Meritline....Very Disappointed

[mcanlas]

I have ordered from Meritline a few times and initially (1st) order was great (matte finish top). I then decided to order a pack of Ritek G04's (they sent meglossy top) When I recieved these I was saddened to see that the only way I could successfully backing up movies were if I burned them at 2X. If i burned at 4X the movie would skip towards the end. I sent these back and had to do with out media for about 2 weeks. They sent me back the matte finished as i had asked and now if I burn at 4X they wont even be recognized by the standalone dvd player. I would not recommend using Meritline, and I will take my business elsewhere unless they resolve this problem. I should have listened to the boards and used other companies.

[500AX]

don't be surpised! Meritline is known to do this trick to users because that is how the way they run business. Attention all users DONT BUY FROM MERITLINE, COMPTREE, CDRDVDRMEDIA.COM, SUPERMEDIASTORE.COM BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL FROM THE SAME OWNER.

[chunkT]

I must be lucky then because according to my receipts from meritline I have ordered over 2500 dvds from them over the last year. All printable and either Ritek, BeAll or Verbatim and not a single issue or problem.

[DVDeeZ]

I too have been shafted by meritline. On my last order from them, I got the order several weeks late and the disks were 2x when I ordered 4x. It was hell getting through to anybody and my emails went unanswered. When I finally did get through I was given the run around. I finally gave up and ate the loss but I told everyone I know to stay far away from meritline. The real sad thing is that I have read about 4 or 5 different meritline threads on this forum as well as others and at least 80% of the people are disgusted with meritline. Meritline are a bunch of crooks and don't deserve to be in business.

Fortunately there are other places for me to purchase my media and none have been better then www.shop4tech.com

I've only had one problem with them sending me some cracked Taiyo Yuden disks and when I told them about it they told me to keep the ones I had and they credited me for them as well as gave me 20% off my next order. I've purchased all kinds of stuff from them and it has just worked out great. I use the Taiyo Yuden and Ritek for my important data and pictures and their Cheapo Matrix disks for dvd backups. They work perfectly in my NEC/1300 and I haven't read or had any complaints so i'm going to stick with what works. But customer service is very important to me and they really are concerned about their customers unlike meritline.

[DVantrease]

Are all those places in 500AX's post really all from the same owner? I ask because I have always ordered from SuperMediaStore, they have been out-of-stock on Ritek G03 so I ordered them with Meritline, as they do have them in stock (according to their website). I've always received good service from SuperMediaStore. I don't know yet about Meritline because I just ordered this week but I did received a status that 2 days later they were sent out.

[Faustus]

I must be lucky then because according to my receipts from meritline I have ordered over 2500 dvds from them over the last year. All printable and either Ritek, BeAll or Verbatim and not a single issue or problem.

I must also add that I've never had an serious problems with Meritline either.

[lchiu7]

I have ordered twice from Meritline. Once a pack of Ricoh silver top DVD+RW 2.4X and the other a pack of 100 Digital Matrix DVD+R 4X. Both orders arrived as expected and so far I have had no problems burning them with a DRU500A. The only slight hiccup so far has been the Digital Matrix DVD+R's don't seem to read in one of my players (a Mustek el cheapo one) - discs skip, play slowly or jerk but the same player can read perfectly the Ricoh plus Princo DVD-R 1X. I would order from them again

[ebenton]

don't be surpised! Meritline is known to do this trick to users because that is how the way they run business. Attention all users DONT BUY FROM MERITLINE, COMPTREE, CDRDVDRMEDIA.COM, SUPERMEDIASTORE.COM BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL FROM THE SAME OWNER.

Meritline and CDRDVDRMEDIA both have the same mailing address, although they do have different phone numbers. I have ordered from both, and the box from CDRDVDRMEDIA.COM had "Meritline" printed on it.

Supermediastore has a different mailing address and phone number from the two above, so I am not convinced they are the same. Have you ordered from them and received a Meritline box?

