[comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc] Should I buy?

mmeyer@m2.csc.ti.com (Mark Meyer) (10/05/90)

	I recently ordered a Packard Bell 286 system from the
mail-order company Damark International.  However, due to tremendous
response, it's now on backorder, and probably won't ship until the
start of November.  Just after I ordered, I read all this stuff in
this newsgroup saying bad things about Packard Bell's customer
service, and I had second thoughts.  Because of the backorder, I have
the opportunity to back out of the deal.  Should I?

	Here are the details of what I'm getting:

	80286, 12 megahertz
	Two floppy drives, one 3-1/2" 1.44MB and one 5-1/4" 1.2 MB
	30 MB hard drive
	1 MB RAM expandable to 3 MB
	VGA card
	VGA 14" color monitor, 640x480, 256 colors
	IBM and AT compatible
	8 expansion slots
	Dual floppy/hard drive controller
	2 serial ports, 1 parallel port
	Zero wait state
	Real time clock/calendar
	System configuration in CMOS with battery backup
	AT style 101 professional keyboard
	MS-DOS 3.3, GW BASIC (So what?  I've already got Turbo C)
	145 watt universal power supply
	Socket for 80287 coprocessor on motherboard
	One year manufacturer's warranty
	Factory new and perfect (so they say)

The price I'm being charged for all this?  Including shipping? ...
$1250!  Twelve hundred fifty dollars!
	It looked like a really good deal at the time.  They say, you
get what you pay for, but I'd really like to upgrade to a 286.  The
Packard Bell line got a fair review from a recent PC Magazine survey,
but after what's been said in this newsgroup, I'd like some more
opinions.  Atdhvaannkcse.

-- 
Mark Meyer          USENET: {ut-sally!im4u,convex!smu,sun!texsun}!ti-csl!mmeyer
Texas Instruments, Inc.                                   CSNET : mmeyer@TI-CSL
Every day, Jerry Junkins is grateful that I don't speak for TI.
                              "I just can NOT handle weirdness..." - Boy George

browns@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com (Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems) (10/08/90)

In article <MMEYER.90Oct4224731@m2.csc.ti.com>, mmeyer@m2.csc.ti.com (Mark Meyer) writes:
> 	I recently ordered a Packard Bell 286 system from the
> mail-order company Damark International.  However, due to tremendous
> response, it's now on backorder, and probably won't ship until the
> start of November.  Just after I ordered, I read all this stuff in
> this newsgroup saying bad things about Packard Bell's customer
> service, and I had second thoughts.  Because of the backorder, I have
> the opportunity to back out of the deal.  Should I?

On misc.consumers about a month ago there were _many_ horror stories,
including mine, about problems doing business with Damark International.
In my case, I ordered a phone, which was repeatedly backordered.  I
called the day I received their postcard notification, but they refused
to cancel the order because they had already charged my card.  The mess
started in early summer, and it's not over yet.  Your mileage may vary,
but in future I don't care how good the price looks, I'll not do
business with Damark.

So good luck, and caveat emptor.

The above opinions are not attributable to any other person or company.
                                     email: browns@iccgcc.decnet.ab.com
Stan Brown, Oak Road Systems, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.   +1 216 371 0043

cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us (Gordon Hlavenka) (10/10/90)

[Stan Brown]:
>On misc.consumers about a month ago there were _many_ horror stories,
>including mine, about problems doing business with Damark International.

I ordered a TV stereo box from Damark.  It shipped on time, arrived in about
a week.  No problems, no complaints, just exactly the type of ordinary
service I'd expect.

Maybe I was just lucky.

-----------------------------------------------------
Gordon S. Hlavenka            cgordon@vpnet.chi.il.us
Disclaimer:                     Damark?  No relation!