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Bulq review: Unethical business practices, lies about guarantee on website 5

Author of the review
11:21 am EST
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This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

If you are thinking about using bulq.com for pallets, this is a must read! (their parent company is optoro.com and they are also part of blinq.com.) I really liked that bulq labeled their pallets and sorted them as brand new - (which means retail ready), like new, uninspected returns, scratch and dent, and salvage. I was very disappointed when I placed my first order of toys because they canceled it saying after further inspection, they realized the lot was not brand new. Although disappointed, I was thankful that they did that because I didn't end up getting stuck with a crappy lot of not brand new toys. Fast forward to my next order... I happened to check out their website again and saw a pallet of brand new toys which was manifested. Sounded like exactly what I was looking for, to augment my q4 earnings on amazon. I ordered it on november 13, 2015, it arrived in arizona on 11/24/2015 and they delivered on 11/25/2015. Although I was a little concerned about condition, I trusted that what they stated on their website was true and that the items were brand new. Sadly that was not the case. For what I purchased, I way overpaid. I'm not even remotely kidding about this. I expected that some of the packages "may show signs of wear" as they state on their website - meaning perhaps some frayed corners or edges on packaging, but otherwise as they also state on their site, "brand new items have never been opened, are fully functional and retail ready. They possess all manufacturer advertised quality and features. These items are shipped in their original packaging which may show signs of wear. These products can include overstock items, excess inventory, closeout merchandise and shelf pulls." I was willing to pay more to get a lot that was guaranteed as brand new condition because I cannot inspect the items personally since I live in hawaii, and dumping the non amazon sellable products would be a nightmare long distance. It turns out that most of the items were obviously amazon liquidated products which we could tell because they still had the amazon skus on them. So, although I had high hopes for bulq.com, I cannot in good conscience ever recommend them again. Aside from the obvious damaged stuff there were things like the following: 1) a tall green and brown thing that looks like a bank. It came with a baseball bat thing which is supposed to be connected on the front of the item and they were not attached. My prep guy says you can clearly see the glue on the back of the baseball thing where it should have attached to the front of this bank. The top of the item is cracked, and clearly there was a problem with it, since the baseball bat part wasn't attached. I'm not sure why they would put something like this in a brand new lot, when it's broken and clearly not brand new. 2) a vintage batman car case that was smashed to hell. Most collectors of such items would keep it in the case, so i'm not sure how this could be classified as brand new either. 3) the same is true for a vintage furby... 4) a frozen dress up chest that was cracked on one side, and the top of the chest was dented in. It should be flat and it's not. 5) a skylander spyro's adventure zep arrived in a plastic bag and is not how they arrive when brand new. They should come in a box. That is another item that would have fetched a decent price - if it were brand new in the box. Since it's not, it's used and not worth much. 6) numerous items that had been opened up and haphazardly re-taped! Obviously they are returns! Newsflash: in the liquidation industry, if an item is a return, then it is not new! 7) numerous items that were smashed to pieces! Anyway, out of all these things, the case packed items were the only ones that look like they haven't sustained much damage. I really cannot see how anyone in good conscience can sell this lot as brand new. When items have obviously been opened and taped up again - that's not brand new. That's a return. When it arrives in 2 pieces and cracked, that not brand new, that's a salvage item! Almost all of these items were amazon returns btw. I will say it again: in the liquidation industry, if an item is a return, then it is not brand new! They obviously pulled a bait and switch on me. Everything that was worth anything was smashed to hell and cannot be sold as new. I tried working with them and gave them a week+ to make it right. I had high hopes that they would make it right. But they didn't and they aren't. Bulq liquidation is only offering $200 refund on a pallet they sold as brand new that cost me $1600 after shipping and 3% cc fees (which they passed on to me; does visa allow them to even do that per their agreements with vendors? I'll have to look into that one too). And it arrived 42% damaged and unsellable as brand new! I gave them every opportunity to make this right, and ben who is "taking the lead" on this says that according to their "internal method of calculating the cost" I am only entitled to a refund of $150 but they will up it to $200"out of the goodness of their hearts. How freaking precious! I told him, I am a member of several hundred 3rd party seller groups on various social media platforms, and would he like to take the opportunity to take this case to his superiors and reevaluate his offer because it's not acceptable, and he basically said no, that the buck stops with him. So buyer beware: if you think what they are advertising as new items are new, think again! Buy at your own risk! Everything that was worth anything was open and taped up badly, returns/open box items (i.E. Not brand new!), or smashed beyond repair! I told ben my internal calculation of the cost of each item is about $13.55 per item and when you multiply that x the 50 items that are not new and not sellable as new out of 119 items I paid for, that's $677.50 that I think I should be reimbursed at the very least. On their own website page when I bought this pallet it says that each item is worth $12.13 per item! (that's before shipping + cc fees!) in addition, I still have to pay a prep place for sorting through all this crap because it's not their fault it arrived in fubar condition. The a$hat ben basically said tough luck - that he will not be refunding any more than $200. And btw, the $200 is a"goodwill measure."riiiight... So I will post my review in every group that I am in. And I will be filing a report with the better business bureau, and the attorney general's offices in tennessee, maryland and washington dc because they have business locations in all 3 areas! The saddest thing is that when I started sharing my post, several other people in various facebook groups, and even on reddit, posted that they experienced the exact same thing! Once is a mistake. Twice, eh. But 6 different people experiencing the same bait and switch tactics, and they've only been open for business since october 2015? They screwed me when they sent out the pallet on november 13, 2015, and today is december 8, 2015?! Come on! Get real! Save your money! Companies like bulq and optoro need to go down. It is unacceptable for them to treat customers like this, and they give a bad name to every legitimate liquidation company out there! They say they stand behind their products and guarantee their pallets. They say on their website that their pallets are 98% accurate and if it's not, they will refund the difference! But they don't! It is a clever play on words that they use when they say they will"refund the difference." what they mean is, like in my case, ben said they will refund the difference in price from the items I purchased as brand new to as if I purchased like new. It comes out to be literally cents difference per item! I told him, these are not even close to being like new! When a box is smashed to hell, and re-taped closed, that is not like new! That's a return or a salvage item! I wouldn't even donate this stuff to charity, that's how horrible the condition is! I would be embarrassed! Nothing screams I got this at a discount, or I am re-gifting you with a used returned item, more than packages in the conditions I described above. And if you are sourcing for amazon, buyer beware because if what you sell from them is not brand new, and you advertise it as such, you could lose your seller account! Is saving (or in my case, losing) a few bucks worth that? No way!

