Why YOU should not order from FastTech.

[szot]

Now is the best time to buy from FT, before the holidays begin and processing and shipping delays occur..so plan ahead, read the threads here and the ordering tips about in stock, ships in 1-2 business days, and which shippers are the fastest and most reliable..China Post now appears to be head and shoulders above the rest the past few months but prohibits shipping of knives, lighters, eliquids, ego batteries etc...But Registered Airmail Singapore Post will ship those prohibited items and fairly quick, 10-18 days once FT gives your order to the shipper...ordering and shipping of any exteral batteries (18650's etc) from any Chinese vendor is not recommended due to lack of shippers and customs..so plan ahead and start thinking of what U may want and don't wait too late for the holidays..FT is a great company if U plan ahead and read the tips here about ordering..

 

[NOMINDTR]

Good, the title has got your attention.

FastTech is a company based in mainland China next to Hong Kong in one of the major electronics producing cities in China, Shenzhen.
This is far far away from where you live.

If you order from FT, they will either have the goods in stock or order them in from a factory nearby, this may take a few days.
They will then ship them to a postal company in nearby Hong Kong, usually HK Post or Singapore Post, this may take a few days.
The postal service will then submit the parcel to the Hong Kong customs authority to be cleared for export, this may take a few days.
If you ordered ~$15 of goods you will be using free air shipping (if you order less and don't pay a dollar upgrade it goes by slow boat)
The shipping is free worldwide, this means you are low priority, your shipment goes on a plane when there is free space after the paid parcels are loaded, this may take a few days.
Your parcel then lands in your country where it is submitted to your country's customs authority to be cleared for import, if you order over a certain amount (US~$200, UK~£30) you may be liable for import duty, this is your responsibility not FastTech's.
The parcel is then handed to your country's postal service for delivery to you.

Orders can take from a week to a month to arrive with you, the average seems to be about two weeks.

If you are concerned about your parcel taking upto a month to arrive then you should consider paying extra and buying your goods in your own country.

If you are still considering using FastTech after reading the above then it's good news, you can get cheap branded liquids (eg Dekang, Hangsen and Liqua who between them supply the vast majority of the worlds eLiquid, Dekang alone supply over half), you can get cheap generic products (often called clones), you can get cheap branded originals (If FastTech use the manufacturers name in addition to the product name, it is a genuine branded product).

FastTech seem to have a decent warranty on their products (also a US returns address) however it may take their customer service several days to reply to any query.

TLDR: You can get it cheap OR you can get it fast, you need to decide what's important to YOU before you order. I see many people here wanting to take advantage of the low prices you can get ordering direct from China and then complaining that their goods are slow in arriving.

I am from India. We always have limited choice when it comes to purchase, we deal with dealers who purchase from China, mostly OEM. We often don't know what brand is it, unless we are smart in image search. Being a country have proximity, being 4 times cheaper than the price we can buy in India, I really think I can place an order. I can give the time it takes for transit.

Being new to all these vaping stuff, am I missing something?

Thanks in advance.

 

[katwb]

I placed my first order with FastTech - and don't mind the wait - but can someone tell me if I should be concerned?? It went intransit on 10/21 and today is 10/29 and still doesn't show in the USA .... is this normal? I actually ordered on 10/15 and it shipped out on 10/20 - should I be concerned?? I did pay the extra $1 shipping as it was only one piece - an Orchid RTA


Destination Country - Tracking Consuming: 671 ms - Go to official website2014-10-21 12:10
Origin Post is Preparing Shipment, We have received notice that the originating post is preparing to dispatch this mail piece.
2014-10-21 12:10
CHINA, SHENZHEN EMS, Processed Through Sort Facility
2014-10-20 16:16
CHINA, Acceptance
Origin Country - Tracking Consuming: 218 ms - Go to official website2014-10-21 12:10


Shenzhen, left the treatment center and sent to USJFKF
2014-10-21 11:56


Shenzhen, arrived at the processing center, from Dongguan
2014-10-20 19:49


Dongguan city, leaving the treatment center and sent to Shenzhen
2014-10-20 16:41


