Chemical engineer and some FastTech Problems

[Templar1191]

Hey guys

I've been vaping since 2013. I started first on clearo's and carto's, moved up to sub ohm premade coils/tanks, and now I am graduating to RDA/RDTA/RBA type builds. I graduate next yr with a chem eng degree, and I hope I can help fill in the blanks for people re: coil metals + reactions, fluid dyanics and e-cig juice additive toxicities and reactions.
I have mild asthma, which means I never smoked cigarettes, but I love the flavor of good e-juice. And the douchey aura of e-cigs suits my personality. Haha, jks.

[Removed - Negative reviews must be posted in the Negative reviews Forum]


I placed an order with Zamplebox and got that about a week ago. They sent me a fluid that was quite dark and had expired. Guess what they did when I sent them a picture about it:

I got a reply almost immediately, and they sent a whole new box my way. What an awesome company! The other two fluids I got were really delicious, and one of them was the best fluid I have ever tasted.

 

[dcfluegel]

overall, my experiences with FT have been decent, but i did end up having to dispute one transaction through paypal... overall, their customer service kind of sucks wet poots out of dead pigeons... in similar situations, i have just gone to the order and cancelled the item that was dragging so that remainder of order would go through, then reordered the lagging item if it was something i actually needed and could not get reasonably somewhere else

 

[Templar1191]

Hey DC, thanks for your input. I went and did what you said. I'm still very unhappy with their service considering the prices I paid...

EDIT: I see that I can cancel the order; I have done this. Great idea DC!

 

[NealBJr]

Hey guys

I've been vaping since 2013. I started first on clearo's and carto's, moved up to sub ohm premade coils/tanks, and now I am graduating to RDA/RDTA/RBA type builds. I graduate next yr with a chem eng degree, and I hope I can help fill in the blanks for people re: coil metals + reactions, fluid dyanics and e-cig juice additive toxicities and reactions.
I have mild asthma, which means I never smoked cigarettes, but I love the flavor of good e-juice. And the douchey aura of e-cigs suits my personality. Haha, jks.

[Removed - Negative reviews must be posted in the Negative Reviews Forum]

I placed an order with Zamplebox and got that about a week ago. They sent me a fluid that was quite dark and had expired. Guess what they did when I sent them a picture about it:

I got a reply almost immediately, and they sent a whole new box my way. What an awesome company! The other two fluids I got were really delicious, and one of them was the best fluid I have ever tasted.

I have made quite a few orders from Fasttech over the years, and the are a reliable and reputable company. Remember, they just resell the devices, they don't manufacture them. Sometimes if the item is a popular one, the manufacturer may not be able to keep up with demand, and are backlogged.

here's a theoretical situation which might be similar to yours.. a new product comes out, and they ordered 10 of them, recieved them, and they're in stock. This might've happened on a Friday. They are closed for the weekend.. on Monday, they process their orders, and see that 20 people ordered that device.... that means they're 10 shy from fufillng the order. They call the manufacturer, and say they want 20 more... The manufacturer may be backlogged due to high demand... They give the manufacturer's ETA back to the customer.

This happens fairly often. They didn't lie, and they ARE trying to give you the item as fast as possible.. but THEIR hands are tied. They have a fairly low profit margin, so keep that in mind as well. Usually, they will automatically split ship the order if it goes a bit past the manufacturer's ETA. For me, it's always been 2-3 work days. I have a shipment pending right now where the manufacturer's ETA is lagging.. I bet tomorrow or the day after, they will ship what they have, and wait for the product to arrive. When the item does arrive, it usually ships that day or the next day...

Looking at that particular item, it seems Vapesoon is the culprit. It seems Vapesoon promised Fasttech it would arrive in 3 days, but when they called, they said it would be five days (bad Vapesoon). Chances are, they've already shipped your other items. IF you're impatient, or don't trust Vapesoon to deliver, try asking Fasttech to switch to a different product. As long as the price is close to or less, they may work with you on this. They've always been fair to me, and I've had a few RMA's from them. If you cancel that product, they'll more than likely issue a store credit.

 

[Templar1191]

From what I can see, VapeNW does a better job at service, has cheaper tanks and mods, ships faster and things that are in stock.. are in stock. Maybe I shouldnt be holding them to the high standard of VapeNW
You raise a good point though. But they didnt seem to mention this in their FAQ. That combined with a 9 day delay...

 

[NealBJr]

Well, Vape NW has the luxury of being in the US, so they don't have the "x" ammount of days in both China customs and US customs... so, definatley faster shipping. They don't get as many orders as Fasttech, so probably less errors there as well. I bought my Sigeli 100 from them back when it was released, and was pleased by their service.

