Newegg happened much earlier.

    • @tommylai9896
      @tommylai9896 Před 2 lety +8

      @@JuicerNation They actually have always been a Chinese company(if you consider taiwan as part of China) but they did become way worse after they are bought up by a mainland China company.

    • @YdenMk-II
      @YdenMk-II Před 2 lety +4

      Nah I think the main reason they went downhill was Amazon free shipping. I remember checking for best prices for parts and Newegg was rarely on the list cause after factoring shipping, there were always better options either via Amazon or at a physical store nearby. It's been a while since I ordered anything from Newegg so I don't know what they're doing about shipping nowadays.

    • @Nightfighter82
      @Nightfighter82 Před 2 lety +24

      @@tommylai9896 The only idiots that think Taiwan is part of China are the Communist authoritarians in Beijing. Most normal people understand that Taiwan is it's own independent country that deserves the right to keep it's democracy. Also, almost all Chinese companies are fronts for the CCP.

    • @Staren01
      @Staren01 Před 2 lety +5

      When I started seeing Dyson products and air fryers, and the marketplace opened, I knew quality was dropping fast.

  • @helljester8097
    @helljester8097 Před 2 lety +701

    Sweet video. I find stories from ex-professionals in the industry fascinating. These are the kind of talking head videos I love.

    • @tonnentonie2767
      @tonnentonie2767 Před 2 lety

      Check out Dave's Garage for fascinating Microsoft insight!

    • @yayayaokoksure
      @yayayaokoksure Před 2 lety +2

      Isn't youtube amazing? It might not be the golden age but it's better than 20channels and a few magazines.

    • @Tobias94b
      @Tobias94b Před 2 lety

      I totally agree, even though Paul's experience there is 17 years ago, that story contained a lot of interesting information on how businesses work in general :)

    • @JohnGeorgeBauerBuis
      @JohnGeorgeBauerBuis Před 2 lety

      @@Tobias94b I was thinking this as well.

    • @Bladedcloud6159
      @Bladedcloud6159 Před 2 lety

      It's a great insight of what happens behind the scenes.

  • @milohajek
    @milohajek Před 2 lety +6

    I worked for a large PC manufacture for 7 years, 5 of those as the primary RMA Manager and from my memories RMA stood for "Return Material Authorization", as it may not always be Merchandise. Not trying to be a jerk but just chipping in my 2 cents. I also remember the return fee was charged mainly when parts where missing, say a customer returns a motherboard, and they didn't include the SATA cables or manual, then there was NO room for movement for waiving the fee, however when a RMA was received and everything was there, it would be tested thoroughly, sometimes we would run a motherboard for up to a week straight if we couldn't replicate the problem.
    The return offender issue has been around for some time, as has the damaged item issues.
    There is no doubt that Newegg should have NOT sold this motherboard, period.

  • @draynged7869
    @draynged7869 Před 2 lety +1

    Also I think it is hilarious that when one popular youtuber posts a video in a certain category like gaming PC or electronics that every other youtuber that runs the same type of channel puts a video up about it! This was the first time good information was offered to this story, and hopefully people will be aware of what they are buying, and the condition of the item! Thanks Paul!

  • @jpesicka999
    @jpesicka999 Před 2 lety +477

    Great insight. As someone who also does RMA's for a publicly traded company, any changes in policy are definitely about minimizing loss, maximizing profits, and boosting stock prices.

    • @SteveDice21
      @SteveDice21 Před 2 lety +32

      I'd argue good customer service minimizes loses, maximizes profits and boosts stock prices.

    • @mindrover777
      @mindrover777 Před 2 lety +6

      @@SteveDice21 customer service can't actually do anything. They can only pass on information to the concerned.

    • @jpesicka999
      @jpesicka999 Před 2 lety +17

      @@SteveDice21 There's definitely an argument for that but that's not how large corporations that are listed on the stock market feel unfortunately.

    • @lilman227
      @lilman227 Před 2 lety +12

      @@jpesicka999 Imma be real, I’m dropping Newegg at this point. Which may be a pain since I use to buy a ton of equipment for my employees there.

    • @emma70707
      @emma70707 Před 2 lety +10

      @@SteveDice21 , long term, probably. But many at large companies are more focused on (and sometimes explicitly rewarded for) the shorter term quick growth in profits which drives stock prices.

  • @TheFallenAngel13524
    @TheFallenAngel13524 Před 2 lety +362

    Newegg's rush processing and shipping times are/were literal paid scams. The very last time I bothered with them i did rush process with next day delivery for a part i needed asap. They "processed": the order that night then left it in their warehouse for 3 days before shipping. According to CS idle time in the warehouse is acceptable and doesn't count as ship time so they refused to refund the rush processing because they "processed" it the same night and the shipping because it did in fact arrive the next day even though they held it for 3 days and next day turned out to be 4 days total. Such a joke of a company lol

    • @S.Madman
      @S.Madman Před 2 lety +13

      I haven't bought from Newegg in 10 years, and I totally forgot about that scam they used to pull until I gave up on them for another reason. At least Amazon will refund the shipping if the item is late. Newegg was like "we did a boo boo, we sowy".

    • @IncertusetNescio
      @IncertusetNescio Před 2 lety +7

      That's basically my experience. I paid for rush processing and it didn't make it arrive any faster.

    • @aaronhopkins7354
      @aaronhopkins7354 Před 2 lety +3

      Same experience. The few times I've paid for rush / expedited shipping, it's taken just as long as standard. One of the worst I remember, back inn the early 2000s, I needed a part for a business machine and ordered it rush... showed up a week later. Meanwhile, business is down the whole time.

    • @kaldo_kaldo
      @kaldo_kaldo Před 2 lety +1

      So you paid only for rush processing and not rush shipping and you're complaining? They are correct, it was rush processed. Their standard shipping is 3 days, taken from after the day it was processed, so it's bang on. You got what you paid for. If you wanted it next day you should have paid for next day shipping also.

    • @TheFallenAngel13524
      @TheFallenAngel13524 Před 2 lety +20

      @@kaldo_kaldo pretty sure a next day delivery with rush process sitting in their warehouse for 3 days after processing isn’t “bang on” for next day delivery.

  • @dustybookshelves2948
    @dustybookshelves2948 Před 2 lety +2

    I've always thought your analysis was admirably clear-eyed, but knowing you repaired pins so customers could get their money back is additionally & uniquely endearing.

