I could really use some advice here - What would YOU do? *UPDATED*

[Ilmater]

Alright, I had always wanted a case that fits all of my drives (I had 6 hard drives that are nearly full, and planned to add more), provided excellent cooling (with a fanbus to combat noise), and looked nice. Well I went to a presently unnamed (for their sake in case I decide to stick with them) case modding site that could fulfill my needs. The case looks... different, but I really like it. It fit all of my needs listed above, but for a hefty price tag: let's just well over $500 for everything. I talked to the owner for quite some tiem while I made sure that they could mod it exactly as I wanted. Finally, I ordered the case on January 24th, and even got them to give me free shipping. Their e-mail said to expect the case to ship in two weeks, while their site said that it could take as much as 3 weeks. Well, on the Monday of the 3rd week (Feb 10th), I e-mailed them to see where things were going. He (the owner) said that the painting was getting finished that week. OK. Well, that weekend, my computer died. I didn't want to go for long without a computer, but I also didn't want to install a motherboard into my old case when a new one would be on the way very soon. On the 19th of February, a Wednesday, I e-mailed them with my dilemma, and assuming that the painting was supposed to be done last week, I was expecting the case any day. I just wanted to know when they sent it so that I could decide if I could go without my case until then. He replied back and told me that they hadn't finished it quite yet, and that it would ship out tomorrow, Thursday. That next Monday, the 24th, I e-mailed them because I hadn't received a tracking number yet, which he had promised me. He said that they had run into a "glitch" that was being worked out. I wondered why they hadn't found this glitch weeks ago, but all I said was that I wanted the case by the following Wednesday with a tracking number so that I knew that it shipped out. If that happened, I was going to be OK about the whole process. He said that they could do that for me. Well I knew they would be shipping it ground (a 40lb case costs a lot to ship Next Day Air), so after Thursday had passed (the day that they could ship it ground and still get it there on time) and I didn't have a tracking number, I e-mailed again to see what was going on. This was on Friday the 28th. He said that they'd ship it faster to get it here by Thursday. Thursday? We had agreed to Wednesday! But still I was willing to work with him. I was willing to take it that day. Guess what. I was surprisingly patient and didn't send a thing when I didn't get a tracking number, even Wednesday night. Then on Thursday, the 6th of March, he e-mailed me and told me that the case wasn't going to make it, but that they were going to paint the inside black to match the outside. I had previously told him that it wasn't worth anything to me to have the inside painted because it would mostly be covered up. However, it was at least one nice thing that they were doing, so as long as it arrived quickly, I was willing to wait. I asked them when the case would arrive that next Monday, the 10th. They said that it would "ship no later than Wednesday," and that they had upgraded me to higher-output YS-Tech fans as well. Now I was really confused. I had specifically asked him when I first talked to him if they could make all of the fans Panaflo H1As. Well, I looked at Gizzo's Fan Database, and found some YS-Tech fans actually had a better CFM/dBA ratio, so it could be a good thing. Plus, considering that the case came with a fanbus, it makes sense to get louder fans since I can always turn them or off if I want to. OK, I'm happy. So I e-mailed him and told him that through it all, I will be happy if the case ships out Wednesday and it looks as nice as it's supposed to. He said I wouldn't be disappointed. Well, if they had shipped it out Wednesday, it would have been here last night. I e-mailed him and he said that it was sitting "right here" and I would get a FedEx tracking number no later than Friday. "[T]hat is the end all be all of statements!"

Phew, that was exhausting. Well, if it ships out Friday, that would be 8 weeks since I ordered it. I've sworn over and over to friends that I would cancel my order if it didn't arrive at certain times, but I haven't yet. This case was everything I wanted in a case. However, I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of dealing with them. I'm now torn between what I've sworn I would do and what I really want, which is that case. So I want your opinions. Please let me know what YOU would do if you were me.

 

[cheapgoose]

you want that case pretty bad and they know that. I feel that they're taking advantage of you. personally, I would ask for a major discount. good luck with your case.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: cheapgoose
you want that case pretty bad and they know that. I feel that they're taking advantage of you. personally, I would ask for a major discount. good luck with your case.

The thing I don't understand is, why didn't they just ship it to me earlier? What do they have to gain by waiting? Wouldn't they ship it as soon as possible if they could?

 

[BG4533]

Was this a big place? Maybe they are not the kind of place to keep things is stock and just didnt want to tell you about it.

Please tell us the place and how it is when you get it.

Personally, I think I would have cancelled the order a long time ago. No matter how bad I wanted it.

Brian

 

[OulOat]

What site is this? 500 for a case?!?!

 

[Ilmater]

The case is $179 at the cheapest place on the net. They install a blowhole in the front and a fanbus that goes through the actual case (really nice-looking). I got a window in one side and the whole thing is painted black. Every fan placement is completely drilled through, and a filter and guard is placed over it. After all of this, it gets kind of expensive.

It's not a big place at all. There is only one review on Resellerratings.com for them. That reviewer says that although there was a "slight" delay in getting it done, they shipped it FedEx overnight.

