FINAL UPDATE 2-19-2005, DO NOT BUY FROM CSO!!!----KDS 21 Inch VGA Monitor

[crashwg]

3

Notice the holes in the middle of this picture, 1 to the left of the LED 4 to the right in a diamond patern.  The left one is power the other 4 are for OSD adjustments.  You need to insert something to push the buttons.

BTW Paige, what can you tell us about the controls board?  Is it posible to extend the controls elsewhere or do they have to stay connected for some reason?

[paigeoliver]

I took my top/rear casing off my monitor and removed the control boards from the side so I can just reach in and use them instead. You could easily extend them though. You will need to splice 4 wires to do so.

[gregor7777]

OK Guys allow me a rant.....let me first get something out of the way:

IF YOU ORDER FROM THIS COMPANY PLEASE HAVE A LOOK AT THIS: http://www.resellerratings.com/seller1782.html AND ALSO CONSIDER MY SITUATION.

Ok here's the story, ordered the monitor and a power supply in mid September. Beginning of October it ships, two and a half weeks later. Placed another order in late September for 2 CPU's, a couple Heatsinks, and a video card. It never shipped. It's been over a month.

Monitor arrived with the problem posted in one of my posts above. I'm going to try Paige Oliver's suggestion and I'll post back.

Why I'm mad:

First, I've emailed this company FOUR times since mid september and have not recieved a single reply. I actually told them in my fourth email I was going to call the police in their area. No response.

My second order never arivved after a full month. I was charged though. Finally I printed my email with the threat to call the police and faxed it to them and finally without any sort of warning or apology I got my money back for the second order.

They have offered me $50 STORE CREDIT (talk about monopoly money) for the broken monitor. Then I lose $50, and still have a broken monitor. Mind you this is after MANY emails and threats.

I will never order from them again, and judging from the past six months of reseller ratings, not many will. They have a below 1 rating (out of ten being the best) from the last six months.

BEWARE!

[Gunstar Hero]

That sucks gregor. Don't give up until you get satisfaction out of them.

If you used your credit card talk to your credit card company. They often offer buyer protection plans that you may have not even realized they had.

If not lets all carpool out there, torch the place, and load up on cheap monitors! Awwwww jeah.  

I feel lucky my purchase went so smoothly now.  

[jfunk]

First off. If they lose a color it is likely the neckboard. Take the back of the casing off and reseat the neckboard. Or just push on it a bit and the color should come back.

Did anyone try Paige's suggestion?  I got mine today, and it's the same thing.  Loses blue after about 5-10 minutes.  Give it a small shake or tap, and you can sometimes get it to come back on.  Sounds like a loose connection, but I don't want to remoeve the warranty stickers unless I'm positive...

Paige, is this 'reseating' something that'll have to be done alot?  Or will it be 'safe' to put into a cab being relatively certain it won't recurr..?

Anyone gotten any 'satisfactory' responses to email inquiries?

[Arcadiac]

Sent an RMA REQUEST on 10-14-2004, within the warranty period,
waited 2 weeks for reply, resent the same mail with a "what's going on?"  addendum, explaining that I was the one who recommended these monitors and CSO this time thru and was very dissatisfied with their complete lack of service.  A couple of days later I received this:

<<Mr. Holmes,

I apologize if you have not had a response to your previous e-mails regarding obtaining an RMA number.  I will have our shipping department pull a replacement monitor to test and ship it out as soon as possible.  You do not need to return the defective monitor back to us.  If there is anything else I can do for you, please let me know.
 
Thank you,
 
Rowell
 
Computer Surplus Outlet
284-C East Lake Mead Dr. #170
Henderson, NV 89015-5582

mailto:rowell@computersurplusoutlet.com
http://www.computersurplusoutlet.com/
 
"The Internet Liquidator of Today's & Yesterday's Computer Products" >>>>>

We'll see what happens next.  Have yet to receive a shipping comfirmation.

Those having problems with service/email may want to try:  rowell@computersurplusoutlet.com
That's where this response came from.

My apologies for anyone who ordered these from my recommendation, the company has rapidly gone downhill since last spring, a shame really as the first monitor is still kicking away in the cab I installed it in last spring.  ARCADIAC!

[jfunk]

Heh.  I wouldn't worry about it..  I knew the risk when I 'took the leap'..  Used monitor from an online seller?  

I figure, if nothing else, I should be able to open 'er up and tinker a bit.  I'm trying the tech support route, though, just in case it's beyond my abilities.  If I don't hear back from them, soon, I'll go the RMA route and trying emailing your contact.

Thanx for the info!  It does give me hope!  

[Gunstar Hero]

My apologies for anyone who ordered these from my recommendation, the company has rapidly gone downhill since last spring, a shame really as the first monitor is still kicking away in the cab I installed it in last spring.

