Warning about Saltcells.com

[mshumack]

I want to alert everyone of a problem I have with an on-line vendor. It may be an isolated incident - but just in case - be aware.

It all started because I was interested in getting a meter to test my pool PH levels. I have a hard time distinguishing the colors on the drop test.

In a posting (on this site I think) there was a link to this website called Saltcells.com. It is a nice looking, professionally done website with lots of brand cells, systems, and pool products. I ordered a PH-salt meter for $146.00. This was in October 2006. I paid in full through PayPal which automaticlly takes the money out of my checking account.
A about a week to ten days after my order I e-mailed Saltcells to see what the satus of my order was. No one replied. I tried sevral more time and finally got a response whereas I was told the item was out of stock and would ship on 7 to 10 days. Well 15 days later no meter. I tried to contact Saltcells again by e-mail and phone but no reply.

I then contacted PayPal and filed a compliant. PayPal claims to protect its users but PayPal has not been able to get my money back ($146.00). I also filed a complaint with the BBB in the state where Saltcells is located.

If you choose to buy from this site make sure you use a credit card so you have some protection. But I suggest you don't buy anything from them. I also won't use PayPal again.
Sincerely,
Mike

[fofa]

I thought PayPal only protected you when purchasing something off of eBay, since they are owned by eBay. But I could be mistaken.
Thanks for letting us know. I like seeing good and bad about online vendors so I can make an informed choice.

[DavidD]

Mike,

Thanks for the post. It is important that we as a "community" convey bad online retailers so others may avoid them. Be sure to let Saltcells.com know that you have done so.
Slightly off topic, This is precisely why I will not use Pay Pal on anything but eBay, and I rarely purchase anything from them. I stick to my credit card (don't tell Dave Ramsey ) since I have the ability to dispute it. Most of you may know this, but I'll pass along a not so well known credit card stipulation anyway. Be sure to not to pay the balance to the card company for a purchase until you are satisfied as if you pay off your credit card, you loose the ability to dispute a charge. I found this out the hard way by ordering something towards the end of the month, paying off the card, then never getting the order. The online vendor said he shipped it and was hesitant in issuing a credit. After contacting Visa, I found out about the above stipulation. Thank goodness the vendor finally did the right thing, it just took allot more effort than the dispute would have.

Dave

[Poolsean]

Different type of product but similar situation here. "Santa" was good enough to drop off some ATVs that I ... I mean Santa, got from BEST ATV (SoCalMotorSport) in California. These were the types that come 80% assembled. I spent from 7:00 pm to 3:00 am (yesterday...well?? This morning???) putting together 4 ATVs and a Dirt Bike When all was said and done, there was a parts bag missing, and a brake level assembly and one plastic gas tank cap assembly broken.
I called the dealer today and the response was, "If I sent out free parts to everyone that I sold a unit to, just because they called up, I would go out of business!" I asked him to total the parts that I needed, including Freight. By the way, he also said that I should have inspected all the crates, implied that I should have known exactly what should have been included in each crate, and that I should have filed a claim with the shipper at the time of delivery. And since I purchased it at a discounted price ("A really great deal") that I purchased it as is.
I mentioned that it is one thing if there were apparent damage, I would have filed with them, but there wasn't.
After 20 minutes of frustration, I hung up.

Next Call...American Express. Gotta Love 'Em! They will dispute the charge with the vendor and as Dave mentioned, they told me to deduct the amount ($70 for godness sakes!) from my total bill, until this is resolved.
I guess we'll see how quickly the so called $70 bill of parts will become $5.00 worth of cheap Made In China parts!

Now I just need to find an area to ride the ATVs without running over Everglades Gators!

Happy New Year Ya'll!

[river-wear]

Sorry to hear about your bad experience. I bought an Autopilot SWCG from them early last summer and received it quickly. Hopefully it was an isolated thing and they've since sent you your meter!

[mshumack]

I got an e-mail from Saltcells the other day (Jan 20th). Kim said they lost my order durning their office move back in November.
I don't know why they didn't respond to my e-mail/voice inquiries until now. Perhaps the complaint I filed with the BBB - or maybe they just got caught up from their move. Anyway a meter is being sent me at this time.
Mike S.

[Saltman]

First of all I am sorry this order did not get shipped on schedule. We have thousands of satisfied customers and we have never intentially not shipped a product. Like any retailer or on line merchants, things happen, but we try to fix them as soon as possible.

I assure all of you that all products are shipped and we will continue to improve our systems daily.

We are sorry for any misunderstandings.

Ted Arunski
Saltcells.com

[SeanB.]

That's easy enough to say. Mike, was this resolved to your satisfaction? I'll be needing a salt cell one day and would like to know whether or not to consider this vendor.