AVA Direct
Reviews and Complaints

Over 2 years ago I ordered a system. I still have no factual proof of delivery so I'm out of over $2700. Not only that but I was also informed I couldn't get the "free" digital download games without receiving the hardware. Here are the facts gathered from my order:
FedEx was unable to determine where they were on my property via their own GPS tracking during time of delivery.
FedEx's "signature" was not that of mine but one that matched exactly a cursive font from Microsoft word.
FedEx's driver gave a very generic description of the person that supposedly signed for the package which at the time only possibly matched one of my neighbors who did not have the computer.
My neighbor noted he saw a FedEx truck but did not see them unload a package.
After a supposed investigation somehow this conjecture was proof of delivery and I was denied any compensation.
Not only this but the hours of frustration spent all for nothing was unbelievable because Ava would not stand behind their own customer. I had to contact FedEx and go through a bunch of hoops. Perhaps that specific problem was internal to FedEx. I don't know, but what I do know is that I had no choice in who the carrier was and that Avadirects website blatantly claims a signature is required for delivery. Clearly no real signature was given nor identification checked to see IF there really was a person on my property whether or not they should be eligible to sign for the product.
Not only this, but I was also able to purchase parts with better warranty and get them all much sooner than the weeks of parts allocated took for their process and at a better price. Buyer beware, avadirect does not stand behind their customers. What's really sad is the much greater amount of money they would have made by just making this right and having a loyal customer for years to come. Guess management doesn't see that or really thing about long term profit, just how many quick onetime instances they can rip someone off. I also requested to speak with someone further up the chain in management and was denied to be able to do so as the rep stated there wasn't a point and it wouldn't do me any good.
Ava559145 is order number.

Nonexistent customer service, punishing cancellation fees, shady business practices

I ordered a PC and attempted to cancel the order 4 days later but was unable to reach them via phone (busy signal all the time), live chat (no live agent came on the line), and online form (no response). By the time I got ahold of them, they wanted to charge me $100 to cancel an order they hadn't built or shipped yet claiming they had "allocated parts for my order" by putting the parts in a bin. They fabricated a cancellation charge with no documentation of what 'parts had been allocated' and asked for it over the phone. I filed a dispute with my credit card and received my money back but I highly recommend you steer clear of this company. If necessary, play hardball and file a chargeback.

They also have very suspicious online reviews (ResellerRatings.com) where they have 100% positive reviews in 1 year... they don't have a SINGLE bad review in 365 days — absolutely shady! My own negative review of them on that site mysteriously disappeared and won't appear.

There are tons of negative reviews about them on social media forums where reviews can't be removed/manipulated so search on computer forums, Reddit, etc. Please do your research, take your money elsewhere, and don't buy from them!

I have always been using gaming computers/laptops from big companies like HP, DELL etc. This time I decided to try AVA as I saw their advertisements. Trust Me, this was the biggest mistake I have ever done in my life. Within 1 month of purchasing a $2200 gaming laptop it started giving problems; keyboard, display issues, sleep mode problem etc. I went for repair once, they fixed the the issues and gave back the laptop with a bigger issue: Noise. They had made some mistake while repairing. Don`t Ask, it used to make so much noise that it would overcome the full volume of its speaker. Went back and serviced again. Worked fine for a month and then the keyboard problems started again. This time same keyboard keys had the problem. Begged them to find a permanent alternative to the problem. They asked me to go for service again and gave back the laptop claiming the problem is fixed. All this happened within 6 months of the purchase. It worked fine for another month and then the keyboard problem started once again with the exact same keys causing the problem, just like last 2 times. This time I pushed them for an alternative solution, but they insisted on bring the PC for service once again. So I agreed again, but this time they didn't fix the issue. Rather they blamed me saying that there was some kind of fluid spill or something. Seriously! Same problem, same keys and same PC but this time they changed the story with some [censored] photographs. I remembered this was also there when I was returned the PC last time. But guess what they didn't care. So basically;