  • @MrTwisted003
    @MrTwisted003 Před 2 lety +9

    Watching you at Newegg and Linus at NCIX is how I got into watching, learning, and keeping up with tech. You taught me how to mount a CPU, that's a special bond there pal. And I have been buying and sending others to buy from Newegg ever since. And there have been some ups n downs, but every issue I had was always taken care of quickly and with ease.
    I do think it is not "just" Newegg, or this place and that place... It's everywhere nowa days. It seems more and more businesses are loosing touch with "customer care" and focusing more on the mighty dollar. I think people have just gotten complacent even to the point that they'll believe a company who's goal is to get your money, over people who point out the hard facts. The whole "they wouldn't do that" or "that's just how things are now" or "I don't have time to fuss with it"... and businesses are taking advantage. I'm not saying that Newegg was doing this as a whole, but like most they sure seem like they were trying to get away with whatever they could, and just got caught.

  • @xGodofAcidx
    @xGodofAcidx Před 2 lety +384

    My favorite part was when Newegg, upon realizing who they had done this to, acted like it was a "teachable moment" as if they were a 5 year old child, instead of just coming clean that this was inexcusable and they would make sure this doesn't happen again to anyone. Disingenuous to the end.

    • @fnamelname9077
      @fnamelname9077 Před 2 lety +32

      Newewgg, defrauding someone: "This is what I call a pro-gamer move."
      Newegg, discovering that someone is basically the Solid Snake for anti-customer companies: "It's time for healing."

    • @ExiledVessel
      @ExiledVessel Před 2 lety +5

      happens all the time, was just talking with friends about the tsm mental abuse thing where people been abused for 10+ years and now publicly saying "try to do better now" lol.

    • @Farouk.khettab
      @Farouk.khettab Před 2 lety +11

      Sadly, that's what PR people are taught in college.

    • @fnamelname9077
      @fnamelname9077 Před 2 lety +6

      @@Farouk.khettab More sad that it works, really.

    • @MAGGOT_VOMIT
      @MAGGOT_VOMIT Před 2 lety +4

      I remember the good ol' days when Newegg, TigerDirect and Zipzoomfly battled each other for your business and would sweeten the pot if you even mentioned the "other 2". That alone made building your war-machine even more fun!! 😆😂🤣

  • @metal_mo
    @metal_mo Před 2 lety +240

    Can we all take a moment to acknowledge the fact that Paul taped up an empty Newegg box as a prop to help us visual learners? Thanks Paul.

    • @opinion5190
      @opinion5190 Před 2 lety +14

      I was actually hoping for a fake snake to pop out of the box.

    • @capybaraRed
      @capybaraRed Před 2 lety +3

      @@opinion5190 every single human being is a "visual learner"

    • @PippetWhippet
      @PippetWhippet Před 2 lety +8

      @@capybaraRed Except for blind people. They learn without vision.

    • @grumpysteelman
      @grumpysteelman Před 2 lety +4

      @@PippetWhippet - got ‘em!

    • @BenderdickCumbersnatch
      @BenderdickCumbersnatch Před 2 lety +4

      "Visual learner" is a myth. All learner preferences are myth. Many studies have been done. People learn the same. And usually the way people THINK they prefer actually gives them lower test scores.

  • @bitsbfg1810
    @bitsbfg1810 Před 2 lety +1

    Thanks for the great insight. RMAs can be tough and just like LTT pointed out there is a surprising number of customers trying to do "Consumer hot swapping" so just like NEgg we record every S/N.
    I think the best was a local repair shop swapped the customer's PC with an older used model and tried to claim it wasn't repairable. We had to get police involved and supply our build sheet from the original purchase to help the customer.

  • @ericandruszko7563
    @ericandruszko7563 Před 2 lety +26

    I'm watching this after having watched GN's and UFD Tech's videos, and I gotta say, the ineptitude on Newegg's part is pretty disappointing, knowing how well they used to be handled. Oh how the mighty fall...
    Actually, you probably handled one or two of my own RMAs, Paul. Likely with significantly more respect than their current department...

  • @ConeJellos
    @ConeJellos Před 2 lety +154

    I RMAed a newegg marketplace item just a few weeks ago. They sent me the wrong item. Everything went smoothly, was refunded the full amount, and then randomly today they messaged me saying that I hadn't used the RMA shipping label within 7 days so they'd be voiding it. I'm so confused how their system randomly had that pop up. The RMA I sent back was over 7 days ago and has already fully been resolved. I think they have some gremlins in their servers.

    • @sown-laughter4351
      @sown-laughter4351 Před 2 lety +36

      more like they have thieves...

    • @Mytube6138
      @Mytube6138 Před 2 lety +13

      This company has a history of scamming people. Why give them the benefit of the doubt?

    • @nomore6167
      @nomore6167 Před 2 lety +7

      I would keep an eye on my credit card transactions if I were you. I wouldn't put it past Newegg to claim they refunded the money assuming the product would be returned, but that it wasn't returned (which they'll probably say happened if they're claiming the RMA shipping label wasn't used), so they reinstituted the charge.

    • @churblesfurbles
      @churblesfurbles Před 2 lety

      @@Mytube6138 Oh come on, knee jerk bandwagon is tiresome, shipping labels are not easily voided, the shipping company holds the funds for a long time to ensure the label really was never used so its not something you want to do, furthermore everything has tracking now, so its not a mystery, very easy to check, their system hickuped.

  • @keeperofthegood
    @keeperofthegood Před 2 lety +84

    I've only done a few orders with Newegg and there is a difference before and after their recent (now completed) merger. To say the customer service existed would be going a little step too far. "Hey can you tell me what my tracking number is on my package?" is responded to with "You will have the package when the shipper has delivered it" .... when it was 2 weeks late and I had NO idea where it was and letting them know this their come back was "if you looked at your shipping page it says in progress" and it was at that point I started looking for the wet tuna to give someone the slap they really deserved. I wish this kind of interaction was a one-off, but this was my third order and the third time they gave the same blank-stair-stonewall reply. I no longer consider Newegg when looking for products.

    • @HMarcBower
      @HMarcBower Před 2 lety +4

      Not sure if that was a Monty Python reference or a mIRC reference, or neither and you have an original idea of slapping a person with a fish. +1 just in case. :)

    • @bepbep7418
      @bepbep7418 Před 2 lety +3

      @@HMarcBower could be a Dogma reference too.

    • @wishusknight3009
      @wishusknight3009 Před 2 lety +1

      @@HMarcBower I regularly slap people around a bit with a large trout.

