I had done the research and agonized over what my next bike would be. I read all the great things that were said about IBEX and its customer service on MTBR. Even with some misgivings, you can check my other threads about the look of IBEX bikes, I decided to take the plunge and get the Trophy Pro. This was even after I originally had intended to buy just the Trophy Comp. So many great reviews about IBEX and the fact that the Comp was sold out with no definite date for restocking, made me decided to go for the much more expensive Trophy Pro.
I placed my order on Friday. Over the weekend I had my anniversary and my wife, knowing I had wanted a new bike for some time, bought me a new Trek. Monday morning, I sent IBEX an email to cancel my order. I get a reply saying that there is a 10% cancellation fee. I reply back that I thought there was a 30 day money back guarantee. 10% would have come out to $138. To me, $138 for doing NOTHING was excessive. I get back a reply from the owner saying that the 10% fee held and that if I tried to take delivery of the bike and return it, I would not have the 30 day money back guarantee. Wow, this guy is already starting to tighten the screws. He was thinking about the cost of shipping back and forth, about $70 versus $138. He wants every cent.
I reply telling him I think $138 is excessive. A credit card chargeback cost what, $20, $30, at most? What did he do to deserve $138? He basically did nothing. The bikes are in a box in some warehouse and hadn't been shipped out yet. It can take 3 days to ship. I would have been more than willing to pay a fair and reasonable fee to cover the chargeback. He sends me following reply,
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Looking at the records here, it appears that my staff spent in excess of 6-hours researching and answering email from you. We also incur man-hours processing the refund and readjusting inventory tracking, as well as processing fees themselves. I hardly call that "doing nothing". Regardless, our cancellation policy is clearly stated on our website. That's the way it is and that's the way it remains.
As far as shipping the bike and then returning it, you are overlooking the fact that we absorb a portion of the shipping cost and have a special deal for oversized packages that does not apply to return shipping. Yes, the outbound charge is $35, but it could cost you as much as $150 for the return shipping. You would also be liable for any damages that occurred during return shipping. Bottom line, I'm not going to allow us to be put at risk by a customer who has proven himself to be insincere and already stated the intent to return. I will not absorb any part of the shipping cost on an order that is not based on the expectation of being a final purchase.
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6 hours!!! I sent a total of 5 emails to these people. It's more like 20-30 minutes, if that.
Processing and readjusting inventory tracking?!!!! How much work was done with my one order? Zip, None!
$150 to ship a bike!!! Please, go to eBay, my friends have shipped bikes for $40.
Liability!!!! He's blaming me for problems before they happen.
Insincere and intent to return!!! I had every intention to ride the bike if not for circumstances. He was the one that REVOKED my 30 day money back guarantee.
Bottom line, a good (not even a GREAT) company would have assessed a reasonable fee to cover the chargeback. IBEX must be living on a shoestring budget if they're gonna nickel/dime me. It wasn't really a matter of the money so much as the principle. Charging me an excessive fee for doing nothing made me feel like I was being ripped off. Plus I get the BS reply. Where is the vaunted, understanding customer service that I read all about??? Am I supposed to be paying for all the people who decided that IBEX bikes were crap and then returned them?
)...they had no problem answering my questions and changing the shipping info after I ordered. However, if I cancel the order tomorrow, I'd totally understand having to pay a 10% fee...even though the bike will not ship until the 31st. 
