Adafruit Industries Reviews 

First and last time customer with Adafruit. WARNING to all who may choose to pay extra for faster delivery, you will not get it any faster. I selected 3-day shipping (for 11$ extra!) and then was informed a day and a half later that my item not only hadn't shipped, but was flagged and being held. Also they sent a confirmation email to me stating the 3-day shipping, was not actually three days but would try and get it to the ups store in a day or two, they said Saturdays and Sundays don't count, and the timer only starts the day after, I.E. if you order a part Tuesday morning, on 3-day, expect it the following Monday. Glad they tell you about that right after you pay, not before. i have asked for my order to be cancelled as their misleading timelines would have pushed me passed a deadline, I will update once (if) the money has been returned.

Poor customer service is just the beginning.

Moderators banning upset customers from the forums is asinine, at best.
Deleting the threads involved in customer support issues is simply unprofessional.
Customers are upset because of your responses to their issues, not because of the issues themselves.

Yes, customers will happily "find another supplier" when they realize your customer service is so far below the bar that it's actually melting in the earth's core.

I tried to buy a product from their online store, put in my credit card (Visa) and an error came on the screen that said "We are unable to process payment from certain credit card issuers. You must use a different form of payment or contact us." I shouldn't have to use another form of payment, because their website says they accept Visa. There is no phone number to contact Adafruit, so you have to fill out an online form, which is inconvenient and not customer service friendly. After completing the form, I received an email that said, "Thanks for the note. Send us a screenshot." Why would I send them a screenshot? Are they not aware of their own errors that the website displays? Why do I have to help them troubleshoot their website? Why not contact me and say, "I'm very sorry for the trouble you are experiencing buying our products. We would like to contact you via phone so we can better assist you." I sent them a screenshot anyways, and never heard back. They clearly don't want to sell products or stay in business.

Problem with missing pieces--within minutes of notifying them, they had a new kit going out to me by overnight shipping--free of charge to me.

I recently purchased my second PI3 Development board on April 9th of this year, along with a Case, and a wireless dongle. After receiving the device, I spent 3 days troubleshooting it, before ultimately deciding that the device was a No-Boot DoA defective piece of hardware. So I contacted Adafruit, who after much prodding, a few days later, decided to issue a replacement shipment. HOWEVER, the replacement, showed up in a bubble mailer and a crushed box. I contacted Adafruit again, for an RMA to get a functional replacement. Keeping in mind that I spent a WEEK testing both boards, until 3 AM most nights, in order to see if there was ANY possible way that I may be programming it incorrectly or setting it up in a way that might cause the situation. After buying all new flash cards (Thinking that maybe low-quality flash was the issue), I came to the same conclusion. All 6 of my flash cards work in ANOTHER PI3 that I bought for my company a few weeks earlier. ALL of my equipment tested out 100% But this time, I was not issues an RMA for a replacement device. The People at Adafruit refused to RMA my device, or allow me to ship back the 2 defective devices, and promptly refunded my money. (In Full) However, at the same time, they BANNED me from their support forums... Guaranteeing that I cannot receive support on the OTHER Adafruit products I just purchased. Even though I had violated nothing in their terms of service, was not disruptive to those forums in ANY WAY, and even with the FACT that I still own devices from Adafruit that I may need support for, and that ARE STILL WITHIN the warranty term. Considering that you CANNOT get adafruit support or returns ANY OTHER WAY, its pretty clear that all hope for continuing support and service for the other products I own, was ended without cause. Thus they are false advertising these warranties. As they cancelled mine without ANY REASON OR CAUSE! Simply because I was unlucky enough to get x2 DoA units in a row, and made the proper support requests. This is totally unacceptable, and I do believe its also Illegal. misrepresenting a warranty, or declining service without reasonable cause, under the terms of that warranty, is FALSE ADVERTISING! Warranty says 4 weeks, its been 2. And I have no more support for my products... What did I do to earn this BAN from their support forums? Did I tell the truth too much? Did I expose a production flaw or misstep? Did I get banned simply because of bad luck? Either way, i would now like to return and be refunded for ALL the products I have purchased through adafruit in the past 2 weeks, as this business has shown me nothing but contempt, for nothing more than their shipping me DoA product.... not once.... But TWICE IN A ROW! Then banning me for complaining! That deplorable! Utterly Pathetic Customer Service, and TERRIBLE BUSINESS PRACTICES... Bordering on Criminal. I absolutely DO NOT wish for this business to benefit from their mistreatment of me IN ANY WAY. They DONT deserve to... '

I've been an Adafruit customer for years and rely on them for best in class DIY, maker, geek, Arduino components and support. They develop and support their own leading edge products, and seem to have an inside track on Arduino products, as well.

Support has been excellent through their online forum. Returns are handled quickly and without fuss, also through the forum and email. They have a generous return and credit policy.

Do not expect detailed instructions or handholding to accompany these types of products. All product information, instructions, support, help, guidance and ideation are online. Adafruit has plenty of videos, learning materials and their online forum to get you up and running, but it's up to you to look for help. This is maker-ware.

After having some faulty and missing items in an order I contacted them. Initially things started off quite well, with promises of replacements and refunds. Neither materialised. Messages to them were ignored or received curt and rude responses.