Topic: my experience ordering a BB (Read 18470 times)

Mfarank · « **on:** May 19, 2018, 11:54:08 AM »

hi guys,
so after a long wait the BB finally arrived. the bat itself is brilliant, perfectly balanced, perfectly pressed and pings great. i have oiled it and am now in the process of knocking it in. the experience of getting it to me however was a mixed bag.

so as suggested by everyone on the forum, i got in touch with Tai to get a B1. after a couple of days of looking at every option he convinced me to go for an LE B4 and agreed to give me a discount on it. what we agreed finally was on GBP 250 including delivery. he asked me if i want an antiscuff sheet fitted. i told him to send it separately. payment was agreed via paypal. each of us made a request. he asked me to send the payment to him as friends and family (which was not possible as that option is not available in UAE) so i had to send him the money as normal payment for goods. he requested that i send an extra GBP 5 to cover some of the fees that paypal is gona charge him. i asked nothing further and sent him GBP255 via paypal rightaway. in return i requested him to put the value of the bat as GBP100 on the invoice (UAE law states that if ordering anything from overseas if the value is under GBP200, they charge 5% VAT, if it is over GBP200 they charge 10% VAT). he agreed to put the value as 100 on the invoice and we had a done deal.

fast forward to a week later and i receive a call from DHL that i have a parcel waiting for me. however they need a payment of GBP 20 to open a one time import code for me since im using DHL for the first time. after having a chat with Tai we came to an agreement and decided to split these charges. however after another couple of days DHL want me to pay them approximately GBP 75 in order to receive the parcel. why? they said its VAT and DHL exclusive charges (according to them since it is a high value item). needless to say i refused the parcel. to put this into context i have ordered many times from prodirectcricket and only paid 5% VAT of the value of the items. i spoke to Tai again and he was kind enough to offer me a refund. but he offered me only a partial refund. in other words i dont get the bat and still lose about GBP 36 because the courier company he chose have so many hidden charges. he offered me option B: split the DHL charges 50-50 and receive the bat. i reluctantly agreed to it and ended up paying the GBP 75 to DHL and received the bat. Tai on his part refunded me GBP 47.5. here is the thing though. when i received the package, the invoice said GBP 250 (even though Tai repeatedly told me he valued it at GBP 100 on the invoice). on top of that, there was no bat cover with a supposed LIMITED EDITION bat. whats more, he didnt even put an antiscuff sheet. upon enquiry, his reply was "i need to check on that" and that was it.

so in summary, we agreed on GBP 250 including shipping. i expected to pay GBP 25 extra as VAT. instead i ended up paying GBP 302.5 after all was said and done, and didnt even get a bat cover or a scuff sheet with the bat.

sorry if it feels like a long rant but i thought i'd share the whole experience and leave no details out. To his credit Tai was very polite.

Mfarank · « **Reply #1 on:** May 19, 2018, 11:55:18 AM »

trying to upload pics but unable to do so. would appreciate the assistance. heres an imgur link to the pics
https://imgur.com/a/qTQMneh

Mfarank · « **Reply #2 on:** May 19, 2018, 12:17:27 PM »

Ohh no dont get me wrong. I totally get that. I had zero problems with paying what was legally required to the customs. The DHL exclusive charges however. Legally i would be required to pay 25 quid on a 250 quid bat. But i was made to pay more than 50 for no reason.

Mfarank · « **Reply #3 on:** May 19, 2018, 12:24:37 PM »

Quote from: DorsetDan on May 19, 2018, 12:11:43 PM

Forgot to put in a few pound scuff sheet and you weren't able to illegally circumvent customs... as annoying as it probably was for you it sounds like Tai went above and beyond

To clarify, my issue is not that he agreed to make a 100gbp invoice and didnt do it in the end, my issue was that the courier had so many hidden charges on top of the legal customs and vat charges and that was only because of his choice of courier service. Tai infact was very professional and polite about the whole thing. The whole thing is a bummer because not only did i pay more but he incurred losses too. Its DHL who made the money lol. And the antiscuff sheet is important because i cant find one of a similar quality here. Tai has been kind enough to send one over via post today.

