ChiefValue: A Store We Can’t Recommend

A websites sometimes seems to have everything — good prices, lots of variety and a great design encouraging your order.    You realize you bought sizzle, not steak.

Chief Value has an enormous site selling electronics from MP3 players to computers.  Options range from brand new items to refurbished deals for applicances and gear of all kinds.

Specials and bargain pricing splash throughout the front page complete with timers counting down the remaining sales time.    Use the site’s search functions because browsing and drilling down through the categories is tough work.   The bargains and sales look especially attractive kind of like the prices at a superstore until you realize you just bought 10 gallons of prune juice expiring next week.  Be careful of that pricing because Chief Value doesn’t guarantee lowest pricing nor will they match anyone else’s pricing.  Sorting out the rules is difficult because the standard FAQ pages are pretty confusing.

Strange Rules at ChiefValue

ChiefValue requires consumers to pay for all returns, even if the item is defective.  That practice is disclosed, but almost worth involving the complaint advocates at Consumer Help Web.

Consumers also only have 15 days to ask ChiefValue for return authorization.  Once they do, the consumer pays shipping and is “subject to” a 15% restocking fee.  The most confusing policy, though, is the mysterious “Additional deduction will be made to account for current market value.” We could find no explanation in the FAQs.

The company even insists that returns of defective items go to the manufacturer and will not get involved.  We are uneasy when a company can pass problems to a manufacturer and push shipping charges back to the shopper.

Our Mystery Shopping at ChiefValue

We ordered an MP3 player at a reasonable price with reasonable shipping.  The order confirmation arrived, and we thought ChiefValue was yet another find among electronics resellers.   No shipping notification ever arrived so we sent an email query and learned that the order was canceled.  Customer Service initially agreed with that status when we called.   ChiefValue finally agreed to a refund after several calls, but we saw the MP3 player was still in stock so we asked for the order to be fulfilled.

The resolution that will make any businessperson cringe is that ChiefValue insisted my order be canceled and refunded and then reordered.

I guess I should be happy that I ended up getting my money back all things considered but why a company would blow off a $400 sale when the money was in their pocket is beyond me. I have no idea what they were doing and neither did they.

Too many companies get service and pricing right to spend your time chasing a few extra dollars off.     ChiefValue’s site performance can’t be judged by its appearance.