I have never heard of COMPTREE, and www.comptree.com does not resolve to anything other than an "Under Construction" screen in my browser. What's the actual URL for them?

[Lobe]

WTF? people still buy from meritline? WHY???????

alas, is supermediastore.com really the same? I thought even the bastards at Meritline listed there other names here awhile back and said supemedia wasn't affiliated. ?? that said I wouldn't believe a damn thing anyone from Meritline said. They ripped me off also... beware!!! I mean run.. I mean after all has been said over and over, is anyone, really THAT stupid to patronize Meritline?? you get what you deserve then.

[disturbed1]

I have never heard of COMPTREE, and www.comptree.com does not resolve to anything other than an "Under Construction" screen in my browser. What's the actual URL for them?

www.comptree.net

Supermedia Store used to ship directly from Meritline's warehouse, as the shipping labels had the same address.

Meritline is a subsidiary of Comptree INC. Their label, paper, and ink products are available at some SoCal retail stores.

Add EZLabel to the list of Comptree INC stores too.

If you have complaints with Meritline the best places to file complaints are with the www.BBB.org, reseller ratings, yahoo shopping, and, of course, call Meritline.

I have been duped by Meritline in the past, but have found that through intelligent conversation with customer service, my problems were resolved. This won't save you from future problems, but will at least fix what is wrong now.

[ebenton]

Whoa! I guess it's obvious when you go to www.comptree.net. It says "MERITLINE MEDIA" in big bold letters right there on the home page.
I think this thread is very useful. It is good to know all of the affiliations of these online merchants.
It would be helpful if there were a list on this website of the online merchants and all of their aliases or subsidiaries.
I can see where this site might not want to do this, because of potential pressure from advertisers. However, if it were done without making any statements about the quality of product and service, it might be possible...

[tommyoz]

The thing to look at when entering a new site is their policies. I have never seen policies like Meritline and their aliases. You are bound to them once you submitted your order. It's very difficult to cancel your order. They'll tell you it's been shipped already. If you can get through them.
If you have to return the item because of their mistake you have to pay postage. If you want credit after returning it, there is a restocking fee. For some strange reason they are afraid to lose your business. I have dealt with many companies that have no problem with cancelling your order.
Other companies have also arranged for pickup or credit your return postage when they made the mistake.

Customer service is what it's all about. Your business will grow if you treat your customers right. When will Meritline learn this?

I have dealt with a lot of companies and I know of many that have great customer service. However, i'm keeping back from mentioning any because I don't want to sound like i'm trying to promote a company.
However, when a company is this bad I feel the need to let everyone know.

I can also be heard in these threads
https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=198446&highlight=

https://www.videohelp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=193935&highlight=

[MJPollard]

Very disconcerting to read these negative reports about Meritline and its various "aliases." I've placed quite a few orders with CDRDVDRMedia.com, and while I haven't been burned yet, perhaps I'd better not push my luck. (Rima.com seems to have good prices, and I've not heard any complaints...)

[Senior]

SuperMediaStore.com is a totally different company from meritline.com. but meritline.com, comptree.net (not comptree.com) and cdrdvdrmedia.com are the same company. If you check their mailing address, you'll see the three above companies have same address. But supermediastore.com has different address. And if you go to networksolutions.com and use whois function, you'll see Supermediastore.com and meritline.com belong to different owners. I always buy from supermediastore.com and never be dispointed.

[tommyoz]

SuperMediaStore.com is a totally different company from meritline.com.

Yes, I forgot to point that out from my last post.

[lchiu7]

Just a small point that won't affect most people. Meritline do international shipping and while their intl shipping rates are not low, I have found that even with that surcharge the per disc costs were much lower than I could have got locally

Larry

[DVantrease]

I just received my first order ever from Meritline, and I must say, my experience was excellent. I ordered 50 DVDR's and 50 cases, and I received them in 8 days, which is normal considering I chose the 'free shipping' option. I got exactly what I ordered, and they even threw in a free small cd carrying case, which was unexpected and a nice touch. (I usually order from SuperMediaStore, but they were out of stock of what I needed)

The only thing was that UPS left the package outside on my front porch where it sat for an hour... usually not a problem but it was -2 degrees today!!! I'll find out tomorrow if this caused any damage.

