The Perils of the Third-Party Purchase
I’ve been having a wee bit of trouble making some third-party purchases via Amazon this holiday season. The worst was in attempting to buy some SterlingTek batteries for the Rebel XTi. The low-priced ($10 vs. Canon’s $40) batteries come highly recommended by Canon users in a variety of forums, and I have noticed no enthusiasm for any other specific brand or seller.
So I decided to buy some, and instead of going through SterlingTek themselves, I tried to save a few bucks and instead go through the online store at the top of Amazon’s list, probably because of the low price. What happened was that I was most likely the victim of a little scam, else I was the victim of very poor services.
What I did not know at the time was that “SterlingTek” is not a brand name of battery per se, but rather a company that sells batteries of a certain quality. How other dealers sell “SterlingTek” batteries is somewhat of a mystery to me still–they’re probably just trying to feed off the name recognition.
But the seller Amazon had at the top of their list was a place run out of Oregon, called “TheMemStore.” I ordered the batteries and paid extra for “expedited” shipping, supposedly 1-3 days. The order was placed on December 17, the order processed December 18. The batteries were delivered on the 22nd. Not very expedited, if you ask me.
But that’s not the worst part. The order was for SterlingTek batteries. They sent me some other brand I’d never heard of, a brand which I could barely find on the Internet, and when I did, got poor reviews. (The brand is “MaximalPower,” and the SterlingTek guy said that that’s not a brand they use.) So, they sent me the wrong product, despite both my order and the packing list that came with the batteries clearly indicating “SterlingTek” products.
Worse, the store is closed weekends, so I was unable to get ahold of them until Monday. Then it all seemed fixed, when the sweet-talking operator kindly sympathized, apologized, and told me that she’d make sure the product I ordered would be sent off right away, with a package that I could send the wrong items back with. I emphasized that time was of the essence as I was leaving for Japan soon, and any delay could cause a delivery to arrive after I’d departed.
Today, two days later, instead of getting what I originally ordered, I got an email from TheMemStore, informing me that they did not have any of the item I originally ordered (it took them two days to check if an item was in stock?), and while I could return the batteries they sent me, everybody is happy with the other brand… making me think that probably they didn’t have it at all when I first ordered, and instead of postponing or canceling the order, they hoped I would just accept whatever they sent me. I have to wonder, how many people do that? Probably enough so they would do this kind of thing.
I just received 2 Canon batteries from Thememstore via Amazon as well. They advertise, and I ordered 1200mAh batteries. I received Maximal Power 900mAh…I am waiting to see the response I get from them before I blow them out of the water. I also got a 16Gb CF card for my camera, $112, no complaint there at all.
Mont:
Aha. Two people getting the “wrong” batteries “by mistake”? Bull. That greatly magnifies the probability that they are engaged in scamming people on these “SterlingTek” batteries.
It gets better. When I got their email asking what I wanted to do, the email did not indicate an action, it just asked wether I wanted to keep the batteries or return them.
After what I wrote above, I ordered the SterlingTek batteries directly from SterlingTek. They charge a bit more, but their expedited delivery was two days from the actual order, one day after shipping, and they sent me the real item (though not branded “SterlingTek,” it was indeed the battery everyone was talking about).
So after the SterlingTek batts were ordered, I called TheMemStore up to tell them I wanted to send a return. That’s when I started talking to Cindy, who apparently is the senior person there. She told me that they had already sent me the return bags, expedited also. The next week, the last day I was in the country, we got their shipment. They sent not one return bag, but two–along with two more “Maximal Power” batteries.
I was sorely tempted to simply return the original ones and keep the two extras as a “gift” for my troubles. The main reason why not: I guessed that these “Maximal Power” batts were probably crap, and didn’t want to hassle with them. But since Amazon had already refunded my money through their A-Z Guarantee (make use of that!), and I would return the ones I “ordered,” legally I think I would have been entitled to keep the extras.
Anyway, expect the unexpected with these people.
