Anyone that has Issues with Monarch Computer Read This !!

[ra990]

I hear so many people say "I bought from Monarch, and everything went well." However, I have yet to hear someone say "I bought from Monarch, had a problem with the order, and it was dealt with appropriately."

If you didn't have a problem with your order, good for you - consider yourself lucky. The main issue with this retailer has to do with this post-order customer service.

 

[trexmgd]

My 2 cents:

There will always be people who love a company and who hate it.

For the rest of us, we have to make a decision on whether we should or shouldn't deal with a company. Many of us rely on information posted about other's past experiences to aid in this decision. I for one appreciate threads like this and feel it's in the appropriate forum.

My Monarch Experience:

I bought an AMD CPU/ Mobo Combo from Monarch in late June. Though I had seen some people with issues in dealing with Monarch (mostly charging of the CC prior to actual shipment), I was willing to take the risk for the money I would save on 1) the deal and 2) no tax for those of us in CA. My CC was charged immediately and I patiently waited for my product to arrive. A week went by and I sent an inquiry to Monarch as to the status of my order. They responded a day later that they would look into it. The next day I received an e-mail with shippment info saying my order had been shipped. When I viewed the tracking info, the number was invalid and again I e-mailed Monarch. They explained that it took 24 hours for the number to be active in the system, so again I checked and sure enough, my combo was on it's way - 10 days after my order placement. I took another week for it to arrive, with the July 4th holiday and perhaps some of the blame going to FedEx (GA, to TX, to LA CA, to IN, back to SoCal).

If that were the extent of the problem, I probably wouldn't be overly concerned, but it wasn't. I had several issues with the combo and tried to get it going by updating the BIOS (they were two revisions back, though they claim to send with latest), reading the FAQ of the mobo manufacture, checking drivers, and, of course, checking here on Anandtech. After 12 days of no luck, I contacted them for support and got no response. After that, I e-mailed and requested a RMA because time was running out and I was tired of dealing with it. Well they took three more days to e-mail me back saying they would not RMA it (with no reason). I e-mailed them back asking why and noted that even though I purchased in June, I had not received the item until after the first week of July. Their only response to me afterword was a statement saying the 15 day return period includes holidays and weekends and it was surpased.

So for me, I will never order from Monarch again. I'm not telling anyone else not to, only sharing my story. It's your money and your choice - shop safely and wisely.

 

[konakona]

Right now it just looks like you joined AT just to talk about bad experiences with Monarch.

I see where you are coming from, but what do repuation and credibility on internet forums mean anyway? As far as I am concerned, all his posts thusfar look properly written and well supported. Even if it was some kind of conspiracy theory to put monarch out of business, they deserve it with all these overwhelming number of evidence of poor execution mounting from left and right. Monarch reps, hope you are reading this thread

 

[nicepun]

After two weeks of not shipping my order I cancelled it. After 30+ days of not receiving my refund I called my CC Company and got my money back. Each I called about my refund I would get a different excuse. One time I was on hold for 30+ minutes (speaker phone) and that's what drew the last straw.

 

[Buckshot]

Paging MonarchJoe

Paging MonarchJoe


Any comments =) ?

 

[Jagercola]

My 2 cents,

Very poor after sales service. If it doesn't work right after the sale (in my case a AMD combo) tough luck. Not as bad as tigerdirect and rebates, but Monarch isn't in the same class as newwgg or zipzoomfly.

 

[icefhishin]

although i wouldn't buy from monarch again based on my last order experience there were times they were very good.

one such time,i bought a thermalrock case that they had on clearance when i recieved it there were no accessories for it whatsoever. i called thier customer service and was informed because it was an OEM case the accessories didn't come with it, but they also acknowledged that it didn't say OEM when i purchased it and that they would order the missing parts on my behalf. 2 weeks later i recieved a package with most of the missing parts, which was better than none.

 

[Shinare]

Just to add fuel to the fire, I saw earlier today on HardOCP that someone had made a comment that shed Monarch in a not-so-good light and it was subsequently deleted by the moderators. But I guess since they are an advertiser on the H I guess that gives them the right.

