Anyone bought from Aquadirect?

[Anonymous]

Hi all. I ordered a lighting kit from them last Wednesday. Thursday night it occurred to me to call in and get the UPS tracking number. They were closed Friday, yesterday (MLK jr day, I assume) and now I'm getting the "you're calling outside of business hours" message although I called 20 minutes after 1000 ET which is when their web site says they open.

Any stories out there about this company, good or not so good?

Thanks
djp

 

[pez]

I have had good luck with them in the past. They were a bit slow in filling order, but they have great customer support. Talk to the owner, David, he will help you out. I've used phone and email with great success.

-Tom

 

[Chucker]

I know someone who had a less than satisfactory experience with them. IIRC, they sold him an Iwaki pump that wasn't actually an Iwaki, just a similar one. He had a quite difficult time trying to get either his money back or the correct pump. I'll try to point him to the thread so he can fill in the details.

 

[Emperator]

I was looking into lighting about a year ago for a new tank and stumbled across their website. They have pretty good prices but less than satisfactory knowledge, IMO.

They told me not to go with MH, instead, I should go with PC's because the "corals and clams will do much better." ROFL

To imagine, I made it clear to them that the lights were to go over a sps/clam only tank!

After that episode I have not gone back.

 

[Matt Lyon]

I have ordered a sump from them with no problems.

 

[Anonymous]

Update:

On a hunch I called them. The guy there, Dave, said that the packages had been shipped last Wednesday. Ok, so where were they? I asked him for the tracking number. He didn't have it and said that URI would have it because the order had been drop shipped from them. (I didn't know I could have gone to them directly.) I got the impression I was just supposed to take his word for it, so I hung up and called URI.

They were actually a little aggravated to hear from me since the order was through Aqualink. I gave them my information and Aqualink's information and was rewarded with, "I see no record of that in our system."

I got back on the phone with Aqualink. Told him what I'd learned. He had no answer and said he'd call me back later.

He called about 7PM to tell me that the bulbs had been shipped from URI to Aqualink and that he'd overnighted them from there. Interestingly, I have not received them. And he said that the ballast package would be sent to Aqualink today and that he would overnight it to me as well.

Bottom line: I ordered these lights 7 days ago and I'm not terribly confident that I'm going to be installing them this Saturday.

I'm not happy...

djp

 

[Anonymous]

Well, folks, let me just sum up the current situation by pasting in the short e-mail I just sent to AD:

I just received my VHO retrofit system. I wish you'd take the phone off busy so I could ask you HOW I'M SUPPOSED TO USE IT WITH NO ENDCAPS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Call me asap at (number removed).

 

[samurai9]

Hey djb,
I had a somewhat similar experience. I ordered a 4lb container of kalwasser from them, waited a week for it to come. About a week later, I received a 1lb. container instead. I called them, asked "whats up with this?" and they said they had run out of kalkwasser, and would send me the other 3lbs of kalkwasser when they got them. That was fine with me, I could at least get the kalkwasser in my tank and know I wasnt' getting ripped. Well, about a week after I received the partial order, the other 3lbs came, sent from Champion Lighting and Supply! Aquadirect told me they finally just had to send my order from them. All in all, I was disappointed. If the stuff I order from them comes from Champion Lighting, then I would prefer to just buy my stuff from Champion Lighting direct!

 

[D-Nak]

Guys...

Sounds like you guys have had bad experiences... I've ordered from AquaDirect with no problems, but have now found cheaper places to buy supplies.

However, I just wanted to mention a few things.

1. I ordered URI actinics from Champion Lighting and the ordered disappeared too -- it turned out that Champion also had URI drop ship my lights. I think it's cheaper for them to do it this way, since I think they save on shipping (why not ship it to the buyer than ship it to the warehouse, and then to the buyer?). Also, it may actually save the buyer time to get the product. Well, it turned out that UPS ended up breaking the lights in shipment and Champion was nice enough to express mail me new ones (once again drop shipped from URI).

2. As for the kalk, would you rather that they tell you that they are out of stock and not send you anything? They could easily say that they are out of stock and you'd have to wait to get your product. It actually seems like they did somewhat of a favor to send you 1 lb. of kalk, and then get you more from another source.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that things don't always go how people expect them to go. I'm not defending AquaDirect -- I'm just trying to point out some things that happen (it may happen with any mail order company). I'd really start to worry if they take your money and you don't get a product. It does sound like AquaDirect's customer service isn't the greatest, and I feel your pain.

Just some of my thoughts.

D-Nak

 

[KanUCme]

www.marinedepot.com
I have ordered lights from them, pumps, and other supplies. I get exactly what I order in a quick efficent manner, and therefore it is my main online ordering place. IM sure a few things are cheaper elsewhere, but I will pay a few extra bucks if I have a sense of reliability.
-Nick

 

[D-Nak]

Like I said, I agree with you guys completely. Nowadays, many mail order companies can tell you something is in stock when you order it. Also, sites like reefs.org have threads that discuss reputable dealers, like those mentioned above.

Did you check to see what people were saying about AquaDirect before you placed an order?Actually it's more like what people aren't saying, since people on the boards often mention the places that have good deals and good service (marine depot, champion, custom aquatic - site is down right now for some reason).

I do agree with you about not getting the endcaps -- that's not good.

D-Nak

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Samurai,

I'm beginning to wonder if there really is an Aquadirect, or if it's just part of Champion figuring two web sites will take up more of the business...

In that vein, after a calmed down a little, I decided to cut out the middleman and I called Champion directly. They told me that the endcaps had been out of stock and that they just came in today and were shipped out. And that I'd have my stuff in ANOTHER WEEK.

On the other hand, I received a stiff e-mail reply from AD saying that they thought they had handled the problems well and that I would have the end caps by the end of this week.

D-Nak,
Thanks. Saving money is great, but the bottom line for me is this: When I order something I want to know when I'm getting it and when that day comes I expect to have it. If you are going to run a drop ship business, then either:

A. Know what's out of stock and inform the buyer
B. Warn the buyer that sometimes parts of orders don't show up on time due to stocking issues.

That's not asking that much, that's asking for customer service.

Well, I hope to see my endcaps soon...

djp

 

[mariner]

There are cheaper places that aquadirect. Try marine depot or champion!