Comments regarding Outdoor Distributors

On June 10 th. I placed an order for some transaxle parts for my lawnmower. Allowed lots of travel time as I live in Canada. On June 29 th. with no parts and no correspondence from Outdoor Distributors, I sent an e-mail requesting the status of my order. Still no word by July 1st. so I phoned long distance to their customer service, took three attempts to get through as I disconnected twice after being on hold for over 10 minutes. Finally spoke to someone and was informed that the company they get their hydrostatic Transaxle parts from had a system crash and were behind with their orders but he would check. After waiting for some time ( long distance of course ) while he tried to get through to the supplier and couldn't, said he would keep trying and if there was any further delay he would definitely let me know within the next two days. If I didn't hear from him then the parts were already in transit and should be here the following week. July 13th. No phone call, no e-mail and no parts.( more long distance phone calls ) I finally got through after being put on hold again twice and was informed they were waiting for some parts so they could ship my order. By this time I realized what a big mistake I made dealing with this Company so I told her to cancel the order. I was then informed it would take five to ten days to return my $117.92 to Paypal, that they got within 10 minutes, over a month ago. I will NEVER EVER deal with this company again.

Totally Negative. Do Not do business with these people.
Everything your read about them is true. They take your money the same day you place your order. I ordered parts back in April ($140.00 worth) and still have not received them. I called two weeks ago and said, just cancel my order. Still no credit on my bank statement and it's been 12 days. I've called over 100 times and still am put on hold, I've asked to speak with the manager, and whoever answers the phone, says they are the manager. I've asked to speak to the Owner, and he's never available. I've asked to speak with accounts payable/receivable and they don't exist. I too, contacted AL District Attorneys Office and filed a complaint on line. Everyone who has been burned by this "phony" company should do the same.

On 16 Jun 09, I place an order for 2 spooled replacement cartridges for a Ryobi Model 704r gas powered string trimmer for the amount of 26.49.
On 17 Jun 09, I noted that amount had been debited from my credit card.
Also noted that no confirmation of shipping was sent out. I was told that my order should arrive within 7 business days. Okay, this is what I expected.

On 24 Jun 09, I sent an email requesting info about this order. I did not receive in the 7 working days. I very directly request a response. I receive no response. I tried calling and was put on hold. Gave it up.

On 27 Jun 09, I emailed a 2nd request for a response. I was very upset by this time. Today is the 29 Jun 09 and still have heard nothing.
This I know, I paid 26.49 for merchandise in good faith. I have not received the merchandise, nor do I know the status of it. Also I do no care to have the merchandise delivered even if it is in stock. This company is a joke. Customer service is non existent. They do not keep their word.

hotdog60

Only wish I had checked out this prior to placing the order.

On June 16, 2009 I ordered metal edged trimmer blades for my Stihl weedeater. My credit card was billed immediately. I received my order on June 26. According to the Stens catalog, the blades are sold in packages of three. I ordered 12 packages, (36 blades) using the Stens part number 390-170. Instead of receiving 12 packages, I received 12 blades. Customer service insisted the price was per blade and admonished me for ordering online and not calling and clarifying the cost per blade before placing my order. I did call twice before placing my order online, but was placed on hold both times in excess of 15 minutes. Like a dummy, I went ahead and ordered online. Had the price online been for a package of three, as expected, it would have been in line with the price I pay retail locally for a package of three. ($3.31 online vs. $5.95 retail). I have received a return authorization number and will see to it tomorrow. Now I'm out $24 shipping, a credit card charge until the items are received back by them and still no blades. I would recommend that you DO NOT DO BUSINESS with Outdoor Distributors!

On June 7 2009, I placed an online order with Outdoor Distributors via the Internet for some parts for my Tecumseh lawn mower engine. My credit card was debited almost immediately. On June 24, I had not received my order, so I sent an email using the link on the Outdoor Distributors website, requesting the status of my order. I have never received a reply. Today (June 26), I called them at 205-669-2500. While I was on hold, I found numerous online complaints about this company and their very poor customer service record. After being on hold for about 25 minutes, I was told by Outdoor Distributors that they could not find my order, and they wanted a call back number. The online complaints that I found indicated that many people have had this experience, so I requested a refund. I was told that would take 5-10 business days, which is absurd given the fact it took them only a few hours to process a charge to my credit card. I submitted a complaint to the Alabama Attorney General's office. DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH OUTDOOR DISTRIBUTORS!!!

