You're not alone!

"..Put simply, people are sick of paying for items they thought were "in stock"
only to find out they didn't really have them, then having to fight a company they can no longer seem to
contact or some guy operating out of the lounge room / P.O. Box for a refund.."

2nd September 2011 Update - itstuff.com.au

(From their site)
"..Why shop elsewhere? Every order is a chance to win! Competition closes 31st August 2011.."
"..We're Australia's leading on-line store for all things IT.."

One reason to shop elsewhere is they closed the next day.

Not so much as a see you later image..

The itstuff.com.au on-line store has closed.

"..Found IT-Stuff to have the cheapest price, even after including cost of couriers. Ordered the product on a Friday afternoon. 40 of the item were listed as 'in stock'. Payment went through no problems. Monday received an email saying that they were out of stock when I ordered and that they update their website stock counts daily; there was now a delay on receiving my item. I emailed them about the situation and received only a generic and non-specific email in reply. Poor customer service standards to not at least acknowledge your customer's complaint.."
--Troy on Getprice

People or companies import products and sell them to you. Technically they could be considered second hand at least in terms of warranty. Many times there is no genuine Australian warranty (By the manufacturer) also the product may look the same but may not comply with Australian standards (Voltage C-Tick etc.) and/or may come with incorrect software/firmware for our TV system or region.

"..For local safety regulations and certifications (FCC, CE, UL, etc.) and government requirements a manufacturer provides special packaging (manuals in the appropriate language, power cables designed for the local receptacle, etc.) and product engineering designed to meet local codes. Manufacturers also have service and support agreements with the authorized importer.."

Lean more visit agma.asn.au.

Legal Disclaimer:

This review contains statements of pure opinion and fair comments made in good faith in the interest of the public. To ascertain the facts please do your own research. There are also quotes from and links to external sources please see their disclaimers.

Spotlight on web-store failures

Since the year 2000 when buy.com.au checked out with "We hope that we have provided you with an enjoyable experience..", may more have followed, often owing clients like you & suppliers a lot of money.

Below are just a few recent examples.

• itstuff.com.au (8/2011) avshop.com.au blackberry.net.au boards.com.au cables.com.au camerapro.com.au cyclist.com.au digitalcams.com.au discounter.com.au diveshop.com.au emails.com.au comaxes.net.au comtime.com.au repairs.com.au powershop.com.au printers.com.au printershop.com.au projectorsales.com.au purchasing.com.au redeem.com.au rentmore.com.au repair.com.au revhead.com.au salepoint.com.au santaclaus.com.au mortgagebroking.com.au musicmachine.com.au network.com.au notebook.com.au officestuff.com.au pcdealer.com.au coffeemaker.com.au comaxes.com.au christmaspresents.com.au warrantyshop.com.au screens.com.au securitycams.com.au server.com.au servers.com.au wholesalelamps.com.au wimax.com.au workstation.com.au scanshop.com.au scientist.com.au espressomachine.com.au globalpositioning.com.au golfer.com.au golfshop.com.au phoneshop.com.au software.com.au sportstuff.com.au tennisshop.com.au tftmonitors.com.au videocams.com.au

So what's causing this problem?

Our guess is the common denominators:-

You're their free bank. You pay, they try to get the stock they said they had.

With little assets or real stock, often operating from a rented flat and P.O. box, if the suppliers tighten their credit it's game over.

You don't want to be the one paying when the music stops.

They told you they have thousands of items "In-Stock" or "In-Store" and you believed them!

Like Groundhog day many just start up and do it all again.

Learn from others

".. Completely Useless. Have been waiting for over a month and the good have still not arrived. Zero communication from the staff. Hopefully my good will arrive at some point, otherwise i'm just flush a lot of money down the toilet... |link|

"I proceded to order. I had to myslef ring 3 days later to get confimation of order although to my amazement I was told non were in stock. I asked for my refund ASAP only to be rudely responded with the remark "Gamedude's policy is a refund will be given AFTER A MONTH"!! I live in Melbourne and have been ringing Gamedude every week with no avail on getting my refund even though I can buy the unit somewhere else for $25 more.

