Slashdot Mirror
Dell Sues Tiger Direct For Misleading Customers
An anonymous reader writes "Dell is apparently suing popular online retailer Tiger Direct, claiming that Tiger violated the resale contract it had with Dell, which included false advertising, misleading representation and unfair competition. Dell has accused Tiger Direct of selling old and out-dated Dell computers that Tiger Direct purchased from other resellers and then saying they were brand new directly from Dell. They also passed the computers off as still having a full warranty, but the warranties had expired long ago."
Tiger direct is awful. Pay just a little bit more at NewEgg and get actual customer service.
Give me Classic Slashdot or give me death!
Impossible! The only way I'll be willing to believe a story concerning TigerDirect and unethical behavior is if it includes interminable rebate-and-switching...
Dell required Tiger to advertise falsely, mislead customers, and compete unfairly? That's an awful strange contract!
(badly worded summary. Obviously. Tiger sucks. IMHO. Carry on.)
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
I used Tiger in the early part of the decade and ended up spending so much time on the phone or on emails fixing my orders with them that I have never gone back. I tried eight orders, all eight were so screwed up that I never went back.
Do like the first person said, use Newegg, the customer service is 5 star and the prices are not bad either.
p.s I don't work for Newegg - However, I really like the customer reviews for parts I intend to buy.
Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.
Never heard of it. Is it where you can get tigers imported directly form the country of origin?
The Navy Motto "IF it ain't broke Fix It" "A day is wasted if you don't learn something new"
TigerDirect is nothing like AOL. TigerDirect sells cheap crap with lousy customer service at low prices.
The computers were still new in the box, from reseller stock, but the warranties were expired?
I don't think there's any question that they were actual Dell equipment. So, why should the warranties have expired?
Bruce Perens.
I'm happy with hearing this news. Maybe I can finally remove that email filter that sends all email offers from TigerDirect to the trash bin. Assuming they stop selling new-as-in-expired-but-unopened hardware.
Not surprising at all. They also pass off used, defective items as "refurbished". I imagine they turn them on to make sure they get power and then pack them up for shipping.
NewEgg is a better deal at twice the price. No, I'm not exaggerating.
There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
Tiger Direct does what it can to reduce its prices.
If this includes not packing their goods for shipping, lying about what you're getting, or rebate and switching, so be it.
Their prices are only about 5% lower than most websites. Its not worth it to get a CPU that was dropped into an antistatic bag and put into a box 10x its size unsecured.
Job? I don't have time to get a job! Who will sit around and bitch about being broke and unemployed then?
I have built 4 computers in the last 4 years, and I purchased about half of the parts for each from Tiger Direct and half from Newegg with a part here and there from local stores. I never had any problems with Tiger Direct myself, but I have seen alot of people complain about issues. I don't buy full computer however and maybe that is where they really show their issues. I figured when Tiger Direct bought CompUSA and kept a few stores open that it was hoping to have 2 brands out there. Then they recently purchased Circuit City IP, which iirc includes the webpage and name. Now that I read this, I think their plan is to let Tiger Direct become the cheap brand compared to their NewEgg competition, and keep the other 2 brands running but named separately so customers don't equate the quality/value of each brand with the other. It is an interesting plan, I have heard people like the new CompUSA and I thought Tiger Direct was going to make a solid retail comeback with CompUSA, I hope this doesn't change that.
If it sounds to good to be true... it usually is
Holds true with any ad I see from any retailer/e-tailer. Always look (as best you can) at the items before you buy.
Most of tiger's stuff that looks good in the beginning, is either really old, refurbished (but not listed that way in the ad), or when you look at the specs of the item it is misleading. I.e. a new HD 50 inch TV. Check out the TV in question, it is new, it is 50 inches, and it is 720p. Now mind you 720p is good, but on a 50 inch TV I would rather have 0180p not 720p. If it was a 20 inch TV then 720p is fine. So the ad to me was misleading. Full HD == 1080p in my book.
I was temped to get one for their bare bones PCs since the price was really low. Then I looked at what the parts were. The parts could make a decent email, web, doc computer. No light gaming, no DVR system (maybe DVR but it at the min). So I passed. I paid about $80 more then their kit and got a system that I knew would do what I wanted.
[blockquote]Dell wants an injunction on Tiger using any of its materials, the destruction of all computers parts and accessories with Dell logos[/blockquote]
What a waste of perfectly good electronics. Surely Dell could have come up with a solution that doesn't contribute to landfills unnecessarily.
You should never sue a tiger direct. Tigers take their legal clawses very seriously. It's much safer to negotiate through an intermediary like a monkey or an elephant.
Dell is calling someone else unethical?! this is the company that has been known to sell "on-site" warranties then tell people that if they don't go into the depot with their device then the customer is voiding the warranty?! Personally I like the tiger crooks a lot better then those dell crooks Is it sad that in society we are left to decide which crooks we like slightly better?
-Ours is the wisdom of Solomon, the magic of Merlyn, the fall of Icaris.
There are a ton of options out there on electronics, including Newegg and several VARs that sell some non-business equipment as well (I work for one, but won't mention the name). In all my dealings w/my endusers, I never have to work very hard to compete w/TD, because they are driving their own rep into the ground. Don't they realize that tech savvy people are the LAST people you get away with pissing off?
Anyone remember TD's odd direct mail tactics in the mid 90's. They had a similiar approach to what Columbia House did with music CD's. They sent out mailings that threatened to send you software that you didn't order if you didn't send back the mailer with a certain box checked. That was thier thankyou for ordering out of the catalogue.
I work for a school, and we use their B2B site quite a bit. We buy tons of printers, hard drives, monitors, TVs, VCR/DVD players, open license software...etc. from them.
Yes, they are cheap, yes they sell refurbed and B-stock stuff - but it is all clearly labeled. Devoting 5 minutes to reading a product description for a large purchase isn't asking too much.
As far as their customer service goes, we have a dedicated sales rep, so I can't comment on personal purchases, but we've been very happy with our rep. Out of 100 or so orders, we've had maybe two screw-ups. Our rep promptly fixed the problem in both cases.
So, here's one happy customer....whatever that's worth.
-ted
Yes they both went out of business, and AFTER that Tiger Direct bought the remainders. I need to clarify that Tiger Direct is owned by Systemax, and Systemax is who made the purchases I am speaking about. I believe for CompUSA it was 12 or so actual store buildings and the name CompUSA. The Circuit City purchase included IP, the Circuit City name, and their webpage. So now Systemax operates Tiger Direct as a eTailer, and CompUSA as a B&M retailer. Their plans for the Circuit City properties haven't been announced yet as far as I know. You can find other non Wiki announcements but I linked it below since it refers to both deals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systemax
9.5% sales tax? Cry me a river.
When you get to a 10.25% base rate like it is in Chicago, then I might start feeling sorry for you.
And if you shop in certain products in Chicago, it's more.
And if you shop in certain districts in Chicago, it's even more.
Some basic everyday items like a can of soda in certain parts of Chicago carry 14% or more sales tax. It's like living in Europe, but without the free healthcare or fast trains.
-- I'm old enough to have lived through six different meanings of the word "hacker."
10.25% sale tax? Cry me a river.
When you get to a 12%-14% base rate like it is in most of Canada, then I might start feeling sorry for you.
Of course we do get the slow trains and "free" healthcare (paid for by other taxes and user fees) but they aren't paid for from sales tax.
The tyrant will always find a pretext for his tyranny - Aesop