MALIBAL Reviews

How long has Malibal been a company? I'm going to be purchasing a new laptop end of the month when Ivy chips are released.. possibly later to wait on the new video cards. I like all the good things I've read so far, but I worry about companies that haven't been around long with the warranty.

I learned the hard way with a pager back in the day. I bought a 3 year plan and the company went out of business a year later.... lol. So just curious.

 

We've been in business since 2004. Check our BBB record - 0 complaints in 8 years... that means we have never had a single customer complain about not getting their warranty.

 

My question wasn't a worry about how well you covered your products, was just that I'd never heard of you prior to this board. And I've bought something before from an unknown company who then went out of business, leaving me with no warranty .

But seems you've been around a while. You'll probably be hearing from me the coming month about a P170em

 

Malibal is legit! I researched the hell out of them before I ordered my comp from them! They're GREAT!

 

Hmm... I sure hope with the IB or the 7970M refresh, they'll put back up those generous discounts... (free IC Diamond, free shipping, and $50 off $1500+ configs, etc. etc.)

 

I honestly don't think they will. Thats the first times I've seen teh ICD 7 and the Spyder calibration offered like that.

I went with the order early for three reasons.

1) I the discount upgrades were hard to pass up.
2) the 675M is basically the 580M and is a GREAT card for only $100 more!
3) I can wait for IB. I have a friend that works for Intel and can get me any chip for 1/2 off.

Yaay!! Cant wait to get my comp!

 

If I'm from hong kong/asia will this put me in a bad warranty position or a hard time sending for RMA? Because malibal's prices are really cheap.

 

Any discounts currently for NBR members??

 

10charchar

 

I'm hoping the $50/free shipping returns to the p170em notebook, in addition to the already existing $50 off $1500+ config.

Does anyone know if the cash discount works the same as XoticPC's? That is, secure payment with credit card for immediate production and receive cash discount if check makes it to their office within 10 days?

Edit:
I think it's more appropriate for me to just PM these questions. Thank you.

 

Has Malibal ever offered a choice between nvidia and amd gpus? Seems like every reseller is only showing the nvdias right now..

 

Even when it was offered i believe it was one or the other...not both.

 

Up until recently there was a good mix of both (AMD 6990,6970, Nvidia 580m, 560m, 485m, etc). However, you're looking at an odd time as most of the new models are brand new and the hardware is sort of between releases (Sandy Bridge -> Ivy Bridge, Nvidia 5xx series -> 6xx series, AMD 6xxx series -> 7xxx series, etc). In time, the overall number of choices should go up as new parts are released and tested.

 

I swear I thought it was both.
Oh well. I could easily be wrong. Thanks.

 

it was both

 

Im really interested in the Satori Laptop at hand. Not too many reviews about it. Do you have a have product videos? Even if not im fixated on Malibal you guys seem to be alot more personal than other companies and lot of people give you praise, not to mention the prices seem amazing.

 

Hi, the Satori P170EM was just released a few weeks ago, so there aren't many reviews out yet... but if you search on YouTube, I think there are some videos up.

 

I'm considering a P150EM from Malibal, just spoke with a representative.

 

I'm looking to buy a Malibal soon, they seem like a great company.

 

Quick question to the Malibal rep: I am considering whether to buy a Satori or Lotus computer, how would they perform with the new AMD GPU 7970 and IVB? would either of them have an advantage over the other? Also will the 7970 be available mid May or late May(stated on website), if ordered in a couple of days?

 

So ... what's up with this sig?

The link to the forum doesn't work either. Perhaps this is the forum they're talking about:
http://forum.malibal.com/forum.php

 

It might be related to some of the misunderstandings that have been happening recently between that Malibal representative and a few potential customers. Both of those threads were closed after they started to get pretty heated.

I don't know if this was a Malibal or NBR response. What I do know is that Malibal has had many great reviews and a few recent bad ones, but I imagine they will fix these issues.

It is curious, though.

 

I asked them about it, and it seems they've chosen to leave to focus on their own forums.

 

Yep, both Malibal and Anthony@Malibal are no longer active here. I don't know how good their forums are and how many members there are, but not participating in the NBR forums seems like it won't be good for anyone.

Has anything like this happened before?

 

I checked now and since their morning their membership had doubled to the lofty heights of...6.

 

I guess they didn't take too kindly to some posters making negative comments. By starting their own forums they will be able to control content. In my mind this is just another strike against them and I will not consider them for future purchases.

 

I was reading those negative reviews and was just waiting for Malibal to try and work it out like they and other resellers tend to do, but instead he came back with personal attacks. Both of the guys who posted a negative review were doing it because they thought it was atypical to have a bad experience and were airing it out in hopes of finding out that this only reflected one disgruntled employee rather than Malibal as a whole. In essence they were giving Malibal an olive branch to save themselves and just wanted a little reassurance. The reaction they got was surprising, to say the least.