    • @wishusknight3009
      @wishusknight3009 Před 2 lety

      Newegg was having some financial problems before the pandemic. Now they are swimming in cash.... Looks like we are stuck with them a little while longer.

  • @travisaugustine7264
    @travisaugustine7264 Před 2 lety +12

    My experience with Newegg recently involved a missing part. That process needs major revamping because it took them 2 weeks to determine that I did not in fact receive the part by which time I had ordered a replacement part. They issued a refund but it was the amount of time it took to go through the process. I sent them pictures of all the packing materials and parts received (they couldn't have put the missing part into the box they sent things with). Just a horrible experience that I likely will not repeat because I will go elsewhere.

    • @UnitSe7en
      @UnitSe7en Před 2 lety

      It's a Chinese company now. Don't use it.

  • @schwamforfreedom
    @schwamforfreedom Před 2 lety +7

    This whole debacle is representative of my experience with many big companies and their inability to handle anything atypical or in need of escalation to a thoughtful person with some authority to resolve issues. Chat and untrained agents has made the process of being treated fairly very time consuming and quite dehumanizing.

  • @Chris_Currie
    @Chris_Currie Před 2 lety +51

    I've been a Newegg customer for years and spent thousands of dollars with them, but after this incident (and what it says about their business practices), I will be buying my PC parts elsewhere from now on.

  • @john39er
    @john39er Před 2 lety +24

    I worked RMA at Cybertron PC eons back, and it was about a weekly occurrence that someone would buy a higher end gaming rig and ship back their old E-machines. It was comical that they thought theyd get away with it. Which is why I understand a company scrutinizing returns, but to flat out ignore or decline it is asinine.

  • @korumann
    @korumann Před 2 lety +3

    Your build guides you made at newegg were pretty much the first thing I saw when I started getting into PCs, so I just wanna say thanks for you being excellent

  • @belken117
    @belken117 Před 2 lety +2

    This is really informative coming from a former RMA from Newegg, and I hope this can be useful for Steven back in Nexus. I do believe Newegg should be held accountable, I still love shopping at their site, but mostly if I can't find anything else anywhere let alone dare continue shopping amazon.
    Also you not only saved workers from the rattle snake but you rescued the rattle snake from any harm in a surrounding alien environment. ^^ That's awesome you knew how to handle one!

  • @HuggieBear39
    @HuggieBear39 Před 2 lety +116

    When I bought my desk, one of the legs was badly dinged up. I took the leg to the store and the lady said needed to bring back the whole desk. I told her I was not lugging all those pieces back to the store. The manager agreed with me and just opened one of the boxes the had in the back, and gave me the leg in trade. They then sent that one back to be reimbursed

    • @mrwang420
      @mrwang420 Před 2 lety +5

      SO basically it has nothing to do with the company and everything to do with individual assholes that just happen to work for newegg. That's usually the case with most business issues.

    • @Raven1024
      @Raven1024 Před 2 lety +4

      @@mrwang420 All just comes down to how much people want to think. Also though when I did retail decisions like that, I did take into account like Paul said their history.
      If you're someone who is in every other day with damaged stuff, and therefore like, way far outside just being a statistical anomaly, I was going to be less and less willing to help you if you keep screwing stuff up. Cuz then it's obvious it's you, not my product or handling.

    • @kylemiller2920
      @kylemiller2920 Před 2 lety +8

      100% this!! When I worked at Sam's club this would often happen with our desk chairs where a caster/wheel was missing or missing the retainer and people would bring in the damaged caster and want a replacement (totally reasonable) our service desk people always wanted to be jerks about them not returning the entire item. I would go to the shelf, swap their wheel and bring the box up to the service desk like "oh look, I found their chair..." seriously, it's not that hard to be decent and reasonable with people...

    • @estamnar6092
      @estamnar6092 Před 2 lety +1

      Fukin gigabrain

    • @666Tomato666
      @666Tomato666 Před 2 lety +1

      @@mrwang420 the problem is that you never know what kind of manager you have, some are "if the computer says no, then it's no, don't even try to exhibit a bit of initiative", some are more of the "you're a human, use the gray matter between your ears"

  • @BrennanJ01
    @BrennanJ01 Před 2 lety +157

    The Newegg shuffle turned me off of them big time. Packaging hard to get items with motherboards and power supplies was super scrummy and I have not shopped with them since.

    • @JimJamMS
      @JimJamMS Před 2 lety +20

      Agreed. The Newegg Shuffle exposed how money hungry the company is, and this incident with Steve is yet another symptom of how little Newegg cares about their customers.

    • @StgVirus1
      @StgVirus1 Před 2 lety +5

      You do know that Newegg is being forced to do that with the GPU manufactures? It's a contract deal, if they refused then they wouldn't be getting GPU's no more.

    • @MingRose
      @MingRose Před 2 lety +6

      Was trying to get a PS5 a while back, those nearly $1K PS5 bundles felt like a huge slap in the face. I get it, everyone needs to make money, but damn…They were marked up more than everything in the bundle was worth.

    • @flech3025
      @flech3025 Před 2 lety +1

      I hate that most of the stuff in the shuffle is bundled stuff but honestly I would not have been able to get a new GPU for anywhere close to MSRP last year with out it.

    • @YukyDoodle
      @YukyDoodle Před 2 lety +6

      Just got notified for a 3070 TI after being placed in a placeholder for the card from last week, which ended up being sold out even though I got the shuffle win, thanks to Newegg's customer service. I go through the checkout just to realize I still couldn't buy it again because its once again sold out within 2 minutes of receiving the notification. Just as hard getting a card on Newegg shuffle as a winner as it is on BestBuy.

  • @charleshughes7007
    @charleshughes7007 Před 2 lety +1

    This was a fascinating video. As someone who has been buying things from Newegg for over half my life but also has been lucky enough not to need many RMAs, I appreciated the insight into the RMA process and the mind of the tech behind it. Please feel free to share more stories from your retail experience.

  • @saladfork_
    @saladfork_ Před 2 lety +2

    Thank you for this informative process, even if it was from years ago. Newegg used to be the place to buy computer parts back when I was a kid, but I stopped shopping there many years ago as found better alternatives. I do feel really bad about what happened and it's part of the reason I always keep the original boxes to my gear so it helps the RMA process go that much smoother.

  • @gingerman5123
    @gingerman5123 Před 2 lety +125

    Early 2000's I was a repair tech in a Dell factory. We had tools for straightening bent CPU pins. Basically a hollow needle we'd slip over the pin and bend it back. Those things were great.

