mipaol Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 (edited) So a week ago I ordered from Atari2600.com (which I was told is a pretty well known and respected online retailer within the Atari community) a coax adapter and a copy of Stargate for my Atari VCS. After a couple days the purchase showed up on my bank account as them having received the money, after a few more days their site still showed the items as pending shipment. I wrote them an email to inquire about the delay, their was no response, I called them long distance on the phone number provided on their website, their voicemail was full, over a week has now passed and I still have received no reply from them nor has the status of my order changed. This was the first time I had done business with Atari2600.com I had read mentions of them on this forum and others from people buying Atari stuff through them so I thought I'd give them a try and maybe have an online store I could regularly go through from now on instead of Ebay. At this point I'm feeling pretty sure I've been ripped off and kicking myself for not just going through Ebay, so I thought I'd start this topic and find out if anyone else here has had a similar experience with this retailer or not, and at the very least share my experience so others don't end up sending them money and getting no response to their emails and a full answering machine when they start wondering where their order is. Edited June 22, 2014 by mipaol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SynMonger Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 (edited) I had a 2600 repaired by them recently. It took a week from payment to receive the info so I could ship it to them. I ran in to the same problem of a full voicemail box and no response to emails. As for the repair, they did get it working but the video is an awful mess on all of my tv's and monitors that I use for testing RF-only devices. Edit: I just wanted to add that my experience is from last month (May, 2014) so the slow/no response may be a recent thing and (hopefully?) temporary. Edited June 22, 2014 by SynMonger Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kida0723 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I've ordered games from them a few times before I discovered this wonderful forum. I've never had a problem ordering from them at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I've ordered games from them a few times before I discovered this wonderful forum. I've never had a problem ordering from them at all. Yes, it appears to be a recent thing in the last few months. This is probably the third or fourth recent thread I have seen complaining about a total lack of response from 2600.com. People have indicated that they get what they ordered eventually (some are saying it can take a month or more) but no longer get any response from e-mail or phone inquiries. Also, the inventory on 2600.com hasn't been updated in months. It appears they have moved over to Ebay selling under the name Video Game Gallery. Really not sure what's going on, but there is obviously a problem based on the multiple complaints I have seen recently. I know there are people here that know the owner of 2600.com, but despite one or two of them saying they would reach out, I'm not aware that they have been able to shed any light on the recent lapses in speed and responsiveness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydro Thunder Posted June 22, 2014 Share Posted June 22, 2014 I also am thinking whatever is up is a recent problem that I hope they get corrected. I've bought as well as sent in items to them for trade credit and had fair dealings. I don't think they provide as many pictures of the item they're selling as I would like (and prefer Tradengames.com on that basis), but their inventory is impressive, their prices reasonable, and generally they've been fairly quick to ship. So hopefully someone will find out what this recent trouble is and they will right the ship. I would hate to have one of my favorite sources suddenly start being a bad seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mipaol Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 I've ordered games from them a few times before I discovered this wonderful forum. I've never had a problem ordering from them at all. I didn't realize their was a market section on here with people selling stuff until my topic was moved here by an admin because I'm a newb (thanks admin). When I have some money I think I'll be looking into building up my VCS collection through the forum as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SynMonger Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I didn't realize their was a market section on here with people selling stuff until my topic was moved here by an admin because I'm a newb (thanks admin). When I have some money I think I'll be looking into building up my VCS collection through the forum as well. I don't know why, but I find it hard to pick out by scrolling through the list of sub-forums. I usually have to do a ctrl+f to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobracon Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I ordered a bunch of games on the 12th of June, 2nd day shipping. Still haven't seen my order. No answers to contact on there website. I ordered a month ago and got my stuff within a week. I don't get it. Hope they get there crap straight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+GoldenWheels Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I did my first order maybe a month ago, bunch of random joysticks.....took two+ weeks to ship, and it was all in stock. I did not contact them (mostly) as I kind of forgot about it and the day I remembered, I actually got a shipping confirmation. I don't ask for a lot in the way of packing but the 6 sticks were just dropped in the box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Well, remember guys, atari2600.com is just a one man band. I know it's no excuse but things happen in peoples lives that take priority. I have no insider info or anything but give him the benefit of the doubt, could be a health issue or some kind of personal problem that is overshadowing the business. A week or so for an online order is slow but not unacceptable. Is JC still the owner? I know he takes a lot of vacation in the summer, it's usually posted on the sites front page that shipping will take longer when hes on a trip/etc.. