Warning about Buy.com / Connect3D rebates
 

In January Buy.com was offering several Connect3D products with a mail-in rebate. I have not received my $50 for the 2GB USB drive I bought. I believe other FTers have also bought items from this SPAM thread.

I bought a 2GB Connect3D USB drive in January along with many other people on Fatwallet from Buy.com, a supposedly reputable retailer with the promise of a $50 mail-in rebate. After submitting the necessary paperwork I waited. And waited. And waited. So did many others. No one has been paid so far and it's been 4 months. Connect3D is ignoring all inquiries stating they had passed it off to some third party (i.e. they're bankrupt). Buy.com doesn't care as they have my money already and have ignored all email inquires. Like many others I've filed complaints with the FTC, BBB, and California Attorney General. Now I'm warning you to stay away from Connect3D and Buy.com.

Links to Fatwallet discussions are here and here.

Don't shop at Buy.com. I would recommend PC Connection which also offers products with mail-in rebates. When the companies offering the rebate fail to pay, PC Connection will step up to the plate and honor the rebate. See here at Fatwallet.

Why is it Buy.com's problem that a supplier went bankrupt? Stepping in and honoring the rebates would be nice but it's certainly not necessary and I certainly wouldn't refuse to buy from a company because of that.

See this FTC ruling against CompUSA.

“When it comes to rebates, retailers must deliver on their promises,” said Lydia Parnes, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The message to retailers is clear – the FTC is on the beat and will take action if you advertise manufacturers’ rebates when you know they aren’t honoring their promises.”

Likewise, I'm having a hard time getting a K-World Computer rebate and Buy.com refuses to help.

I must have bought 6 items from Buy.com in 2 months. No more, at least when it comes to lesser known brands.

The company offering those rebates is the same one behind the scam on the Hansspree monitors.

Wintergreen is a mom and pop computer style store in Indiana, somehow I think they thought they could scam the world by reselling to buy.com with non existent rebates.

After 2 emails to their customer support I just received the following email from Buy.com.

Hello Lurker1999,

Thank you for shopping at Buy.com.

We strive for your complete satisfaction.
Therefore, we have refunded your order #XXXXXXXX in the amount of $50.

Please allow your financial institution one to three business days to process your refund.

If you have any questions, please visit customer support at
https://secure.Buy.com/corp/support.

Thank you again for shopping with us. We look forward to serving
you in the future.

Sincerely,

Buy.com
http://www.Buy.com

I have been trying to call (408) 441-4632 and for several days I got an answer that said it could not be answered at this time. Today, there was an operator voice with a disconnect message. I also sent an email to the sales email address on their website...it came back undeliverable. I have emailed buy.com....hope to get decent reply. One can also post on resellerratings.com and ripoffreports.com; Have had good results using them for other disputes in the past. I want the $50 rebate for the 2G Secure digital memory card I bought in January, also. Glad to have found this forum today to know it isn't just mine!!

I purchased a 61" TV from buy.com a few weeks ago. they were about $400 less than anywhere else. the newly released samsung led driven dlp. they air freighted it from west coast to dc for $75!!??

Nowhere on any paperwork I received is buy dot com mentioned. they brokered the sale for a third party. If they are acting as an intermediate broker, I do not know if they have any liability. Sort of like the ny times cannot be held liable for the ads run in their newspaper.

That is more and more the case with buy. I don't think they warehouse anything anymore, they seem to be more into dropshipping than anything else.

Most of my buy.com purchases come from a warehouse in Fremont, CA.

So far, not too many hassles with rebates.

Buy.com stated to me that they have not refunded anybody's connect 3D orders and it looks like the only thing they offer is a $10 rebate towards a future purchase. They also inform you that they have filed a lawsuit against connect 3D.
I bought 2 products in January - each with a $50 rebate and have not received a rebate for either one. I have tried to take this up with buy.com based on the FTC ruling etc., but they are not willing to do anything else. I emailed and called several times, asked twice for a supervisor to call me in the last 2 weeks and so far I am still waiting.
I also found another discussion here (http://www.fatwallet.com/t/54/747185/), where it is recommended to file complaints with the BBB and the FTC as well as contact a lawyer that is looking into putting a class action lawsuit together.
Any other suggestions or experiences from anybody?

I did not have any recent purchase with rebates. Since my last terrible rebate experience with Adobe (software purchased from Fry's), I shy away from any thing that requires a rebate. Just do not need the hassle.

I won't do business with buy.com anymore.

They're the only place I've had rebate issues with (said I sent the wrong UPC code - it wasn't).

Purchased printer ink once, they sent the wrong ink. Turns out the website had the wrong SKU, but correct description & picture. They said it was too bad, I should have known. As I didn't see the issue until months later when the printer ran dry, it was too late for a chargeback.

The failure to honor the rebate was the last straw. Might as well just go to Vegas vs. play the rebate lottery.