Just received my first (and maybe last) order from etrailer.com, not very happy to say the least. First, it took them 10 days to throw 5 seals and 2 bearings into a pouch, which they said were in stock. Second, they literally threw everything into a pouch. No wrapping on anything, just loose cones, cups, and seals, metal to metal. Next, 4 of the seals were the wrong size. Not ordered wrong, picked wrong. Last, they sent knock-off Chinese bearings, which I'll admit is shame on me for not paying attention.

I called customer service and was told they fill 10,000 orders a month, so 10 days is normal. They also said they get lots of complaints about packaging, but will add mine to the list. Then they argued with me about the seal error, before eventually admitting they sent the wrong ones. Last, they said they only carry Chinese bearings. I will say this, the customer service rep did let me vent for about 5 minutes before telling me to be quiet. Glad I don't have that job!

(UPDATE: That last bit I've now underlined was originally included as an afterthought, an exaggeration of the actual conversation, and a (poor) attempt at humor. To those of you who work in customer service and put up with awful behavior on a regular basis: I never yelled, cussed, or blamed the rep. And she never told me to be quiet, she actually said something like okay, I get it, let me try to fix this for you. Which she actually did, because I got the correct seals about 3 days later. Will I buy from etrailer again? Maybe, but they won't be my first choice because their shipping is slow, their packaging is poor, and they sent the wrong parts on my one and only order. Do I want to work in customer service at etrailer? Nope, I suspect my experience is fairly common and it would wear me out. Did I return the bearings? No, because even though they were Chinese and one of them was the wrong size I took the blame and tossed them in the garbage.)

 

I let the customer service rep know that I am upset, but I know its not the rep that I am upset with (nothing personal) as I rant about whatever the problem is. It is unfortunate that in order to make the majority of the sales, they need to advertise low prices. Low prices are usually china stuff.

 

There was a thread here a year or two ago about the declining (already declined?) customer care and parts from E-trailer.

In my experience, they used to be reputable, fast and offer good prices. For the past few years though, I have found better deals elsewhere, especially after factoring in the possible headache arriving with the parts.

 

All true, and I never make it personal. Denying more business is, after all, far more effective punishment than hollering at some poor customer care rep.

Well, everybody seems to be struggling to find good employees right now. I'm probably spoiled, but I did pay for shipping so I didn't expect it to take 12 days to get the wrong parts in terrible packaging. I mean seriously, who thought it was okay to ship bearing cones and cups unwrapped and loose in an envelope! The customer care rep was actually fine, and agreed to expedite shipment of 4 correct seals. I'll bet you a nickel they arrive loose and unwrapped in a similar envelope though!

 

maybe 10 years ago, I got good service from eTrailer
then things started downhill.

I now use https://www.adventurerv.net/ for as much as possible.
prices are far better, and service, so far, has been good.

the only mistake that I ever made, is I was up in Colorado and needed something, and entered my Shipping Address.

and then I paid the ticket with PayPal.
did you know, once you pay with PayPal, that ALL SHIPPING INSTRUCTIONS ARE IGNORED?? they are sent to the Address registered with PayPal

yup, they sent my stuff to my home 1200 miles away from me.
pissed me off something terrible, I had to go into Colorado Springs and get what I needed at a StealerShip.... at TWICE THE PRICE that my stuff was sitting in a box at home.

after that, if I am not at home, I pay with a Credit Card, not PayPal.

 

used to be pretty darn good, but have not ordered from them for several years.

 

I might have been on that thread. It would be about the right timeframe when I did a bunch of suspension and brake upgrades to my trailer. eTrailer couldn't get even the simplest, lightest item shipped out in a timely manner.

 

Buy local. The people that live in your area will appreciate it. The huge benefit is you will know what you got before you walk out of the store. The returns are usually easy and the advice you get is much more valuable. Yes, some local business' are terrible, but seems like online retailers have the same issues.

Let's just face it. Many of us, yes me too, buy things online because it is cheaper. We all must accept the pitfalls of that decision. I live in a place where I can buy darn near anything locally. Many local business' are small and do appreciate the money I give them. I am certain etrailer does too, but have you ever met them?

 

There is no local in my area. We do not have a Tractor Supply in Miami-Dade County. The closest we have to that could not even sell me a wheel stud for my trailer. They wanted to sell me an entire hub. I was actually able to get the stud from a smaller, not very well known auto supply store that is in the middle of a warehouse district.

 

I try to buy local whenever I can, but in this case I'm now trying to find Timken bearings. That's not so easy, most of the chains only stock knock-offs. Tractor Supply carries something called "Carry-On" and Advanced Auto Parts carries something called "Driveworks". Any ideas I'm all ears.

 

I get Timken bearings from NAPA all the time.

 

Good call, thank you! I have a NAPA 25 minutes north of me and they even have them in stock. Pricey compared to Amazon, but I have more faith that NAPA is selling genuine stuff. One thing though, I'll be at #NASHCAR the weekend after this and Joey Logano is my guy. No way am I rooting for Chase Elliott in that NAPA Chevy!

 

I agree 10 days is quite long these days, however it's not totally unusual, Amazon Prime has spoiled everyone into thinking 1-2 days is the norm, and even now you don't get that with Prime much anymore either. But it is their issue that they sent the incorrect seals, but assuming a human is picking them from their warehouse, stuff happens, we're all human right? But anyway that is on them no doubt. That being said, don't go off on whomever you're talking to on the phone, I guarantee s/he had absolutely nothing to do with the mix up, obviously you've never worked with the public in sales, fast food, general customer service, or you'd understand that and wouldn't go off on them. I worked at Walmart 10 years and nothing grinds my gears more than when I see a story like this and someone goes off on the customer service rep that has no control over the situation.

What was done to correct the situation, did they refund you, or are they sending you the correct bearings?

 

My OP must be misleading, because everyone seems to think I laid into the etrailer rep like a total jerk. I actually do understand customer service, that was part of my job for 45 years. Personally I never had a problem when someone vented about a legitimate screwup, as long as they maintained composure and vented on the problem, not me personally. That's what I expect, and that's what I did with the etrailer rep. Keeping your composure while listening to problems all day long is part of the customer service job description though, and I suspect this particular reps love of the job had worn thin. After initially accusing me of ordering the wrong parts, she eventually admitted a mistake was made, got four correct seals on order, and the conversation ended cordially. You're right though, I do see horrible behavior at Walmart and elsewhere all the time. Whatever happened to manners?

 

Those went away when everybody got a trophy no matter how hard they worked.