 

[Mr Fox]

bump !!

 

[dirtrat]

As far as I'm concerned Zipzoomfly isn't in the same class as Newegg. There Customer service sucks and has for a long time!

Originally posted by: Jagercola
My 2 cents,

Very poor after sales service. If it doesn't work right after the sale (in my case a AMD combo) tough luck. Not as bad as tigerdirect and rebates, but Monarch isn't in the same class as newwgg or zipzoomfly.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: amd4life
I always like there ram availability, but recently (last year or so) hey have reall had some in house issues. Wouldnt buy from them again

That reminds me... the Corsair XMS 2GB kit I purchased from Monarch had one stick DOA. Now, these things happen, right? Well, I couldn't just RMA to Monarch because I declined to pay extra for having a warranty through them, so I had to RMA through Corsair (and got back two "working" modules that don't work at spec'd speeds).

 

[intogamer]

Originally posted by: Shinare
Just to add fuel to the fire, I saw earlier today on HardOCP that someone had made a comment that shed Monarch in a not-so-good light and it was subsequently deleted by the moderators. But I guess since they are an advertiser on the H I guess that gives them the right.

yeah whatever makes money

did anandtech bann monarch? because they abused and posted too many deals?

 

[jazzpicker]

I ordered an expensive power supply from Monarch and all went perfectly but that was several months ago. It seems like a company is great when a simple order goes well.

The true test of a company is excellent customer service when things go wrong, Rma's, refunds, order cancellation etc. I've been reading forums and have seen some problems with Monarch in difficult situations and I never ordered from them again.

It seems that businesses would learn from newegg's example: excellent products, excellent customer service and predictable quick out the door shipping. Bottom line, I feel safe buying from newegg.

I'm sure the egg loses a buck or two at times pleasing customers but I think they get that little money back a hundredfold. Their customer service keeps customers coming back. Geez, they sell a hell of a lot of stuff.
At this time nobody can top them.

 

[you2]

Originally posted by: Ike0069

Originally posted by: you2
Never delt with monarch so no comments but AS5 does void the warranty on amd chips. I asked amd this question (when trying to decide if i should use AS5). They noted two problems with the substance and recommended i did not use it and said it would void the warranty.

When did you ask this, and for what CPU?

True, AMD states that they will void the warranty for "using a metallic based thermal compound" for processors with exposed electronics on top (i.e. socket A CPU's). They do not have a problem with using metallic based compunds on CPU's with an IHS that completely covers the top of the CPU (i.e. socket 754/939/949/AM2). This was the major part of my issue with Monarch, and is the reason they eventually changed their policy on AS use. But they also refused to let me RMA my MB, saying that AS5 use also voided the MB warranty.
--
It was about 18 months ago when I set up my thunderbird system (2ghz athlon). Look I think this thread suggests what type of service folks have been getting from monarch and as I noted i have never used monarch. In addition, having had good luck with gskill, newegg and amd customer service (though never used amd warranty their responses to questions have been quite good/expediant) . (Always happy to make a positive comment towards a business that treats me well).

 

[ra990]

Originally posted by: dirtrat
As far as I'm concerned Zipzoomfly isn't in the same class as Newegg. There Customer service sucks and has for a long time!

Originally posted by: Jagercola
My 2 cents,

Very poor after sales service. If it doesn't work right after the sale (in my case a AMD combo) tough luck. Not as bad as tigerdirect and rebates, but Monarch isn't in the same class as newwgg or zipzoomfly.

This is true. Once, I received a video card from ZipZoomFly that was clearly used. It had nasty sticky fingerprints all over it and the monitor connection had dark streaks clearly indicating that someone had plugged and unplugged one many times into the card and last but not least, the fan had dirt in it. I RMA'd the card politely telling them that they probably accidentally sent me a used one. They got it back and denied seeing anything wrong with the card. Refused to sent me a replacement without paying the restocking fees.