Ayrtek Cricket · « **Reply #4 on:** May 19, 2018, 05:31:27 PM »

It�s tricky to undervalue goods as should something go missing then the recoverable cost would only be to that value.

Customs can do as they please and charge what they like sadly too, I�ve had to pay surcharges on imports to be able to have goods released for delivery that are above and beyond fair.

Biggie Smalls · « **Reply #5 on:** May 19, 2018, 06:14:10 PM »

Personally I think this is tricky one and a mixed bag .....
I would never ask for an item to be undervalued , but if a seller offered I might take them up on it .
If someone asked me to undervalue an item I would refuse , but if I agreed to do something I would honour the agreement .
I know that customs charges to my country (aust) are nil or minimal , but I know what things are like for most places and would be resigned to expecting any 'surprises' customs threw at me .
If I was unsure , as a buyer or seller , of reliable expected courier charges I would double check , and organize an alternative should the courier prices seem excessive.
To your credit you have been understanding on most of this and give Tai some credit (in amongst the frustrated retelling , and partial complaining) in his dealing with the process , and praise the bat highly . You are in your rights to be disappointed, but other than he forget to include a scuff sheet (which was rectified) and not recieving a bat cover , Tai has not really done anything ( or , arguably , much ) 'wrong' , although perhaps he could have enquired with you/dhl/other couriers further to find the cheapest option ? , and either he forgot to undervalue the bat ,as agreed upon , or he changed his mind and didn't inform you (either possibility is still disappointing after an agreement has been made, and this is the part I'd be most frustrated with if this is what happened and it happened to me), or perhaps it's also possible there was some misunderstanding and Tai never knew this agreement was what you were asking for ( I know you are saying this isn't possible /likely but I'm just trying to allow for all possibilities here).
To Tai's credit he compromised profit numerous times to provide extra service/absorb the additional costs where possible , and he gave you options including a refund . He also later sent the scuff sheet .....oh , and he made you a cracking g1 bat for 250 quid .
I suppose the moral of the story is : dont use dhl for bat delivery to the u.a.e .

Mfarank · « **Reply #6 on:** May 19, 2018, 06:19:46 PM »

Quote from: Ayrtek Cricket on May 19, 2018, 05:31:27 PM

It�s tricky to undervalue goods as should something go missing then the recoverable cost would only be to that value.

Customs can do as they please and charge what they like sadly too, I�ve had to pay surcharges on imports to be able to have goods released for delivery that are above and beyond fair.

Its true. However after doing extensive homework i discovered the customs department only charged the 10% of the �250 value of the bat. The rest was all from DHL. I have had transactions with prodirect worth over �500 before. They use DPD and royalmail who have partnership with Aramex in UAE. I have never had to pay anything other than the VAT. This transaction was a lesson learnt for both of us and left a sour taste in our mouth. I commend Tai for his commitment and ethics. If anything he incurred more loss than i did.

The bat is halfway in the knocking in stage now and early signs suggest its gona be an absolute beast. Can someone help me share some pics over here? Would love some feedback.

Mfarank · « **Reply #7 on:** May 19, 2018, 06:21:55 PM »