We had a PC with repeated history of same problem (which at-least has been tried to fix 2-3 times within 6 months of purchase). It had a keyboard problem with at-least 6 keys in particular. This problem has been tried to fix twice or thrice. Then, the people who fixed it, have made one error in the past which led to immense noise in the fan and had to be dealt later again. After at-least 3 repairs in 6 months, the customer faces the exact same problem with the keyboard with the exact same keys and he pushes the customer service to give a permanent solution. And this time customer service replies that the problem is made due to some fluid spill which can be allegedly proven some marks, which the customer is ascertain were there after the last repair and which actually don't even fully prove that it is a fluid spill or something else. The customer service admitted in the past to have problems with thermal paste maybe it was because of that or something else. But no, based on all this, the conclusion is "There was a fluid spill by customer". SO warranty void. LOL!

DISGRACE!

I ordered an AVA Direct destop computer. After placing the order, I called to conform the status of.my shipping date. I was told that my computer was "pending assembly" and that it would ship in 10 to 14 business days. The person I dealt with (Joe, I think) was smug and condescending. I patiently waited the 14 business day, and at the end of the 15th business day, I received a vague email about how busy the company is and that my order would be delayed for an unspecified period of time. I called AVA Direct again to ask for an estimated completion date, and I again got the same smug and condescending person, who told me that my computer was still "pending assembly" and that he couldn't estimate when it would be ready, but maybe in 7 days. This is a terrible way to do business. It's my first encounter with AVA Direct. I was making thus purchase expermentally, as I had heard good things about the priduct, and I am in the market to purchase 19 replacement computers for my business in the third quarter of 2017. I consider customer service to be equally important as the physical product, so on the basis of their very poor customer servoce, I will take my business elsewhere, no matter how good the product may be. My advice: Don't order from AVA Direct; there are plenty of other providers who actually care about your business.

Motherboard failed in 18 months; not covered by Warranty.
Memory failed in 24 months.
Computer has been at AVADirect for six weeks waiting for memory to be replaced. Despite my many protests, they have not returned by computer to me.

I thought "why spend big bucks for a pre-configured PC? I'll configure a unit that will do what I need it to do. The only problem is ... it "blue screens" continually. I've never had a PC before so I figure this is common...apparently, not so
I cannot contact AVA because their entry codes won't accept their own prompts. I'm looking foreward to using a PC that will run longer than 5 min & it won't have anything to do with AVA DIRECT

The experience described by Jack, in his 05-16-2008 post is almost identical to my experience with AVA Direct. I also had an almost identical experience with this guy "Misha" who took my order.

Jack describes the computer he purchased from AVa as a A malfunctioning, buggy, slow piece of *#^&@%. After having nothing but problems for a year with the computer I purchased, Misha had the nerve to say I was being vulger when I said the computer he sold me was a piece of sh_t.

I have been very disappointed with the computer that I purchased from this company for $5493 last year. I have been using computers since the early 1980s and the computer I purchased from AVA is one of the most annoying, buggy, difficult computers I have ever had the displeasure of using. Now, on top of other problems I have had with this machine, there appears to be a significant hardware issue with the machine that is affecting it's ability to start. Since this company is located several thousand miles from where I live, it is necessary for me to go through the big hassle of shipping the machine back to them for repair because they refuse to pay for or send a technician to me even though the computer is under a 3 year warranty. Based upon my experience with this company, this is not a real fun company to deal with. I had to pay to have my computer fixed somewhere else after receiving support advice that made the problems I was having worse. In addition, when I started asking specific questions about what I could expect from the warranty service, how much things would cost, and how long it would take, I wasn't satisfied with the responses I received. I was not going to take the chance that my computer would be damaged in transit and I was not satisfied that the many problems would or could be fixed by AVA. This guy Misha, who says he is the co-owner of AVA, is not the type of person that I ever want to do business with again. I will be sending him a bill for the repairs I had to get done on the machine I purchased from AVA and will be asking for a refund on the money I paid for this warranty.

