Beware of ICYCLESUSA.COM, they have a very bad service

[NuBiker]

I am just venting out because I am deceived from their customer service. I ordered during the weekend a set of wheels from Icycles benefiting from the 20% discount. The order went thru, checked the order this morning it said "SHIPPED". This afternoon, four days later they send me an email canceling my order, claiming that the wheelset is out of stock. I send them an email and this what they replied.

----- Original Message -----
From: ICYCLES
To: Emile XXXXX
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 4:03 PM
Subject: Order #124371 from ICYCLES has been canceled.

Dear Emile XXXXX,

This message is to notify you that your order #124371 from ICYCLES has been canceled for the following reason: Item has SOLD OUT.

Order #124371 included the following line items: 1 Xero XR-1 700c Aero Shimano / Sram Compatible Road Bike Wheel Set


Thank you for shopping with us.

ICYCLES
http://www.ICYCLESUSA.com

-----Original Message-----
From: Emile XXXXX[mailto:XXXXXX@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 6:44 PM
To: ICYCLES
Subject: Re: Order #124371 from ICYCLES has been canceled.

This morning, my order showed that it was already shipped. In the afternoon you send me an email saying it it was canceled because it has Sold Out. You still have it on your website available for purchase, is it because I used the 20% discount and you prefer to sell it to somebody paying full price. At least offer me something else or put me on a waiting list. I am really upset with your business and customer practices. I will make sure that my buddys on the bikeforum.net and Roadbikereview.com hear about this.
Regards,
Emile

----- Original Message -----
From: ICYCLES
To: Emile XXXXX
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:05 PM
Subject: RE: Order #124371 from ICYCLES has been canceled.

As stated, the sale was limited to the quantity in stock, we do not have any stock left on the wheels. As for your threats we don't want you as a customer if you are that petty.

----- Original Message -----
From: Emile XXXXX
To: ICYCLES
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 8:23 PM
Subject: Re: Order #124371 from ICYCLES has been canceled.

Thank you for your response, it looks very odd when you see the status of the order "already shipped" in the morning and "canceled" in the afternoon.
I did not threaten anybody, I am just informing you of my future plan of action; if you didn't do anything wrong there is nothing to worry about.
It seems that you made the decision of not wanting me as a customer earlier when you canceled my order.
Regards,
Emile

[Ziemas]

There is something strange with that place. I can't even browse the site, I get this message: You have been denied access to the ICYCLES Online Store on the basis of your IP Address (xx.xxx.xxx.xxx) and IP Address Country (Latvia).

It the only site that has ever given me that message....

[badkarma]

So are you mad b/c you believe they do have them instock but b/c you used your 20% off, they chose to cancel your order?

If that's really the case, that's one shady company.

[tbdean]

It is so easy to show real time stock status. There is no reason to lie about it. This is just so blatent! Thanks for the heads up.

[oilman_15106]

Not my experience with them. Got what was ordered. But their web site is about as bad as it gets for looking for things.

[Little Darwin]

On the flip side, I once ordered from ICYCLESUSA.COM, and after I got my confirmation email realized that I had ordered two of an item I only wanted one of, instead of adding a different additional item. They immediately cancelled the order and credited my PayPal account and I reordered. They did miss an item in a different order once, and shipped out the missing item immediately.

I think it is a factor when dealing with discounters that there will be times when they are out of stock, and it takes a while for the web page to be updated. I also think it is a common practice to send a notification of shipment as soon as the order goes to the warehouse (a practice I dislike, but have come to expect). I suspect your order was sent to the warehouse (so it showed as shipped) and the warehouse discovered that there were none available to ship...

The real issue is the response to your email... It reminds me of a gas station stop I made this weekend while coming home from the coast. There were two people working the registers and one discovered a $4 error of some sort for a person who had left. Both checkers were busy discussing what to do, and the customer in front of the line who had already paid dared to ask if the checker could hold the discussion later and give his change... The checker snapped at the guy that she could talk and give change at the same time (which she obviously couldn't) and the other checker afterwards consoled her and said that some people are just jerks (all in earshot of several customers). I should have been out of there 5 minutes sooner, as should have everyone behind me in the line.

They didn't hear the grumbling behind me in the ever-growing line up to that point, and I just paid for my coffee and left... As I was down the road several miles I realized that I should have asked to talk to the manager... Someone should have learned the lesson on customer focus... and I know that two people in that room needed a wakeup call.

I say all this just to make a short point. There is no longer reason to expect courteous customer service when dealing with a vendor. You are more likely to be hit by lightning than to be treated as if you were the one paying the retailer's salary or wages.

I go out of my way to spend my money in courteous environments... they are still there, but the odds are slim of a random establishment having a customer focused attitude.

EDIT: I used the 20% discount and got good treatment.

[linux_author]

"As for your threats we don't want you as a customer if you are that petty."

- to the OP: thanks for posting your experience... it pretty much confirms what i thought about the business when looking at the site - no physical address listed, misspelling for FAQ title page, and even worse, a PayPal vendor and eBay-centric entity...

- i'll be sure to avoid any purchase with icyclesusa.com, because if it smells like it, looks like it, and acts like it, it is you-know-what...

[ImprezaDrvr]

I've always had great luck with them. With them or chucksbikes or any of the disounted parts sites you run the risk of something not being there when you order it. Unless or until you can prove that they've got a wheelset sitting in their warehouse, they've got a point in their response. Instead of flinging accusations across the internet, why not try to clear it up with a little class? It wouldn't have been at all hard to just email asking what happened, would it?