@Saturnotaku: I just checked out their forums as well. I know it looks like they launched it around 2 months ago, but 6 members? I know Xotic's forum is much more established but it's still nothing compared to these forums. I really don't think it's a good idea to abandon these forums altogether that offer so much exposure to "focus" on their own forums.

 

Boy, can't see how this decision is a good one for Malibal.

 

I would highly encourage you guys to continue participating in our forum even if you do choose to join Malibal's support forum. I cannot really say anything else that adds to this discussion save for my observation that you guys have done a fantastic job helping each other out with problems and sharing feedback.

Let's all wish Malibal well in establishing their own open forum to support their customers.

 

Unfortunately, I figured it was only a matter of time until they left. They just weren't clicking here any more for some reason. Sad that it had to happen this way, but now they've got a place where they can work with people who already have Malibal products. I'm sure it'll take a while for their forum to catch on, but they're growing so I'm sure they'll point their new customer's to their forums for support.

I believe they're up to 10 members now. I bet they come back and browse here just because it's hard to break the habit of coming here when you've done it for a few hours a day, every day lol. I wish them luck.

I wonder how many customer's they lose from not being able to advertise here.. Would be interesting to know what kind of effect NBR has on sales for resellers.

 

I know that NBR has affected who I purchased from and I was just some average joe looking for a new laptop. It's #3 on google's search query for "laptop reviews" and that's the first search I did so NBR has a large influence IMO.

 

NBR was the way that I heard of many of the resellers. Not being active here wouldn't hurt many of the bigger brands (Alien/Asus/MSi) but for Clevo resellers the brand exposure seems to help a lot. The people here do seem to be their target market.

 

I was gonna purchase a Malibal today until I saw this post and the recent posts by the Malibal representatives. Making me reconsider my decision now.

 

Making a forum on the resellers own website is a terribly badly chosen mistake! They have full control and can easily manipulate, not to talk about delete and remove posts as they wish.
Going public and attending several forums like these, which are meant for the consumers is the way to go in my eyes.

I would never pursue myself to use a resellers forum, sadly it's too much freedom to give away.

One must think before act, clearly not something Malibal has done... (no offense, just my 2 cents..)

 

Most companies have their own forums, including XoticPC and PowerNotebooks - so I really don't see how having our own forums is a bad thing.

Also, now that we've had our forums open for a day, I really wish we would have done this sooner - because it feels a lot more intimate, like we're all a family. When I see people posting on there, I want to coddle them like they are my babies. Yesterday, after I saw the first person post - I was like... awww - I wanted to give him a hug.

 

Okay fine, but that's my opinion

Still can't understand why you are make these account inactive, a big mistake in my eyes. But hey, I'm not the one selling laptops

 

Bummer they left. I always thought Anthony was really helpful and I was impressed with their presence/frequency of posts here on the forum. I was inching closer and closer towards choosing them due to their Canadian-friendly warranty. They've had SOME bad reviews but from experience I also know theres two sides to every story and to take the ranting of a young distressed individual with a grain of salt.
I suppose this spells the end of the NBR discount.

 

Yes, Xotic and PowerNotebooks have their own forums, but they are in addition to the NBR forums. Having your own forum isn't a bad thing at all, but altogether leaving NBR to only participate in your own forums is a bad thing IMO. Also, the timing of your departure couldn't have been worse as it coincides with the bad reviews and really makes it seem like you're running away.

This seems ridiculous to me and a bit condescending as well.

It seems like by making a much more 'intimate' forum you are trying to surround yourself with ONLY Malibal people, which are more likely to agree with you. Surrounding yourself with people that agree with everything you do is not a good thing. You need people to let you know when something you are doing is not right. The forums here at NBR does an excellent job at that and provides a great means for the resellers to gauge how they are interacting with their customers. Some of the best reviews and customer satisfaction have come when something was initially screwed up but the company listened and came up with a solution. NBR provides a very effective medium to facilitate this, with thousands of people participating and sharing their experiences. In essence, by quitting NBR in favor of participating solely in your own forum you are saying NBR is of no value. Many people will view this as a snub.

Edit: Malibal, are you or are you not active? It honestly reminds me of a child saying they are running away but only to hide in the backyard, waiting ten minutes, coming back in to see what the parents think, throwing another temper tantrum and running to the backyard again.

 

Excellent post.

 

I'm a MALIBAL customer as of last week. I bought the computer despite the negative reviews that were coming out around that time.

We at NBR are intelligent enough to sort through a review and determine the two sides of a story. Every business will inevitably have problems. That's the reality of it. I help manage a small business and we get threatened with BS from customers all the time. You can try as hard as you can to make sure it doesn't happen, but once in a while someone has a bad day and gets rubbed the wrong way or lightning strikes and something goes wrong. The only thing you can do then is to handle it professionally with grace and care. You can't take it personally or it will destroy you.

