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Elfod
170
Oct 20, 2017
A Tale of Woe
and a cautionary tale for Massdrop.
Update for those TLDR: customs destroyed keys due to massdrop mistake, refund sent, replacement “not possible”, not going to get keys. Help me @YanboWu you‘re my only hope <insert hologram>. CC @MiTo @AveryCorley
I live in the UK, and like everyone else I have been excitedly waiting for these keys.
Tracking (summarised) was as follows: * Oct 5, 2017 6:57PM EDT Posted * Oct 6, 2017 6:05AM ET Secaucus, NJ, US * Oct 6, 2017 11:34AM ET Left on plane to UK * Oct 7, 2017 10:59AM BST Arrive in UK * Oct 8, 2017 10:56AM BST Entered customs * Oct 20, still in customs, no recent updates
So, started to chase. * I called DHL today asking why my parcel was stuck, I assumed I need to pay a charge but have not received a notification. * DHL referred me to a customs broker called CCL, who handle customs charging on behalf of UK Gov Customs. * There was a charge to pay, appox £14, nothing in the grand scheme of things. * Contact details supplied by Massdrop for customs charges was complaints@massdrop.com. * CCL emailed complaints@massdrop.com multiple times requesting payment of customs charge, no response was received. * As per agreement between Massdrop and DHL, goods with unpaid customs duty are destroyed. * CCL DESTROYED THE KEYS.
The reason this happened is because when Massdrop sends a parcel overseas via DHL, they have two choices when booking the parcel delivery and unpaid import charges expire: 1. return to sender and Massdrop pay any handling charges 2. parcel is destroyed
Massdrop chose destruction apparently.
So the keys that we have all been waiting patiently for 10 months and are likely to be never run again due to the manufacturing complexities have been destroyed because Massdrop didn't supply my email address for contact and chose not to respond to customs queries.
Suggestions for improvement: 1. Don't ignore emails sent to complaints@massdrop, or have more people covering if overwhelmed. 2. Use DHL for the entire delivery instead of stopping at the international border. For some reason DHL delivers to UK border then. second carrier takes over, Yodel in this case. If DHL had been used for entire delivery, the parcel would not have left the care of DHL and things might have turned out differently. I would happily pay a bit more to do this, or at least make it an option. 3. Put contact details of the actual person receiving the goods on the parcel for customs charges. Legally speaking, at least in the UK, the person receiving the goods is the importer, not Massdrop. In this case supply my email address not complaints@massdrop.com.
Somewhat disappointed to say the least.
It may be that Massdrop did repond to CCL and some bureaucracy failure happened, but ultimately the contact details should not have been Massdrop, and why the hell is destruction a good choice?
Elfod@AveryCorley WOW! This is really the next level of fail. I feel so bad for you :( For myself, I haven't even got a shipping tracker, not sure how I should feel about that...
A community member
Oct 20, 2017
Elfodmassdrama legit.
A community member
Oct 20, 2017
Elfod and why the hell is destruction a good choice?
Because they don't want to pay any handling charges obviously.
Elfod
170
Oct 20, 2017
Well, clearly, but when the goods are actually scarce seems poor choice to me.
zoosmell
18
Oct 20, 2017
ElfodHopefully you can get your hands on a cancelled order in consolation.
Elfod
170
Oct 20, 2017
zoosmellJust got an email from support telling me they are issuing a refund.
They also gave me boilerplate telling me I should have paid the customs fees, completely missing the point. I have replied reiterating where the fail happened in the hopes they can learn from it for the benefit of others in future.
Hopefully this was just an anomaly, sadly this occurred on something irreplaceable; they didn’t offer a surplus keyset from cancelled orders.
CCL rep did say this has happened to other people, so does seem to be a recurring issue.
douglasryanadams
49
Oct 21, 2017
ElfodIt seems pretty clear to me that Massdrop is having one of the following issues:
- Doesn't have enough staff to handle the support load - Doesn't train their staff to respond to support needs appropriately - Doesn't see a return on investment for improving their support - Doesn't have enough visibility of their own customer experience to even tell that there are problems - Doesn't care
Sites like this come and go, usually starting with great support while the founders have time to stay involved but then falling off as they grow and people who make decisions entirely based on number sheets and word of mouth take over.
