Review: AVA Direct

[laxatives]

I bought a top of the line custom built Clevo laptop from a relatively small, but well-known company a few months but its been a nightmare dealing with this company. THe laptop had a bunch of issues immediately that made it unusable so I had it sent back for an RMA. I got the laptop back after a very long time (~2 months) and its still having issues. I've contacted them about another RMA, but I'm expected to pay for shipping and insurance again, which is about $50 per trip. Are there any other reasonable actions I can take? I spent ~$2200 on this laptop and I've had it in my possesion for about 1/2 the time since I paid for it. Its probably been usable for about 1/2 of that time, so I've had to deal with the cost of depreciation. The last time this happened, I left a particularly nasty review on resllerratings.com and they agreed to send me a new keyboard to remove the complaint, but this just isn't worth the hassle anymore. I'm a student and I simply can't deal with having a laptop out of commission for months at a time while undergoing repairs.

edit: I requested an RMA a few days ago and the company asked for proof that the computer wasn't working properly in the form of a photograph. They've ignored my emails since. Here's a link to my original review: http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_Direct/review/2369501#comment2369501

This is probably one of the worst purchases I have ever made and I highly recommend that no one purchase a laptop from this company.

 

[ssddx]

what sort of issues are we talking about?

hardware or software? what sort of problems.

charging you to send the laptop back and they pay the return trip is fairly standard. it cost me $20-30 to send my hard drives back to wd. not exactly what i wanted but common enough in the business.

a 2 month turnaround time for a laptop rma is outrageous. for $2200 there is a certain bit of quality you expect and they failed. my $800 asus laptop (and my mothers $500 asus laptop) are running perfectly well. i did reinstall windows to take off all of the crap-ware which comes preinstalled but other than that no problems whatsoever (crapware comes on just about all laptops or bought desktops).

i've never heard of the clevo brand before this. personally i would be wary about a company which i know nothing about

---

if you list the issues you are having perhaps there is something you can do to fix the problems. if not perhaps you should push the issue of reliability by sending mail to their pr or ceo. if not you could post to consumer reports, badbusiness.com, ripoffreport.com or other such site and kindly point them towards it. enough bad pr and they will deal.

sad that you paid much more and yet have so many issues.

of course, before you go posting bad pr it would be beneficial to list your issues here. perhaps it is an easily fixed software issue.

 

[laxatives]

THe issue was definitely hardware. The machine had a couple problems with crashing, getting BSOD or abruptly getting a black screen and becoming ottally unresponsive. The main issue that concerned me and required an RMA though was monitor flicker. THe screen would flash black and white patterns so that I couldn't see anything. The problem seemed to go away when I had to use one hand to torque the monitor into the right position while trying to read an email or do basically anything. I figured this was probably just a faulty cable or something, but I guess the company was unable to fix the issue and had to send it back to the manufacturer. I never heard any deatils about what the exact issue was. For what its worth, the graphics card is a 7970m. The monitor flicker issue occurs in Windows, Ubuntu, and the bootloader screens.

I feel like I should also clarify the bit about the keybaord. The keyboard I had was faulty and wouldn't respond to certain keys unless I pressed very hard in the very center of the key. When I sent it back for an RMA because of the monitor flicker, I was told there was water damage and they wouldn't replace it unless I paid for it (~$150). I told them that it was ridiculous sice I had the issue since I recieved the laptop, but eventually declined and said just fix the monitor. When they saw my review on resellerratings, they negotiated to send me the keyboard replacement (on them) to edit the review and give them a 5 star rating.

 

[ssddx]

water damage.... did you ever spill anything into the computer? i understand if the laptop always had issues but liquid spills can negate any support on their part regardless of the subpar quality of their product.

it sounds like you are getting the typical runaround to me. essentially paying you (the cost of the keyboard) for a five star rating is also very shady and not good business.

you will probably have to RMA one more time. if you still have issues after the RMA perhaps you can request your refund however if you have water damage most likely this option is long gone.

 

[laxatives]

Well the waterdamage only affected the keyboard issue (at least thats what I heard the first RMA). I guess I'll go through with this second RMA and see how it goes from there. Thanks for your advice.