    • @daveBit15
      @daveBit15 Před 2 lety +7

      That's how I routinely do it.

    • @bertoray5497
      @bertoray5497 Před 2 lety +22

      I've not had to straighten a bent pin, but I understand that an empty mechanical pencil tip works well.

    • @blahorgaslisk7763
      @blahorgaslisk7763 Před 2 lety +12

      @@bertoray5497 It works, but personally I prefer the razorblade. It's easier to get all the pins even and inline that way. Now if you go back before the ZIF sockets were introduced, then you could get some interesting versions of bent pins.
      Back on the 486 processors the pins were very much softer than they are on say a Ryzen today. That in combination with sockets where you pressed the processor down into the socket, every pin going into their own press fit socket, made for interesting bends. Some times you could have one pin that missed it's intended socket, or the socket might have a defect making it to tight for the pin and the pin would just roll itself around so it looked like a cinnamon bun roll. The pins were so soft that often you could pull that out straight again using pliers, but then they were sometimes so distorted that they no longer fit in the socket.
      I used a light coating of an electronics protection spray to lube the pins before pressing the processors into the sockets. That way the pins would slide in easier and there were less risk of them bending. I even made a tool for a range of portables that we used to press the CPU's into the socket. It supported the motherboard from below and pressed the CPU down from above. I made it as pressing the processor into the motherboard without support under was bending everything in pretty scare ways. And pressing the CPU in with your thumb was actually not that easy.
      Now if installing the CPU's took a fit of force then removing them took even more. Again I made some tools for that, but there were also a lot of commercial tools available for the purpose. But usually people just used a flathead screwdriver and poked it in between the CPU and the socket and pried and bent until the processor popped out. If you weren't careful you would end up with severely bent pins and possibly damage to the socket.

    • @amshermansen
      @amshermansen Před 2 lety +3

      Never occured to me to get a hollow needle. That's brilliant in its simplicity. I'll have to get one for Ryzen cases!

    • @tboodman
      @tboodman Před 2 lety +1

      @@amshermansen Also a mechanical pencil tip would work with no lead in it

  • @SBCBears
    @SBCBears Před 2 lety +43

    Once upon a time, I had faith in Newegg. My recent experiences with them have made me reconsider that faith I once had in them.

    • @sublimedingo
      @sublimedingo Před 2 lety

      Same. They screwed me for $330 on a GPU that never got delivered. They never showed me any proof of delivery and said a porch pirate most likely stole it and I should use signature confirmation next time. They are scammers!

  • @PriceTheAvocadoKing
    @PriceTheAvocadoKing Před 2 lety +1

    Your pc building videos with newegg were the first I ever saw, and what really got me into pc building and such. Sad to hear they're no longer up

  • @arrasonline
    @arrasonline Před 2 lety +2

    At least 15 years ago, I damaged a CPU pin (or two) during installation. I applied for an RMA and I told the truth that I was at fault. Newegg accepted the return and sent me a replacement part. I have been a loyal customer ever since. Not sure if it was you Paul, but thanks :-)

  • @lanceripplinger8352
    @lanceripplinger8352 Před 2 lety +74

    As I used to work retail for many, many years, I am all to familiar with everything Paul describes. Newegg doesn't seem to be the same anymore. They really have gotten to big for their britches in my opinion. Here in the U.S., you are stuck either buying computer parts from them, or Amazon, unless you happen to live near a Micro Center.

    • @TheSjuris
      @TheSjuris Před 2 lety +5

      It’s either Amazon or drive 70 miles to Microcenter for me.

    • @G.U.P.
      @G.U.P. Před 2 lety

      Don't forget microcenter

    • @GrandPrix46
      @GrandPrix46 Před 2 lety +7

      My 3070 I got from EVGA directly, doesn't always have to be a middle man.

    • @TheSjuris
      @TheSjuris Před 2 lety +5

      @@GrandPrix46 still waiting for evga to get my 3080 in been on the waiting list for over a year.

    • @GrandPrix46
      @GrandPrix46 Před 2 lety +4

      @@TheSjuris yeah I'm still on the list for a 3080, haven't heard anything on that. The 3070 email came in about a couple months ago after a year of waiting.

  • @Townie5lax
    @Townie5lax Před 2 lety +60

    Used to do 90% of my shopping on Newegg... Now they are an after thought. The shuffle and the debacle its over the last year has left a very sour taste in my mouth. Its too bad. Built everything with Newegg.

  • @crapmaster5000
    @crapmaster5000 Před 2 lety +2

    Hey Paul, you taught me how to build my first pc back in 2011, I remember there was some nice long step by step vid where you did everything from A to Z

  • @mikenelson6630
    @mikenelson6630 Před 2 lety

    That was an excellent video. You managed to clarify the general RMA process to people that may not be aware of what goes on, and at the same time threw in a couple of side stories like the implant and the snake. It just goes to show that companies have to be cautious about unscrupulous people, even back then. (who sends a live rattlesnake to a company - what was their beef with Newegg)? At the same time, you were mindful to not inject yourself too much into the dispute and take sides. Well done.

  • @YouAreStillNotablaze
    @YouAreStillNotablaze Před 2 lety +66

    Holy hell was Newegg ever really once a gold standard or is that just nostalgia from the wonder of building my first system?

    • @Doflaminguard
      @Doflaminguard Před 2 lety +27

      They were bought by a Chinese company. Thats why they are now like that.

    • @apotheosis21
      @apotheosis21 Před 2 lety +16

      They were honestly the best in the business back in the from like 2000-2010. Their site was better, it was possible to find what you were looking for (not a given in 2005), they had the best selection, they shipped faster than basically anybody other than Amazon, and their customer support was awesome.
      I returned an open box GPU in 2020 even though the rules explicitly said I couldn’t return it, and I got my money back no problem, and no restocking fee.
      I haven’t built a computer from new products since probably around that time, so I didn’t know they had gotten so bad. Sad to hear.

    • @vtwinbreed
      @vtwinbreed Před 2 lety +6

      I really miss ZipZoomFly, gave TigerDirect and Newegg a run for their money, only even liked TigerDirect because they had a local store-front after they bought out CompUSA.. Then once their stores started closing down the company just went to crap. Never cared for TigerDirect main website company, first company I ever bought from and they screwed me right off the bat, and only offered me a partial refund after I threatened higher-ups with tying up their legal team to cost them more money than they saved. That was back in early 02 though, can't get away with that anymore, companies just have no ethics anymore and will do whatever they feel necessary to keep from having to give any money back.

