Woot.com was likely the first site to only sell a single item per day at rockbottom prices. Every night at midnight, they discontinue offering that day’s product and introduce a new one.
How do they survive only selling one product per day? For one, they can sell a lot of them. On a recent day, they sold 2500 Logitech mice. Even Amazon does not sell that many a day. Another way they save money is through customer service (or lack there of). The following is not an April Fool’s joke:
*MOUSE PRINT:
At least they have a sense of humor about their (almost) all sales final policy.Whether customers find it funny may be a different story.
Woot will try to make good on defective goods if all else fails.
[For many stories about Woot from happy customers, please read the comments section below.]Â
I have bought many things from Woot and had my first DOA (Dead on Arrival). I emailed rma@woot.com and they sent me another. I didn’t have to return anything. I am very happy with their minimal customer service.
The 2 times I ordered from them and it was defective they said “Here’s your money back, just throw it out”
I had a problem with a Woot order once. I found their e-mail based customer service to be quick, personal, and obedient to ME, the client.
I will buy again from them.
Bah, woot has GREAT customer service. Sure they expect they to keep what you buy, but they normally do make good on defective items, and where they do not, they go to great pains to make it perfectly clear to the consumer what thier return/exchange rights are.
I think you are barking up the wrong tree attacking woot’s customer service.
Just check out the fine print when they sell a bag of crap.
THE HOLY CRAP COMMANDMENTS v3.0:
I. Thou shalt expect nothing beyond one bag of some kind and your chosen quantity of crappy items (which will be ONE even though you’ll still get THREE CRAPS).
II. Thou shalt not whine and complain when some people’s crap turns out to be nicer than yours.
III. Thou shalt take a moment to consider whether you might be better off just not buying this crap.
IV. Thou shalt not expect better crap at 33 cents apiece than we sold at $1 apiece. Crap is crap.
V. To paraphrase Stephen Stills, shalt thou not get the crap you want, want the crap you get.
This story is such a disservice to Woot, Woot’s customers, and your readers, that I’m a little shocked that this is still up here. Woot’s position is not ‘mouse print’. They are fairly up-front about it. In fact, they’re fairly up front about everything. Especially product descriptions.
Buy something you don’t like, sell it on eBay. (It is what they say. If you have buyer’s remose, they don’t take returns.) If there is a problem with the item, try to work it out with the manufacturer. Otherwise, email their RMA department. And usually their RMA department exceeds expectations.
They’ve had two challenges, lately, that I know about. A third party not honoring their rebate (an issue which Woot says that they are working on). And then a recent sale of software that was missing a bundled headset. Woot says it has issued full refunds (no return necessary) to those who had sent an email to their RMA department. I think just yesterday, they acknowledged a mix-up between the write-up and the warehouse, so they’re working on it.
You really have to be a whining customer to find fault with Woot’s terms and their service. (See their forums: “Waaaah! Getting my 100% of my money back, including shipping, and keeping the package isn’t good enough! I want them to locate and ship me a headset for free!!!”)
I bought a keyboard from them, a few keys stopped working, and they sent me a new one in 3 days, had me ship the old one back, no cost at all.
I had a DOA Hard drive from woot, I emailed them, they sent me a new one the same day, they said “send back the other one when you get it”. I’ve bought several things from woot! and will continue to shop there.
You are getting products at bargain prices, if you want a full return policy go to a retailer and pay retail prices. Sometimes the consumer has to take some responcibility.
The RMA process probably is determined by whether or not they have any more in stock. They replace if they do, refund if they don’t.
You’re pretty far off target with this one. Woot’s customer service is far better than other web retailers.
I bought 3 hard drives from them last year. Two were fine, but one had multiple SMART failures and wouldn’t format. I emailed Woot to tell them I had a problem with the one drive, and I asked them what information they would need to give me an RMA number.
Their response? “Do you want a refund or a new drive?” They didn’t even ask me how I knew it wasn’t working!
Also, they are paying customers for a $100 mail-in-rebate that their vendor is stalling on paying. How many retailers will honor a rebate like that?
don’t like woot’s clear policies? Don’t buy from them. Go pay retail.
Edgar replies: You all have to remember that Mouse Print* is about surprises in the fine print of advertising, product labels, and contracts. Strings and catches can be amusing, and are not necessarily illegal. Woot uses a humorous approach to an otherwise serious “all sales final” and “no customer service”
policy… and that makes it noteworthy.
Woot might not take returns, but they respond to RMAs and busted goods really well. I bought a couple of hard drives from them last year, one was fine and the other failed the disk checking utility I was using. They didn’t complain or ask any questions, just sent me a new one, with a shipping label to return the bad one. I have no complaints about them.
