ComplaintsforData Alliance Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  07/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  questionable business practices. my first encounter I purchased with Credit card an enclosure for 580$. 8 months later i contacted them and their response was that the manufacturer had obsceleted the product an a new one was available (same model and part number) but had increased the price to 650$. i told him i had paid him for a product 8 months ago while they were available and they didn't deliver and to please provide the service promised. they canceled my order. second encounter i still needed the enclosure they had listed so i was forced to reach out again. on the website the enclosure was listed 650 + 20 flat shipping. i put it in the cart and proceeded to email the customer service about lead time status. they were immediately available for shipping. So I purchased a couple hours later. between placing in the cart and purchasing the item and after emailing my intent to customer service, the price jumped 100$ then shipping increased to 26$. From my perspective they practice unscrupulous business behaviors.

  Business response

  01/24/2024

  Regarding the large enclosures that he ordered:  We drop ship only a few items, and those item are large enclosures, because they are expensive to ship and our margins are very thin on these.  So it is one of a very few items that we drop-ship, rather than carry as an in-stock item (although we do stock some large enclosures) - and we sell very few of them.  The high inflation during the 2021-2023 resulted in the costs of these large enclosures increasing very significantly:  In the course of a few months, the price would rise (in proportion to what is noted in the customer's email).  Since we sell very few of these large enclosures, and all sales are drop shipped, our cost would increase immediately as the prices were raised by our employer.  There was not time for us to know in advance and raise the price on our website.

  Furthermore:  The models of these large enclosures are many and change frequently, with the differences being very minor.  Our supplier frequently discontinues one model and replaces it with another very similar model  Since we sell very few of them, we often do not learn of these changes until we've had one of our very infrequent sales.

  We carry these large enclosures on our website as a convenience for our customers:  Not as an item that we actually earn a profit on:  They are an unprofitable item for us to carry, in part because of exactly the circumstances that are referenced by this customer in his email.

  We will seriously consider discontinuing these on our website because of what has happened, in this case.

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