These folks have no idea what customer service is! The first indication I had was when they requested a copy of my Drivers License! I have been shopping online for over15 years and no one, until placing an order with them has a vendor made that type of request. Heres my experience with them, this chronology is in Pacific Standard Time.
12-26-17 / 9:03 am - placed an order for 3 items totaling $149.65 w/USPS Priority Shipping 2-3 day delivery $6.80. Order qualified for regular ground free shipping!
12-26-17 / 11:00 am- Emailed the pic of my ID- Drivers License
12-27-17 / 10:05 am- USPS shipping label created by the Seller
12-27-17 / 4:30 pm- Received email notice 1 Item out of stock and inquired if I wanted a different item of the same or "LESSER VALUE" really!
12-27-17 / 7:19 pm- responded to item out of stock email and requested my order be shipped without delay.
12-28-17 / 5:39 pm- My order is finally delivered into USPS hands, 54-1/2 hours after the order was placed and I paid an extra $6.80 for Priority Shipping. This was 30-1/2 hours after the shipping label was created. This all took place during normal business days M-F before the New Years weekend.
1-02-18 / 2:12 pm Order finally arrives 7 days, from California where it was shipped to Texas.
NOW THE REVIEW
The Good:
#1-My order was packed in a large padded USPS Priority Mail envelope and was received without any damage what so ever and included both the items I was expecting.
#2- They had the best price by $4-$5 that I could find.
#3 A refund was issued to my credit card promptly for the item I had in my order they could fill.
The Bad:
#1- They do not keep their WebSite updated as to what items they actually have that are available to complete orders.
#2- Priority Shipping means just that. When a customer pays extra fees for faster shipping it requires the merchant, "not just USPS" to do whatever it takes within reason to get that order out the door to the shipper ASAP. If they're not willing to ensure faster shipping then don't offer nor charge the fees for it!
#3- I have been shopping online for close to 15 years. I place somewhere between 45-60 orders each year. I have never been ask or required to provide a copy of my State issued drives license to make an online purchase. The DL has info on it that they have no business having access to. In my state Law Enforcement Officers even cannot require you to produce your DL/ID unless you are charged with a crime !!
# 4 - Now I know that I am nitpicking on this one. But here goes I received 7 emails after I made this purchase. That's just excessive, seem like nowadays when a merchant gets your email address they just cannot resist to start spamming you at every opportunity.
CONCLUSIONS
I have been around the block more than a few times in my years. I know better than to order from a company that I am not familiar with. All I had to do is look at the reviews posted on this site, to see what kind of experience customers can expect before placing an order with Element Vape.com. I don't intend to bash this company the reviews on this site speak for themselves. I will mention that the BBB's website has very similar reviews for this company as are posted on this one.
The question I should be asking myself is why did I place this order. I normally use only a select few websites that I have had extremely great service from. They include DirectVapor.com, Mister-E-Liquid.com, VapeWild.com, and NicotineRiver.com. There are others I cant think of right off hand. All of these, if you place an order during there normal business hours M-F. Even with standard or Free Shipping on an order, ensure your order is out the door the same day if your items are in stock. They do large volumes of business because they understand what customer service is about and how to apply it when fulfilling orders they receive.
Another red flag that makes one have concern is they do not have a customer service telephone number or a storefront. Google search Element Vape on Google Maps with there ship from address and there is no listing for them at that address. If you look up the address there orders are shipped from seeing this link from Google Maps
.https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...7da996369ae7f7c!8m2!3d34.060439!4d-118.073109. For 2648 River Avenue, Rosemead, California, it makes me question whats really the true story with this company. You can draw your conclusions from the information I post and other reviews for them on this site.
I have considered going to the California Secretary of State's website to see if they really exist in the business world. Also if they have a Tax number, for forwarding sales tax revenues collected on orders made within there state. They usually have other information on if they are incorporated within the state they are located. Things all legitimate businesses would have on record in the state there located.
As I stated before this post is not about bashing Element Vape.com but more me blowing off steam for doing business with them without doing my research first. All the issues I have experienced with my order with them are 100% my fault due to the reasons I have listed above.