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenegg Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Here's another thread regarding the on-going issues with Atari2600.com http://atariage.com/forums/topic/224402-atari2600com-open-for-business/ Well, remember guys, atari2600.com is just a one man band. I know it's no excuse but things happen in peoples lives that take priority. I have no insider info or anything but give him the benefit of the doubt, could be a health issue or some kind of personal problem that is overshadowing the business. A week or so for an online order is slow but not unacceptable. Is JC still the owner? I know he takes a lot of vacation in the summer, it's usually posted on the sites front page that shipping will take longer when hes on a trip/etc.. The odd thing here is that JC has been posting a ton of eBay auctions, which he is being extremely prompt at shipping. I've ordered 6 items from his auctions over the past couple of weeks and he's shipped within 24 hours of payment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) Here's another thread regarding the on-going issues with Atari2600.com http://atariage.com/forums/topic/224402-atari2600com-open-for-business/ The odd thing here is that JC has been posting a ton of eBay auctions, which he is being extremely prompt at shipping. I've ordered 6 items from his auctions over the past couple of weeks and he's shipped within 24 hours of payment. I was unaware he was still doing prompt service through Ebay, also unaware peoples orders have taken over a month (non ebay). Yes, thats getting borderline unacceptable. Thats a shame, great store... Edited June 23, 2014 by Crazy Climber Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Climber Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Does somebody have a link to his ebay store? (I don't know how to search for a seller) Has anyone tried contacting him through ebay? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldenegg Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Does somebody have a link to his ebay store? (I don't know how to search for a seller) Has anyone tried contacting him through ebay? Here you go: http://www.ebay.com/sch/the-video-game-gallery/m.html?item=131214606010&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2562 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mipaol Posted June 23, 2014 Author Share Posted June 23, 2014 lol that's nice, free shipping through Ebay but off his actual site the shipping cost as much as the product I ordered. >_< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stupus Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 I have the feeling he is probably trying to migrate his sales completely to ebay. Over the last couple weeks he put up a few hundred very rare coleco items from chuys collection that sold very very fast, so he has had tons of orders to ship. And remember that with ebay to keep top seller rating he needs to upload tracking in a day. And offering free shipping with ebay is also another way to get a top seller status level. Most of his stuff on ebay seemed to kind of have the shipping figured into the price...most of his stuff is bin. So seems with having about 5000 items on his ebay store he probably is having to give all priority to that before his web orders. I cant say I blame him, lots of his web items I have seen sit there for a few years...he will certainly move them faster this way. But the site was always a nice option to ebay with decent non auction prices....I will miss that if he phases it out. I have seen him move web items to the ebay store too, not just new items getting listed on ebay. I know in the further past he usually shipped site items within a week, but my last order I heard nothing from him and after 2-3 weeks I contacted him and got no response. The next day my stuff came and it did have tracking but it was never given to me, when I looked up the tracking it was over a week before he shipped the order from when I paid for it. So I would not necessarily worry about not getting items from his web store, I would just figure you wont see them for 2-3 weeks with the way he has been operating lately. Items I got from him on ebay I got in about a week. Those were packed decent, but I have never seen him as a great packer in the past from his web store...that would be my 1 small complaint in my dealing with him over the years. hope that gives a bit of insight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atari181 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 (edited) Yes, it appears to be a recent thing in the last few months. This is probably the third or fourth recent thread I have seen complaining about a total lack of response from 2600.com. People have indicated that they get what they ordered eventually (some are saying it can take a month or more) but no longer get any response from e-mail or phone inquiries. Also, the inventory on 2600.com hasn't been updated in months. It appears they have moved over to Ebay selling under the name Video Game Gallery. Really not sure what's going on, but there is obviously a problem based on the multiple complaints I have seen recently. I know there are people here that know the owner of 2600.com, but despite one or two of them saying they would reach out, I'm not aware that they have been able to shed any light on the recent lapses in speed and responsiveness.I know that Jerry Greiner who started atari2600.com, but no longer owns it, is also selling items for him under his EBay account, " Possumglory " Edited June 23, 2014 by atari181 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianoid Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 First off, Jerry has no affiliation with Atari2600.com at this point. Jerry sells his own stuff. It's probably stuff that Joe didn't buy from him when he bought the business because it was too far buried. And second, Joe will make good on any order. You have not been scammed, and it is only a matter of time. See Crazy Climber's post above. It's sort of typical to see people assuming they've been scammed after 10 days from payment, when they payed with echeck or mailed payment or something that incurs some delay in receipt. It always makes me cringe. Sometimes delays happen for sellers with stores. It shouldn't and it sucks when it happens to you, or when service is compromised, but don't assume it's a scam from a reliable long term seller. they will nearly always make it right. and I'm 100% confident that Joe (Atari2600.com) will make it right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 First off, Jerry has no affiliation with Atari2600.com at this point. Jerry sells his own stuff. It's probably stuff that Joe didn't buy from him when he bought the business because it was too far buried. And second, Joe will make good on any order. You have not been scammed, and it is only a matter of time. See Crazy Climber's post above. It's sort of typical to see people assuming they've been scammed after 