Big Al's Online

[Michael Mota]

As most know I am having trouble with a Rio Hyper Flow 32HF Pump where the ceramic shaft broke after running the pump for 3-4 weeks. I bought this pump from Big Al's Online. After talking to them they refuse to repair or replace the part for the pump. They tell me I will have to pay for the part but unfortunately they do not have the parts either. I have dealt with this company for many years and recently there customer service has gone down the tubes. This will be the second time I have had a bad dealing with them. Yes I did try to work with them on both occasions. I for one am done dealing with that company, two strikes and their out in my book. Just my experience with them.

 

[Jill & Brian]

I bought my origional Orbit PC light from them. It came in beat to heck. All they did to pack it was wrap bubble wrap around it. They replaced it, but I had to actually purchase a second one and have them return the first one. Not a huge deal, but it held up 400 bucks of my money for 2-3 weeks while they processed the return.

Of course the second one came in slightly damaged too, but not bad enough to affect functionality.

All in all it was a meidocre experience, and I have not ordered anything else from them.

 

[HKAVR45]

I have made several purchases from Big Als Online. Most recent, which was a year ago, included a Coralife 20" PC for a freshwater planted 10g. The unit worked for about 3 months before the bulb blew. I called them up told them about the issue and they replaced the bulb for me using the similar buy it, return it, refund policy. Now its been over a year and I've gone through two more bulbs. I was told to send back the unit and it would be replaced. Its currently in delivery. I was surprised that they would just take back the unit so quickly especially since it was over a year old. I expected to be pushed towards dealing with Coralife directly but they took care of the problem immediately. I never thought the customer service was that terrible. However, the shipping does take awhile because it has to go through customs. This is especially a pain when returning something, you basically have to wait twice as long as you would if dealing with a US company.

All in all not a bad experience, but for cheaper and faster shipping I will be sticking to Drs Foster & Smith and MarineDepot for my online purchases.