Still, the fact that they sell products for 24 hours or until they run out (with no indication anywhere of when that might happen), sort of encourages no-research impulse buying, and those sorts of purchases are bound to have more returns. If them not hiring a bigger customer service department is what keeps it so cheap, I can live with that, though.
I bought a DLP tv from them and it died just before 1 year. After several unsuccessful repair attempts by Infocus, I got a full refund of the $2500 purchase price. It may be because I called Woot and told them the problems I was having and they contacted Infocus for me.
This example aside, I do like (and have previously enjoyed) your stories.
I can’t believe mouseprint is cracking on woot.
I have had nothing but super service from the the ONLY time I
got a bad product.
bot my wife a sweeper. didn’t work. sent email to their RMA,
they mailed me a new one and I used that box to return
the defective one..
I will continue to buy from woot…
I’ve bought many, many items from Woot, and, aside from the occasional fulfillment problem, I’ve had no complaints with their customer service. As everyone else has said, once you get it, if it’s broken, they’ll either replace it or refund your money, and I’ve never had them ask for an item to be returned. They’ve even sold some worthless crap before (Vector Battery Chargers come to mind), but they refunded *everyone’s* money, no questions asked. Woot is truly t3h r0xx0r5.
Woot does not engage in any surprises in the fine print of advertising, product labels, and contracts. Obviously Woot DOES accept returns quite happily & does respond to customer service issues. Where’s the Mouseprint here?
I appreciate the Woot supporters, but I also appreciate the article and it’s information. Please don’t remove articles just because there is something good to say for a change. If not for this article, I wouldn’t have known about Woot and wouldn’t be contemplating shopping there.
I never heard of woot.com but now I have it bookmarked to check from time to time.
I too am hearing about Woot for the first time and due to the raving reviews posted in the comments, I will check with Woot daily to see if they have anything I want to buy. Thanks for posting a ‘not so bad’ mouse print article.
I’m another satisfied woot customer. I have found their quality no different from other retailers offering the same items. I was surprised when they made right a couple of programmable remotes that did not work. Considering the quantity of sales they have I’m surprised that there are not more complaints.
While woot does not take outright returns (no retailer is obligated to unless defective BTW, it just has become common), I think that this is reflected in the sometimes astonishing deals that they offer. Also, they are brutally honest about what they offer and have a forum where people can pretty much say anything about the quality of the product. So in this instance, I think that the complaints about fine print are weak at best.
Woot has a very simple (if not ideal) customer service policy that they follow without fail, in my experience.
Other, more “reputable” sites have extremely elaborate but supposedly more favorable policies that they do everything in their power to avoid living up to.
Which do you prefer?
I have to say that I’m another happy customer of woot’s. I’ve purchased ~40 items through them since they opened and have had only one issue. The single issue was the shipping carrier’s fault; they misdelivered. Woot was great, though they could have made it a nightmare to receive credit back–They issued credit for the “lost” item the same day that I reported the issue; better than anything I’ve gotten from any other company when the shipper dorked up the order.
So, huzzah for woot and woot taking care of their customers.
Woot is pretty awesome. They have great customer service, and it’s really nothing to complain about. It’s great that there are still people out there that dont baby everyone who doesnt read. Although they really honor their customers, there’s no “oh well I dont like this, i want another.” They always tell you what the item is like in the description. Even if it’s crap, they’ll tell you straight up… something like “We’re pretty sure that this isnt the best one of…”, etc. Point, they’re awesome and anyone dealing with them will say the same.
Couldn’t find anything else to write about so you chose Woot? Woot has always been great to their customers and I find it appalling that you would try to garner up some “outrage” about their policies.
W00t’s latest advertising campaign includes pissing off one blogger enough for them to write an article describing how much they can’t stand W00t, then knowing that the writer was so enamored with their written words that they would seek the attention and approval of their internet buddies by way of Digg.com. The result, is someone like me stumbling across a flaming blog full of people who are now telling me how absolutely incredible w00t.com actually is. Now I myself, whom have never shopped at w00t.com, is now w00t’s top supporter, and is looking to make his next purchase there. Not to mention when this gets indexed by Google, it will have tons of user testimonials that completely disagree with this article, and the true winner. w00t.com
The only other conspiracy I can think of is that w00t hired mouseprint, put them up to it for a small % or kickback and the result is some very intelligent viral marketing scheme that someone like w00t.com could easily muster up at will. Well.. since I rather reward good marketers and disagree with bloggers and people who want their opinion to make a difference in the internet commenting and approval world (myself included by the nature of this post), I suppose I will continue with my original plan of making my next purchase from w00t.com!