When was the last time you went to woot.com or newegg.com? It's been years for me and they used to be a daily stop.
Epic_Enkidu
206
Oct 21, 2017
douglasryanadamsI don't think newegg falls under what you describe. Newegg is a pretty big business and does pretty well in sales and customer support.
Raccatography
197
Oct 21, 2017
ElfodProps to you for handling it so decently. I'm staying away from massdrop, lol. Too much shit. The only way they'll reel me for another drop is if Mito's GMK Laser drops here
Hopefully not.
hampusk
149
Oct 21, 2017
ElfodThat sucks enormously for all parties. Somebody surly shat in the blue locker! What kits did you order?
Elfod
170
Oct 21, 2017
hampuskJust the Bauhaus text and icon modifiers, so not a huge order, probably why I was one of the first to get shipped.
Regretted not also ordering the Dieter Rams keys too but pretty academic now. I have a vortex core keyboard (also from massdrop), I didn’t want to replace the layered keys and get lost with the layering but of course I’ve learnt it all now.
TTheuns
884
Oct 22, 2017
ElfodWait, you expect Massdrop to pay those fees? Customs fees are for the buyer.
Elfod
170
Oct 22, 2017
TTheunsCongratulations, you missed the mistake that was made.
Massdrop gave themselves as the contact for the parcel, so customs contacted Massdrop (multiple times) for payment instead of me the recipient. When Massdrop didn't reply they destroyed the package.
If I had been contacted I would of course have paid the customs fee.
Epic_Enkidu
206
Oct 23, 2017
douglasryanadamsHuh, never knew they had that bad rep. I usually see a lot of folks over on r/buildapcsales and slickdeals have good dealings with them. Guess not everyone can be as good as Amazon with their customer support :/
TTheuns
884
Oct 23, 2017
ElfodThanks for correcting me
douglasryanadams
49
Oct 23, 2017
Epic_EnkiduYeah, they used to be awesome and known for their support but they opened up to 3rd party vendors and seriously diluted their brand. Last PC I built I bought everything from Amazon because of the support.
Elfod
170
Oct 23, 2017
TTheunsThe main reason I did this post was to attempt to draw attention to the issue for a couple of reasons:
1. Massdrop support drew exactly the same conclusion as you and instantly issued a refund; I’d rather have the keys since they will likely never be made again, so another drop is unlikely. They have a pool of cancelled orders because the drop was delayed quite a bit. 2. The customs agent told me they see this happen frequently with Massdrop orders, not just me, this process needs fixing.
While I have no chance getting the keys now unless @YanboWu, @AveryCorley or @MiTo save me I hope Massdrop can fix this for others in future.
HotRoderX
753
Oct 23, 2017
Epic_EnkiduNewegg's service is horrible... ordered from them few years back and they sent me a used item... obviously used the item wasn't in its packaging had scratches.. called up newegg support. They offered to let me return the item for a 15% restocking fee. When I finally got it thought to them it was used item being sold as new... they told me they contracted shipping out to other warehouses and couldn't control there inventory... what kinda answer is that.. and I have to pay return shipping on the item. Newegg use to be amazing and then I don't know what happened they went to complete crap. By the way Newegg use to ((I don't know if they still do since this happened like 10 years ago)) bribe customers for good reviews. I know this cause they gave me 100 gift card .. to write a review and I refused so they harassed the crap out of me. Daily emails asking me to re-write my review about them.
ShishKabobJerry
21
Oct 24, 2017
ElfodI fucking hate Massdrop. They can barely get things right holy shit. Feel bad for you and everyone who ordered.
Cyphre
2708
Oct 24, 2017
Epic_EnkiduThey are good, the problem is they opened their site similar to amazon in allowing third party sales to happen. It's why a lot of random other stuff pops up there for sale. I've been using them for years without problem, but it's easy to see reviews and posts primarily due to other sellers poisoning the well.
tobsn
263
Oct 24, 2017
Elfodbeen 3 weeks now. UPS doesn’t respond after wanting an invoice & translated invoice & shop link. supplied all that, then they asked for the materials in it, as in aluminium etc. I told them I’m the customer not then manufactuerer. since then no response. massdrop keeps telling me theyre looking into it.
