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From: stretch@EMUNIX.EMICH.EDU (Brian Stretch)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware
Subject: Telemart/Soundblasters (Again)
Message-ID: <9011131653.AA20257@emunix.emich.edu>
Date: 13 Nov 90 16:53:58 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 26

Well, after talking to a friend of mine who ordered a Soundblaster from
Telemart last week (Monday) at 10PM EST and received it Tuesday morning FedEx,
I decided to give Telemart another shot.  Tuesday evening (9:30PM EST) I
ordered my Soundblaster.. gave the operator my phone number, she still had
my account on file, and the order was completed in a minute or two.  Very
pleasant.  Looks like a got a bad operator the first time around. 

Sooo.. next day, no package.  Well, there was only a slight chance of that
happening anymore.. I'll get it Thursday, right?  Nope.  Just to be safe,
I called Telemart.. they didn't ship my card until THURSDAY!  According
to the operator, I would receive my card on Monday.  I was seriously pissed
at this point.. when I order something FedEx, that means I want it within
1-2 days of ordering, period, and if the item is out of stock, I'll order
elsewhere.  But hey, I've got an 80% chance of FedEx standard air getting
to me in one day.. Friday: Nope.  Saturday afternoon: FedEx arrives.  THAT
was a surprise.. I'm almost positive that Saturday delivery costs "a few
dollars more", so I suppose I'll keep Telemart on my "Consider buying from
again" list.  The Soundblaster was a fairly new revision.. at least one
file on the utility disks was dated 7/90 (V1.5).. a demo copy of Lotus
Magellan 2.0 and various flyers were also included in my box. 

Anyhow.. Telemart has great prices, but their service isn't very consistant. 
They advertise (in small print) that they ship within 24-48hrs, and they
mean exactly that.  And one of their operators is an anal-retentive computer
neophyte.. hopefully you won't get her on your first order <grin>. 
     ---Brian Stretch (stretch@emunix.emich.edu)