    • @corsairsofnarshaddaa
      @corsairsofnarshaddaa Před 2 lety +2

      Yes, they were. See Hidden Secret's comment here: "Paul would fix damaged pins for people while making $4 an hour sitting in a dark corner of a factory alone all day. What a bro."

    • @Staren01
      @Staren01 Před 2 lety +2

      Back in the day around Paul's time they were pretty solid. There was a company equivalent to what Newegg seems to have become though Back then Tiger Direct was the computer parts supplier going through a bad patch. At least that was my impression at the time.

  • @SeraphOfAsgard
    @SeraphOfAsgard Před 2 lety +19

    I used to be a huge fan of Newegg, but over the years, time after time, i've been screwed. Especially with their third party sellers lying about their products. Newegg is my last last last resort now.

  • @Overonator
    @Overonator Před 2 lety +1

    That's the thing, Steve's item was actually refurbished but it was advertised as open box.

  • @Mateokins
    @Mateokins Před 2 lety

    I learned a good bit. I enjoyed the video, the insights gained from your experience and the anecdotal stories

  • @VeeLazer
    @VeeLazer Před 2 lety +57

    I haven't shopped with Newegg since they started the shuffle. Being that it always felt like a cash grab op or a way to scalp graphics cards, I can't see myself supporting them in any kind of way.

    • @dgillies5420
      @dgillies5420 Před 2 lety +2

      I am a successful winner of a recent shuffle (3070 Ti 3w ago - not bundled with anything else). Although it's really not the card I wanted to get, every time I look at the retail price for a 3060 Ti anyplace else, I am very glad that some company is selling these cards for 60% over retail instead of 100%. For the price of a 3060 Ti, I got a 3070 Ti.

    • @corruptedpoison1
      @corruptedpoison1 Před 2 lety +2

      While that's probably true me and couple friends wouldn't have the 30 series right now without the shuffle.

    • @TheThirdeYe1337
      @TheThirdeYe1337 Před 2 lety

      That was the only way I would've been able to get my 3060, and later a 3080 that I ultimately wanted. Took a ton of tries, but I'm glad they made it at least possible to get one. Granted, after this whole fiasco I've unsubscribed from their newsletters, shuffles, etc. and don’t plan to buy from them again anytime soon.

    • @ObakuZenCenter
      @ObakuZenCenter Před 2 lety +2

      @@TheThirdeYe1337 stop enabling scammers.

  • @EASYUSA
    @EASYUSA Před 2 lety +570

    I only buy at Newegg what I can't find or would take forever to get at Amazon. Amazon customer service and return policies are light years ahead of Newegg's

    • @dbgmediainc7506
      @dbgmediainc7506 Před 2 lety +52

      Sure, because Amazon f...over the sellers all the time in order to accommodate customers, bad and good all the same. Not saying you are a bad customer. I am just talking from experience as both customer and seller.

    • @grafando
      @grafando Před 2 lety +28

      @@dbgmediainc7506 I totally agree, but Newegg clearly needs to improve and when it comes to being a consumer..Amazon is the best option.

    • @dbgmediainc7506
      @dbgmediainc7506 Před 2 lety +19

      @@grafando I assure you there are 100 times more unhappy Amazon shoppers than Newegg. They just don't have big CZcams channels to talk about it. Plus, all these big channels make money from their Amazon affiliate links so....... Offcourse they are not going to tell their followers of their bad experiences shopping on Amazon.

    • @lumpusmaximus8257
      @lumpusmaximus8257 Před 2 lety +18

      F*** Amazon... buy only from MicroCenter

    • @EASYUSA
      @EASYUSA Před 2 lety +4

      @@lumpusmaximus8257 I've never bought from them yet because we don't have a physical store in Oregon. But I will check their web store.

  • @keplers_dog
    @keplers_dog Před 2 lety

    Came here through WAN show. Great video, Paul, thanks!

  • @LtHeavyMetal
    @LtHeavyMetal Před rokem

    Hilarious Paul! Was introduced to you when you did new product videos for Newegg with the Asus guy!! Glad your still with us snake wrangler!

  • @rod6918
    @rod6918 Před 2 lety +39

    As someone in the eCommerce sector in an unrelated industry, companies would be wise to take a good look at the damage an error like this could cause their brand. I work hard everyday to make sure the company I work for is protected from the deep well of bad ratings and the damage it can cause to a business. Sometimes taking a loss and giving the customer the benefit of the doubt is the right choice. Nice video Paul. I appreciate the intelligent, non-emotional approach you took to this very important subject.

  • @paulino181
    @paulino181 Před 2 lety +16

    About 20 years ago I was a sales associate in the TV and stereo department at Sears (back in the era of Circuit City and Good Guys). It was a commission job, and we handled the returns. Because of the commissions and how our performance was measured, we were always keen on keeping the customer happy. We were especially lenient with open box items. These days I really like the convenience of ecommerce, and the low prices of big box stores, but I miss the customer service of a live person who knows the product and has a personal financial interest in keeping me happy. I guess I can't have my cake and eat it too.

  • @csbshaw1
    @csbshaw1 Před 2 lety

    I am glad I stayed on the video for the story at the end. Great information by the way.

  • @JWH3
    @JWH3 Před 2 lety +3

    I've done RMA's before in a smaller capacity, everything you said is spot on I hope it educates people a little bit it's good info for those that don't understand how businesses usually work. The degree of incompentance if not outright lying here is really upsetting. Considering the number of people chiming in it as this is the third video I've seen on it it will be interesting to see how NewEgg responds.
    I doubt it will be appropriate under the conditions though. Sad to see a company go this way.

  • @Apollo729
    @Apollo729 Před 2 lety +23

    My main take away from this is that long ago, Paul handled my package.
    Good video Paul.

    • @kramnull8962
      @kramnull8962 Před 2 lety

      Then he posted a note on your package that read DOA.

  • @fred_derf
    @fred_derf Před 2 lety +29

    Setting up our offices a few years ago we ordered and received a damaged filing cabinet from Staples. I filed an RMA and they promptly refunded my money and they didn't want the damaged cabinet back, so we got to keep it. That's how mail ordering should work, if as a company you can't handle that then you shouldn't be in the mail-order business.

    • @ognimimerkki
      @ognimimerkki Před 2 lety +3

      So you are asking for the reseller to eat the full cost every time? That's impossible. On consumer tech, the margins are usually really thin. What you are also saying, is basically: fuck smaller companies. Only the biggest players with full economics of scale could come even close to meeting your standard.

