AVOID – “In Stock” Means Very Little and Customer Service Is Virtually Non-Existent

I placed and paid for an order with Audico for a Boox Note Air5C and magnetic case after the product was indicated as IN STOCK, with delivery indicated within approximately two days.

A week later, my order had still not even been dispatched.

What makes the experience particularly unacceptable is not simply the delay, but Audico's complete inability to provide meaningful information about an order for which they have already taken payment.

After following up, I was eventually told that my payment had been received and the order was still “Processing”, that there was no courier shipment or tracking number, and that they were “checking the fulfilment status”.

How does a retailer not know the fulfilment status of its own order a week after accepting payment for an item advertised as being in stock?

Either the item is in stock and should have been allocated and dispatched, or it isn't in stock and the customer should be told this. Instead, I was given no confirmed stock status, no dispatch date and no expected delivery date.

Trying to get assistance is equally frustrating. The support line is automated, with seemingly no way of actually speaking to a human being, and responses through the available support channels are extremely slow. For an online retailer handling relatively expensive products, this level of customer service is simply not acceptable.

If Audico contacted me proactively and explained that there was an unexpected delay, I would have been a bit more understanding. Instead, I have to chase them for information, only to receive a vague response that still couldn't tell me when I would receive something that was supposedly in stock and available for two-day delivery when they took my money.

I have subsequently requested that the order be cancelled and my money refunded.

I have no confidence in Audico and do not trust them. Delays happen. What matters is how a company deals with them. Taking a customer's money, providing virtually no communication, being extremely difficult to contact and then being unable to provide a meaningful status update on an “in-stock” order a week later is exceptionally poor service.

I will not purchase from Audico again, and based on my experience I cannot recommend them.