I bought a new computer motherboard that was faulty out of the box (broken CPU socket pin). I returned it the next day for an exchange and they told me right to my face that I had broken it and I was trying to steal a new one from them. They flatly refused any sort of responsibility and said it was impossible for it to have been sold that way. I asked if they inspected all their motherboards before selling and they said no. I have bought a lot of stuff from them both for me and my company, but I have never had to return anything. Returning an item is the real test of a company. They want the profits, but are not prepared to accept the responsibility for the products they sell.

Approximate cost: $165

I think what you have to understand that this is a discount low margin store.. they expect customers to know what they want. The prices are only slightly higher than MSY and there is a lot greater range. The place is also open for very extended hours which has been a lifesaver for us on many occasions. Our business really needs their after hours service. We would prefer more flexible arrangements for payment from afar, but otherwise we havent had any warranty issues at all.

Approximate cost: $very cheap with huge servings

I had my computer refurbished in April 2008, which included a new motherboard, ram & graphics card. Within 12 months the graphics card became faulty. I returned it to CPL as it was still under warranty. I requested a replacement card under the warranty conditions. By the way they tried to tell me that the warranty was 1 year (actually 3 years on talking to gigabyte). I was told they would not replace it but it had to be sent back to gigabyte for "repair", & this would take 2 weeks. On hearing this I explained that I could not be without a computer for that length of time. Their answer was take the offer or go to Consumer Affairs. I was told this by their so called manager on several occasions before he asked me to leave the store or have the police involved.
The manager is not a managers "boot strap". He is very rude & arrogant. Staff members were not much better.
BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY - THEY STINK!!!

Approximate cost: $50.00

The products are no different to what you could get elsewhere, the prices are good, but the service whilst you're there is POOR and the after sales service is even worse. So if you're skilled and know what you want and can resolve issues yourself, buy here, if not STAY AWAY........ Expect to be laughed at if you ask a novice question.
I bought a $1500 system and the HDD died within 3 weeks, I had to wait a week for them to test it and to give me an answer on whether they would do anything to fix it, then they wanted to charge me for the work that needed to be done to reconfigure my system to how it was when they originally supplied it to me (after I paid for that in the first place).... BEWARE!!!

I've been buying almost exclusively from these guys for many years, both in-store and online. In the store I've come across one or two guys who were a bit curt but having worked in similar roles I can appreciate why they get this way.

Online, their sales team is outstanding. I've had a couple of minor issues with their tech staff and warranties team but they were quickly resolved without any fuss. I spend much more money there than most people would, but when I visit in person I don't identify myself and they still don't treat me any differently. As someone said earlier, if you know precisely what you want/need, you won't have any problems.

While you can expect to get cheap IT equipment from these people, their service is terrible, and they will fight you tooth and nail, in order to avoid having to provide you with service, or assistance if something goes wrong with a product. They will also be quite rude and condescending, while doing so.

I bought a product from them, which turned out to be unsuitable (it was a video card with the wrong slot type PCI-E, instead of AGP), and so I went to return it with the box still unopened. They argued the return, saying they weren't going to refund my money in its entirety and demanded a 10% "restocking fee" for the privilege of returning it, saying that I should have known what I needed before I purchased it.

Of course this sort of behaviour is illegal and contravenes Victorian consumer protection law, so after much arguing, they backed down. Their attitude was even more disappointing, given that I had purchased over $4000 worth of computer equipment (business and personal) from them in the 12 months prior to that.

I certainly won't be buying any further equipment from them in the future.

My husband bought a new computer from these guys and while the initial service and prices were good, the after sales service left a lot to be desired. The big issue was they did not supply the video card that they invoiced us for and it wasn't obvious to us as the only difference in packaging was a tiny part number on the side of the box. My husband realised it wasn't the one he had ordered only after he had placed it in the computer and found that the video card didn't have the fan type on it he had expected. When he rang to discuss it, they would take no responsibility for not providing us with the correct part and did not even make any attempt to correct the error or see that we were a satisfied customer.

I purchased a computer UPS from them a year ago. It has never worked correctly. After many returns to the store, checking and complete replacement of the unit it still does not work correctly. They have refused a refund and will not reply to my correspondence. Even Consumer Affairs Victoria got nowhere with them. Their warranty policy is a complete sham. The UPS is only good for a boat anchor.

Approximate cost: $110

I buy a lot of equipment from computer parts land because it is fairly cheap. No matter what time of day I go in there, there is a line of people waiting to get usually quite simple things. The staff are in no rush and they are usually poor communicators. Apparently West Melbourne is excellent, however somehow I always end up wasting a lot of time at Notting Hill. If you have time to kill, and need cheap prices with wide stock range, CPL Notting Hill is good.

I recently bought a new computer from these guys and got a very good deal. The place is a little disconcerting though, and you do really need to know what you're doing. I took along a mate who really knows his PCs who actually did most of the negotiating, because the folks at CPL seem to think that people who don't know what they want should go to Harvey Norman and not waste their time. So if you know what you want, and don't need any advice - these guys will sell you a computer very cheaply - but don't expect them to be polite or very responsive if you need to ask dumb questions.

Approximate cost: $1800