Hello,
I saw this topic, and thought I might chime on in this. I saw a post some time ago that put forth the idea of “secret shoppers” so that these web sellers could be rated. I think that is a great idea. Unfortunately, that great idea was never implemented, probably because websites do not want to be responsible for rating retailers who sponsor their sites.
Well, recently I took the idea and decided to do this myself. I am in the process of building my own, personal website as I type this, and several web sellers will be rated.
Let me preface this by saying there is no pickier customer than I. I look first at customer service, then quality.
I recently placed six orders with Squadron totaling about $500.00. I purposefully ordered three, $100 + orders for historical miniatures on separate dates, and on one order, I heavily duplicated items from a previous order. Then, I placed two smaller orders (under $100) for accessory items.
The results were excellent. I was actually called by a customer service representative to verify that the heavily duplicated items were indeed wanted. All of the $100 + orders arrived within five days and were 100% complete. One of the smaller orders (under $100) did have an error (wrong item), and in another order one item was out of stock.
To test them further, I waited approximately 45 days from the date the order was placed, and then asked to return several of the duplicate, unopened kits for credit. Note that this is past their 30-day return policy by about two weeks. I was told a return would be no problem at all. While I did not return the items (I had not intended to), I found it refreshing that Squadron was willing to accept a return like that, even though they had called and specifically asked me if I wanted those duplicate kits.
The one place I think they could improve is in their shipping. It would be great if they could find a way to automatically notify their customers when their order ships, and with tracking info. Otherwise, I would not change a thing.
Please understand, this is my opinion of Squadron. I am not an employee, and I do not know anyone that works for them.
I am currently working up other reviews, and I will be posting the URL to my website as soon as I finish.
Kind regards,
RM