I placed an order with Charley's of 5 or 6 items, and the entire order was backordered. I found this somewhat surprising, since the majority of the order was basic propagation items. On the plus side, a representative did call me, allowed me to make some calls to see if I could get the items elsewhere, and when I called back, politely accepted my cancellation. Further, my credit card had not been charged, since no items were shipped, which saved me the trouble of having to wait for a refund to be processed. All in all, the customer service was great, the supply side... not so spiffy.

The Positive: I like getting their catalog. I think their web site is easy to use and provide lots of back up information on the products. One of the better ones around.

The Negative: My small order was placed on June 27th. Shipping didn't happen until July 3rd. Received on the July 13th. The one item I really wanted was back ordered (although it still shows as "in-stock" on the web site). No idea if or when it will be shipped.

I would order from them again, but only if I wasn't in a hurry and it isn't for something I needed right away.

I have no real complaint with Charley's, except for the fact that they insist on using Fed Ex to ship orders. My last order was in early December, but I recieved it three weeks later. The shipper was supposed to leave it by the back door, but it was left on the ground next to the mailbox, a tenth of a mile from my house. The order was split, and again I left instructions where to put it, but they weren't followed. I asked the order person at Charley's to please ship it via UPS or US Postal. They said they can't because they have a contract with Fed Ex.

I placed my first order on their website, which I found easy to use and contained a great deal of information. My order showed up in just a few days. All of the items were as discribed and in perfect condition. I will definitely buy from them again

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