Ordering from Sailnet - DON''T

[MysticDancer]

IF you are thinking of ordering from Sailnet - DON''t! I ordered the inccorect item and discovered there is NO customer service at Sailnet! I''ve copied my latest email to them:

This is the THIRD email I have sent on top of calling and leaving messages everyday this week ALL WITHOUT A RESPONSE FROM SAILNET!

At this point, I realize that although I have ordered almost $800.00 replacement parts, etc for my sailboat - Sailnet has NO customer support. At this point, I have accepted that I will not be returning the items I ordered by mistake. A small lesson. But, the bigger lesson is I will not longer order any items from Sailnet and will actively discourage everyone else from order there either.

Stephanie Coy
S/V Mystic Dancer

Sent 04/19/05

I sent an email several days ago requesting a RMA number for two 4x14" Beckson internal rain shields. Could you please send that information to me? I have already reordered the correct size rain shields and would like to return these as soon as possible.

Thank you,

Stephanie Coy


Sent 4/16/05

I recently ordered internal rain shields, Order # 460473, ordered 04/05/05. Two of rain shields for 4 x 14" ports, Stock Code #39-00074, BKSIRS-414s were the incorrect size. I have already re-ordered the correct size, but need to return the two 4 x 14 shields.

Please send me a RMA so I can return the items.

Thank you,

Stephanie A Coy, Cust #XXXXXXXX

S/V Mystic Dancer

[anamenek]

Sorry about your experience. I have never had any difficulties with them.

[Sazmya]

I''m surprised at this. I have had nothing but positive experiences with Sail Net. They beat all others price wise, are knowledgeable, courteous, responsive, and take care of any problems quickly, even imaginary ones, like an anchor part I thought was missing but had only fallen out of the box. You may not get someone on the phone immediately everytime. Is that too tough to handle? Just because you made a mistake, is it fair to bad mouth them for what you consider a sluggish response?

[aurorahs]

I rec''d a knife with a broken handle and SailNet replaced it and covered the shipping. Took a couple of e-mails to get it all straight, but no more than with any other vendor.

[WHOOSH]

My ordering experiences with Sailnet are now somewhat dated, all occurring between 2000 & 2003, and not all were disappointing. However, they seemed to validate that Sailnet is a small, cost-driven organization which is highly dependent on a small number of employees which, over time, come & go, and take with them the resident expertise they develop while there. (This is as opposed to organizations like WM, where procedures & systems are highly formalized, job skills narrowed and skill levels determine who is allowed to handle which calls. Boat/U.S. used to be of a somewhat similar nature, altho'' smaller. I''m not sure what their organizational status is now).

I placed 6 orders in the late 2002- early 2003 period, while we were prepping the boat for Europe. 3 of the orders were filled correctly and 3 were not: wrong item, ordered item not sent, incomplete fill. Remedying each of the 3 errors presented a different experience, as a result of systems changes at Sailnet and different employees having different knowledge. In the end, Sam Boyle was busy on this BB claiming I was lying about the whole experience while his folks were still scurrying to make things right. I didn''t end up out any money and all these orders were not critical ones, because I was already wary of Sailnet''s abilities from previous experiences (back when they owned JSI in St. Pete).

I have subsequently moved most of my ''catalog-type'' orders to Defender. When they were forced to either die or embrace electronic commerce, the realities of needing solid, accurate inventory controls and timely shipping & shipment tracing practices had, in my experience, a huge impact on the quality of their service. They were always cost competitive; now they seem to be highly dependable, as well. Moreover, I was invitged to work with a specific individual there when placing orders (as opposed to the ''800#'' system), which has been tremendously helpful while outside of the U.S. (I''m told this is open to anyone who prefers this arrangement). When we gave up on our funky CPT autopilot, it only took two emails from the boat''s SSB radio to get a price quote, place an order, and receive shipment info to a port we were approaching in Germany...all at a price I couldn''t beat anywhere else. To my mind and especially because of our transient nature, this is huge value for money and greatly appreciated, too.

Jack

[controlman]

I agree!!!! The building must be empty! They won''t answer emails, phone calls...nothing. All of the voicemail boxes are full. Someone call the police...some creature has abducted the whole Sailnet staff! I got the first part of my order, but the rest of my order is still being processed almost a month later. ALL I WANTED WAS AN ANSWER...IS IT COMING OR NOT. I''m reordering from someone else...beware of Sailnet.

Steve

[dman]

Yeah I think the horses are already out.Shutting barn doors won`t help now.Too bad sailnet cannot be a man about it and leave with some respect.Seems to me these unfilled orders need to be looked into to find out if any shady acts were committed.I like their big warning about..IT HAS COME TO OUR ATTENTION....Oh really,It has also come to the attention of customers that they have been ripped off,care to make a comment on that.Here I am calling these people theives on their site,now make a comment or does that say it all.(I know someone is reading this)

[reporter]

SailNet customers and fans,

I''m a newspaper reporter with The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina. SailNet, which is headquartered here, filed for bankruptcy in late July and the government is now selling off its remaining assets. I am writing about the process, but I''m interested in what is happening to those of you who have been charged and have not yet received the ordered goods or a refund.

Please contact me at kstock@postandcourier.com if you care to comment.

- Kyle Stock
Business Reporter
The Post and Courier
www.charleston.net