Postal express and logistics company, Dongguan Changan international business Department, left the treatment center and sent to Dongguan city
2014-10-20 16:16


Postal express and logistics company, Dongguan Changan international business Department, receiving and sending

 

[szot]

[QUOTEShenzhen, left the treatment center and sent to USJFKF
2014-10-21 11:56][/QUOTE]

USJFK = US Customs at JFK airport in NY...u should get it anyday..this is very normal

 

[katwb]

Great! Just not sure what to expect and how to read the mail service notes.

 

[UncLeJunkLe]

Has anyone from the USA had any problems with US customs that required you to pay customs fees, tarrifs, taxes, whatever?

Is it true that if you stay below $200USD for any given order that you will not ever have to pay fees to US customs?

Have you had any items that don't clear customs or always involve a tax or whatever?

If you do end up having to pay customs, what can you expect to pay. And if you are not willing to pay, does FT refund you?

 

[xtwosm0kesx]

Has anyone from the USA had any problems with US customs that required you to pay customs fees, tarrifs, taxes, whatever?

Is it true that if you stay below $200USD for any given order that you will not ever have to pay fees to US customs?

Have you had any items that don't clear customs or always involve a tax or whatever?

If you do end up having to pay customs, what can you expect to pay. And if you are not willing to pay, does FT refund you?

Shipping is free, so if you're getting close to $200 just split the order up into a couple(keep above $20 for shipping upgrade) and you wont have any problems.

Fasttech also usually lists the value of contents in HK $ and it is usually significantly lower than actual US $ value.

 

[Steamix]

Buying American - or any other buying ( insert you favorite country here ) - hmmmmm....

IBM and Apple is about as American as it gets. Once you scrape away that logo, you're left with 99.9% of stuff made elsewhere.

On the other hand, Japanese car makers have US-based assembly plants - so buying what appears to be a non-American product on the outside may have more 'Made in USA' in it than you think....

And buying anywhere - no just from FT - you will always face the sourcing triangle : good, fast, cheap ---- you can have only two out of three at best.

 

[szot]

U will never pay any US customs taxes or import fees when buying from FT...most times they will state "Gift" or undervalue the costs of your orders on the labels and declaration..I have never heard of 1 person ever paying US customs fees in my almost 2 years buying there..so don't even be concerned....customs fees is really not an issue at all..

 

[workman70]

Spending $20 at FT and keeping $40 in you wallet keeps more in your local economy than spending $60 at a middleman vendor. If you prefer to give $40 to someone to import your products and reduce your wait time then fine, but you can't use the patriotic card to justify it. However you look at it, $40 left in your wallet to spend locally is as local as it gets.

I buy locally, and I buy internet, whether it's from China or a US reseller of chinese goods. In the above argument, either way, the extra $40 is going to an american or multiple americans. There are many ways to support the US economy. Buying US made goods for example is one, and I will do that as often as I can, but our labor unions, taxes, and lack of production abilities make that more of a challenge. But, we live in the real world. I'm not spending $300 on a US made mech, when I can get the clone for $40 from China, and the build quality is on par more or less. That extra $240 will go to other US vendors.

 

[welldonedanny]

Four orders placed with FT;

1) Nov. 11, 2014 for
-Panasonic NCR18650PF 3.6V "2900mAh" Rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries (2-Pack) $12.86 USD. Registered, HK Post Surface Mail

Status= Shipped Nov. 25, 2015, RECIVED NOTICE FROM USPS: PACKAGE AT POST OFFICE FOR CUSTOMER PICKUP Jan.27, 2015.
(60++ Days)

2) Dec. 3, 2014 for Authentic Samsung INR18650-25R 3.6V 2500mAh Rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries (2-Pack)...
Double-Faced 6-Hole + 4-Hole Silicone Stand Holder for E-Cigrettes Black...
Double-Faced 6-Hole + 4-Hole Silicone Stand Holder for E-Cigrettes Blue.
Registered, HK Post Surface Mail

