M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 I thought I'd share a recent experience with you about the subject operations (Mainfreight and Amazon) because it's amazing and amusing as well as anecdotally relevant to many on this site. TLDR; Amazon.com rocks! Whilst it does seem as if things are working out for me this is only as a consequence of some astonishing customer service from a party that had absolutely no hand in the mess that was created. I've been watching the price fluctuations of a high quality spring and sway bar kit on Amazon for about 5 months now (tracking the price with camelcamelcamel) because the kit retails for about US$800 (often >$NZ$1400) but it's been offered for as low as US$345 from time to time on Amazon which is quite an amazing price (for a brand name kit - Eibach). The product is only available to ship to the USA so I got a quote from Kiwishipping to freight forward it that I was happy with and signed up for their service in anticipation. Well on 27/12 the kit was at a great low price and I hit 'Buy Now' and made the purchase on Amazon. I also purchased a smaller, unrelated item at the same time. I then downloaded the instructions under "Help" on the Kiwishipping site and followed them to the letter to complete the order and shipping details on Amazon. A day or so later I received tracking numbers (one USPS, one UPS) and I thought "wow, this is easy!". Some two or three days later Google Now (of all services!) advised me on my phone that the USPS package had been rejected at the delivery address "Recipient No Longer At Address". WTF!!! How did I get that wrong? I didn't get it wrong. Mainfreight (Kiwishipping.co.nz), a Freight and Logistics company had got their own delivery address wrong! They had moved about a month ago and hadn't updated their user documentation! One can only imagine how many packages were misdirected. So I sent the Kiwishipping US and NZ emails addresses an urgent request (admittedly on Dec 30) but heard nothing back and had to call them yesterday. They said they'd get onto it. They did not. When I first called Kiwishipping yesterday the UPS package was still in transit and could have been intercepted. By the time they eventually got onto it (with my 3rd call) it was too late (rejected at address). The people I dealt with at Kiwishipping were polite but ultimately unhelpful. They said I should contact Amazon. Amazon had already processed a full refund for the USPS package having received it back (no questions asked!) but my concern with the suspension kit (UPS package) was that the price had already gone back up by more than US$200! I would receive a refund but If I had to re-order then I would be out US$200 + tax + duty etc, etc. So I logged on to Amazon, went to customer service and started a chat session. It wasn't Amazon's fault but I had no idea what my options were - I was at best expecting a new quote that I could pass on to Kiwishipping to negotiate with them since it was their monumental cock-up that had resulted in my inconvenience and potential loss. What actually happened was amazing. Over the course of a one hour chat (!) Amazon apologised many times for my inconvenience (despite me reassuring them that they were not at fault) and would you believe actually offered to "replace" the order to a new address at no additional cost to me!! i.e. they were willing to ship initially for free, accept the items back and restock, resend the items to me at a new address honoring the original price and they even upgraded the free 7 day shipping to free 2 day shipping because "that would be better". Keep in mind this is a 25+ kg package. OMGWTF!?! I'm still going to expect Kiwishipping to provide some compensation for my time/anxiety but that is almost secondary to the amazing experience I had with Amazon - all businesses should operate like this.** I can't recommend Amazon enough. We'll see how I feel about Kiwishipping when I (eventually) get my goods. **Shout out to Bellars Motor Works and Kayne Barrie Motorsports who I have first had experience of also operating in this customer-focused fashion (at their own expense). 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kepes 231 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 That is awesome! Amazon is definitely one of the best companies I have dealt with. Their customer service team is very (overly?) apologetic but it's better than being the opposite. I had a similar experience with 12litres of Red Line engine oil where they gave me free shipping (was going to be well over $200 just for freight) to my door. Great team. That's a shame about the freight forwarding company. Have never used such a service but seems a bit risky. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atlantiskiwi 73 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 Awesome to hear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 Nice. Reminds me of Youshop. But everything that was sent there was accepted by the new resident when Youshop had moved. 100's of packages went missing. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 Does not surprise me, one of my recent dealings with mainfreight was also a complete f**k up. Relatively large 40kg wooden crate coming from China. China to auckland was 3 days, from there forwarded on to mainfreight for delivery. Auckland to Hamilton in 6 days via mainfrieght, then from Hamilton depo to a Hamilton address - 2 weeks - they lost it and took 2 weeks to find it. How does it take 3 days for something to get from china to auckland, and then 3 weeks from auckland to hamilton? Even when things do not get lost it seems the transit around nz is longer than going international. Unbelievable. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allan 295 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 Is your experience only with main freight?. As I have just received an item yesterday from Hamilton which I ordered around 3.30pm on Monday overnight basically. As well items from the UK which took eight days even around the Christmas break which is when things do get messed up. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
E30 325i Rag-Top 2956 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 Have had so many bad experiences with freight / shipping / courier companies over the years, all around the globe. I think there must be some sort of logistics training course they all go on which includes How To F@%k Things Up 101. Pick and choose your carriers wisely, but even then it often gets subbed-out to local operators in the far flung reaches of the world. No matter how big the outfit, it all comes down to the monkeys on the ground. Great that Amazon came to your rescue, good result. Unfortunately the freight companies rarely do. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HSB 282 Report post Posted January 6, 2015 Nice. Reminds me of Youshop. But everything that was sent there was accepted by the new resident when Youshop had moved. 100's of packages went missing. actually? i'm looking at ordering something off amazon and was going to use Youshop to get it here.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 Youshop is sh*t. Overpriced, Slow, doesn't consolidate items. E.g. The mrs ordered some small items in the states from Amazon. 3 items sent and 1 was on back order and got sent on its own. A $5 nail polish. Because they don't consolidate they wanted $15 to send a tiny extremely light box with a nail polish in it. In the end it cost more in shipping due to Youshops extreme prices than the items cost total. And it took 2 weeks to get them here. They got to keep the nail polish. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