UPS charges $30 or so processing fee and $4/day for warehouse storage. I’m excited to receive that package with a $120 bill + import vat one day... -_-
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tobsn
263
Oct 24, 2017
tobsnforgot to point out that, yes, they sent this for some reason with UPS.
Elfod
170
Oct 24, 2017
tobsnWow, I thought Royal Mail handling charges were bad, that’s daylight robbery.
tobsn
263
Oct 25, 2017
Elfodits actually picking up again right after I posted this...
this it is the whole process as of now - its actually really interesting because it goes into clearance, once i sent them all the data, when it says its processed at clearance, it goes for some reason into storage for a crazy 3 weeks, then all the sudden its in clearance again and held there, then it departs warsaw to a small village near by where it arrives shortly after just to depart from warsaw yet again and arrive and depart at that small village yet again too... idk whats going on with UPS but if massdrop doesnt cover the warehouse storage cost and the import processing fees im gonna be mad (no, this normally doesn't happen, DHL just delivered Yuri today and it is normally never such an issue with such odd delays, first time ever I received something with UPS though - still, DHL, DPD, and normal parcel service here don't do this at all):

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tobsn
263
Oct 25, 2017
tobsnUPS just delivered - the package did only contain one Planck case instead of two, and on top of the VAT I have to pay there is an additional listing for Services and Processing fees by UPS of 483.64 PLN or $134.32.
FUCK ME... I have no idea how they came up with the idea to use UPS, this essentially kills their profit if they refund me, which they better do because I would've never agreed to the most expensive parcel service there is.
TTheuns
884
Oct 25, 2017
tobsnHoly crap, that's insane. Massdrop better sort this out.
tobsn
263
Oct 25, 2017
TTheunsfunny is that i ordered two cases, one MX one Alps plate with alps switches and two sleeves. Two sleeves arrived, the Alps switches, and the MX planck... *facepalm
TTheuns
884
Oct 25, 2017
tobsnWow, that just adds insult to injury. If Massdrop is going to sort out all the mistakes they made in the last month I wouldn't be surprised if they approach bankruptcy.
tobsn
263
Oct 25, 2017
TTheunsnah they wont go bankrupt, they have lots of VC money. But whoever invested should tell them to go fix their fulfillment cause its obviously abysmal and slow.
MiTo
13954
MiTo
Oct 25, 2017
ElfodE-mail me with a print screen showing what kits you wanted and I’ll send to you - mitormk@gmail.com
TTheuns
884
Oct 25, 2017
tobsnMiTo made a comment to your comment but it's deleted now... What the hell is going on?
tobsn
263
Oct 25, 2017
TTheunshe wrote his email to contact him for @Elfod
TTheuns
884
Oct 25, 2017
tobsnFor some reason it's back now.
Elfod
170
Oct 25, 2017
tobsnI'm literally speechless.
Elfod
170
Oct 25, 2017
MiToThanks, message sent.
tobsn
263
Oct 26, 2017
Elfod@TTheuns @Elfod UPDATE:
-- Thank you for getting back to me. If I'm understanding correctly, it looks like you received everything but the gunmetal case with the Matias compatible plate. It does look like we have one of those in stock, so if you would like a replacement please let me know, or I can issue a partial refund otherwise. As for the fees, I took a look at the receipt and the only warehouse fees I see from UPS is the 368,00 PLN fee. If you can let me know your PayPal email address I'll go ahead and issue a reimbursement for the 368 PLN. --
Massdrop support is slow but they pick up all the nonsense fulfillment screws up... can't complain about that at all. At least they're not screwing me over on this. So... there it is, very frustrating experience, saved by great customer support.
TTheuns
884
Oct 26, 2017
tobsnThat's one crisis averted. Good that they resolved it.
The support staff is hit and miss. I immediately got an answer on one request, sending out a second set for one lost in transit. The others still have no response.
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