Update by Suitefreak
Dec 10, 2015 9:50 am EST

UPDATE: Bulq refunded me an extra $500 on top of the $200 they initially refunded for a total of $700. I am grateful that they did this. It was all I wanted, really, to be compensated for the 42% that arrived un-sellable and not in New Condition. I cannot help but be a tad bit skeptical however, because up until my posts started appearing on several social media channels and various websites, all I got was silence from them after Ben told me the $200 refund was all I was going to get and that his decision was final. So this is a testament to the power of social media. I feel badly for the people who have commented that they never got fully compensated for their losses, however. :( Thank GOD I had a background in social media and internet marketing, and also thanks to a few friends who reminded me of some good places to share my story. I am glad that it was able to be resolved in my favor... Just sad that it took so much in order for that to happen. As business owners, my husband and I would BLEED for our clients if that is what it would take to make them happy and keep earning their business. I say it half jokingly, but I know that most of you who are also small business owners understand where I am coming from. It really astounds me when I see other businesses who don't have the same work ethic and business ethics... I would likely not recommend them or buy from then again just because it shouldn't have taken SO MUCH for them to do the right thing and get fair and just compensation for THEIR mistakes.

5 comments
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Rishon Roberts
US
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Dec 09, 2015 9:19 am EST

We are so sorry for the experience you have had sourcing inventory with us. As with any new site, we experienced some bumps in the road and did not execute perfectly on every aspect of the business. Since the time that you posted this and other reviews, we have been able to connect and find a resolution for you – we are thankful that you gave us the opportunity to make right on this experience.

With a better understanding of your business, we know that BULQ may not be the best option for you to source inventory, but please know that are are an honest company and are working hard to make sure that our policies and communications best suit our customers' needs.

Darrin H
Darrin H
Ludlow, US
Send a message
Dec 09, 2015 8:23 pm EST

i Agree this company is a total joke and a lying company i've had some bad experiences with this company i will post further once someone from bulq gets back to me, THEY DO LIE THOUGH, THAT'S A PROVEN FACT AND NOT VERY BUSINESS WORTHY.THEY WILL NOT GET NO MORE OF MY MONEY.

J
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jmc6400
US
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Feb 24, 2016 9:11 pm EST
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

The experience in buying through Bulq.com was extremely poor, do not purchase through this liquidation site. The organization is terrible in every way possible, their MSRP value is over inflated by 88.28%; take this into consideration if you are planning your cost of recovery with the items purchased. The pallet received had several missing items and multiple mismatched units versus what was expected. In addition to this issue, the pallet purchased was “Brand New” but contained several damaged and nonoperational units; nearly all nonoperational units were high value items from the purchase. This resulted in lost freight, time and customer returns, further reducing the recapture costs by 24.5% of our total revenue. The pallet cost was $1, 839.58 ($150.00 of this was shipping), the total MSRP value was scoped at $26, 304; given this factor the total revenue recovered on the 319 items associated with this purchase has only amounted to $2, 477.52 or a net gain of $637.94. I reached out to their customer service team 2/7/2016 and have not yet received any follow up as of 2/24/16 on the issues outlined above.
- Customer Order# OR1677709

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Jean Tolentino
US
Send a message
May 19, 2016 7:07 pm EDT

The customer returns pallets are pretty much sold at the sale price that the company sells them (on blink.com and ebay) as individual items. As a re seller this is one of the biggest scams I have ever seen. You literally have to sell many of your items below your cost just to have a chance at selling them compared to blink (the same place you got them from) then of course you will likely lose out on shipping too. You might as well buy each item by itself... DO NOT USE BULQ.COM for wholesale. You will only lose money...

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none of that
US
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Apr 27, 2017 4:54 pm EDT
Verified customer This complaint was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I can relate to your dilemma. It is understandable. However I to am a retailer and started somehow receiving emails from bulq.com. I had noticed one peculiarity with the manifest of every load and or lot being sold as new. Original retail prices are ALL marked at least 80 to 90 percent higher then real original MSRP. Creating an illusion at face value, that you stand to make a substantial quick buck off an investment in said case or load.
BUYER BEWARE, this company is advertising unprofessionally and quite frankly maybe the state attorney generals office would be interested in reviewing this companies false claims. As far as I know a person or entity bilking money from individuals over 300 dollars constitutes a felony. Their advertising seems to be predicated on false claims.
Just reminding everyone to do your homework before buying from this business.

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    5001-A Forbes Boulevard, Lanham, Maryland, 20706, United States
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    Dec 18, 2024
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