Well actually, kdrlinus, I don't think you ordered it through me but here's my 2 cents. When I worked there, I always let people know that shipping will be charged when we ship the item from Cali to you. Not at the time of order, if that wasn't explained to you, somebody forgot, but it's standard policy. As for Fast Shadow, charging you before they ship the product is not shady. You have to realize the type of item you are dealing with. When you order a speciality item that's not normally stocked, yes you are charged. Think about it logically, if you aren't charged and you place an order for an item, what's to stop you from not paying when the item comes in? It's clearly stated that there are items that are "special order". If it's a normal item that is stocked like a AEM intake, or something of that nature that you can readily get in the US, then your theory is correct and followed by most vendors in the US. But most vendors who deal with importing specialty item will ask for some money up front. Hell, I paid 6 months in advance for my Amuse bumper, 4 months for my Spoon Rims (way back when), etc.

 

some kind of up front deposit is reasonable, but the entire amount up front with no firm ETA of delivery? and then refusal to refund money when a more than reasonable amount of time has passed? that's not good.

 

[QUOTE=Fast Shadow,Jan 26 2005, 12:56 PM] some kind of up front deposit is reasonable, but the entire amount up front with no firm ETA of delivery?

 

i may not have ordered it through you, and i had no problem paying up front as i knew it was a specialty product. however i still think i was treated poorly when i inquired about it, blown off time and time again.

i also believe i should have had the option of receiving a refund when the allotted 12 weeks came and went... not that i would have wanted one but i did make me mad when i was told i couldn't have my money back even if i wanted it.

as for the shipping, i knew i had to pay like i said before, and yes i was told i would pay when it arrived in cali, but i was also told i would be informed of the shipping quote and had the option of putting it on another card or paying another way if i wanted. i received no call about the quote and never was informed that my card was being charged. it was only when i went to the bank that i was left to figure out i was charged. i

ts not a big deal now but a little common curtosy would have been nice...

 

Someone just sent this to me: http://www.my350z.com/forum/showthread.php...threadid=102644

I haven't looked at it, but I heard about it. I think you have to sign up to view anything on the 350Z boards.

 

that thread doesn't really mean shit. It's a few guys complaining, a few guys complimenting. It's a business you can't satisfy everyone. You can try and you should try. But even Geico only has a 98% satisfaction rate.

 

I agree with you Dan - nobody is going to please the world, but I'm not liking what I'm hearing (and reading) about the double credit card charge thing.

 

actually 97%

 

I bought this exhaust when bulletproof had their GB and if you recall (I sure cant since its been that long) it was around during August is my guess. The item was said to arrive mid October.. than pushed back to next month.. than next month.. and now they havnt recieved a thing from GP sport for 3 months? I found that odd on my mind because other board members on here recieved some of their GP sport kits during the time that was in question.

All I want is my money from them.. I guess I will shoot Ben another email requesting my refund. I will post back on the situation. Six months for anything is crazy.

 

Hi guys, I just saw this and I wanted to add a couple of things.

1. Special order items from Japan are items that nobody in America keeps in stock. In addition, they are items that we have no interest in keeping in stock. WHen someone special orders an item, the item is for them exclusively. To protect ourselves we have strict policies that do not allow cancellations when a special order from Japan is placed. I understand well that people do not like that, but if we allowed cancellations then we'd be out of business by now beause we'd get stuck with inventory that we cant sell.

2. Unlike many american businesses, in Japan its nearly impossible to get any NET terms. We must pay all of our suppliers 100% up front to process any order. Because of that, we require the same of our customers when they purchase any special order items. If we took 50% down our cash flow would go negative fast and we'd be deep in debt. Again, I understand that nobody wants to put 100% down, but until we become much larger and we can afford to finance everyone's orders it is a nessasary part of the process.

3. GP Sports has had evidentally some problems with their fulfillment in Japan. SpeedxRacer's exhaust was indeed ordered quite a long time ago. MUCH LONGER than the timeline GP Quoted me and the time I quoted him. The conflict was that his exhaust is a non-stocking item and once it was ordered there was no turning back for any of us. So despite how long the delays were at GP, the customer was still committed to the exhaust.

I had to make a personal choice to break our rules/policies and refund the customer in full because I had lost confidence that the exhaust would arrive anytime soon and it's been rediculous waiting for it. So SpeedxRacer was a rare exception to the rule. In that case we will end up getting stuck with the exhaust, which is a choice I had to make.

As of January 1st 2005 we are shipping a container evey 2 weeks from Japan. Its our job to ship every two weeks (currently the fastest importing schedule of any import shop in America). Unfortunately I can not control the fulfillment time from the manufacturer in Japan so our estimates will always remain as only estimates, never fact. I can only be certian of the activities in which we handle, delays outside of our influence are often unvoidable and unpredictable. There is a reason why there are only a few companies that import from Japan, it's not easy.

I understand that there are concerns with our customer service and I have continually been working to improve our business in that area. I feel that we are far better than we were 6 months ago and I see us improving equally as much in the next 6 months. We, like all businesses, will never be perfect, but I have and will continue to work hard to keep all of our customers happy.