Ever since I started doing freelance work and posted the TextLinkAds on my website, I’ve had a fair trickle of money coming in via PayPal.  So far, most of it I’ve used with NewEgg to buy various gadgets and parts for the MythTV.  I know PayPal has somewhat of a bad reputation but I’m not naive to believe it’s a "Bank", and I generally transfer money out of it as fast as it comes in.  It’s all worked well so far, until this week that is.

On Saturday I decided to blow a bit of my PayPal stash on a new spindle of DVD-R Media and a Leather Pouch for my new RAZR phone.  A simple ~$35 order, I checked out and let it rip.  I noticed PayPal’s interface had changed a bit, but didn’t think much of it.  Everything seemed to go fine, I got my confirmation email from NewEgg, and just waited. 

This morning I noticed that, 5 days later, my order was still at "Step 1".  I fired off an email and got the (somewhat standard) response that the order didn’t complete successfully with PayPal, so I should void it and try again.  No surprise, I’ve had to do this before, so I canceled it and rebuilt my cart.  This time I forked over the extra $3 for "Express Processing" (or whatever they call it) and again, I waited.   12 hours later it still hasn’t left "Step 1".  This time I decided to try the "Live Support Chat" option.

Well, after only about 20 minutes of chatting with someone at NewEgg, they admitted they had a problem with PayPal.  They didn’t have an ETA on when it would be resolved but they were working on it.  As a consolation for my difficulties, they even gave me a $10 credit on my next purchase!  It’s great, they didn’t just keep spewing the same form-letter response, they didn’t even accuse me of being a moron.  They believed what I had to say, they researched the problem, and then even took steps to make me feel better about it when they couldn’t immediately fix it!!

So I’m gonna have to wait a little while longer to get my cellphone pouch, but I’m gonna get it for $10 less than I usually would.  And NewEgg has earned another customer for life :)

Update 1/11/2007: As of this morning, the PayPal problem still hasn’t been fixed.. Still no ETA, and still no public acknowledgement of the problem.
Update 1/12/2007: Talked to another rep this morning, still isn’t fixed.  Much to my surprise, I can’t find it mentioned anywhere on their site either.
Update 1/30/2007: Just spoke with another agent, and they claim that now it’s fixed.  I’ll know for sure in the next few days.
Update 2/1/2007: Just tried to place my order, and again I got stuck at Step 1.  I talked to ‘Salina’ for a few minutes and while they are not aware of any problems wih PayPal, they don’t know why it isn’t working either.  Looks like I’m gonna have to start shopping elsewhere for computer gear.. Oh, and that $10 credit they promised?  That never came through either :-(
[tag:newegg][tag:paypal][tag:customerservice]

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