10 days from payment, when they payed with echeck or mailed payment or something that incurs some delay in receipt. It always makes me cringe. Sometimes delays happen for sellers with stores. It shouldn't and it sucks when it happens to you, or when service is compromised, but don't assume it's a scam from a reliable long term seller. they will nearly always make it right. and I'm 100% confident that Joe (Atari2600.com) will make it right. Fair enough, but there is definitely a need for Joe to explain what is going on here and why he no longer responds to e-mails and phone calls. I've bought from both Jerry and Joe over the years and the items were always shipped within a day or two of placing the order and communication was always fast. If people are now waiting weeks or months to get what they ordered and not receiving replies to e-mails and phone calls, something is definitely up and it's been going on for a few months now based on the prior posts. Having a good track record counts for something, but more recent poor customer service can kill that hard earned reputation in a very short period of time. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SynMonger Posted June 24, 2014 Share Posted June 24, 2014 Fair enough, but there is definitely a need for Joe to explain what is going on here and why he no longer responds to e-mails and phone calls. I've bought from both Jerry and Joe over the years and the items were always shipped within a day or two of placing the order and communication was always fast. If people are now waiting weeks or months to get what they ordered and not receiving replies to e-mails and phone calls, something is definitely up and it's been going on for a few months now based on the prior posts. Having a good track record counts for something, but more recent poor customer service can kill that hard earned reputation in a very short period of time. It at least lets people make an informed decision about how long the wait may be if they do decide to go ahead with an order. Assuming they see this thread first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobracon Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Well my order placed June 12th with 2nd day shipping just posted yesterday. Maybe he will get things back on track again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mipaol Posted July 2, 2014 Author Share Posted July 2, 2014 (edited) My order finally shipped yesterday and is currently in transit, two weeks and two days later. -_- Also it's worth noting that according to an email sent from customerservice@atari2600.com the package is being sent USPS first class, even though I paid for two day shipping, once again attempts at communication on this issue have gone unanswered. Their is zero chance I will be ordering from atari2600.com again, even if I accept that it takes them ages to send out an order, I still lost money paying for express shipping which was not used. Also I wish I had known about their Ebay store sooner, then I could have read some of the twenty four negative feedback comments (15 in the past six months alone) listed there and avoided this fiasco all together... "Attptd to contact the seller w/no reply. Either the games or sys don't work prop" "I never received this item at all & it says it was delivered in GA I live in AL!" "this was sold as a gran turismo 4 when I got it was a GT3 would not reply at all" "The description says v3.0 but the gameshark is a v 2.1 I'd like a refund please." "Ordered gta chinatown and got sonic rivals" "Received platinum hits version. Pictured is original. Do not buy! seller = scam" "Bought a game, waited two weeks, got the wrong game in the mail." "returned the damaged item, never heard from again. ebay had to refund my money" Honestly at this point I find anyone suspect who would defend a business that consistently makes such blatant and shady mistakes and then seems to ignore communications about them. Edited July 2, 2014 by mipaol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bojay1997 Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 My order finally shipped yesterday and is currently in transit, two weeks and two days later. -_- Also it's worth noting that according to an email sent from customerservice@atari2600.com the package is being sent USPS first class, even though I paid for two day shipping, once again attempts at communication on this issue have gone unanswered. Their is zero chance I will be ordering from atari2600.com again, even if I accept that it takes them ages to send out an order, I still lost money paying for express shipping which was not used. Also I wish I had known about their Ebay store sooner, then I could have read some of the twenty four negative feedback comments (15 in the past six months alone) listed there and avoided this fiasco all together... "Attptd to contact the seller w/no reply. Either the games or sys don't work prop" "I never received this item at all & it says it was delivered in GA I live in AL!" "this was sold as a gran turismo 4 when I got it was a GT3 would not reply at all" "The description says v3.0 but the gameshark is a v 2.1 I'd like a refund please." "Ordered gta chinatown and got sonic rivals" "Received platinum hits version. Pictured is original. Do not buy! seller = scam" "Bought a game, waited two weeks, got the wrong game in the mail." "returned the damaged item, never heard from again. ebay had to refund my money" Honestly at this point I find anyone suspect who would defend a business that consistently makes such blatant and shady mistakes and then seems to ignore communications about them. That's very unfortunate. I agree with you that it's pretty pointless to defend the seller in this case and while I can understand being overwhelmed with a larger scale business, it would be very easy for the seller to simply slow or stop listing things until they get the issues resolved or stop taking orders on 2600.com if they can't provide proper customer support. I guess this is just a case of greed getting the best of a previously great seller. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 All good things must come to an end..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andromeda Stardust Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Like the OP, I placed a ginormous order on the 14th. I received a tracking number in the mail a couple days ago. According to tracking it should arrive on the 3rd or 5th. But really, over two freakking weeks is too long IMO. Not really much to play on my 7800 while I wait except the PMP multicart and Food Fight (which are both excellent games btw). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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