"..Its been three weeks and Im still fighting to get my refund of $175." |link|

".. would watch out. My experience wasn't good with this crew. They offer low prices. Ordered a couple of laptop accessories & credit card was charged immediately, but my order stayed in "shipping" for > 2 weeks. Finally got a response back after queries saying that my order was "canceled due to price fluctuations". Finally got a credit card refund. As far as I can see you can't believe the prices on their website. They shouldn't charge the credit card if they can't/won't supply the stock. ." |link|

".. Not sure if it makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one to be suckered by our mates at 'topbuy'.." ".. This company falsely advertises products for sale... with no intention of ever providing the item. They allow you to purchase the item .... when you worry about it not arriving they disregard your emails. They make claims about returning your money, but are actually trying to hold onto it for as long as possible. Without concerted action they may never repay you for the ghost item that you had transferred money for.." |link|

"shopbotnothot" - Clone web shops clogging up the shopping engines, all saying they have the same stock.

In the example below from shopbot you could be forgiven for thinking you're comparing prices from 3 different companies but they are controlled by the same people, this seems to us misleading and skews the search results.

Now it's out of control and you're almost nobody if you haven't got clone shops giving the shopper the impression they are seeing a lot of competitive prices when often it's you vs. you.

If any of the shops below sell one, this means they all have one less than they say for the next day or two or whenever they update.

There are countless web stores, many claiming to have everything "in-stock" that often a lie unless they say if the stock is at their premises so paying then having a long delay can easily happen.

People woke up that they were run by the same people and started asking questions on the forums..
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au - http://forums.whirlpool.net.au

See the full shopbot scam review

Does hot.com.au offer Free Delivery?

For most items no but occasionally we will to help get volumes up.
It will never be for every weight to anywhere in Australia as there are places it costs us $500 to send a printer.
Normally if we offer free shipping it's for capital city areas with some exclusions, whatever the case once you add the item to your cart and get a quote you can see the cost.

Note too that some shops have a handling fee per order even though they say free shipping at the end of the day what is the difference?

We tell the truth about "in-stock", but how can you know your order will be supplied?

Did you know even "live" inventory data is often 30 minutes old at best and days at worst. Stock must be "picked" and this takes time. It's only then that most "live" inventory systems are updated. Let's say you order just before lunch or last thing on a Friday you order is with the others so it's pot luck if the stock is low as to whether you'll be supplied.

When a store like the ones in the section below state for example "3 in stock" that's often across every store in Australia so all the items could have been sold already by one of 100's of other stores using the same data and also saying they have stock.

If you look at how similar the listings are on shopping comparison engines you'll see most have the exact same data, mistakes and all. Sometimes what seems to be the lowest price is in fact high if they charge $70 to deliver a 5kg item or have a massive surcharge. You need to go through the whole purchase process to get the real price.

Every week the main distributors show negative stock on many items (Back order).

This means more have been sold than they had. Not hard to do when a massive number of e-stores are claiming they had that same stock.'

We cut out the middle men and many of the errors that can lead to frustrating delays..

For many expensive items like projectors we're happy to put the item in front of our web cam with your name on it! We're happy go to this trouble because so many mislead you about stock locations and their true ability to supply what you pay for.

A. Backup and Trust.

hot.com.au lists products from distributors as well as other companies but we also use our own warehouse to buffer & bulk buy popular stock.

Regardless of who you choose to buy from if we list it you only deal with hot.com.au Our parent company has been in business since 1984.

We do all the messy paperwork and we make sure your order gets supplied on time. No stock data is perfect so mistakes can happen. The question is how long do you think it would take to get your money back from someone running a web shop from his lounge?

If we mess up you'll get your money back fast, plus to say we're sorry $50 see sale conditions for full details.