Review: AliExpress HengLong/ToucanRC Hobby

[Mindstorm]

Im sorry for the rant, but ive been chatting for a week now with the seller and AliExpress Customer service.
Please tell me if im being unreasonable:

"Hello, this is my fifth attempt to get help, so please read the entire text.
My account: xxxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com
Order: 3042030929568761
Current status: Order approved for return and refund, shipping label supplied.

The Seller: Toucan RC Hobby Official Store / MATO OUTLET Store / HENG LONG RC Store (same seller, probably has more similar stores)

28 July 2024 order: 3039143872718761 Tank ~250,- EURO and ~65,- EURO shipping (this is important for later on the text)
23 August 2024 order: 3040243619248761 Tank ~155,- EURO and ~50,- EURO shipping (as reference)

on 20 September i contacted the seller that i would like to order several items from his store, and i asked if he could combine the items into one package to reduce the shipping costs.
The seller told me he could do that and make me a combined order so after a few steps the order was made, when i paid for the order i noticed that there wasn't any reduction in shipping costs(~85,- EURO), so i asked the seller about it, but now he said that all shipping costs are fixed due to the weight of packages.

Than after a few weeks my order (3042030929568761) arrives (as one package) and i open it.
All the 9 items were stuffed in the box of the tank, and this tank was a bare plastic model without any metal parts so was in no way heavier than the tank of order 3039143872718761.
After further inspection i noticed that the box the tank came in looked very old and used, the Styrofoam had severe coloring due to its age and perhaps even moisture.
After even further inspection the tank was missing some accessories (the decals, the ropes and a hammer) and had some of them pre-installed, even the racks these accessoires usually come in were missing.
I decided i wanted to check the inside of the tank and to my surprise the tank had a mainboard installed and metal gears (which is odd for an "as-cheap-as-possible" display tank, where the cheapest versions all come with a plastic gearbox), both looked old and used.
So this tank was obviously used or made up out of used or old spare parts.
That i found that one of the other items it came shipped with had a missing part as well.

So i confronted the seller for:

A- Lying about combined shipping cost.
B- Selling me a used and incomplete tank.
C- Selling me another incomplete item.

The seller kept to his story about shipping costs, and said he couldn't supply me the parts missing from the tank, and only offered me a 15,- EURO cash back nothing more, even when i paid ~20,- too much on shipping and got used and incomplete items.

So i contacted you, "AE" for a refund (The only option was Return & Refund so i selected that) but i was only eligible for a refund of the Tank (~55,- EURO) obviously im not gonna take a 55,- EURO refund if i paid 115,- EURO (55,- + 60,- EURO shipping cost) for it.

The seller "upped" his offer to 20,- EURO refund if i kept the tank.

As i do want to keep the tank, and don't want to return it and lose 60,- EURO on its initial shipping costs, i just want it complete (buying the missing items from another store will cost me more than 20,- EURO), and i want my money back for the 20,- extra shipping costs i paid for nothing.

So please help me in 1 of two ways:

Option 1: Let me keep the Tank and refund me ~50,- EURO for selling me a used tank, and incomplete tank and charging me unnecessary shipping costs (That the seller didnt make)
Option 2: I Return the Tank to the seller at no cost to me, but i get refunded the full 115,- EURO for the Tank and its initial shipping cost.

Thank you for reading, kind regards.

Casper"

[tomhugill]

Seems reasonable! You'll wind up with the same issue if you go with PayPal, as they don't cover return shipping cost.

Something to bare in mind in future is if you can get a tank with free shipping but higher unit price so if something like this happens you're not missing out on the refund for shipping

[Mindstorm]

Thanks, i think i got all the parts to finish my two tanks, so i wont be shopping for parts there anytime soon.

[Rob59]

Hey Casper.
I think it is always a big risk buying items like a tank, in China (even when it is a cheaper one).
If somethong goes wrong, the fun begins!
That is why I did buy all my expensive tanks from wellknown shops in Germany which do give a good service in case something would go wrong.
Several of my plastic tanks do come from Jurod RC in Hoogeveen NL. No issues with them either.
Once I contacted the same Chinese seller/shop you had issues with.
I was interested in a Panzer IV upper Hull and lower Hull, and asked him if he could send both in one package, just for saving €56 on shipping.
He told me the same nonsense he told you, so I decided not to order!
If I would had, he‘d probably send both of them in one box too…..
So sometimes it might be better to spend some €€€ more and buy in Europe (Germany or so, for us guys in the Netherlands, or even from the Brittish shop, I think it’s Forgebear?), but that‘s just my opinion Casper.
On the other hand, there will be enough members on here who were lucky with their Chinese purchase and received what they ordered.
I mostly buy resin figures from Ali, and when one of those deals should go wrong, we‘re talking about an amount between €10-20, so I will survive that.
But so far no issues yet.
Groetuh, Rob.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I am sorry you've had a bad experience. I do agree with Rob59 that the UK and German sellers are preferable. For me, of course, shipping form the UK or Germany is expensive; indeed, the figure you cite matches the cost of shipping from Germany to the U.S. from as much as 10 years ago. I have ordered without problem from Toucan Hobby, and although I find the Toucan Hobby web site somewhat confusing because items are listed together and terms for items are not always clear, I have had no problem, nor has the shipping been exorbitant. Yet this experience was for U.S. to U.S. without overseas shipping.

[Mindstorm]

Ive bought a lot of little upgrades from this and other sellers on AE never had any problems really, but when i get lied to and when your questions are ignored, and they give you a solution you didnt ask for, it really pisses me off sorry, indeed customer care is just so much better from European countries.
But shipping is such a huge waste of money when you want specific parts that only a few sellers have, indeed England and Germany seem to have some very nice stores, but sadly shipping from the UK to the Netherlands is too expensive (HengLong upperhull 17euro, shipping 40euro) bought a nicely detailed MG34t from the US at 7euro, shipping and customs add another 35euro…

[ColemanCollector]

My suggestion for dealing with Aliexpress, is to pursue each purchase as an individual case. If English is their second language, it needs to be kept as straightforward as possible. If they're using google translate it makes things even more of a mess.
Case 1. Tank received missing parts and used.
Case 2. Tank received in used condition.
Case 3. Parts received damaged/missing parts and combined shipping not provided as promised.

Given that the three orders were placed over a 3 month period, I would pursue each one independently.

Aliexpress has been a good supplier for me using all of its sellers, including Toucan Hobby. It'll be interesting to see how Ali does for you. Good luck!

Mike.

[Mindstorm]

Seems a good tip Mike, but its actually 1 order of 9 items combined, the other two orders were fine and just used for reference with weight and shipping costs, and showing i know how Heng Long tanks come shipped and what accessories are supplied.

[dingobattler]

Toucan is usually good from what I've heard in my club, so surprised they treated you this way.

On that note, when you order from ae, best to pay more to get the items under their choice program, shipping is "free" so any refunds will "include" shipping.

Try getting charge back with Cc. If you don't abuse the service, most banks are super generous with this, and sometimes don't even require that you return the item.

[Mindstorm]

And again AE’s reply:
“Dear Customer,

after inspection, please download the return label, print it out, and send it out by yourself at the nearby logistics center.You need to return the item first in order to receive a refund.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation which is highly appreciated and we hope you have a great experience shopping with AliExpress.

Best regards,
AliExpress Customer Care”

f***ing useless