Re: [url]www.chinabestproducts.com[/url]
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I just got to come out and say it, how do you guys protect yourself from scams when you buy a tractor over the internet?)</font>
Hi Lee,
Well I'll chime in here because I also bought over the internet. Here's my story.
I sent RFQ's to 3 dealers, Chip being one of them. I specified on the request for quote exactly what I wanted so I would get an "apples for apples" comparison. Not knowing didly about tractors at the time, I was not familiar with dealers either. After joing here on TBN I have learned a hellofalot. I can tell right now I'm very sorry I didn't go with Chip. (What a mistake!) Anyway, all the quotes came back and the pricing was very close. However, back in July of last year, not all the dealers had the tractor I wanted. He (Chip) was honest enough to let me know that it would be at least 3 months before he got the model I wanted so that left the other dealers. I was too excited to wait to get it from Chip and it was my birthday.
I decided to go with dealer #2, who then informed me that he was unable to get the loader I specified any more and would have to switch to another brand. Not only that, but he welched on the backhoe I specified and the package would now go up in price. That was a deal breaker.
That left dealer #1 who was the highest price of all. I called him and he assurred me that if I wired him the downpayment he would ship the tractor that day and I would receive it that weekend, July 23rd. So I wired him the money $5,000 and got a cashier's check for the balance when I got the tractor. I went up to my property (my wife and I took vacation) to meet the delivery, because the dealer called and said there might be a possibility the tractor would arrive Monday, instead of the weekend. No big deal. We waited and waited and no tractor. I drove into town where I get phone reception and no messages... I called the dealer and he told me the delivery guy was in FLORIDA dropping off a bunch of tractors and that he would not even get back to MO until the end of the week! Well, of course I was pissed to no end for them not even calling to let me know this.
Then I talked to the owner and he told me there was no way I could have received the tractor on the weekend(as the salesman told me) because there were no deliveries scheduled out to CA on the board. I said WHAT? He apologized and made an offer to get more attachments at cost, which I took him up on. Made a deal to get a 7' boxblade and a 6' brushhog and a PHD in addition to the backhoe and FEL and tractor. He gave me a great discount on the 3 attachments so I felt better about it. He told me the shipment would be coming in August to me so both of us scheduled vacation again. Near the delivery date, the owner called me to notify that the shipment would be later than he thought....so now we had to scramble asking our employers to re-schedule vacation..again!
OK, so the delivery showed up around August 18th or so. That was a month after I wired the downpayment money. When we started to unload I noticed that the backhoe was NOT the one I ordered. It was a different brand and also a smaller model. Not only that, but the boxblade was 6' instead of the 7' I ordered. Can you believe THAT? Well, here go the phone calls and I got the run around. They tried to tell me it was a mistake on their part and attached the wrong hoe. Same mistake with the boxblade. I talked to another guy there and he told me they didn't have any 7' footers in stock and I 'd have to wait for it. Also the backhoe...they didn't have the right model in stock either. So what's the truth?
Now to make a long story a little longer, I contacted them and it was hard for me to talk to anyone....no or delayed response. They went as far to tell me that I would have to wait for another load out to CA before they shipped the correct implements. So when was THAT going to be? They couldn't answer that either. Prior to buying they said.."We have loads going to CA ALL the time"...I found out they did not have the correct implements in stock and were BS'ing me all the time.
I finally told them I was going to file a claim with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission, and both the CA and MO Attorney General if they don't get this straightened out. They take a hard look at internet fraud because the buyer is at a distinct disadvantage and are cracking down on internet advertisements. Lo and behold, they just happened to get the correct backhoe in and also a trip to CA was on the board. Mind you, this was 4 months later. I finally received the correct stuff at Thanksgiving. I still have some disputes with them over some parts they owe me under warranty, same claim...they don't have them in stock and don't know when/where to get them. Plus they're always too busy to make calls to find out. I don't think I'll get anywhere with them so I'm buying them from another dealer. I'll send the invoice to them and see what happens.
As far as the tractor and implements I bought, I'm very happy with them, just no so much with the dealer.
So yes, BE SURE TO PICK THE RIGHT DEALER.
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