I payed $4200.00(more than my last 3 cars cost!) for a buggy, malfunctioning, slow piece of garbage, and was talked into settling for choices I did not want by high level employees that are nothing more than fast talking con men. When you're buying your big bucks notebook, everything's peaches and cream and anything's possible. Once they have your money however, 'this' isn't possible and 'that' isn't compatible and they never implied that, etc, etc.

I actually pulled over $4000.00 back from AlienWare because the company seemed so shady and had terrible reviews and sent it to AVA Direct instead based on their too good to be true reputation. I had been calling the company to ask questions and figure out the best system I could afford and was having terrible luck getting through to there tech rep Chris Vermundy. He never answers the phone no matter what time you call and always calls you back at the worst times when your in the middle of work, obviously at HIS convenience. Yet the sales people always say he's the one to answer your questions.

So finally after several weeks of this I asked if there was anyone else I could speak to and was transferred to Misha Troshin, the head sales rep. In what was probably an omen I now see, upon telling Misha that at this time I did not want to give personal information about myself over the phone as I did with Alienware and repeat a mistake that resulted in harassing high pressure sales tactics phone calls, he immediately got snotty and said, ' well, your the one who had to speak with someone right now!'.

So, in a twist of fate, Misha ends up taking my order personally and proceeds to advise me on the best choices for what I'm hoping is a screaming state of the art notebook. I have to fight with him the whole time to get the latest components that Alienware, Sager and ExtremeNotebooks all include in the same model Clevo notebook because AVA is so far behind the curve. That was a 'joy' in itself and a source of constant aggravation and endless phone calls. I actually had to inform HIM of the latest wireless, graphics and WiFi cards on the market and listen to him tell me they aren't for this notebook or aren't yet on the open market when the other notebook manufacturers all had them. He would get smart or snotty with me and then eventually admitted that AVA purchases all their components on Ebay or similar places in bulk and can 'only get what they can get'... He finally agreed to check on the current availability of some of the components I wanted. Then 1 or 2 weeks later I would see them offered as choices on the AVA site.
I'M DOING ALL THEY'RE RESEARCH FOR THEM! Funny...

So finally after all this nonsense the big day comes and I call to finalize my order. Misha advises me on no uncertain terms that the purchase of a faster 2.8mhz or so processor is a waste of money for too little of a speed increase and that the 2.4 'stepping' processor is the way to go, because they can just overclock it and it will be faster than the more expensive one. I ask if he's positive it can be done- he says sure, they do this all the time. I ask will it void the warranty- he says no, they have professionals who do this, there's nothing to worry about. So I think wow, what a great guy, this is gonna be a screaming notebook, and I saved a couple bucks.

But it turned up to be worst experience ever!

I specifically picked AVA Direct because of all the steller reviews on ResellerRatings.com, but not only was that a big mistake but I'm HIGHLY suspicious that there isn't some sort of incestuous relationship going on between them. Almost every review on ResellerRating for AVA Direct is positively glowing, and my 1 negative review gets pulled for 'review' and then disappears, even though it's supposed to appear 48 hrs later, meanwhile 12 glowing reviews pop up that were written long after mine.

I payed $4200.00(more than my last 3 cars cost!) for a buggy, malfunctioning, slow piece of garbage, and was talked into settling for choices I did not want by high level employees that are nothing more than fast talking con men.

When you're buying your big bucks notebook, everything's peaches and cream and anything's possible. Once they have your money however, 'this' isn't possible and 'that' isn't compatible and they never implied 'that', etc, etc.

I actually pulled over $4000.00 back from AlienWare because the company seemed so shady and had terrible reviews and sent it to AVA' instead based on their too good to be true reputation.

I had been calling the company to ask questions and figure out the best system I could afford and was having terrible luck getting through to there tech rep 'Chris'. He never answers the phone no matter what time you call and always calls you back at the worst times when your in the middle of work, obviously at HIS convenience. Yet the sales peaple always say he's the one to answer your questions.

So finally after several weeks of this I asked if there was anyone else I could speak to and was transferred to 'Misha', the head sales rep. In what was problably an omen I now see, upon telling Misha that at this time I did not want to give personal information about myself over the phone as I did with Alienware and repeat a mistake that resulted in harassing high pressure sales tactics phone calls, he immediately got snotty and said, "WELL, YOUR THE ONE WHO HAD TO SPEAK TO SOMEONE RIGHT NOW" !