[cydewaze]

If you think that's bad customer service (which it is), try buying something from bestpricecameras.com (don't). You'll be lucky to come away from that place without having to cancel your CC# and open a new account.

[linux_author]

If you think that's bad customer service (which it is), try buying something from bestpricecameras.com (don't). You'll be lucky to come away from that place without having to cancel your CC# and open a new account.

+1

- the problem is that there are numerous sites with similar names running scams out of places in various NYC boroughs...

found these reports:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff194394.htm
http://thomashawk.com/2005/11/pricer...nd-switch.html
http://www.brooklynrecord.com/archiv...camera_sh.html
http://www.complaints.com/directory/2004/july/11/6.htm

[cydewaze]

+1

- the problem is that there are numerous sites with similar names running scams out of places in various NYC boroughs...

found these reports:

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff194394.htm
http://thomashawk.com/2005/11/pricer...nd-switch.html
http://www.brooklynrecord.com/archiv...camera_sh.html
http://www.complaints.com/directory/2004/july/11/6.htm

Here's a guy who rode his bike around Brooklyn and took pics of all the bogus (and some not so bogus) storefronts. If you can call them that.

Although I think we're threadjacking now.

The moral: If you're ordering from a new online site, do a little research on them before you order.

[BlastRadius]

Could be that the XERO XR-1 wheels they sell are shipped directly from the distributor. When I got mine, that's how they came. The distributor even left a shipping/billing statement with the wholesale price of the wheels in the box, about $160. The distributor could have run out of stock before ICYCLES could update their inventory.

[auk]

Ceratinly not the experience that I've had with them. Use them quite a bit when ordering spokes when I build a set of wheels for myself or others.

If they don't have something, they don't have it, what do you expect? It reads like what you are wanting is for them to go buy the item that they don't have in stock just so that you can still get it. As an aside, did they refund you the money? If so, the gripe is, in fact, a bit petty.

[kensuf]

Not my experience with them. Got what was ordered. But their web site is about as bad as it gets for looking for things.

+1. I've ordered a few different times from them and usually receive the stuff within a few days.

[lotek]

sounds like they were processing orders, mailed confirmations and then
figured out they were out of stock on the wheels.
poor communication? sure, they should have explained that they sent the
shipped email before they realized their error.
dishonest? no I don't think so.
The email about posting here and on RBR was a bit over the top imho,
they did refund your money with an explanation.
If anything I would have persued the first email but not the implicit
threat.

marty

[webist]

There are good retailers and good customers. The converse is also true.

[blandin]

sounds like they were processing orders, mailed confirmations and then
figured out they were out of stock on the wheels.
poor communication? sure, they should have explained that they sent the
shipped email before they realized their error.
dishonest? no I don't think so.
The email about posting here and on RBR was a bit over the top imho,
they did refund your money with an explanation.
If anything I would have persued the first email but not the implicit
threat.

marty

I agree with Marty. You will frequently get farther with the voice of reason than a verbal club. As to Icyclesusa, I ordered a set of DA shifters during their last 20% off sale and received them quickly at an amazing price. Given the plus/minus experiences recounted above, I guess they need to shoot for better consistency.

[msheron]

I got what I ordered as well too. Sometimes these things happen. Now they should try and get you a new set if they are regularly stocked for the discounted price. Obviously, that won't happen now. Sorry for the bad experience.

[Biggziff]

This is from a long time ago, but...

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.b...b04584c5972ba5

[NuBiker]

There is something strange with that place. I can't even browse the site, I get this message: You have been denied access to the ICYCLES Online Store on the basis of your IP Address (xx.xxx.xxx.xxx) and IP Address Country (Latvia).

It the only site that has ever given me that message....

Labdien, ka ums iet!!

[FXjohn]

you're supposed to spend twice as much at your LBS, silly

[Nashville Man]

This is from a long time ago, but...

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.b...b04584c5972ba5

Wow, what a jacka$$. Ebay should shut him down. Thanks for the heads up.

[NuBiker]

I am not expecting much with this thread; just want to keep my promise to ICYCLESUSA.COM...
Every person then can choose and make their own decision whether they want their business or not.
As for myself, I think when you mark the item shipped, that means it was shipped. If it was not shipped due to the item being not available, than a small explanation will do. I am not asking them much, I don't have unrealistic expectations; just a small N.B. with the order cancellation email would have been sufficient.
Even after I send them my 1st email they still could have explained this confusion, but instead they preferred to attack me personally.

[auk]

And that promise was to what, drag their business through the cyber-mud? If they refunded your money without you even needing to ask, I don't see th point of your posting other than to whine about not getting the low price wheelset.

[fmw]

And that promise was to what, drag their business through the cyber-mud? If they refunded your money without you even needing to ask, I don't see th point of your posting other than to whine about not getting the low price wheelset.

+1. I'm an e-merchant and I understand that there is no motivation at all for him to make you angry. I suspect he follwed the rules he laid out for the promotion and you were too late. He might have made a mistake. If he made a mistake he should and would normally honor it if it is possible for him to do so. It might not be possible. I don't know and neither do you.

View web sites as catalogs, not as inventory listings. He didn't have something and he let you know quickly and provided a refund. That is a reasonable response and good customer service. Someone above mentioned that it is easy to keep a web site up to date with currently inventory. In fact it is very difficult and very expensive. We don't do it and never have. If we don't have something we order it in and ship it 2 or 3 days later. I think that's good customer service also.

Whenever I read this kind of muck raking, I always side with the merchant. I'll see if I can find something I need to order from him.