Anyone have any experience with DiscountHomeAutomation.com ?

Hi

I wanted to purchase an HAI promo kit from DHA (http://discounthomeautomation.com) but they do not have a phone number and do not disclose their physical location

Was wondering if anyone have any experience shopping from them.

Here is an email I received from them explaining why I cannot call them to enquire about some of their products:

Hooman,

Discount Home Automation is a product-only e-business, and is not able to provide technical or product support for the products offered. The minimal staff at Discount Home Automation allows for the reduced prices and savings to be passed on to you, our customer.

We are located in San Diego County, operating out of a supplier’s warehouse. With this incredibly low overhead and bare bones personnel (the reason for no phone number) we can guarantee the lowest prices on all of our products. We cannot give an exact address because our supply contract does not allow us to disclose our source.

We regret any inconvenience that this may cause. We highly recommend contacting the manufacturer or a full service distributor for product advice.

Sincerely,
Jean Wilson
DHA

whois info:

Registrant:
Discount Home Automation
3231 Business Park Drive
Suite 101
Vista, California 92083
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: DISCOUNTHOMEAUTOMATION.COM
Created on: 14-Jan-05
Expires on: 14-Jan-11
Last Updated on: 21-Nov-05

Administrative Contact:
Wilson, Jean [email protected]
Discount Home Automation
3231 Business Park Drive
Suite 101
Vista, California 92083
United States
7607265377 Fax --

Technical Contact:
Wilson, Jean [email protected]
Discount Home Automation
3231 Business Park Drive
Suite 101
Vista, California 92083
United States
7607265377 Fax --

Personally, I would spend the extra 5% - 10%, and purchase from an established vendor; especially for the main controller. I purchased my Elk M1G from Auromated Outlet, and had a problem with one of the Outputs. Elk determined that there was a problem with the board, and told me to contact the vendor that I purchased it from to arrange for a return. Had I used some place without a phone number, I am guessing that I would have had a very difficult getting my product replaced.

Just my $.02.

damage said:

whois info:

Registrant:
Discount Home Automation
3231 Business Park Drive
Suite 101
Vista, California 92083
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: DISCOUNTHOMEAUTOMATION.COM
Created on: 14-Jan-05
Expires on: 14-Jan-11
Last Updated on: 21-Nov-05

Administrative Contact:
Wilson, Jean [email protected]
Discount Home Automation
3231 Business Park Drive
Suite 101
Vista, California 92083
United States
7607265377 Fax --

Technical Contact:
Wilson, Jean [email protected]
Discount Home Automation
3231 Business Park Drive
Suite 101
Vista, California 92083
United States
7607265377 Fax --

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The company must not be that Internet savvy, if they aren't even using private whois.

Sacedog said:

The company must not be that Internet savvy, if they aren't even using private whois.

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I hear ya Sacedog -

A - They aren't very bright
B - A brief look @ their site shows no discount worth much of anything. Do not buy from an unknown claiming they won't give you a phone or address.
C- Spam spam spam ?

Thanks guys and also thanks to Digger who PMed me.

I should have also checked their WHOIS! I always assumed most used private whois so didnt even check it..lol

Good news is I called Automated Outlet and talked to Brandon who was most pleasant. Cant wait to place my order


Thanks
H.

hooman00 said:

Thanks guys and also thanks to Digger who PMed me.

I should have also checked their WHOIS! I always assumed most used private whois so didnt even check it..lol

Good news is I called Automated Outlet and talked to Brandon who was most pleasant. Cant wait to place my order


Thanks
H.

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Glad to help!!

As you see here on the forums Automated Outlet is one of several favorite distributors.

Good Luck!

Just to let you know I have purchased from them in the past and have been very satisfied.

They did have better prices at the time then automated outlet on HAI products.

Justin

Just remember AO will match any authorized sellers prices too. Keep in mind also that advertising Elk or HAI components at less than MSRP is also a violation of terms. Anyone can play those games if they want one way or another. But you can't compare a place like AO that answers the phone and has real support (even authorized trainers) on staff vs a robot in a warehouse. Even if AO did match the robots price completely it is well worth it when you need to make that phonecall. Not saying anything negative about this place but you just can't compare.

Checking out a business is pretty easy. Just enter this address in your browser,
http://us.bbb.org/ and off you go. If they don't have a satisfactory record or aren't listed, I personally wouldn't buy from them. Period.

Please don't mince words, your are saying many negative things about the place.

Steve said:

Just remember AO will match any authorized sellers prices too. Keep in mind also that advertising Elk or HAI components at less than MSRP is also a violation of terms. Anyone can play those games if they want one way or another. But you can't compare a place like AO that answers the phone and has real support (even authorized trainers) on staff vs a robot in a warehouse. Even if AO did match the robots price completely it is well worth it when you need to make that phonecall. Not saying anything negative about this place but you just can't compare.

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So what is the verdict in this case?

Automated Outlet: C- based on one complaint other wise no information.
Discount Home Automation : No listing, no complaints

ano said:

Checking out a business is pretty easy. Just enter this address in your browser,
http://us.bbb.org/ and off you go. If they don't have a satisfactory record or aren't listed, I personally wouldn't buy from them. Period.

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As I said, if they aren't listed, I wouldn't buy from them unless I know otherwise. Many businesses are not listed, and this occurs because either they are so small they fly under the radar, or they are so troublefree they have no complaints. Complaints are typically not negative if they have been resolved. Pretty much most business will have them, the bigger the business, the more complaints, which is why a giant business may have 100's on complaints but still get a satisfactory rating when a small business with 5 complaints may not.

jharrell said:

Please don't mince words, your are saying many negative things about the place.

Steve said:

Just remember AO will match any authorized sellers prices too. Keep in mind also that advertising Elk or HAI components at less than MSRP is also a violation of terms. Anyone can play those games if they want one way or another. But you can't compare a place like AO that answers the phone and has real support (even authorized trainers) on staff vs a robot in a warehouse. Even if AO did match the robots price completely it is well worth it when you need to make that phonecall. Not saying anything negative about this place but you just can't compare.

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That is your interpretation because you are taking it personally and are being defensive. The bottom line is you simply can't compare a place that has a full staff including support and training that are easily accessible to a place that operates out of a warehouse behind an email address. Change the names, I don't care, not making any judgments on DHA or anyone, they may ship promptly and be a great place to deal with but facts are facts. I suppose if you want to save a few cents and get the absolute lowest price then buy from whoever, DHA, someplace on eBay or whatever. But don't complain about it later when you need help and can't get it and wish you paid $20 more.

Bottom line is the OP asked a question and now they have many opinions and now its simply up to them to decide what's right for them. I'm not going to debate this or comment further on the subject.

I won't mince any word at all: Anyone who is getting into HA and goes with the cheap option to save 5% is an idiot, and deserves the hellish frustration they'll get.

To any newbies lurking: You will piss away more money in this hobby on the wrong stuff than you can possibly imagine. This isn't a prediction, it's a 100% guarantee, it will happen. And, the first time you have a problem with something, or need to return something you bought, a place like AO is worth it even if you don't get any additional discounts. I buy everything at AO and I haven't bothered asking for a discount as I get something better: the ability to ping Brandon or Martin on Chat or email to help me with something. I had to return a few hundred dollars worth of sensors because they just wouldn't work for me - try that with Discounts 'R Us.

If a 5% spread on anything you buy is the difference between being able to afford something and not being able to afford something, then put down the credit card and walk away - this hobby isn't for you.

Is that clear enough?