I apologize for such a long review and hope everyone has a great 2018 !!!
12-26-17 / 9:03 am - placed an order for 3 items totaling $149.65 w/USPS Priority Shipping 2-3 day delivery $6.80. Order qualified for regular ground free shipping!
12-26-17 / 11:00 am- Emailed the pic of my ID- Drivers License
12-27-17 / 10:05 am- USPS shipping label created by the Seller
12-27-17 / 4:30 pm- Received email notice 1 Item out of stock and inquired if I wanted a different item of the same or "LESSER VALUE" really!
12-27-17 / 7:19 pm- responded to item out of stock email and requested my order be shipped without delay.
12-28-17 / 5:39 pm- My order is finally delivered into USPS hands, 54-1/2 hours after the order was placed and I paid an extra $6.80 for Priority Shipping. This was 30-1/2 hours after the shipping label was created. This all took place during normal business days M-F before the New Years weekend.
1-02-18 / 2:12 pm Order finally arrives 7 days, from California where it was shipped to Texas.
NOW THE REVIEW
The Good:
#1-My order was packed in a large padded USPS Priority Mail envelope and was received without any damage what so ever and included both the items I was expecting.
#2- They had the best price by $4-$5 that I could find.
#3 A refund was issued to my credit card promptly for the item I had in my order they could fill.
The Bad:
#1- They do not keep their WebSite updated as to what items they actually have that are available to complete orders.
#2- Priority Shipping means just that. When a customer pays extra fees for faster shipping it requires the merchant, "not just USPS" to do whatever it takes within reason to get that order out the door to the shipper ASAP. If they're not willing to ensure faster shipping then don't offer nor charge the fees for it!
#3- I have been shopping online for close to 15 years. I place somewhere between 45-60 orders each year. I have never been ask or required to provide a copy of my State issued drives license to make an online purchase. The DL has info on it that they have no business having access to. In my state Law Enforcement Officers even cannot require you to produce your DL/ID unless you are charged with a crime !!
# 4 - Now I know that I am nitpicking on this one. But here goes I received 7 emails after I made this purchase. That's just excessive, seem like nowadays when a merchant gets your email address they just cannot resist to start spamming you at every opportunity.
CONCLUSIONS
I have been around the block more than a few times in my years. I know better than to order from a company that I am not familiar with. All I had to do is look at the reviews posted on this site, to see what kind of experience customers can expect before placing an order with Element Vape.com. I don't intend to bash this company the reviews on this site speak for themselves. I will mention that the BBB's website has very similar reviews for this company as are posted on this one.
The question I should be asking myself is why did I place this order. I normally use only a select few websites that I have had extremely great service from. They include DirectVapor.com, Mister-E-Liquid.com, VapeWild.com, and NicotineRiver.com. There are others I cant think of right off hand. All of these, if you place an order during there normal business hours M-F. Even with standard or Free Shipping on an order, ensure your order is out the door the same day if your items are in stock. They do large volumes of business because they understand what customer service is about and how to apply it when fulfilling orders they receive.
Another red flag that makes one have concern is they do not have a customer service telephone number or a storefront. Google search Element Vape on Google Maps with there ship from address and there is no listing for them at that address. If you look up the address there orders are shipped from seeing this link from Google Maps
.https://www.google.com/maps/place/2...7da996369ae7f7c!8m2!3d34.060439!4d-118.073109. For 2648 River Avenue, Rosemead, California, it makes me question whats really the true story with this company. You can draw your conclusions from the information I post and other reviews for them on this site.
I have considered going to the California Secretary of State's website to see if they really exist in the business world. Also if they have a Tax number, for forwarding sales tax revenues collected on orders made within there state. They usually have other information on if they are incorporated within the state they are located. Things all legitimate businesses would have on record in the state there located.
As I stated before this post is not about bashing Element Vape.com but more me blowing off steam for doing business with them without doing my research first. All the issues I have experienced with my order with them are 100% my fault due to the reasons I have listed above.
I apologize for such a long review and hope everyone has a great 2018 !!!