Ergyu

Has anyone here ordered from them before?

I just placed an order on Friday for a new receiver, and it smells kind of fishy. I got an email and a call from a customer service rep at the shop saying that she couldn't verify my Visa Billing address, but that the Zip code was correct. I called my Card and they verified that the funds were taken out and that the address Is indeed correct, so why can't the store?

Anyone heard anything bad about this company?

CaptainMarvel

I almost ordered a TV from them when they first opened, but their price was so low that it smelled fishy. They've gotten some fairly negative reviews from people:

http://www.epinions.com/Shop_Sunshin...splay_~reviews

Especially this one: http://www.epinions.com/content_75306405508

I just printed out their ad for the TV and took it to my local Tweeter to pricematch.

Ergyu

Damn. I might be getting screwed. I'm having problems with them and just read those reviews. Now I can't get a hold of them. Oh jeez...

Ergyu

I got an email from them with a tracking number. I tried it and it said it wasn't available yet, but I just tried it again and it looks like FedEx has picked up the package.

They also upgraded my shipping to 2 day instead of 3 day. How nice of them (/sarcasm).

Anyway, I've only won half the battle....let's see if what I get in the mail is actually what I ordered. According to that link you sent me, the guy said they send the wrong models on purpose.....oh brother.

I contacted that guy and asked him where he got his information from, but I haven't received a response yet. I have a feeling he know shtem personally.

CaptainMarvel

Good luck. I'll be interested in hearing what your experience is like.

Ergyu

Well, I received an email back from that fellow who wrote that review on Epinions. He used to work for them I guess.

Sean:

I came across all of this information because I used to work there as the
head technician and customer service rep. It was my job for two years to
lie to people, and regrettably, I did. This sort of "Bait and Switch"
operation has been going on in New York for over 60 years, and shows no sign
of stopping. While you think you might be getting a good deal, no
legitimate business would operate the way that they have (ie, "letting it
slide" when they couldn't verify your address) These people will do
whatever they can to prevent you from purchasing their advertised items at
those prices. Why do you think the item you want is hundreds of dollars
less there than at the Wiz or Circuit City? It's because places like
Sunshine have no intentions of ever selling you exactly what you want. They
might relent and eventually ship you a similar product, but you can be sure
that it is either "grey market" (no US warranty) or a re-box (a used or demo
item repackaged and sold as new). When I worked there, I went to numerous
court appearances on their behalf to defend the store's business practices.
(What can I say, I was young and needed the money to put myself through grad
school). To save yourself a lot of headaches in the future, I suggest you
immediately cancel your order with them and contact your bank and credit
card company. NO legitimate business will call you to verify anything you
have ordered online. Sunshine is simply advertising products below cost so
that they can have unsuspecting consumers place orders and then be defrauded
with follow-up sales calls. You want a good deal on a home theatre? Try
JandR.com -- they are a completely legitimate NY based business and have
incredible true deals. (No, I don't work for them, I just buy most of my
photographic equipment from them) I also suggest you call the NYC
Department of COnsumer Affairs (212- 487-4444) or visit their online
complaint form at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dca/html/dcacompl.html
I worked there for two years, and in that time, not one customer had ever
recieved the exact item they had ordered, (whether through sales pressure or
fraud), and at least a dozen people had filed formal complaints against
them. BTW, "Andy" does in fact work there, but he's no better than a
gopher. Ask to speak to Steve, (the owner), or Simon (the in-house lawyer,
and Steve's brother.) Don't be fooled, this is no gigantic operation -- it
is a small family-run business operating out of a store-front in Brooklyn,
NY and is managed by three brothers and two college drop-outs. The actual
company, as listed by the DCA is:

Sunshine Appliance
1172 Coney Island Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11230
(718) 434-3315

Good luck, and let me know how it works out for you.

Sincerely,

E.Z.

CaptainMarvel

Wow. That's... scary.

I'll second J & R. I bought a Canon G2 camera there a few weeks ago, and it was a pleasure. You can search for the thread, if you want... people had nothing but positives about J and R.

Ergyu

Ya I heard of them before. I shoulda bought the thing from Crazy Eddies. I was stupid, the only reason I bought it from them was because it was the lowest price with shipping, and I was under the impression that they were a highly rated store. There goes trusting mysimon.com rankings hehe.

khieng

And it's a Cnet certified seller too. Man... really can't believe everything they tell you.

Bill Geiger

Crutchfield is good as well. Class act people!

Ergyu

Well I actually got my stuff. The outside box was pretty bruised up, and the Pioneer factory tape had been cut and retaped, but the individual boxes inside were untampered with. The receiver works perfectly, and my warranties were included.

I consider myself very lucky. I will definitely NEVER order from this company again, and I urge any of you to do the same. I have a feeling the only reason I received this was because I was pestering them so much.

Jeraden

I don't really understand your paranoia. You urge people not to shop from them even though you got all the stuff you ordered and they even upgraded the shipping due to a CC problem. I've had CC problems from Amazon before but that doesn't mean they are a scam and should be avoided. Seems like you are putting too much faith into negative internet reviews. For every bad review there are 100 good reviews that never get published. I've had poor experiences from reputable companies and I've had great experiences from so-called shady companies.

mytzplyx

Uh, and there are many companies who have a lot of GOOD postings as well. So which do you shop from given an option in the future, the one with many GOOD postings or the one with many negatives? Just because "for every bad review there are 100 good reviews that never get published", doesn't mean I'll choose one with bad reviews over one with good reviews.

Ergyu

I wasn't aware of any reviews when I ordered the stuff, I just went with them because the shipping was less. The thing that worried me was the fact that they were asking me to verify my CC stuff when the transaction was already completed. I figured it was just an error, but they persisted, and I was told by the bank that they shouldn't be asking me since they would know if it had gone through already.

I've never had a problem ordering something online before, so I was scared because this was an expensive item. I only freaked out after I read all the bad experiences and talked to this guy who worked there. And saw the BBB complaints. And dealt with the less than polite and helping workers who insisted on cutting me off and insulting me.

BenMassey

I am currently in the middle of trying to get an order i made from sho sunshine for 1400.00 usd. I just want to warn others. I have searched around for reviews which i should have done to start but a lot of people and i mean 100's have had some horrible experiences with them. Such as never delivering, refusing refund, sending Gray market items, refurbished when advertised new in factory package. etc..... I hope u will be smart enough to take your business elsewhere to avoid this happening to you.

Here are just a few reviews i found.

http://www.shopping.com/xMR-store+sh...MRD-406991~S-1
http://www.dealtime.com/xMR-store+sh...MRD-406991~S-1
http://www.pricerunner.com/retailer/22539/reviews

Dr. Henry Jones, Jr.

sounds like a great company

renaldow

WTF? This is 100% false. Any responsible etailer will do this if it's a first time customer ordering hundreds of dollars worth of merchandise. Even around the holidays, many etailers make it a practice to do this with any online first time customer. It has nothing to do with credit card problems, it has to do with making sure the owner of the credit card actually ordered the item. Many credit card processors and companies actually require this to be done to help prevent fraud and chargebacks.

I have no experience with this store, and from independant reviews I don't think I'd ever shop there; but this ex-employee sounds more like he's got a grudge against the company than any helpful/useful information.

Glad the OP's order worked out.