[ebenton]

I got exactly what I ordered

You should use DVDInfo Pro to check the media code on the disks to make sure you "got exactly what you ordered".

[KTL]

I hadn't read up on the problematic situations before ordering from Meritline of a 25-pack Ritek G04 DVD-R. Luckily, there were no problems with delivery or media types, since they all scanned as advertised.

[CoolRain]

SuperMediaStore.com is a totally different company from meritline.com. you'll see Supermediastore.com and meritline.com belong to different owners.

really? i never trust netsol, cause you can put any information on it and they don't show nothing but crup. However, they all claims they have SSL secure layer certification, as far as i understand, with certification, they must be verified business owner, or else they cannot get it. But don't know if they really have their own secure layer certification to safe guard their credit card transations or they are faking using yahoo... and explose to everyone over yahoo....

as far as i heard, they are the same. Or else, why cares, what works works right?

[bryansand]

Thanks to the reader that suggested contacting the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org. I had a problem with Meritline last week and just filed a complaint. They advertised 50 sheets of free 4x6 satin finish photo paper with an ink combo purchase, but it wasn't included. Their customer service was very, very poor, perhaps the worst I've ever experienced. Completely ignorant people responding to e-mails - if I posted my letter to them on this site, I guarantee that 95% of you would understand the problem perfectly. The chick that responded simply said, "I don't know what product was left out"! ! ! Again, I spelled everything out as if I was dictating to a three year old. When I called, they "accidentally" disconnected me once and all I got was being transferred to a bunch of different people. I received one call back from a guy in marketing, but he just claimed that the promo wasn't running until the 26th. I asked him why it showed up on the web when I placed my order on the 24th - never heard back from him. Anyways, it's painless and easy to file a complaint, and I feel that it was justified after what I went through. . .

[Gildas]

Boy am I sorry I never did a search before to read user reviews about Meritline. I wish I had known about this thread before.

I placed an order on January 16th for 25 DVD-RW and 25 DVD-R and I received an e-mail later that day to tell me that my order was on back order unfortunately. Even though at the time that I ordered there was no such indication, I just said to myself that this kind of thing happens so I didn't think much of it. I noticed the following day that they charged my debit card in the amount of my order.

Since then... nothing! I have called them several times and sent them an e-mail but nothing!

I am going to file a complaint with the BBB and Yahoo! too since I ordered through Yahoo! Shopping.

I am so mad!

[JohnnyCNote]

Maybe Meritline, etc., is one of those operations that is okay unless there's a problem, then their customer service falls flat. I've had similar problems with a cell phone accessories dealer on eBay, cellular_king (just in case anyone here is ever tempted to buy from them). Fortunately, there are other places to shop. I just ordered a sample disk from rima.com. They responded promptly, which I take as a good sign, particularly since I'm looking for something for free. Of course, if I like it, there's a good chance I'll spend some money with them....

[Gildas]

I finally received my order this morning, my wife told me. I'll have to make sure tonight when I get back home that it is exactly what I ordered.

In my last e-mail to them and my last phone contact too, I mentioned to them that if I didn't hear anything from them by tonight, I would file a complaint with the BBB and the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (http://www.ifccfbi.gov). Maybe that's what did it, I don't know.

Maybe everybody should do that too.

[ZzeusS]

I got exactly what I ordered

You should use DVDInfo Pro to check the media code on the disks to make sure you "got exactly what you ordered".

ROFL

A meritline tool to check to see if meritline sent you the right thing.