Newegg would never have done that. The egg is in a class by itself.

 

[AMDZen]

Originally posted by: dirtrat
As far as I'm concerned Zipzoomfly isn't in the same class as Newegg. There Customer service sucks and has for a long time!

Originally posted by: Jagercola
My 2 cents,

Very poor after sales service. If it doesn't work right after the sale (in my case a AMD combo) tough luck. Not as bad as tigerdirect and rebates, but Monarch isn't in the same class as newwgg or zipzoomfly.

Thats a QFT.

ZZF is good for some things, but I would never buy MoBo, CPU or RAM from them. HDD either. They have worse customer return policies then even Monarch, or at least as bad.

Mwave and NewEgg are both far superior. With Mwave being the best that I've dealt with personally. They've never asked more then two questions, and then said - OK here is your RMA number. I love Mwave even more then Newegg when it comes to core components

 

[vadp]

It's sad to see Monarch's customer service go downhill.
They'll loose a big customer base what in turn will lessen competition.
I like Newegg but its stupid one-fit-all shipping charge policy (even if you live just around the corner) combined with sales tax in California more often than not kill the deal.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: vadp
I like Newegg but its stupid one-fit-all shipping charge policy

I'm sure their shipping makes them money. After all, if one video card costs $5 to ship, two video cards does not cost $10 to ship but closer to $6. Sometimes buying enough parts for a whole build will push shipping up to over $50.

 

[ironk]

so what are some alternatives to monarch then? The egg and zzf don't make or test your barebone/computer.

 

[kindest]

i liked monarch because of the non sales tax issue.. and i have orderd a case from them in the past.. even tho they told me it had a window in the case it did not come with one and there wasnt much of an issue to try to remedy the fact i was expecting a case with a window.

heres a capital idea some1 setup a company likes of zzf, newegg, mwave,monarch but on the border of ca and nv.. but have it on NV so no sales tax for us californians.

 

[unsped]

i had a pleasant experience with my main order , then when i had to return items it took 4 months of emails and phone calls to get my money refunded.

will not use them again unless i have to.

 

[Rumpltzer]

I made my first order to Monarch in March of this year. The laptop memory was listed as "in-stock", it was a good price, and there's no sales tax to California.

After about a week of no shipment, they had raised the memory price on the Web site and it still showed up as "in-stock". I shot off an email asking whether my stuff had shipped, and I got no answer. I sent another email a couple of days later and found out that it'd ship that night.

Ten days to ship an "in-stock" item isn't horrible, but I had heard all this great stuff about Monarch and my first impression was no better than something like Buy.com


I'd go back to Monarch for the right price and if I wasn't in a hurry to get my stuff... the same as I do with Buy.com

 

[vtohthree]

I've ordered lots from Monarch in the past.

It appears that many people who posted on the reviewer sites have experienced something similar to what I have. I ordered an opteron 170 from them, they immediately charged my card, after 3 weeks it still did not ship, so I cancelled the order. I waited a few days, then called to ask why the money had not been refunded back into my card, they said it would take a few more days, "standard procedure"...about a week later still no refund, I called again and then the rep said he'd take care of it, then finally it was refunded.

Fortunately I never got completely screwed by them but I did experience horrendously slow shipping from them, and that gripe above.

Would I order again? If the price is right I suppose so, so as long as I don't have to return anything to them.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: kindest
heres a capital idea some1 setup a company likes of zzf, newegg, mwave,monarch but on the border of ca and nv.. but have it on NV so no sales tax for us californians.

I've thought of that too, years ago. Alas don't have the business acumin or the energy to do that. Still, if there are decent prices and great service, can get a LOT of CA business.

 

[xinco]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: vadp
I like Newegg but its stupid one-fit-all shipping charge policy

I'm sure their shipping makes them money. After all, if one video card costs $5 to ship, two video cards does not cost $10 to ship but closer to $6. Sometimes buying enough parts for a whole build will push shipping up to over $50.

You're right. That's probably why the don't charge you double if you buy two. They've done combined shipping for months now.