I placed an order online with this company on 6/10/09. My checking account was immediately charged. I waited the 7 working days for the order to arrive. It didn't so I called the company and told it was backordered (sound familiar?) and it might come in the following week. When I called the following week, the CSR said it wasn't in and couldn't say when it would be in. I cancelled the order and when I looked for the refund in my account, it wasn't there so I called again and was given a run around to the effect that it would take 5-to 7days to put the money back into my account. I told them I would contact my bank to dispute the charge. In the meantime, I filed a complaint online with the AL State Attorney General's consumer protection division. It appears the company may be using other people's money without having to pay any interest. Another interesting side note. The owners and employees are listed on their website. Two of those I talked with, one I was told was the Manager, are not listed on the website. I definitely would not recommend doing business with Outdoor Distributors.

Ordered Parts on May 31, 2009. Finally after many phone calls they say on June 25th that my order has just been shipped..... We will see..... Very poor customer service. I will never order from them again. I was one of the lucky ones, if I do get this order.
They charge your credit card the same day you order, they do not send you any emails if the parts are on backorder, you have to keep calling , and calling to get any answers ....and then they put you on hold for 10mins. VERY BAD COMPANY....STAY AWAY

Ordered and paid for parts on 5-01-2009 still waiting on 2 other parts that should have came with the first part . after many calls still cannot get the other 2 parts i pd for , after each call attempt they tell me their supervisor will call with details . after almost 2 mths past still no parts or phone calls or emails . next step the BBB. If your thinking of ordering from these people ,THINK TWICE ,BUYER BEWARE

I should have done some homework on these people before I placed the order for some replacement parts for my Tecumseh lawnmower engine. I followed the instructions in the order confirmation e-mail, giving them "7 working days" to receive my parts. After nine business days and no parts, I tried calling their toll-free number, and got repeated busy signals or endless ringing. Same with the direct line. An e-mail got me no response. Later I decided to try the phone again, and after a few attempts someone answered and immediately put me on hold. As the minutes ticked by, I twice heard someone pick up my line and say coarsely, "Thanks for holding, you're next." Then half-way through saying "I'd like to check on my order... " I heard the hold music return. Finally, after being on hold for 20 minutes, I was able to speak to someone and have them check on my order. Came to find out it was out of stock, they were waiting to get it from their "other warehouse", and it hadn't even shipped yet. Since I had seen the very same parts available from other online retailers, I asked to cancel the order and get a refund. They said the refund would be processed on my credit card within one week... a delay I think unreasonable, but I'll just have to keep a close eye on it.

In an age where technology enables a superior level of communication and order-status feedback with customers, and where retailers distinguish themselves less by pricing and more by good customer service, this is one of the worst companies I have encountered in a long time. I doubt it will be long before they dry up and blow away.

I ordered a part for my lawnmower in April. I received the customary email notification that my order had been received and I could expect delivery within 7 business days. It specifically states not to contact them before the 7 business days or it will delay the order. Since I'm in a remote area, I gave them an extra week for delivery. The charge was posted to my credit card account on May 1. I tried emailing them to let them know that it was well past the 7 days and did not receive a reply. By mid May I tried contacting the company by phone several times and only received a "could you hold please" response and then no one ever came back on the line. By May 20 I decided I would wait on the line as long as necessary (which was about 10 minutes). I explained why I was calling and then was put on hold for another 2-3 minutes while she looked up my order, I guess, or tried to think of an excuse to give me. I was then told that the part had been received by them, but the packaging was damaged so they had to reorder another part which should arrive within a week (of course, they never informed me about this). I explained how I had been trying to get through to them and all she said was "they've been very busy the past week." After another week, I tried calling again and was surprised that a person actually answered the call. I told her I had my order number and wanted to cancel my order since it had been over a month. She asked me to hold and I told her I didn't want to be put on hold again. She then "very rudely" tells me that I had 9 callers ahead of me and that I would be put on the bottom of the list and answered in the order the calls came in. She did not give me a chance to respond; only hit a button and I was placed on hold again. I plan to dispute the charge with my credit card company and have it charged back to them. I sent them another email about their lousy customer service and how they state on their website something like "all internet orders will be handled by a real person and that you will be treated as a real customer, not just an order number; they bust their humps to give great customer service." I beg to differ. They are the rudest people I have ever encountered for customer service. I will never order from them again!