[xcool]

Something has to be said. Notice that those people who have decent/good experiences with Meritline have joined the this forum for long time and have many posts, those who are bad mouthed Meritline have few post, no more than 20. This kind of makes you wonder

For the fact, I don't work for Meritline nor have anything to do with Meritline, but I do have decent experience with Meritline.

I hope this forum is a place for people/users to inform others unbiasly, not for competitors to attack each others.

--just my 2cents, don't flame me.

[CoolRain]

Notice that those people who have decent/good experiences with Meritline have joined the this forum for long time and have many posts, those who are bad mouthed Meritline have few post, no more than 20. This kind of makes you wonder

It is true some good might gone bad and some bad might goes to good. however, point is this is the place for everyone to have something remarkable to others. I don't think it is really matters much for posts more or less than 20. If so, are you saying some of us are lying??? and we need to get 20 points to be TRUSTABLE???

[wesmoc]

I hate to say it as it seems to be against the grain of this thread, but I have had excellent success with Meritline.com. I have been ordering from them for nearly 2yrs (for two different burners).

I think people need to take a chill and be a little more careful when they make purchases. Has anyone ever ordered from a small shop off of pricewatch.com? Meritline's policies are exactly in line with those shops: restocking fees for non-defective returns, you pay return postage (seriously, do you know ANY place that isn't a behemoth company (eg: Dell) that pays for return postage), and 'barely ok' customer service.

My first dealing with their customer service was as expected (ages ago). And from there on out, I knew who and what I was dealing with: A glorified mom-n-pop shop. They have a great front end, but, behind the scenes, they are running with very thin resources. Hey, they sell products and people buy them. Simple as that.

My advice, just be absolutely sure what you want to buy BEFORE you buy it. From anywhere, not just Meritline.

Also, remember that media and drives are picky. Some drives will only burn 2x to some media and 4x to others. Even though you decided to order the 4x version of those cheap discs vs the 2x version you had such good success with, it doesn't mean it will work in your machine, and, because EVERYTHING there is OEM'ed, it doesn't even mean that the 4x version of that media is even manufactured by the same company that made the 2x media.

With all of that said, I shop by price and success with the media. Once I find the media that works best for me, I stick with it. I have been buying the same media since day 1, and it has always worked as expected.

Now, if Meritline would bundle decent cases (as opposed to the 'whatever we have in the back room' methodology), it would be a heck of a lot better.

Interestingly enough, I found this thread because I was thinking of trying out shop4tech.com because their prices seemed a little better.

[tommyoz]

wesmoc,
That's great that you have had excellent success with Meritline. I hope it continues for you. Also, I hope that Meritline turns it around and starts providing people with customer service. I don't wish bad upon anyone.

I for one will never shop from them again. Not even their aliases. There are a lot of competitors out there. I have never dealt with anyone like them. I've also shopped from some vendors from pricewatch without any trouble.

However, I wouldn't use pricewatch as a guide. Without going into all the details I can say that Meritlines policies are not fare. If it's their mistake, they should have to eat any cost. If it's your mistake then you should be liable.

My advice would be to look around for companies that provide customer service and are fare with their policies. Also look for someone who knows their product. Call them if you have to and talk with them. If they don't answer or do not return your call, then look out. Good companies are out there. They are usually the ones that don't need to advertise cause their so good.

[Gazorgan]

I had an issue with Meritline as well.

I placed and order and immediately changed my mind. 2 days of constant phone calls finallly yeilded up "It's been shipped", only to find that it didn't ship for 2 more days. No problems with the product (RITEK DVDRW's). I did a charge-back on my credit card citing all my emails from them (and recorded conversation).

It's illegal in the US to charge before an item ships. However, then can charge as it starts to ship, but it had better be out the door the next day. I got the disks for free so far (theya re disputing the charge, and I didn't return them). Eventually I will actually pay for them, but the charge-back affects their credit rating. Too many chargebacks and they lose their merchant account for credit cards (very very bad for them).

No I use NewEgg.com exclusively, and those folks are GREAT!