You can call them at 1-800-397-3849. They don’t publish their phone number anywhere online, they don’t even tell Amazon–they only have it on the packing slip. And on the packing slip, they even blank out the number on their street address! Another thing to be wary of–a business that hides their address and phone number is to be suspected of shadiness. Not a comment about this store, just a common-sense observation in general.
And if there is anyone else out there Googling “TheMemStore” or “The Mem Store” in Oregon and finding this, Don’t order from them! Or at least not the “SterlingTek” batteries, that’s for damned sure.
I did call them, using the number on the packing slip, and the guy I talked to, as soon as I told him what was up said to hang on a sec, and he pulled the “1200’s” from the website. His very first response was “They don’t make that one in 1200”, and told me they only make them up to 900 – appx 20% higher than the typical battery that is sent with a camera is all manufacturing will allow into the space of a battery case. More than that and the case has to get bigger…but he offered to send me a return package, and I had already been looking some things up, and there definitely isn’t a 1200mAh battery for the XTi that I can find. So I said, nah, I’ll keep them (Cheeeep, $12 each, I think) and he said thanks, and gave me a $10 refund, it hit my card immediately…
So while I felt misled, the guy I talked to was very nice, personable, and didn’t “sound” like a scammer that got caught. But I am a very forgiving soul most of the time…
Mont:
The batteries I got from SterlingTek are 1700 mAh. They are the exact same size and shape as the Canon 720 mAh batteries, and they work just fine.
Return the batts and order direct from SterlingTek, that would be my advice. I haven’t used the batts long, but all the forums I visited had everyone recommending SterlingTek’s batts and no one else’s. [ Source, Source, Source, Blog ]
I just had an odd experience with thememstore… I was trying to order an SD memory card and was getting an error on their website when I tried to complete the order. I called the number Luis gave above (thanks, I couldn’t find the number elsewhere!) and it turns out they don’t take orders over the phone. And their website is new and apparently not working right yet. What kind of company can’t take orders by phone, especially if their website doesn’t work? (btw, I could have ordered it through Amazon, but the memory stick itself was a couple of dollars more expensive and the shipping was $6 more expensive, so I’d prefer to order it directly.)
hello please help me! I need the phone number of themmstore if you can sen it tome by email..! because i need the tracking number of one of my packages thank you..!
Maria: it’s in the second comment’s second-to-last paragraph. But here it is again: 1-800-397-3849. At least, that was it when I dealt with them. Good luck–and don’t accept the wrong item from these people!
Just a follow-up – the offbrand batteries I got work just fine, I am actually getting 800-1200 shots per battery charge with them, as compared to 500-600 on the Canon battery (which lives no more, thank you ignorant I’ll-Chew-Anything puppy). I am plenty happy. And the 16gig card – a little slow to transfer, but 3400 straight jpgs or 830 RAW/Jpg combinations.
This battery is a replacement for CANON BP-807,808,809 and is rated at 1200 mAh. It should make my VIXIA HF S10 run perhaps 50% longer than the original 850 mAh CANON battery that came with the camcorder. The problem is, this company sent me a MaximalPower battery rated at 700 mAh. How does TheMemStore have a rating above 90% with this type of business? The charger (Power2000 Model RTC, or Amazon’s CG-800 AC/ Car Battery Charger) that is part of the advertised package is not the same as what is pictured (made by Premium Tech), either. It is only $9.95 as sold by itself, though.
When I called this morning (to a phone – 8664072895 – in Arizona whereas the ‘store’ is in Oregon), I got a recording to leave a voicemail message; then I was told the voicemail was full, and the phone disconnected.
Yep, I received 1850 mah “Power2000” batteries versus the 2000 mah batteries I actually ordered (Maximal Power).
I called – and the rep was rather helpful – and I could have either a full refund or a partial refund for the difference in mah. She told me that Power2000 and Maximal Power batteries were made by the same manufacture and are both of the same quality.
I opted for the partial refund … but 2 weeks later … I’m still waiting for an e-mail with refund instructions. Huh.