I ordered several parts from OUTDOORDISTRIBUTORS.COM on Sun 5/17/2009 because their prices would save me about $12 dealer direct. I received an e-mail the same day stating stating that my parts should arrive within 7 WORKING days. On Tue the charges posted to my credit card on 5/19/2009 - legally you can not charge a credit card for an online order until it ships to the customer so I assumed they had shipped my items. On Thur 5/28 I tried to call them several times to find out about my order. They kept answering the phone saying "would you please hold" and then they put me on hold before I could even answer. After 10 minutes of holding I hung up and tried on Friday. On 5/29 when I spoke to them they told me that they were really busy and hadn't had a chance to ship my order and that it would probably go out next week. I told them to cancel my order because it would be another 7 working days before they arrive. DON'T BUY FROM THIS COMPANY - THE SAVINGS IS NOT WORTH THE WAIT.

I contacted Outdoor Distributors concerning replacement parts for a Poulan Chainsaw and was told the parts were in stock. I placed the order online and paid via AMEX. I received an email stating the order was received and the order would be processed and shipped "ASAP". The message said to allow 7 working days. After 8 business days passed I emailed the provided customer service address. No response. I called and never got a response. I emailed again and asked them for either a tracking number or confirmation that they were canceling my order. Again, no response. I am going to proceed with a dispute via AMEX and ensure they are forced to refund the money they received without having filled the order. Very bad business to deal with. Do your homework. Do a Google search on "Outdoor Distributors Complaints" and see the huge number of hits you will receive. Horrible operation. BEWARE!!!!

I read the negative reviews on this company, and decided to give them a chance anyways because of their low price on belts. Well the old saying still stands-You get what you pay for! Off of their website, i cross-referenced their part numbers with the Dixon mower belt numbers i needed. I called and spoke with a girl there and verified that the part numbers i was ordering, were in fact the replacement numbers for the Dixon belts. She confirmed and i placed the order. After about 6 days (my yard is nearly knee-high at this point), the box shows up with the wrong belts in it. They are not even close. My belts are approx 5 -6 ft long. The belts i recieved are 2 ft long at best. I sent them emails (they have yet to answer them). I called three times this morning, and got put on hold for about ten minutes each time. Finally i called a fourth time and told the girl not to put me on hold because i was busy and needed to speak with someone now. She said well you should've held on longer, because the calls are answered in the order they are received-now you will be put at the bottom of the list again. I told her that if she put me on hold again for the fourth time, that i would simply refuse the charges on my Visa, and they could do whatever they wanted about picking the belts up. She said "you'll do no such thing"-and put me on hold. I will never again order anything from them even if i have to pay double for them somewhere else. Very unproffesional, very rude.
Im done with them and i would suggest that if you're thinking of placing an order with them-DONT.

I would strongly recommend NOT using Outdoor Distributors to anyone seeking replacement mower parts. I could have saved myself alot of headache if I would have checked Dave's Garden comment section (and other Internet review boards) before ordering from them in the first place - alot of honest information, almost identical to what I've now experienced. I place an order on April 24th and am told the order will ship in 7 business days. Early may I call back, not only have they not shipped the parts, but they were not ordered from their warehouse to be shipped. I decide to cancel the order and ask for a credit to be placed back on my Visa card. After MULTIPLE attempts in speaking with MULTIPLE people, inluding Wanda, Steve, LuLu, and others (In a calm and understanding manner), I have been lied to and still have not received the credit back on my card. After being told today (LuLu) that the credit was issued on May 13th but could take two weeks to process (at the card company), I call the bank and they state they have never received the credit information "supposedly" sent from OD, and that the credit should always appear within 3 to 5 days of issuance.

Also, Everytime you call their number, you are immediately placed on hold for a minimum of 6 minutes, and are forced to listen to blaring music, and many times are returned to hold without an option when/if someone does pickup.

