A Matter of Fax

Full review
I have only used the web-site for A Matter of Fax one time, and I think that will end up being the last time that I do. We went through the site originally, thinking that it would be easy to purchase a couple of products on there that were selling cheaper than other computer sites. They were also one of the first companies that came up on a Google search for our product, so we figured that it would be worth the effort to give them a try. What we were ordering were 4 UPS systems to be used as back-ups, more specifically, the product was their RS 1300VA LCD running at 120 volts. They had what we wanted in stock, the site was working quite well, and everything seemed easy about making the purchase. I completed the order, paid with my VISA card, and selected free ground shipping so that I could save a few dollars in the long run.

The free ground shipping stated that I would receive the product within 5 to 10 days, and I decided that it wouldn’t be the end of the world if it took the full 10 days to get here as I was getting a good deal on the shipping. I also figured that it would be a cool side-benefit if the UPS systems ended up coming a few days early, because then it would increase my chances of coming back to use the site again. After going through the check-out process I was sent an e-mail stating that the order had been placed, and that everything looked good with the order. Probably the typical standard response to placing an order, but what it didn’t bother to tell me was that I was going to have to jump through several more hoops later on down the road if I wanted to even get my product. Now let’s also keep in mind that I gave them my billing address, credit card information, name, shipping address, and everything else you can think up.

Counting the day that I placed the order as the first day, I received an e-mail 6 days later simply stating “Hi, We would like to process your order promptly. We have a question or two to ask of you to verify certain information. Please phone us back at customer service cs@amatteroffax.com regarding this order. Thank You.” There was a last name listed, but I will leave that off, but no phone number attached to the e-mail. I sent an immediate response to both the address I received the e-mail from, and the address it asked me to e-mail. The one that it asked me to e-mail bounced my message back to me, but the address that had sent me the e-mail went through. It took a day to get a response (24 hours), and the response to the next one was to call their 1-800 number or provide my credit card information on the order sheet. I had already done that, and responded as such to the e-mail which then spit back another automated message. Two days later, I received another e-mail, stating that the information was verified by the system. It is now the 11th day after ordering the parts at this point.

At this point I was a little frustrated with the web-site, and perturbed that I was beyond the 10 days that they said it would take to have the product in hand, and I became a little more frustrated when I was told that the product would still not be shipped, just that they had finally actually placed the order. 5 days later, now the 15th day after placing the order, I was finally given tracking information as to where my packages were being sent from and when I could expect them. The problem here, maybe just for me, is that they require you to go register for another web-site in order to see what the status of your order is, and it isn’t even updated very frequently. The packages did arrive in perfect condition, and even though it was 17 days after ordering it, we did end up with exactly what we had ordered. For some this site might be an all right source of computer parts, but you must be willing to accept that they may not be delivered on time, and that the confirmation process to make sure you are who you say you are is quite elongated. I don’t think I will be using them again, but they did get a couple of stars for having my product and getting it to me in great condition (although they didn’t mail an invoice).