Questionable business practices ahoy!

I ordered a couple of 8x8 LED matrices from Futurlec about three weeks ago. I just now recieved the parts.

When I placed my order, everything proceeded fine: recieved confirmation and saw the money beamed out of my account within minutes. A week later, I hadn't seen anything about shipping info or even a notice that it was shipped at all. I sent an email over to them, and actually got a response the next day (many people have said they've never heard a thing back, ever).

They told me that the matrix I ordered was out of stock, and then proceeded to give me a list of possible alternatives. Out of curiosity, I checked their website...it was still listed as in stock. I replied, giving a polite complaint regarding the shady practice of taking money for something that you can't offer. I also asked if they had any ETA on when those parts would be back in stock. Unfortunately, I made a side-comment about another part that I could concievably use, but the main focus of my email was "Do you know when these will be available?"

The response back was, "Thank you for your order, and an additional $XX has been debited from your account. We will ship it today."

But, I didn't update my order. Whatever. I didn't really fight it, because the cost was still only $11, and they were parts I could use.

The order was placed on April 16, the email exchange and promise of shipment was on April 24. The parts arrived May 12. le sigh.

I know I'm not dealing with Amazon or Mouser. This isn't a huge company or anything. They're also shipping from Thailand. However, I would have preferred a more honest and forthright response from them. If I hadn't emailed, how long would it have been until I recieved anything from them? That's not cool.

I posted a short blurb on this over at LadyAda's Wiki:

Nate says: eeeh. I have to give these guys a serious caveat emptor. I ordered a few pieces of a single part, and aside from seeing my account debited within minutes, I didn't hear anything for a week. Finally, I emailed them asking for a status update, and a day later a rep told me that the part I requested was out of stock when I ordered, and was given a list of alternatives, and that they weren't going to see any more of my part soon. I checked the page, and it still said they were in stock. I replied, questioning the dubious nature of taking someone's money, and not bothering to tell them that their paid request couldn't be fulfilled. I also mentioned a possible replacement piece, but first wanted to know if they had any idea when my specific parts would be in. Another day or so went by, and I simply received an email stating that my account was charged an additional amount (price difference) and that the other parts would be shipped immediately. …not what I asked for. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have even mentioned the other part. I didn't push the matter any further, though. The parts will get used, for sure, and it wasn't a huge amount of money (less than $15, including shipping). But, overall, I'm not at all thrilled with their service, and would seriously warn anyone from buying from them without giving it some thought. Next time, I'll go through eBay for cheap parts.