Many of the folks who pickup the phone are somewhat rude and seem to have an attitude that they are doing me a favor by speaking with me.

I highy recommend ordering parts from another company (or better yet, buying locally where you can) - it is NOT worth the hassle dealing with these people.

I ordered some parts for my tiller and paid for them with pay pal. 5 -7 days later I was emailed that the $1.98 part was on back order . I told them to cancel that part of the order and they refunded the $1.98 back to my paypal acct. 8 days later they emailed that the other part was no longer available I had had enough and told them to cancel the entire order and refund the payment to my pay pal account. they said that it would be done that day. I emailed them 3 times at 3 day intervals that I had not recieved the refund -- No response
I callled and the representative said that her supervisor would do it that day. I told them that if it wasnt done that day I would open a dispute with pay pal. I opened the dispute at 5:01 and it was refunded the next day.. Outdoor distributors is OFF my list of vendors.. I will NEVER use them or refer other to use them. Take my advice DONT USE them

I ordered a crankshaft for a Tecunseh 8HP chipper engine. When the shaft arrived it was obviously used and covered with surface rust. The output shaft was heavily painted. After I installed it the shaft broke on the first pull of the starter. Examination of the break showed it had been broken before and welded then painted over to conceal the repair. I sent them a description and picture and have not recieved a reply as yet. (I'll be suprised if they respond to my request for a replacement). Reading other reports on this outfit this sounds like the norm for them.

Ordered parts to overhaul my garden tractor and engine in early fall. Used their online parts guide to identify parts needed, one of which was a crankshaft for $147.69. My orders totaled about $500.

The crankshaft turned out to be the wrong shaft diameter (in spite of the fact their guide said it was the right part). OK, things happen, called the parts desk. Told them of the issue, got an RMA to return the crank and placed an order for what was supposed to be the correct crank. Got an email a few days later saying part was now backordered but should ship within 10-15 days.

Meanwhile, I return the other crank and wait... and wait... and wait... After three weeks without notification, they charge my credit card for the part that they don't have and haven't shipped (very unusual business practice). Now after 3 full months and multiple calls to them, still no part and I haven't gotten the credit for for my returned item either!

Called today to follow-up on my credit and was told it had been processed. I then told them I was not willing to wait any longer for the replacement part (both Briggs & Stratton and Sears Parts Direct had it in stock). Then they told me that because I was canceling my replacement order I was only going to receive a partial refund on the returned part because the were now going to assess a restocking fee (keep in mind that this is the refund that they told me they had already processed and their own system had showed this to be the correct part). So they are charging me a fee after they have held over $300 of my money for more that 3 months.

Now I guess I'll have to wait some more to see if I actually receive either of the two credits that are due to me before I complain to my credit card company. I will not do business again with such a shady outfit and will advise others not to do business with them as well.

I would suggest you look elsewhere on the Internet for lawn & graden items. Outdoor Distributors has very obnoxious & rude customer service and my experience with them was clearly a breach of contract.
I ordered parts from their website. The price on the website was $35.00 for the parts plus shipping totaled $47.00. They emailed an order acknowledgement for $47.00 and immediately billed my credit card for $47.00. After 3 1/2 weeks I called to see where the parts were. They said the 'new' price was $98.00. I was told that they did not have to honor the price on the order acknowledgement and it did not matter that they had charged my credit card 3 1/2 weeks ago. I either had to pay $98.00 or they would not ship the parts.They also claimed that they called me (they didn't) and sent an email. When I asked them to resend the email she screamed 'I'm cancelling the order' and hung up. They never did credit my credit card so I have to dispute the charge.

I am disputing the charge from Outdoor Distributors of 7031 Highway 47 , Shelby Alabama 35143 . On July 11th 2008 I ordered a replacement transaxle from them. During the conversation with the initial phone parts person I gave her the actual part # off of the current axle on my lawn tractor. That part # is 618-0034. I also told her that I had heard their may be replacement # for that axle but I did not know what it was. She told me that it was superseded to new part # of 753-0556. I told her that the axle was for a White Riding Lawn mower with 4 wheel steering. She said that this part should fir. I said lets order it. The order was taken and I was informed it would be dropped shipped to me.