 

[laxatives]

I thought I would just update on what's been going on. After requesting an RMA, the company asked for proof that the laptop was malfunctioning in the form of a photograph. Its been a couple days and they've ignored my emails since then. The company is AVA-Direct and I woudl recommend them to no one. I would also suspect tha tmany of their reviews online were "purchased". They told me they would not replace a fautly keyboard until I changed my review. From an email from rep Tom Mundy on Feb 21:

I’m confident that I can convince the powers that be to shell out the cash and ship you a keyboard replacement, free of charge. However, I know from past experience that it’s easier when I have some sort of leverage. In this instance, it would very extremely helpful for me, pleading your case, if you would consider updating your recent reseller ratings. If I were to have proof that you, as a customer, is truly grateful for my going “above and beyond” for your satisfaction it would practically be a “no questions asked” approval to send you the keyboard replacement.



If you’re willing to consider this trade-off, I’ll work diligently to have the keyboard replacement shipped to you immediately after obtain the preferred shipping address from you. Despite my request for having some sort of positive leverage, I would hope that you recent correspondence with me would help you to feel that AVADirect has earned a 5/5 rating from you.

 

[ssddx]

above and beyond? what a joke.

if i received such an email i would forward it to every major tech news website in the country. lets see them sell a product when word gets out.

i think i will change my statement from ask for an RMA again to request a refund for a shitty product and shitty service. if they refuse to deal (or at least offer you a replacement laptop) i would open the floodgates.

 

[AVADirect_Joe]

AVADirect in no way, shape, or form attempts to bribe it's customers. My approach to reaching out to laxatives was a unique, and different way to approach the situation to both parties satisfaction.

This notebook's situation was very difficult to work with. When we received the notebook, and shipped it to the manufacturer, they found water damage underneath the keyboard and refused to even touch the notebook, in terms of warranty repairs. After several days of negation, we were able to convince them to replace the screen, considering it is unaffected by the keyboard. Being that any sign of damage is common practice to refuse warranty service, AVADirect did everything possible to have the screen replaced, despite that industry-wide standard.

I understand how my previous email can be taken as a bribe, but it was most definitely not the intent. If you read my last statement "I would hope that you recent correspondence with me would help you to feel that AVADirect has earned a 5/5 rating from you." - I was simply putting it out there that my goal was to earn said review from laxatives. He could have very well left the review as is, or barely provided an increase in rating, and it would not have mattered. The “no questions asked” comment was also to inform laxatives that if he preferred to expedite the process, that was the quickest manner in which I could obtain approval through the appropriate channels. I'm confident the keyboard replacement would have been approved, within a matter of time, but was just trying do what I could considering the situation.

My goal, working for AVADirect, is to improve customer experiences as much as possible. I've been with the company for over four years, and will never cease to work with our customers and do what we can. I, as well as AVADirect, have nothing to gain by leaving our customers in the dust.

 

[laxatives]

I thought I would update. AVADirect has informed me that they will not replace the screen unless I shell out $325 (reduced to $200 after a few days). I thought I would like to the full review (for some reason I can't find a link directly to the comment): http://www.resellerratings.com/user/laxatives

I also found a thread on itforums that suggests many if not most reviews are written by AVADirect staff.
http://itforums.net/forums/showthread.php/61454-AVADirect-fabricates-Reseller-Ratings-Reviews

I've also filed a complaint with BBB.

Please, don't do business with this company or the other websites it runs (PCProDirect, MGEPCOnline, Leadcomp, AntaresPro). This has been the worst experience, costing me an absurd amount of time and money.

 

[AVADirect_Joe]

AVADirect refused to cover the screen, under warranty, as it has been physically damaged. AVADirect did take pictures, upon receipt of laxatives notebook. The physical damage done to the screen is quite obvious, and can be seen below.

Even if the screen was malfunctioning prior to the physical damage, AVADirect requires all warranty requests to be free from physical damage, otherwise it is not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. This is an industry-wide standard and understanding. No manufacturer would cover issues that occurred, either before or after, physical damage has taken place. AVADirect offered to replace the LED screen for the cost of the screen itself. No additional funds for labor or shipping were requested, as a courtesy to Laxatives.

After the situation was analyzed, AVADirect still offered to replace the video cable that was causing issues. We feel this was a fair approach, since the screen flicker was occurring prior to the LED screen damage.
I feel AVADirect is a very fair company, in which we work with our customers to resolve all issues within a reasonable fashion. While we completely understand the frustration laxatives has experienced, we are unable to replace any items that have physical damage from misuse, abuse, or accidental damage.

It is impossible for AVADirect and its staff to fabricate reviews on resellerratings.com. Reseller Ratings has a very strict method in which they use to verify each and every review, prior to posting. They require order numbers, date of purchase, and sometimes request copies of the receipt. If this accusation were indeed true, Reseller Ratings would have revoked AVADirect’s right to participate within the Reseller Ratings database. AVADirect has also closed all sister companies associated with AVADirect, so they are no longer in existence.