turbolizard 38 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 Great that Amazon helped you out. I have used Mainfreight within NZ and kiwishipping (Mainfreight) from the US. They have been really helpful and reliable for me on a number of occasions, usually on quite large items like engines and machinery parts. My only bad repeated experience is with Peter Baker Transport (PBT) - they have damaged more than half off all the items they have ever touched for me. When I told someone else about my experience with PBT they told me it stands for Probably Broken Transport, or Peter Breaker Transport. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HSB 282 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 Youshop is sh*t. Overpriced, Slow, doesn't consolidate items. E.g. The mrs ordered some small items in the states from Amazon. 3 items sent and 1 was on back order and got sent on its own. A $5 nail polish. Because they don't consolidate they wanted $15 to send a tiny extremely light box with a nail polish in it. In the end it cost more in shipping due to Youshops extreme prices than the items cost total. And it took 2 weeks to get them here. They got to keep the nail polish. any way to sneak around this then? amazon won't ship electronics to NZ and I want to put an order in Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 So it looks like I'm not the only one to suffer with freight forwarders! Some of the stories, wow. Aside from their monumental initial failure Kiwishipping seem to be responsive and helpful so far. Also they're less expensive than Youshop and they will do consolidation which is important for me. I have no idea what the end result will be but I'll post back here with any relevant updates - I'm hopeful because others have had positive experiences and you'd expect Mainfreight to be able to sort the freight bit out okay once they have the package. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RvT 9 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 I use Kiwishipping all the time and find them 100% great. Had a bakery machine arrive on their doorstep and it was leaking oil through an accident in transit. They rejected it and was returned to supplier who fixed it with new parts and resent. Glad they rejected it there as I would have been pissed to get it broken here with zero come back etc. I had heard they were changing locations but thanks for this post as I would have shipped to old place by default. I see the web page has been updated with new address now. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hotwire 352 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 I have used Youshop a few times now from both USA & UK. Mostly good service. Had an issue with a package from the US, they charged me nearly $100 more than I had calculated for the package size. Several terse emails from me questioning there calculations, I eventually paid the fee with the intention of a battle when i received it. Duly arrived - the box in a much bigger box filled with polystyrene pellets (as I had suspected). Photos of & another terse message, questioning their claims to offer repackaging & why didn't they do it on this occasion - as I had asked. A phone call was returned to me, acknowledging the situation & a credit was made for the difference. Had a part arrive from the UK last week, was charged $4 fee for repackaging. I politely queried the cost, they replied saying they had repackaged it to condense it. Gave me the original dimensions v new package. It arrived in its original box with their bubble wrap, so the system does infact work sometimes. As far as their costs - in comparison to most US suppliers, I find them reasonable. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_kahu 8 Report post Posted January 7, 2015 Yeah I think where you get stung with Youshop is on very small items because they have a minimum shipping price of 15 bux or something but I haven't used any other companies to make a full comparison on if that's a good or bad price. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polley 916 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 I've used http://www.shipito.com/ in the past. Allows you to consolidate packages etc. Always been good for me. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Driftit 2078 Report post Posted January 8, 2015 I was going to try shipto next time around. In a few weeks. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted January 9, 2015 Awesome that you managed to score the amazon deal dave! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 9, 2015 Awesome that you managed to score the amazon deal dave! Yeah, took a while! But sub 350 for 4 springs, 2 bars and bushes is worth waiting for I reckon. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted January 9, 2015 Totally! sounds like amazon have their heads screwed on right .. The USA to nz route is a bit more of a wait! I have your turners gear and hopefully an update on what UUC are doing. Sent you a mail Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 15, 2015 (edited) Update: Amazon came through as I mentioned above and the goods arrived at Mainfreight within 2 days. Mainfreight are also trying to make this right - they're airfreighting the package (25kg) apparently at no cost to me... I'm going to be fascinated by the final invoice! I have the DHL tracking number and it's about 10 days away. Edited January 15, 2015 by M3AN Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 16, 2015 Woah... Amazon have just processed a full refund for the suspension... and another set, that I was not charged for, is on a DHL plane to NZ. This could end up being the least expensive kit I've ever "purchased". I won't get my hopes up yet though. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
handgrenade 189 Report post Posted January 16, 2015 Wow do you have a tracking number? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 16, 2015 (edited) Yep, and it's valid. Edit: and an actual picture of the box! Edited January 16, 2015 by M3AN Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
M3AN 4016 Report post Posted January 18, 2015 Suspension is in NZ, ETA Wed. Full refund on my credit card still. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