    • @fred_derf
      @fred_derf Před 2 lety +3

      @@ognimimerkki I'm saying, mail-order is a very different beast than retail and if you can't handle mail-order properly, then you shouldn't be in the mail-order business. S*** in shipping is going to happen and you have to deal with it and suck it up and take the loss.
      In this case the cabinet is in a big bulky box and returning it would cost them more in shipping than it was worth as the cabinet would not be resalable so they told us to just keep it.

  • @Cmurda22222
    @Cmurda22222 Před 2 lety

    Awesome video!! Would like to hear more about your time at Newegg!!

  • @BookofJob3XVII
    @BookofJob3XVII Před rokem +1

    Late response, GameStop pulled this on me when I purchase a used PS3. They packaged a damaged 3rd party controller and a damaged power cable. When I returned it back to the store, they claimed that I damage the cable and switch out the original controller therefore they were unable to accept a return or refund. A lesson IO learn that if you buy a used Item from a local retail store, make sure you open it and inspect it first before you pay and take it home. Sadly can't be said about online shopping.

  • @woodcohoon
    @woodcohoon Před 2 lety +12

    Thanks to kind people like you, I was able to get a refund on an ultrawide that cracked itself overnight. My brother stole the box to move and threw it out before I noticed. I was able to get exceptions on both a damaged item and not having the original packaging.

  • @FoxtrotVids
    @FoxtrotVids Před 2 lety +9

    It's a shame that your Newegg videos were taken down, I remember getting my first PC components from Newegg back in 2016 and watching your video on how to get it together. I'm pretty sure the case had a money skin on it, that definitely made it memorable.

  • @lexpox329
    @lexpox329 Před 2 lety +1

    Paul, I build my first PC in 2011 while following one of your videos you made at new egg. Thanks for your work, even if its gone now.

  • @X150t
    @X150t Před 2 lety +1

    Hearing about you fixing bent pins for a customer to save them on the RMA is really cool, Paul.

  • @nomisukeindustries
    @nomisukeindustries Před 2 lety +47

    "...regardless of the condition of the board, the fact that it was "open box" originally would have made me accept it no matter what."
    REALLY wish you would have been there to handle my open box motherboard return. They refused to RMA it because I told them it had several bent pins (USB 3.0, RGB, Audio, etc.). They claimed I did it even though it arrived in that condition. The fact of the matter was I never even installed it. Eventually, I was able to RMA it after the associate made the mistake of telling me I could repair it myself. She tried to double-back and say I had to send it to the manufacturer for repair, but I quoted her and she was forced to send an RMA label.
    And then they lost the motherboard when it arrived at their facility. I had to wait over a month for a claim. I had the signature as proof that it arrived at their receiving dock and they still made me wait to receive a refund until the claim had been processed on their end. They lost it and I had to wait. Never again.

    • @TheParandroid
      @TheParandroid Před 2 lety +13

      There should be a mandatory requirement for sale of open box items to have "before" images available (as in before shipping it to the buyer) to prove that damage wasn't there when they sold it. At minimum stuff like photos of the CPU socket in case of a LGA motherboard. That way, both sides would be covered - retailer couldn't claim damage by the customer, if the damage was already there when they sold it.

    • @TheParandroid
      @TheParandroid Před 2 lety +5

      @@Android-ng1wn at 8:00 of the GN video, Steve literally says that in their order history it says "open box".

    • @souljastation5463
      @souljastation5463 Před 2 lety

      @@TheParandroid I bought an open box monitor from amazon once and it was completely busted, it showed stripes all over the picture. Then a while later I bought a portable monitor and this one had an intermittent flaw, it must have been some loose connector inside, luckily I managed to press it down trough the bendy chassis and now it works reliably. I don't think they ever check the returned items.
      Returns are returned for a reason, and more often than not the reason is that they have some flaw, it's easier and less painful to return the item rather than go trough the warranty process, I do it too.

    • @Niosus
      @Niosus Před 2 lety +1

      @@souljastation5463 I don't want to defend them too much, but sometimes an issue doesn't present itself immediately. Unless the customer that returned it explicitly mentioned that, it's very hard to spot all of those.
      The same even happens with new products that are supposed to work together. I recently built a workstation PC with 128GB of RAM at 3600MHz. Vendors don't really bother qualifying a lot of memory kits in that price range for motherboards. But after a lot of searching I did manage to find a combination that was on the QVL. It worked fine the first time I enabled the DOCP profile, but after a few days it started showing problems with booting... The _manufacturers_ claimed these would work together, but since it is an intermittent issue on a rare combination, it probably just slipped under the radar. Luckily, slightly tweaking the memory settings made the PC stable. But still, when you do all the research, you'd expect stuff to work. I could've RMA'd the RAM, since it wasn't doing what they claimed on the website, but it wasn't really worth the headache.

    • @TheParandroid
      @TheParandroid Před 2 lety

      @@souljastation5463 Main issue is incorrect damage checks at store when item was initially returned - which is why i mentioned that in case of open box the store would have to provide photos of the item before the sale to second customer to be able to legally refuse return due user damage. In the current situation, you have to trust the store that they actually checked the item for damage on first return, if they didn't and you got a damaged item, you are screwed.

  • @ColonelZero
    @ColonelZero Před 2 lety +12

    When you left Newegg I was devastated because I loved the videos you made with them. Then when I found out you had made your own channel, all was well the universe again.

  • @0Myles0
    @0Myles0 Před 2 lety

    11:00
    "How can it be so squishy and yet so _udderly_ indestructible?"
    Excellent pun, Paul!

  • @wootle
    @wootle Před 2 lety

    Just discovered your channel, really enjoyed this. Liked and subbed!

  • @charlie729
    @charlie729 Před 2 lety +10

    I looooved Newegg back in the mid 2000s. And even for most of the 2010s. I don't really buy computer parts stuff as much as I used to anymore, but I'm lucky enough to live by a Micro Center so I usually just go there instead.

  • @TsusStuff
    @TsusStuff Před 2 lety +7

    In 2014 I built my first PC through Paul's tutorials on Newegg's Channel, using parts I purchased through their site. Paul has come so far and I am so happy for his success after Newegg.

  • @JohnRobinson2
    @JohnRobinson2 Před 2 lety

    I found your take on Steve's experience informative and interesting. Thank you

  • @FrayHavoc
    @FrayHavoc Před 2 lety

    First video I've seen of yours. I love how objective and logical you are. You got a new sub.