You don't have to be sorry man.

Of course there have been some PITA experiences, but alot of people have used this thread and nailed some pretty nice monitors.

I don't want to tick anyone off who has had trouble, but I love this thing. It really makes my cab for me. And if not for your recommendation, I never would have thought to order it and still have a 17 inch monitor with a cardboard bezel.

You da man, ARCADIAC!

[tep0583]

My apologies for anyone who ordered these from my recommendation, the company has rapidly gone downhill since last spring, a shame really as the first monitor is still kicking away in the cab I installed it in last spring.  ARCADIAC!

No worries, man. Mine came out just fine and it sounds like a lot of others did, too. Even if it haden't, that's  not your fault. You ordered from them and they delivered as decribed, so you about your experiences. That's good enough for me. Not everyone's going to have positive experiences, especialy considerin that we're dealing with used equipment here.

I went into the whole transaction understanding that I might get a dud and it might be a pain to get them to make it right. That's that chance you take when you buy sight unseen.

[nostrebor]

<snip>

My apologies for anyone who ordered these from my recommendation, the company has rapidly gone downhill since last spring, a shame really as the first monitor is still kicking away in the cab I installed it in last spring.  ARCADIAC!

Hey Arcadiac, no apology required. I ordered one also (about a month ago). Got it Monday and it works perfect right out of the box. These guys are insanely slow to ship, but the monitor was worth the wait. They also responded to my E-mail's about the ship delay (after some persistance).

Job well done and thanks for the heads up!

[JackTucky]

I want another one of these.  My first one arrived after a delay but was perfect.  Not sure what to do  

ARt

[Iori]

Sorry to hear that things have gone bad for so many people with this deal.    I was lucky to get mine in a decent amount of time (I think it took a total of 2 weeks from time of order to get to me) and it works great.  Only problem is there is a small blemish on the screen that is barely noticeable, though it will be invisible once I get some smoked plexi in front of it...    If you can find these monitors elsewhere or don't mind taking a bit of a chance on buying one from these guys they are truly awesome for the cost...

I don't think that you should worry about this Arcadiac, nobody thinks any less of you, you had a good experience as alot of us have with this monitor at a great price and you just passed that experience on to others.  You can't hold yourself responsible in any way.

[gregor7777]

Mine actually has been working on and off now. Sometimes I get a great pic, other times not. I opened it up, pushed on what I thought was the neck board or whatever, and it seems to do the trick. It appears that this will be a common occurance. Luckily, in my cocktail I should be able to open it up easily enough.

No worries about the recommendation, all online transactions with used equipment must be considered buyer beware...it's noone's fault. But....that being said this company seems to be REALLY shady when something goes wrong.

[Arcadiac]

UPDATE:
Still waiting for a replacement monitor, originally asked for RMA in Oct.
Shame to see a good company go so wrong, DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!
I'm sure there are other, more reputable companies that would love to have our business.  I'm done with these jerks, my money's gone.    ARCADIAC!

[Gunstar Hero]

Super lame.

Sometimes a bargain is less than a bargain.

Mines still working well (knock on wood) and I have buddies who have recieved theirs too. No problems yet...

[iwillfearnoevil]

UPDATE:
Shame to see a good company go so wrong, DO NOT BUY FROM THIS COMPANY!
I'm sure there are other, more reputable companies that would love to have our business.

[Arcadiac]

FINAL UPDATE:

After several emails and no replies, I emailed yet again threatening to contact state Atty General, Visa etc.  Last Thurs. my son awoke me from a nap t say "Dad there is a really big box on our porch."  CSO finally, 5 months after requesting RMA, replaced the bad monitor I received last Sept.  As it was cold out and this box weighs a hundred pounds or so I figured that I would just wait for the spring thaw to see if it works.  If it does then great, if not, oh well sometimes you just gotta let things go.

FYI, CSO has sold their company, but are still "resolving"  RMA's thru customer service email until July.  So if you have any unresolved issues with this company, now is probably your last chance to attempt to get it settled.  It's worth a try I guess.  The new owner will not settle CSO issues, I already tried, they claim that they have "no access to CSO database." 

If anyone out there has a reliable lead on these monitors for future reference, please let us know.

ARCADIAC!

[Chris]

I bought my Wells-Gardner from http://www.bizsyscon.com/ and had a good experience... they have 10 of the KDS 21" monitors.  They're all used, and I've heard that some have some amounts of burn-in, but they were pretty good about pulling them off the shelf and looking at them individually when I called about them before.  I worked with a guy named Mike there who was great, but that was two years ago.  The monitors are $75... I don't know what the shipping is, but those monitors are freaking heavy...

--Chris