I got a $5 Bluetooth USB adapter during Januaries woot-off. With the $5 shipping it came to $10, which wasn’t at all expensive for a bluetooth adapter no bigger than a pack of Listerine Fresh-Strips. It took over 3 weeks to arrive at my house. Two days prior to getting it, I got an e-mail from them saying “Sorry it took so long to ship. Here’s a $5 coupon. A few woots ago, I picked up a First-Aid wireless thermometer with remote (display with inside/outside temps, clock, and max/min, with support for up to 2 additional remotes). I paid $12.99 for it and used my $5 coupon for free shipping. That arrived within a week.
Woot has been nothing but an enjoyable experience.
This is ridiculous. Woot has possibly the best customer service I’ve ever experienced. I pray this is some kind of stupid joke.
Try the Ryanair ‘No refund’ policy. It’s the clearest around, since int contains two words: “No refund.” Can’t be clearer. It’s only inconvenient when your flight gets cancelled and it still applies.
The excerpt from the woot policies page is taken out of context. What is meant by this message is that if you buy a product and it works 100% as advertised but you dont like it, too bad, sell it to ebay. Every time i have received a defective product i have gotten either a refund or a replacement.
I love Woot. I have been shopping with them since pretty much the beginning and have purchased many items. I only had a problem with one item and they went above and beyond to make me more than satisfied.
Based on my one experience and many of friends, Woot is very clear on their policies and procedures and then does more than promised. They have some of the best customer service I have encountered.
I must say, I find it somewhat suspicious that with the exception of those commentors who haven’t hear of Woot prior to this, every single comment sings their high praises. I can see 80%, 90%, but 100%? Nah. Somethings fishy.
I purchased a “refurbished” Microsoft Zune from them and it will not turn on. I sent them a message letting them know of the issue. Contrary to what most of these suspect reviews have written on here, they told me to contact the manufacturer. Who, Microsoft? Their customer service sucks. I will never buy from them again, and will tell everyone else about this experience.
Woot sucks. I have sent several emails to their customer service telling them that I have not received my product and have not received any response. I tried them once before and their product did not work, and now I don’t even have the product and have no way of contacting them. I wouldn’t recommend their site to ANYONE.
While I am glad that many people have had very good experiences with WOOT I cannot be counted among them. My husband bought me a Roomba two months ago. It ran once and died. We immediately contacted WOOT after following their, “it’s your fault” ideas. We then contacted WOOT’s RMA department just as we were told. Two months later my husband has not had a single repsonse back from them. He has used all the email addresses on the contact us page and nothing. If I were asked today to judge WOOT as a company I would judge them poorly. If people ask me about my purchase from WOOT or about how they handled it I will only tell them exactly what happened to us, no exageration and no extras. From that they can judge WOOT themselves and decide if it’s worth paying less or if paying retail might not in the long run work out better for them. I have emailed them tonight and I have recieved three auto responses and one response from purchasing telling me to contact the manufacturer. My husband who used the exact same addresses I did has to date never received anything form WOOT.
Iv had mixed results with Woot.. To a point iv always treated it as Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware, similar to a flea market mentality… but I made the mistake of using Paypal to pay for an item on Woot… No worries. but i sent them a email pointing this out and their answer was basically. you coulda gone to paypals site first to change the default billing.. instead of letting you choose the payment method… Im not amused… Seriously considering just not dealing with them again after the terse response)…
Woot Customer Service totally sucks.
I purchased a Polaroid DVD recorder/HD tuner from them back in November.
Right off the bat I had issues with the screen going blank. 3months later, after innumerable eamils and phone calls I am no closer to getting a refund or a return address t where I can return this piece of crap. The phone number (9724173959) gets you to a rep who tells you to email them at service@woot.com / rma@woot.com I told him that I have sent multiple emails and have not received a response. His Response- CLASSIC – Email them again.
Absolutely the worst customer care I have encountered. Never will I purchase from them again
I agree with the last post for the EXACT same reason. I wish I had a great story to tell, but this stupid Polaroid unit seems to be their failing point. I too have sent innumerable e-mails and gotten NO response. I ended up disputing through my credit card, who told me just to send the unit back without an RMA…
Well, wouldn’t you know Woot’s apparently happy to answer THEIR e-mail, but only to say they didn’t get the unit back. If they give out all these “no return needed” refunds, why are myself and the last poster getting screwed so badly?
I am not sure why woot as so many crazy fans but I have ordered 3 things from woot and have been disappointed two times. The first was the mini RC helicopters that I bought 3 of and none of them flew. I didnt even bother to return I just trashed them. I just recently bought some “HD” headphones and they sound horrible. Way worse then the ones that came with my ipod. I emailed woot for an RMA number and they said sell them on ebay.
Ordered a product, it did not work, I emailed them asking for RMA information, did not get a reply. Emailed them the next day. Did not get a reply. Later that afternoon, nothing.