So, in a twist of fate, Misha ends up taking my order personally and proceeds to advise me on the best choices for what I'm hoping is a screaming state of the art notebook.

I have to fight with him the whole time to get the latest components that Alienware, Sager and ExtremeNotebooks all include in the same model Clevo notebook because AVA is so far behind the curve.

That was a 'joy' in itself and a source of constant aggravation and endless phone calls. I actually had to inform HIM of the latest wireless, graphics and WiFi cards on the market and listen to him tell me they aren't for this notebook or aren't yet on the open market when the other notebook manufacturers all had them. He would get smart or snotty with me and then eventually admitted that AVA purchases all their components on Ebay or similar places in bulk and can 'only get what they can get'... He finally agreed to check on the current availability of some of the components I wanted. Then 1 or 2 weeks later I would see them offered as choices on the AVA site. Funny...

So finally after all this nonsense the big day comes and I call to finalize my order. Misha advises me on no uncertain terms that the purchase of a faster 2.8mhz or so processor is a waste of money for too little of a speed increase and that the 2.4 'stepping' processor is the way to go, because they can just overclock it and it will be faster than the more expensive one. I ask if he's positive it can be done- he says sure, they do this all the time. I ask will it void the warranty- he says no, they have professionals who do this, there's nothing to worry about. So I think wow, what a great guy, this is gona be a scream'n notebook, and I saved a couple bucks.

When it came to the operating system I repeatedly told him I didn't want Vista, but he AND tech rep Chris assured me I had no choice, the notebook I picked wouldn't work with XP or anything else, even though many other OS's were offered as choices. So against my wishes Vista it was.

I also pick a 7in1 Iomega card reader because this 'state of the art' notebook only has a 4in1 reader.

I also am told by Misha this 'top of the line notebook' has an EXTERNAL volume control...

I also pick the super expensive dual SLI graphics cards...

I print out my order, put a personal hand written note with it detailing Misha's promises of overclocked processors and say if my notebook can't be overclocked for any reason to call me immediately, in plain English.

I also waited over 2 months to receive my purchase.

Every once in awhile I'd get nervous about Misha's shakey promises on my notebook choices and call to check up on things and he'd immediately poo-poo my concerns and assure me they were doing everything they could to expedite my order, and I'd say no, that's not why I'm calling. I don't care how long it takes, just as long as I get what I paid for and it's done right.

I mean we're talking over 4 thousand dollars for God's sake. He'd assure me everything was just peachy every time.

He also assured me, AT ZERO HOUR, that my system wouldn't be overclocked, he never said it could, I picked the processor I did based on cost, not overclocking, and overclocking usually costs a $100.00's extra anyway.

Ain't that something.

So, what'd I get for $4200.00 frigg'n dollars, my life savings.

A malfunctioning, buggy, slow piece of *#^&@% that didn't even have the latest drivers, sure as hell ain't overclocked, is as slow as a Pentium III, glitches and stalls on 7 year old video games, crashes in the first 24 hours, doesn't have an external volume button, has pop-up boxes that refuse to go away, won't let me install or run anything because I'm not 'Administrator' and has the WORST OPERATING SYSTEM ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH, Vista.

And get this, the Iomega 7in1 card reader, isn't even compatible !

Which it says on the Iomega website. NO ONE EVEN BOTHERED TO CHECK !

It's useless !

Where in God's name did they get all these wonderfully happy customers !?!?

I'm ready to frigg'in snap.

Update: It's now going on month 3 and I've sent the 'paperwieght' back, ON MY DIME($53.00 more!) to get looked at because all the 5 HOUR DRIVER DOWNLOADS and reinstalling OS's ON MY TIME has failed to solve anything.

And get this- tech rep 'Chris' informed me that the reason the computer is so buggy and won't run anything is because it's so far advanced and I have to wait(how long?) for everybody else's technology to catch up, then it'll work fine!