Quote from: Biggie Smalls on May 19, 2018, 06:14:10 PM

Personally I think this is tricky one and a mixed bag .....
I would never ask for an item to be undervalued , but if a seller offered I might take them up on it .
If someone asked me to undervalue an item I would refuse , but if I agreed to do something I would honour the agreement .
I know that customs charges to my country (aust) are nil or minimal , but I know what things are like for most places and would be resigned to expecting any 'surprises' customs threw at me .
If I was unsure , as a buyer or seller , of reliable expected courier charges I would double check , and organize an alternative should the courier prices seem excessive.
To your credit you have been understanding on most of this and give Tai some credit (in amongst the frustrated retelling , and partial complaining) in his dealing with the process , and praise the bat highly . You are in your rights to be disappointed, but other than he forget to include a scuff sheet (which was rectified) and not recieving a bat cover , Tai has not really done anything ( or , arguably , much ) 'wrong' , although perhaps he could have enquired with you/dhl/other couriers further to find the cheapest option ? , and either he forgot to undervalue the bat ,as agreed upon , or he changed his mind and didn't inform you (either possibility is still disappointing after an agreement has been made, and this is the part I'd be most frustrated with if this is what happened and it happened to me), or perhaps it's also possible there was some misunderstanding and Tai never knew this agreement was what you were asking for ( I know you are saying this isn't possible /likely but I'm just trying to allow for all possibilities here).
To Tai's credit he compromised profit numerous times to provide extra service/absorb the additional costs where possible , and he gave you options including a refund . He also later sent the scuff sheet .....oh , and he made you a cracking g1 bat for 250 quid .
I suppose the moral of the story is : dont use dhl for bat delivery to the u.a.e .

Its true and i cant thank Tai enough for getting the bat to me. The bat was within 25kms of me and i was so gutted that all this was happening. The moral of the story is definitely correct. Never use DHL for delivery to the UAE. Use DPD or royalmail.

potzy248 · « **Reply #8 on:** May 19, 2018, 06:31:25 PM »

I ask sellers to undervalue stuff from the UK every time. Ive asked for it so I know its my problem if it gets damaged or lost. Ive also used DHL to NZ and never had that issue before.

Biggie Smalls · « **Reply #9 on:** May 19, 2018, 06:39:11 PM »

Quote from: potzy248 on May 19, 2018, 06:31:25 PM

I ask sellers to undervalue stuff from the UK every time. Ive asked for it so I know its my problem if it gets damaged or lost. Ive also used DHL to NZ and never had that issue before.

Fair enough , i just feel that if a seller was truly comfortable doing it then they would either do it by default or offer to do it upfront.....and i don't want to ask anyone to do anything they are uncomfortable doing , especially when it involves dubious legality.

Mfarank · « **Reply #10 on:** May 19, 2018, 06:42:11 PM »

How do i post pics here? Im dying xD

Ayrtek Cricket · « **Reply #11 on:** May 19, 2018, 07:16:16 PM »

Www.Postimages.org

Calzehbhoy · « **Reply #12 on:** May 19, 2018, 07:57:17 PM »

Quote from: potzy248 on May 19, 2018, 06:31:25 PM

I ask sellers to undervalue stuff from the UK every time. Ive asked for it so I know its my problem if it gets damaged or lost. Ive also used DHL to NZ and never had that issue before.

Ditto.

I will always ask for an undervalue if coming from abroad. Weirdly, no Oz retailers seem comfortable doing it.

Mfarank · « **Reply #13 on:** May 19, 2018, 08:03:27 PM »

Finally here we are. Theres about 7-8 grains. Hint of color on one edge, couple of tiny blemishes. 2lb8.7oz on the scale. Pickup is about 2-7 max. Lovely oval handle (i added a 2nd grip). 36 mil edges, 62 mil spine. Round face, Minimal concaving and a nice duckbill.

Johnny · « **Reply #14 on:** May 19, 2018, 10:11:48 PM »

So... The bat is great, but you had to pay more than expected because you tried to cheat the system.

I officially have zero sympathy

Author Topic: my experience ordering a BB (Read 18470 times)

Mfarank

my experience ordering a BB

Mfarank

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Mfarank

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Mfarank

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Ayrtek Cricket

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Biggie Smalls

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Mfarank

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Mfarank

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potzy248

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Biggie Smalls

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Mfarank

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Ayrtek Cricket

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Calzehbhoy

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Mfarank

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Johnny

Re: my experience ordering a BB