The part arrived on the day I was leaving on vacation and didn’t inspect it until I got back on July 30th. After opening the box and placing it up to the existing axle on the riding lawn mower, there was a noticeable difference in the part. I compared the part # on the box and saw it was what the parts person said I needed. I then looked at the actual part that was in the box and noticed that the part # that was stamped into it was 618-0163. Which was different than the box and different than the old part that was on the lawnmower.

I then called the following day ( July 31st ) and spoke to another parts person and explained the situation. She stated that this was the 3rd call of wrong parts this day so far and was frustrated. She took all of the part #’s and asked me to hold so she could talk to a supervisor. She came back on the line and said someone would contact me within 24 hours> I asked what would happen and Natalie stated that they just had to figure out how to credit me as this was a drop ship order from the factory. I said ok I will wait to hear from you. Friday August 1st came and went with no call from outdoor distributors.

On Monday August 4th at approx 10:45 I tried calling “ Outdoor Distributors” and requested to speak with Natalie. I was put on hold for approx 5-6 minutes and several people came on the line and asked if they could help and asked my name and I stated I was holding for Natalie. She never picked up. I then hung up and hit * 67 and called back at approx 11:00 am. The person who answered the phone asked who was calling and said please wait, they then came back on the line and said she would call me back. Natalie then called my work at approx 11:05 am, and left a message for me to call her.

I called her back at approx 11:08 am, and she said her manager authorized a return but there would be a 15 % restock fee. I was puzzled and asked would I have to pay shipping as well ? Natalie said her manager Wanda said yes I would. I said “ Do you think that’s fair that I ordered part # 618-0034 and was shipped the wrong part and that there was a difference of what was on the box and the actual part in the box ? “ She then stated that “ we do not normally take back transaxles at all “ I stated “ I was never informed of this for one, and two there is a wrong part in the wrong box”.

Natalie also stated during this conversation that” the girl who took your initial order was NEW and Blonde and didn’t know what she was doing and looked up the wrong superseded # “


She gave me a return Authorization # of 360620-R-WB . I stated I don’t think this is fair and am considering disputing this with my credit card company. She then said hang on and came back online and stated “ Wanda says if you are going to do that then we wont take it back at all “ I then hung up the phone and started the Dispute Process. I also have filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.


Too bad cause I thought I found a great company to get parts from.....

Time for them to get a New Customer " Service Dept "

The comments above are my opinion only and based on my recent business dealings with " Outdoor Distributors".

Google them and Look at the Better Business Bureau.

Zero customer service after the sale. When we discovered the part we ordered would not fit our mower it took lots of nagging to get a return authorization. We paid for return shipping & were willing to eat the restocking fee. Now that they have the item back they're disputing whether everything was returned and are refusing to issue a credit. Their employee, Wanda, stated "we're not giving you anything" and hung up. Stay away!

Due to an error in a parts crossover table I received a pair of wrong items as part of a larger shipment from this firm. I contacted customer support to inform them of the error and request an RMA and replacements for the incorrect items. It was literally impossible to detect the error as their site carried no images of these items and the typical cryptic descriptors make it difficult to catch such problems.

To make a long story short, the correct items shipped, as a complete replacement order at full shipping charge (22% of the total order cost), and also included a fraudulent and unwanted "insurance" fee (UPS shipments carry $100 worth of insurance for free for each and every shipment). So far there is no sign of a refund for the returned items, and I am sadly expecting a punishment (restocking) fee to apply as well.

In short, while these guys appear to have a lower cost for parts, you may want to consider doing business with a more reputable firm. Sadly, this isn't the first time I have learned this lesson, but I guess these guys surprised me, somehow I had expected better from them.

I did not get the parts that I ordered so three weeks later I called to cancel the order and spoke with Kelly who said "Dude those parts don't just grow on trees it takes some [deleted] time to get them dude".
When I asked to speak to her boss I was told that he dont speak to anyone unless they are very important.
When I finally did speak to him he told me The internet and the world are big places and that the loss of my business would not hurt him.
After another two weeks and a complaint to the BBB I finally got a refund on the 111.88 that they had charged me.