I still like the variety of Fasttech though, and I have the patience of a saint (so I've been told). I will never say Fasttech is the fastest.. they're definitely not that.. but that's not wholly their fault either. If Vape NW has what you're looking for for a better price, then yes, it's a no brainer.

 

[Templar1191]

Its just the fact that it hasnt shipped that bugs me. Instead of "oh we cant ship this because this item didnt arrive when planned, lets tell him", they just left it.

Just got a reply from them saying they will refund the whole order.

I dont have the patience of a saint unfortunately 9 days... 9 days just rubs me the wrong way

 

[Continuity]

You know that Fasttech will split any order(s) for free so long as it is at least USD$20, so you could have just asked them to send what *was* in stock and wait for, or even cancel what was holding the order up.

I've been shopping for all my vaping (and small electonic component) needs for at least 3 years now, and IME FT has the best customer satisfaction and warranty service of all the China retailers, and often seems better than manufacturer's warranties.

The thing about shopping at FT is, IMO - don't order stuff from there that you need *yesterday*, and it pays to become familiar with their stocking system, as I must admit, it isn't readily apparent what the different statuses mean in practicality.

I just ordered a few items last week, and the tanks and the mod were all 'ships in 7 days', and to my delight, were ready to ship 3 days after I made the order.

 

[Templar1191]

They will also cancel orders, if asked to. I did some research before I bought; this said to only order items "in stock". I did this, and during a period I was unable to check order status, they failed to notify me about stock changes after my purchase, and failed to respond quickly or offer any kind of token sorry.

I didn't need it yesterday. I needed it shipped within 3 business days of my order, and they didnt do this. Now instead of getting items 10-14 days after purchase, I have had to order from america and that will take ~10 days to get here. I wish I could have had your experience.

I'm going to stop bumping this thread; here's my parting words on FastTech.
Always check to see your order has shipped if you have bought things in-stock. Consider if the dollars worth of savings are worth the risk of lax customer service from a drop shipper in hong kong. FastTech, to their credit, will issue refunds for purchases that have not shipped, so make use of this if you are dissatisfied.

 

[djsvapour]

They are not in Hong Kong. (nope... there's nothing there at all... just tumbleweed...)

It's easy to play the Fastech game, you just need to understand the rules.

Bad luck. Seems you did OK though if you have items in transit and they have refunded you. That's a win in my book.

 

[Templar1191]

Nothing was in transit. Initially I asked to cancel the overdue item and ship it via registered china mail, but after 2 days with no action I decided to cancel entirely and go VapeNW.

 

[Leo Bak]

I've had over 70 orders delivered from FT in the past two years, containing at least 500 items. Never had any issues with any of the items (except for a few broken glass tanks), nor with their service.

Sometimes it occurs that you expect an item to be in stock, but then after ordering it isn't anymore. Can happen, but usually when they state their stock, they're not telling lies, it's just what it is. Sometimes i skip items that aren't in stock, but sometimes i can handle the wait. Many times the E.T.A. is sooner than they say. You were just having bad luck there, but if you're patient enough, it's a very rewarding place to order your vape-gear.

 

[Continuity]

People often forget that Fasttech isn't a standard kind of Western retailer - when they say 'In Stock' it often means that *their* supplier has it listed as in stock, and they don't always get it right (the 3rd party supplier).

If you're ordering some things that you absolutely *have* to have by a certain date, then ordering from China probably isn't for you.

The savings that can be made, and the sheer range of products that can be ordered make sellers like FT great, IMO - they also have very good customer service (usually) and warranties (better than nearly all manufacturers) - they even pay for the return postage (that is even if they *want* the item sending back).

 

[Alien Traveler]

FT have a lot of vaping equipment, and I mean A LOT. Usually it is cheaper than in other places. Free shipping. But sometimes, especially on authentic things, you can find a better deal elsewhere (like vapenw). I bought about 75% of my staff from FT. Delivery times can differ from 9 to 30 days (and customs can take insane amount of time sometimes). Do not use FT without patience.

 

[djsvapour]

Nothing was in transit...

Oh, that's a shame.

 

[daviedog]

We live in an entropic universe,,everything falls apart eventually.
We are slaves to parts.
AND no one has more parts for vaping than fastech..

 

[BrotherBob]

Welcome and glad you joined.

 

[djsvapour]

We live in an entropic universe,,everything falls apart eventually.
We are slaves to parts.
AND no one has more parts for vaping than fastech..

If you say so...

All I know is fasttech has a lot of shiny things.

""Not fair! not fair!" he hissed. "It isn't fair, my precious, is it, to ask us what it's got in it's nassty little online shopsess?”