When I received a ReviewMe request from Wirefly last week it really got me thinking. I used to scorch websites ordering a review on ProBargainHunter in the past but this time it is different.
Contrast to some, I am a believer that bad publicity is not something businesses usually make money from, and this is exactly why I am writing this review.
Please accept it as my sincere unbiased opinion and feel free to add your own comments below. But please be constructive. A Wirefly representative will likely come to check on it and I want them to learn something useful from what they find.
The good
Wirefly online store is similar to other websites selling phones online. You can shop by carrier, phone, or service plan. This part of the website is very easy to use. I entered my postal zip code and the list that came back had every carrier I have ever heard of.
The plans are priced at the rates typical to what you will see if you go directly to the service provider. It is the phones where you will find the best deals ever. From my personal bargain hunting experience, Wirefly is one of the names that pops up more often than anything else as far as deals on cell phones are concerned.
In addition to phones Wirefly offers a huge selection of cell phone accessories which you can choose by the phone brand or the carrier.
And finally, they offer a separate section of the website for you, ring-tone junkies. $10 a month will buy you enough credits to annoy excite all your friends with a new collection of 10 regular or 3 music ring-tones every month.
The bad
Wirefly offers great deals on the phones however this is one of the cases when the saying “you get what you pay for” fits perfectly well. I have heard complaints about Wirefly before, and a quick visit to several websites that rank resellers has confirmed my expectations. Here is the roundup:
- Yahoo Shopping gives 2.5 out of 5 points based on 218 reviews
- ResellerRatings gives 6.58 out of 10 points based on 92 reviews
- BizRate reports 77% positive, 4% neutral, and 19% negative reviews
- Epinions gives 3.5 out of 5 points
The feedback that people leave is ranging from “Everything met my expectations.” to “Avoid this company like the plague!!!”. Looking at particular complaints, the majority is customer support related. To save on costs, Wirefly outsources support calls to a call center in India and the reviewers describe the service they receive as “horrible”, “incompetent” and “abysmal”.
The ugly
It is not the great deals what Wirefly is famous for at the bargain forums I frequent. If anyone posts a cell phone deal from Wirefly that requires a mail in rebate, the first comment is usually “forget it, you will never see your rebate”. But don’t take my word for it. Search for Wirefly Rebate Problems on Google and see it for yourself.
Notably the most interesting Google search result comes from Wirefly itself as their official response to Attorney General for the District of Columbia concerning a consumer protection lawsuit related to the use of mail-in rebates.
The final statement in that letter sounds very promising: “Wirefly is proud of its commitment to customer service and will continue to work hard to serve our customers.” I hope the money Wirefly spent on this review is not wasted and it will help them set their priorities as to how exactly the business can be improved.
This post is sponsored by Wirefly via ReviewMe