Status= Shipped Dec. 6, 2014, Still in transit as of Jan. 27, 2015

3) Nov. 28, 2014 for
-Authentic Aspire Nautilus Mini BVC Clearomizer.
-Replacement Coil Head (5-Pack) x2
-Itian K8 Universal Qi Inductive Wireless Charger K8, White
-Qi Inductive Wireless Charging Receiver Patch for Samsung Galaxy S3 Samsung Galaxy S3
Express E-Packett

Status= Received Dec. 18, 2014
(20days)

4) Jan. 11, 2015 for
-Authentic Cloupor Mini 30W Variable Wattage / Voltage VW VV APV Box Mod.

Status= Order Cancelled by Customer, Jan. 25, 2015. FT refunded purchase amount in less than 2 business days.

(Found it quicker from 3FVAPE for Less than $3 more, awaiting delivery)


Summary :
Shop around, check stock with online seller, compare to price at B&M'S, check shipping cost and options, be sure you are okay with seller response time and return /refund policies. Also, read other buyer reviews on quality and delivery info.

IM not dissatisfied with FT, got some stuff fast and cheap, others not so fast.

Have Fun!!!

 

[szot]

You used Hong Kong Surface Mail (ship/boat) for external batteries..U knew it would take at least 60 days...U were told at checkout at FT.....U have no valid complaint...now FT has fast shipping for external batteries...read the other threads here...1 just posted new thread in this same area here.. about this new shipping thread here

 

[welldonedanny]

Szot,

I didn't see (or check) the shipping options at checkout. I selected the free shipping included the item's offer. It may be a new option... or I missed it completely.

I'm not bashing FT, simply communicating the shipping time of the particular method of shipping.

I have seen the new/updated option for batteries now available and sincerely wish it was there (or I'd seen it ) back in November when I ordered.


Great follow up reply, thank you.

 

[szot]

The external batteries MUST ship via HK Surface mail or the new US Express..but all your other items could be shipped free and faster if U have selected the many other shippers available to you at checkout...they are clearly marked with their delivery times....and if orders are less than $20, for an additional $1 then U can upgrade from "Regular" mail which takes also 60 days to REGISTERED AIRMAIL which is usually about 6-12 days to the USA....there are forums at FT, that U can read which explains all of this..

 

[anderitos135]

What app did you use?

 

[ChristianProgrammer]

OP You do realize they have various expedited shipping methods now ..

 

[TrollDragon]

OP You do realize they have various expedited shipping methods now ..

The initial post was over a year ago and the OP has not been active since last summer... I don't think he is too worried.

 

[Fuzzy Bruce]

I have held off ordering from FT. This because of the length of time between ordering and receiving the order. The longer shipping time causes great anxiety for me. I would rather pay a premium and get my items in three to five business days. I know the mailman is happy to not be stalked for the ten to thirty+ days while I wait for items from China.

 

[TrollDragon]

If you are not in a rush for product then there is no problem waiting for a FT delivery...
I have had two shipment arrive at the same time, one I paid the extra $2 for and the other was sent without, both of them arrived the same day.

Just count on 3 weeks and if it arrives sooner bonus for you... I have ordered dozens of Vacuum Tubes from eastern block countries and it is the same thing, expect 3 weeks through the mail.

 

[Dixie1954]

The external batteries MUST ship via HK Surface mail or the new US Express..but all your other items could be shipped free and faster if U have selected the many other shippers available to you at checkout...they are clearly marked with their delivery times....and if orders are less than $20, for an additional $1 then U can upgrade from "Regular" mail which takes also 60 days to REGISTERED AIRMAIL which is usually about 6-12 days to the USA....there are forums at FT, that U can read which explains all of this..

So are these considered internal batteries or external batteries?? $8.06 GS eGo II 2200mAh Rechargeable E-Cigarette Battery - silver at FastTech - Worldwide Free Shipping I want to buy a few of these