I hope MALIBAL realizes that their reputation was not sunk by a couple people posting negative reviews. This happens to everybody and we understand that. MALIBAL's reputation was sunk by how it responded to the situation defensively and personally. I have never had to use my warranty for a product, but what if I had to with this computer? My confidence in the company is broken when I imagine that they will just lash out at me as they have on these forums. I would actually be afraid to approach you guys to help me out.

I hope MALIBAL reconsiders their decision to leave this forum. I think it's a lose-lose scenario. We have proudly referred people to MALIBAL for years, myself included. Anthony@MALIBAL was one of the most helpful and knowledgeable people on these forums. The consumer experience is more than just the end product. As a MALIBAL customer, I want to be proud of who I bought my computer from.

 

Very well put WCFire.. Are you participating in their forum? Xotic has a nice little user base in their forum, so hopefully things pick up for Malibal once their users get wind of their forum. I'm sure they're will be plenty of varied opinions there, just as there are here.

I don't know that some of your post was necessary misterhobbs, that's not up to me, but I agree with some of what you're saying. I don't think they were trying to be condescending, but then again that doesn't exactly seem like the type of thing MALIBAL would typically post lol. I wouldn't take what they're doing/saying too personally, some things just aren't worth the energy

 

I think individual forums are great for people who already have their products.

 

@hizzaah: I tried to come across as it just being my opinion of what I've been observing and maybe not all of it was necessary, but we all like to rant sometimes I've had more time than usual to kill and I've been blowing energy in these forums a lot.

I haven't been taking anything they've been saying personally. I'm just posting my opinion of how they have been coming across lately. Am I upset - no. Am I surprised - yes. Ever since I joined 3 months ago I've been scouring these forums everyday to make sure I buy the best laptop from the best company. Up until this point I was convinced they were a great place to buy from and was seriously considering them. After this I'm by no means convinced they are a bad company, but enough has happened to make me question them and buy elsewhere this time around.

I don't have any ill will towards Malibal. In fact, I hope all of this gets worked out eventually and they repair their reputation. We all benefit when there are a variety of good companies to choose from. Also, I hope that they return to these forums because they have been a valuable source of information and advice.

Again, I have time to blow and am ranting...

 

I completely understand that. I should be studying for finals.. Nooope, must post on NBR whilst browsing Reddit, listening to BBT reruns and watching Black Hawk Down (on Blueray btw).

From some of the things he's posted, MALIBAL sounds to be the owner of the company or at least someone fairly important. I know they are in the process of building and moving their company to a new facility, so that could attribute to some of the stress levels.

Anyways, everyone gets a bad wrap occasionally. I'm sure they'll just keep chuggin along. I'm gonna try and leave this thread now though. Would rather leave it for actual Malibal reviews, instead blabbing on about my speculation and opinions lol.

 

I agree with the last two posts, Malibal have been great in the past. They must be having some issues but I hope they keep doing what they do best.

Sure their costumer service have been a little out of touch lately.

We need companies like Malibal, Mythlogic and Xotic that provide us with the quality systems we are looking stuff and no BS in the middle at the best possible price

If not is just Dell, HP oh yeah and Apple.

This is just my opinion and I'm not saying the negative feedbacks should be ignored.

But for my future purchase I'll give Malibal a fair shot for comparison with everybody else.

 

In this discussion a lot of unnecessary drama. Creating your own space is undisputable righ of any company. Here at NBR no Apple no Dell no Asus and HP but we dont stop buying amazing devices of those companies. Found a negative opinion on few suspicious reviews unfairly.
Malibal for me is one of the best choice and im happy to register on their new forum. NBR like great social network but for purchase Lexus ill go to Lexus shop isnt it?
Sorry for my bad english

 

personally if u dont want to deal with bs, go to mythlogic. you spend a few more dollars, but get the best support ever. Im the type of person who finds a quality business, and sticks with them. And over the past 8 years, the only company i can say i havent had any problems with is myth. They will get more of my money when i upgrade my shell and hdd. However i dont think you can go wrong with any of the resellers that post here often.

 

Too true, dont let the drama thats been going on misguide you. The actions of one employee shouldnt reflect how a company opperates.

 

Agreed. I might even have been thrown away with the things that happened too, but this isn't a excuse to trash a company or set a infinite conclusion towards them.

 

Never once in my thread did I suggest offering an "infinite conclusion" and I even specifically stated in my posts that I wasn't looking for discounts or anything like that, and yet Malibal (and others) brought the fury I have no beef with them really, if that's how they want to run their business then fine, I'll take mine elsewhere, end of the issue (no biggie, really).

I think pulling out of NBR is going to hurt them even more. I really hope that they can turn it around as they have had a sterling reputation until recently. I don't think many of us that had concerns were out to get them, and I don't like that they now can silence threads they don't like on their own forums "just because". Also, contrary to what the Malibal rep said, I don't think the NBR mods were out to get them, or if they were it was due to their own posts. I think this thread should be locked as nothing further is going to develop here. Malibal has left these forums, and they deserve there god given right to defend themselves. If they are unwilling to do so, lets move along, as now it just is unnecessary drama.