  • @xlerb2286
    @xlerb2286 Před 2 lety +53

    I've been a customer of Newegg since at least 2012, they've been my "go to" place for electronics for over a decade since the last good store here in town closed. Almost all orders have been without issue. Though on one recent order I had a power supply that failed well within the warranty period that I got a runaround on getting replaced and finally just gave up on it as not worth the hassle - which may have been their strategy. I'd still buy from them, but with so many people having bad experiences they're not my "go to" anymore. And that's a shame, because I always felt ordering from NewEgg meant there wouldn't be any problems. But now I'd rather make a 3 hour drive to the nearest city with a good computer store than roll the dice with NewEgg - and I hate long drives.

    • @catnip202xch.
      @catnip202xch. Před 2 lety +2

      That’s why I use MicroCenter now

    • @fxrsniper1
      @fxrsniper1 Před 2 lety +3

      Haven't bought from Newegg in 10 years due to the fact I found cheaper and the more recent 5 years ago when they screwed 5 friends over with the Motherboard scam.

    • @Skippernomnomnom
      @Skippernomnomnom Před 2 lety

      I've had my own frustrating experiences with Newegg... but isn't warranties usually handled through the manufacturer? Or did you purchase a warranty through them?

    • @christopher6600
      @christopher6600 Před 2 lety

      I always go straight to the manufacturer for warranty RMAs. Vendor warranties are a complete scam, both in additional cost and hassle.

    • @Niyuki.
      @Niyuki. Před 2 lety

      That would be ~180 Km travel. Undertandable.

  • @MrFoxxRaven
    @MrFoxxRaven Před 2 lety +19

    I remember when I used to work returns for an electrical company, we received a package that contained a return as expected with the addition of a lovely little live scorpion, I'd never seen one in person before so I was super pleased, but also super terrified, turns out the little scamp was extremely poisonous according to the guy who picked it up. We even made a note on the credit note issued to the customer that we could not pass a credit for the included scorpion.

    • @robertgates5164
      @robertgates5164 Před 2 lety +2

      Unless the person is allergic, scorpions really aren't much more poisonous than a wasp. I live in AZ, we have lots of them and sweep them off the porch in the morning.

    • @UnitSe7en
      @UnitSe7en Před 2 lety

      @@robertgates5164 It depends on type. Some are.

  • @lethargyart
    @lethargyart Před 2 lety

    i work at a computer store that has an RMA department very similar to your experience, so this was a lot of fun to watch.

  • @toffoli3665
    @toffoli3665 Před rokem

    So should I not expect a replacement motherboard for on that arrived to me recently with bent pins on the cpu housing?

  • @wallywest2360
    @wallywest2360 Před 2 lety +15

    I worked at a medium size computer retail chain in the late 90's, and we processed electronics returns from QVC. Yeah, good times, and I saw a lot of fraudulent returns but we weren't actually the ones losing money so we were told not to bother disputing anything just process it and send it on down the line. Never was too sure how legit the whole operation was, the people who owned the company were kinda shady.
    Anyway, I too have some wild animal stories. Found a small, brightly colored frog in a return. Kept him a terrarium we had laying around. Yeah, a return of a vacuum cleaner, had a terrarium in the box. Found out like a year later from a new employee who knew about frogs that it was a poison dart frog. Not to be handled with bare hands ever, like I did when I first found him. Hmmmmm.
    Then there was the bat. Opened the shop one morning and a small bat was clinging to the front wall. I used a towel and managed to pry him off the wall and put him in a little box. One of the guys was freaking out, backing up the whole time like he expected the bat to suck all my blood out or something. He ran off, and I took the bat into the nearby woods and attached him to a tree. At the time we were selling these little stuffed animals in a bin by the front door for some reason. So I found one that was small and brown and put it in the box. Walked over to the dude that freaked out and said "Couldn't find anywhere to put the bat, here, you take him", and chucked the stuffed animal at him. He screamed like a girl and ran through the store, out the back door, and was halfway down the street before he calmed down enough to realize it was a stuffed animal. Yep, he had it in his hands the whole time.

  • @cletusthefetus23
    @cletusthefetus23 Před 2 lety +9

    The example of scam-returns with the DVD drive reminded me of a time that I worked in a US based office\tech retail store a long time ago. Customer returns opened RAM, whoever processed the return didn't know any better and just took it. When I came in later I found the RAM was PC-100 and the packaging was for something newer, probably DDR2.

    • @ArrowRaider
      @ArrowRaider Před 2 lety +1

      This still happens. I ordered DDR4 RAM from Amazon marked as "New" and I got DDR3 RAM.

  • @propanemusic
    @propanemusic Před 2 lety

    I remember watching your videos back in the day on Newegg. You taught me how to build a PC man. You were always so goo at showing stuff. Thank you!

  • @TeddieBean
    @TeddieBean Před 2 lety

    This gave me major nostalgic vibes from my time in exactly the same type of position working in an identically laid out office/warehouse space, as again, the first customer service agent to go into doing returns through the warehouse and dealing with all kinds of crazy scenarios and shenanigans! I even sat in the same place as you, the warehouse+office was laid out the same, and I also purloined a cooling fan as well that only benefitted me 🤣😂 fun times!

  • @MIkegrimm2
    @MIkegrimm2 Před 2 lety +6

    Watching the Newegg videos with Paul explaining how to put a computer together or hosting a CPU launch with Intel, followed by AMD was very interesting and was a great introduction to Paul at an early stage of my PC building life.

  • @TigeronStarfire
    @TigeronStarfire Před 2 lety +4

    I remember your videos from back when, and are a big reason why I follow you now. Super chill, cool, down to earth, and a big tech enthusiast. Love your stuff, Paul. Shame they're gone now, since they (and you) endeared me to the Newegg back when.

  • @timlong7289
    @timlong7289 Před 2 lety +49

    As a UK citizen, when I watch stuff like this it always makes me appreciate the extremely good consumer protection we have here. In the UK, the final retailer is responsible for goods being "fit for purpose". The contract of sale can be cancelled by the buyer if the goods are deemed "unfit for purpose" and it is then a criminal offence for the retailer not to provide a full refund. In the case of online sales, the customer is entitled to cancel the sale for any reason within 14 days. There are some exceptions and nuances, but in general, the contract of sale is with the retailer and the retailer is ultimately responsible for resolving any issues. There is no crying "the supplier will not accept a return". Too bad, the buck stops with the retailer.