 

[squirrel dog]

Hate to say this but seems to me you have been drilled long deep and continueosly.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: squirrel dog
Hate to say this but seems to me you have been drilled long deep and continueosly.

I understand that, but nobody's saying what they'd do if they were in my position. Would you tell them to keep the case or not?

 

[BA]

I would look up paragraphs in my english book, and then cancel the order.

 

[OulOat]

I would have cancelled the first time they lied.

 

[Superself]

Let this be a lesson for ya.

You have been unfairly taken advantage of. Has your credit card been processed yet?
You are a super pacient dude! I would have cancelled after the first lie.
Now imagine after waiting all this time, your case comes out looking like straight booty. Now you gotta deal with a liar in getting your money back and shipping the case back to them at your expense!
Good luck!

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: BA
I would look up paragraphs in my english book, and then cancel the order.

I know. I wanted to make that into more paragraphs, but it never panned out.

 

[Ilmater]

If I did decide to nix the deal, does anyone know of any case modding sites on the internet. I know FrozenCPU has pre-modded cases, but I can't find one there that particularly suits me.

BTW, I have looked through the links on the first page, and I haven't found any sites that actually sell pre-modded cases besides FrozenCPU.

Edit: Whoops, I forgot Xoxide. I know about them too.

 

[Rufio]

can u let us konw the retailer so we do not deal w/liars like them?

i would cancel my order w/them and give my money to a retailer who actually cares about the customer.

 

[paperfist]

I would cancel the order right away. I hope you used a credit card to purchase it with cause that will make it a little easier on you. It sounds like maybe they ran out of money and couldn't finish your case, paint only takes a few hours to dry so that can't be the real hold up.

Not sure of the exact case you are looking for but why not buy something like a Antec tower case for all the drives and take it to a local body shop and have them paint it and cut out a hole for you? That would only set you back about $100.

 

[brigden]

Originally posted by: BA
I would look up paragraphs in my english book, and then cancel the order.

That is exactly what I was going to say.

I would certainly have given the company in question an ultimatum the first time they promised shipment: ship the case by this date, or I cancel the order. It's likely the company have not even finished your case. Your credit card not being billed would be further proof of this.

I would cancel, you're being jerked around big time.

 

[Vash341]

I have no idea what i would do. I heave never even romotly considered spending any thing near 500 dollars on a case.
If you dont mind me askind Why on earth do you need 6 hard drives

 

[RalfHutter]

I'd tell those shysters to take a hike. They're jacking you around big-time. Don't forget to leave a nice Resellerrating for them as well.

 

[Ilmater]

As of this morning, I'm cancelling the order. I've already contacted my credit card company to dispute the charge. Luckily, I was within their time frame for disputes, so this shouldn't be a huge problem with them. As for their name, if the worst thing that happens is the fact that I had to be dragged around for 8 weeks while they kept promising to get me my case, then I will leave them alone. I have only one bargaining chip left with them. I made it clear that if I don't get my money back, every forum on the internet will hear about them, as well as resellerratings.com and the BBB.

Also, I looked at a few places online to begin looking for another case. Does anyone know anything about DesignComp.net? Their case work looks great. They did some work on a case for Systemcooling.com and I really liked how it turned out. Any input would be wonderful.

 

[Rufio]

Ilmater,
They didn't just delay your shipment for 8 weeks, they lied to you repeatedly.

What kind of retailer actually lies to their customer like that?

 

[Need4Speed]

too hard to read...

 

[Crucial]

for the sake of anyone else looking to buy a pre modded case I hope you plan on letting us know who they are. why even bring the story up if you won't do the community a favor and tell us who we shouldn't be buying from.

 

[Ilmater]

Update: After sending in my cancellation, they owner called me personally and described why they have had the problems they've had. They're going to send it today, with a tracking number, and I'll update you all with the information when it's done. I definitely respect them for calling me, even though it should have happened before now. I'll be calling the credit card company AFTER I see the case, not before.

 

[chizow]

You're getting so played bro. Don't you see what's happening here? Its a classic case of them using your money to pay for their inventory. You wanna know what the delay was? They were waiting for your parts to come in!!! What could *possibly* take 4 weeks to finish on a case mod. Hell, you coulda ordered everything for $250-$300, walked down to your local auto body shop, and had them laser/plasma cut everything for you in about 10 minutes.

Anyways, the fact you are letting this get into another weekend is ridiculous. Cancel the order and don't look back. Leave feedback everywhere. Check out PCMods, 2Cooltek, Sidewinder, Directron and see if they do custom case mods. Otherwise you'll have to pick something close, and then look to get it custom modded by a local body shop or maybe even a local artist/metalworker.

Chiz

 

[Hawkster99]

I actually did something close to this a year or so back. I waited for 2 weeks, and nothing happened. I called them. Another week went bye...etc...etc.
I ended up getting the credit card company to refund me in the 4th week. I have never heard a peep about why they never managed to ship the item, but they went out of business a month after my troubles. It allso belongs to the story that I did get warned about a slow 'turnaround' with this company.

...so my advice would be to cancel as fast as possible. I know you want the case. Nothing is better than a case that actually suits your needs. But this isn't worth it. Certainly not $500