I’m not trying to stalk them but it’s customary to at least send a robot reply that one’s email was received and that someone will be in touch shortly. Anything else is RUDE.
As far as ordering W00T items vs. satisfaction, I’m at about 50%. Not enough to keep me a customer after this last situation.
I have bought two items from Woot. The first I honestly had no problems, but oh BROTHER if you have a problem . . . do you have a PROBLEM! Called the number above and frankly couldn’t even get a live person to blow me off, it was all done by automated messages!
Bought a Canon HD Camcorder that was missing the battery charger, sent email after email after email after email. NOTHING, NADA, NO RESPONSE WHATSOEVER! Finally called Canon Tech Support who arranged for the part to be sent immediately. They didn’t even ask for the serial number! Can’t believe these Woot dudes are so busy they can’t even be bothered to say that they have even RECEIVED the emails! They STINK!!!
I was a long time woot customer. had minor problems 2 times before and they solved them without issue. Now I have a major problem, and they are worthless. will not be buying from them again. Broken camera, ruined my picture taking on vacation, and they won’t do anything. Woot is a piece of crap.
Woot? I NORMALLY love to buy from them despite having THE longest delivery time in the USA!!( I wonder? do they wait until they get sufficient buyers BEFORE actually buying/obtaining the Items being sold???) MY gripe is however a major one-something I bought is “missing in action” so speak-its at least 10 days overdue from the date Woot said it would arrive. The tracking number supplied? their carrier cannot locate ANY reference to it ergo I cannot ask them to confirm that it even sent!!- their automatic e-mail reply gives me a Case #(two them actually!!) BUT no actual contact number! Please do NOT insult my intelligence and commonsense by agreeing with Woot that it would be impossible to have people.you know? CUSTOMERS!!,get to speak to someone! If you choose to deal with the Public at least have the courtesy and decency to SPEAK to said Customers and thus sort out problems!
To Heck! with Woot! there are a LOT of similar companies in the web doing the self-same type of one-off selling! I’ll go with them!!
I bought a supposedly NEW Gateway Laptop from them. It appeared new but it was doa. They told me to deal with Gateway. Gateway said woot’s not an authorized dealer, & it’s not under warranty since it was mfg’d 14 months ago. Thanks for the screw woot.
Their comments regarding my inquiry about returning an incorrect size, and purchasing the correct size, says it all:
Unfortunately, we don’t allow for exchanges or refunds on shirts ordered in the wrong size. The reason for this is because a sizing chart is offered on the order page. Sorry.
Evan
I think they’re a bunch of un-empathetic bastards.
This is like buying off a street vendor or a tag sale at it’s best. Would you every go back to a NYC street vendor and return a watch because it wasn’t a Rolex or a hand bag that wasn’t Coach?
Cheap price is just that.
Woot and the world Woots with you. Don’t Woot and the world Woots without you.
I just bought a “refurbished” iPod Nano from Woot. When I received it, it was dented and had little scratches on it. There was a fingerprint on the screen and it came in an unsealed plastic bag with no box or software–just an unwrapped pair of earbuds and an unwrapped USB cable. It looked like someone had owned it for a year and then sold it on Ebay. When I contacted Woot to return it, they told me they wouldn’t take it back and suggested that I sell it on Ebay.
It is commonly understood that “refurbished” means that the item was open box or restored to new condition. In both cases, it is expected to look same as new. When I pointed this out to them, here is what they said:
“Refurbished does not mean restored to new condition. It means the item has been restored to the factory specifics to work in the manner it was intended. Scratches and similar markings are to be expected when an item is refurbished due to prior ownership.”
Really? It didn’t say that in the listing when I bought it. I filed a complaint with Paypal (payment source) as well as the Better Business Bureau (it turns out that the company has a “C” rating with them. The mistake I made was not using my credit card or choosing credit card as the funding source on Paypal. I also made the mistake of assuming they were a reputable company and because of this, I let my guard down.
In the meantime, I called Apple, who is selling iPod Nanos refurbished at the same price as Woot (they started selling them a few days after Woot). Apple said that refurbished Nanos are “the same as new” both mechanically and functionally. “If there is a defect on the case (the outside of the iPod), we replace it with a new case.” Apple’s refurbished iPods come sealed, in a box, with the manuals and software.
Woot’s idea of customer service is “the customer is always wrong and if you don’t like it, f-off.” I will never buy anything from them again.
Part 2. They agreed to give me a refund but won’t pay the postage to return it.
I would be glad to comment on woot’s customer service, but 4 attempts to contact them at
rma@woot.com have had absolutely no response.Why? I don’t know. Maybe someone out there
does and will contact me.