    • @bozhidardimitrov3573
      @bozhidardimitrov3573 Před 2 lety +2

      yeah, pretty much u can return any item as long as it's still usable. I'm not sure if it can be resold afterwards but I assume it's something like "can be resold with minimal repairs" such as just retaping the packaging

    • @colingravon9810
      @colingravon9810 Před 2 lety +12

      The US government is controlled by toxic monopolies. It's disintegrated to the point where corruption is the only mechanism that still functions. The sort of terminal decline where Chinese companies write the laws that US citizens must abide by.

    • @mattvmani
      @mattvmani Před 2 lety +5

      @@colingravon9810 ain’t it the freakin truth, it’s terrible.

    • @CC-vv2ne
      @CC-vv2ne Před 2 lety +10

      And this is why i am glad to live in Northern Europe. all electronics 2 years warranty and the store you buy from has to do all the RMA process.
      AND i have never returned a part in its original packaging or with all the included junk.
      Throw motherboard or gpu in anti-static bag, go to shop and hand it to them, then they have 30 days to fix it, replace it or refund it in full.
      I rma'd gpu that has minor artifacting once a week or two. filmed it and showed it to store. they flat out just took a brand new GPU off the shelf in full retail packaging and gave it to me while they took my old one just in static bag.

    • @marcusborderlands6177
      @marcusborderlands6177 Před 2 lety +3

      @@CC-vv2ne some stores are like that here in America, but it's not legally required, so most companies just fuck over the customer when it reaches a critical mass

  • @stephenkent9308
    @stephenkent9308 Před 2 lety

    friend of mine got a set put in, comes prefilled still, and free flat repair
    had one in the lobby to play with.
    oh and thankful to have your input on newegg too.

  • @schwanzmunster2503
    @schwanzmunster2503 Před 2 lety +8

    I stopped using Newegg around 2015. Only Amazon and Microcenter since. Been screwed by damaged products out of the box and bad RMA policy. Newegg can just fade away.

  • @dredhammer
    @dredhammer Před 2 lety +41

    That sucks that they pulled you guys' videos considering you started them off, sure lets hear more stories from the good old days when newegg was shiny and new and the sky was the limit.

  • @jeremymoore4675
    @jeremymoore4675 Před 2 lety

    I greatly enjoyed you story about the rattlesnake. I work for a warehouse as well, and I can thankfully count the number of times we have received trailers with live animals inside.

  • @cantfind11995
    @cantfind11995 Před 2 lety

    bro the fact you repaired bent pins makes me feel like you should have more subs this is crazy lol you're the man!!!

  • @Ducaso
    @Ducaso Před 2 lety +30

    Damn hearing all these stories really has me sad that Newegg is no longer the company I sourced my parts from back in 2008 when I built my first gaming pc. I’m pretty sure I used the video build tutorial (featuring Paul in it) walking me through each step.

    • @informative_walrus
      @informative_walrus Před 2 lety

      Yes, turn back the clock about 10 years and Newegg was awesome.

    • @richardhowle1220
      @richardhowle1220 Před 2 lety

      Built my first pc with parts from Newegg around 2008 as well. Spent 1000's of $ since then with Newegg and tigerdirect.

  • @hanswichmann5047
    @hanswichmann5047 Před 2 lety +26

    I had a few RMA's in that time period, and they were EXCEPTIONALLY well handled. They even cross shipped a mobo to get me up and running asap. Nice to think I might have talked to you Paul! Back then NewEgg was top shelf and it's a shame to see what they seem to have become.... Nice vid Paul as always........

    • @Grimmwoldds
      @Grimmwoldds Před 2 lety

      TBF, back then we had Electronics Fry's, Microcenter, and CompUSA in So. Cal. The local ITs(like "IT staff of multi-billion International corporations") would have tanked their business if they were doing this stuff back then.

    • @daviddebroux4708
      @daviddebroux4708 Před 2 lety +1

      @@Grimmwoldds I shudder at Fry's Electronics and the shell of what it once was within the past ten years. Can't say I'll miss it.

  • @jeffwhiting4237
    @jeffwhiting4237 Před 2 lety

    Amazing. I used to manage store RMAs for the now long defunct Service Merchandise. Everything you say in this video rings true. Never got an implant or a snake, but a couple PC boxes with bricks in them came across my desk, along with old optical drives, PCs with missing components, old stuff we didn't sell, etc. The rest of the store departments were pretty good at catching the obvious scams, but the electronics department was notorious for not checking, or knowing what to check. After all, it's not difficult to open a pc box and see a couple bricks in there....

  • @neilbertram1922
    @neilbertram1922 Před rokem

    Paul, that was a very insightful and articulate editorial. Thanks for that.

  • @nickolassteuer9577
    @nickolassteuer9577 Před 2 lety +5

    Hello Paul, Just wanted to let you know that I love your videos. Actually, I remember way back in 2012 when I built my first gaming PC. I used one of your newegg tutorial videos to help me along. Great stuff. Glad that you've been able to expand and are providing such great content on youtube.

  • @markdavy6172
    @markdavy6172 Před 2 lety +3

    So happy to have watched this video. Reminds me of my time in customer-facing positions and dealing with customers and consumers who had less than satisfactory events with the places I worked at.

  • @niagaramike528
    @niagaramike528 Před 2 lety

    Definitely one the most entertaining you tube episodes I've watched in a while. Well done.

  • @normm
    @normm Před 2 lety +9

    Ah, this brought back memories of the days I was the RMA inspector for my company (my actual title was Returns Officer) but I did many of the same things. Sometimes it was just easier to straighten a CPU pin or LGA pad then go through the hassle of denying a claim. Intel were the only exceptions, they knew if an LGA pin had been straightened as they inspected everything with microscopes. We also had a snake delivered but that was a green tree snake that came in some rolls of bubble wrap 😂

    • @seraphina985
      @seraphina985 Před 2 lety +1

      That case sounds more like someone might not have even known the snake was there though in that maybe it just crawled inside the roll as it was warmer or something. The one in Paul's story being packed in a box that had holes cut out of it tells me someone packed this snake and tried to mail it on purpose. Clearly someone has taken some steps to attempt to ensure the snake is able to get air to survive inside the box. How it ended up being addressed to Newegg is the confusing part and I can't think of any scenario where this doesn't look reckless or malicious. After all one should not be mailing undisclosed live animals as they require care and monitoring in transit, this is especially the case when said animal is potentially hazardous should it escape. So even if it was mistakenly sent to the wrong place this would still require recklessness, if someone was disgruntled and tried sending it on purpose that sounds more like attempted murder.