Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me(update:$490 claim resolved)

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I've had two orders in a row in the last 30 days completely FUBAR'd with DroneFly. Is it just me?

Towards the end of the year, they were showing white Anti-gravity Props in stock. I ordered, they came. They were black.
Whatever, I mean they are still good props but I'd opened them before I found out, so there wasn't any returning them.

I emailed them and got the proverbial "My Bad"

Then, I order an extra Phantom 2 with a Gimbal and 5 batteries from them, & HeliDirect, for this college demonstration thing I got roped into. I didn't want the kids flying "my" phantom around the gym, ya know. It sits for 4 days with no movement, so I call them and they give me the spiel that the the Gimbals were out of stock. (While they are advertising all over the site they are in-stock and the shipping delay messages were no longer there) They offer to upgrade the shipping, which was cool but they didn't. They just refunded the shipping and send it slow-brown-truck-by-ground.

Their Phantom 2 and battery order shows up yesterday. One Phantom 2, One Gimbal a buttload of packing peanuts and a packing slip. The extra batteries are nowhere to be found. I email them looking for a credit for the missing batteries and now I get the "hang tight, we have to contact UPS for the weight of the box."

Um, the label says 14 lbs. I don't know how much a phantom, gimbal, plus 5 batteries weigh but I sure hope it's more than 14 lbs.
I think I'm totally done with these guys. At this point, I have no clue if I'm ever getting reimbursed for the missing batteries or if this thing is going to go even more sketchy.

At any rate, I really wanted to like these guys. Maybe I just have stinky luck?

GetFPV.Com, Readymaderc, helidirect, dslrpros and profotouav I've also ordered from in the last 30 days and have all gone off without a hitch. Cripes, even firstpersonview.co.uk was able to send me stuff over the big pond before Dronefly could send something that was supposedly in stock, in the states..

I'll update if/when they credit me for the missing batteries but I think I smell more hassle on the horizon.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

They are probably owned by ComCast!!!
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

LOL. If not, they use them for email service. One of my emails to them bounced for mailbox full.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

Sorry you are having so much trouble with your orders!

My experience with Dronefly has been the exact opposite. I ordered my Phantom 2 with gimbal from them in late Dec and got it right away. Then more recently ordered extra batteries and FPV system from them and got it right away. And every time I have called and asked questions about gear and how to install they have been really helpful.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

CouesWhitetail said:
Sorry you are having so much trouble with your orders!

My experience with Dronefly has been the exact opposite. I ordered my Phantom 2 with gimbal from them in late Dec and got it right away. Then more recently ordered extra batteries and FPV system from them and got it right away. And every time I have called and asked questions about gear and how to install they have been really helpful.

You've given me hope that they aren't going to stick it to me on this battery thing.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

I too have had good results from them, give them a phone call and introduce yourself and ask them directly. They're a nice group over there.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

So, I called.... after giving them another full day to try to get it squared away.

They will say they are waiting on UPS to get back in touch with them, whatever that means. So, I'm still short $490 in batteries and they seem complacent to let it ride on as long as possible. I also find it strange they don't have some ability to check on-hand quantities and see the difference or that they don't have this whole thing closed up tighter.

Maybe they are just super-busy but all the rip-off alarms are starting to go off in my head. :?
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

visi0n said:
...
They will say they are waiting on UPS to get back in touch with them, whatever that means. ...

I call ********- it takes literally seconds to verify weight on a shipped package.

I used dronefly once- and while I had no real issues as it was a simple purchase, I did notice a lack of follow up on questions and service after the sale.

I said it before, and I will reiterate: I think it is one guy, running the whole thing out of his apartment or garage, and there is little or no real company behind the curtain. That is fine, but instead of running all over the place- making videos, and marketing and selling constantly, perhaps a few moments on infrastructure would be prudent?
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me.

Hiway said:
visi0n said:
...
They will say they are waiting on UPS to get back in touch with them, whatever that means. ...

I call ********- it takes literally seconds to verify weight on a shipped package.

I used dronefly once- and while I had no real issues as it was a simple purchase, I did notice a lack of follow up on questions and service after the sale.

I said it before, and I will reiterate: I think it is one guy, running the whole thing out of his apartment or garage, and there is little or no real company behind the curtain. That is fine, but instead of running all over the place- making videos, and marketing and selling constantly, perhaps a few moments on infrastructure would be prudent?

Agreed. I have no problem if it's just some dude and his friends with a reseller account or whatever. But in the end I won't be eating $490 in parts out of their negligence. :)
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

File a dispute with your credit card company. I would not wait.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

all kidding aside, the credit card dispute is the way to go. If you do not have an Amex, get one. Even if its a $500 credit limit. They will fight like Spartan warriors for you when there is a dispute.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

rmklaw said:
File a dispute with your credit card company. I would not wait.

Ksc said:
all kidding aside, the credit card dispute is the way to go. If you do not have an Amex, get one. Even if its a $500 credit limit. They will fight like Spartan warriors for you when there is a dispute.

Huh. great point! Not only did I use paypal to pay. but i funded it with my Amex. Should all work out then :)
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

I think if I'm not mistaken, paypal will not continue into a dispute if you dispute with your card company too. Personally I would dispute with amex. Paypal's customer service people are in India and make $5 a day. They don't feel bad for you after you drop a years paycheck on a toy. Amex will put the money back on your card (and interest fees if you had any) while they investigate.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

+1 on the dispute with your CC company first. Skip the dispute with PP and go straight to your Credit Card vendor.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

OK - I can personally vouch for Amex dispute resolution process as I have used it in the last three weeks!

First of all - Do not delay. Get straight onto Amex and file a dispute for the whole amount.
They will issue a dispute number and will place the amount in question (in your case $490) into suspense.
This means YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO PAY IT when your next statement comes in and only when the issue has been resolved will you be asked to settle the outstanding balance. If you have a Amex Credit Card it also means no interest will acrue against this disputed amount whilst the issue is being investigated.
I had £219.99 in dispute with an online retailer (so around $350) - Amex were very professional and did not quibble in suspending the amount and taking up my complaint.
The other thing I discovered is that Amex have a team specifically involved with Paypal (which mine was becuase my Amex is linked to my PP account.)
They send you an email and a Dispute number - you can then logon to their online services, upload any documents, emails etc to assist in resolution of the proplem as well as check on the status of the dispute.
At the end of the day American Express weild a lot more power than you do as an individual and if they get onto the retailer and threaten to pull them as a merchant things usually get sorted out pretty quickly!

I'm happy to say in my situation I got an apology from the retailer, a FULL refund, got to keep the product free of charge AND got £50 ($80) for my troubles and inconvenience etc. This was all sorted out in about 7 days.

Good luck and don't delay in raising a dispute !!!
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

You must avoid DroneFly. In September, I ordered my second phantom from them. HOURS LATER, the price dropped $200. They said they would credit my card, and dispute reminder emails, they never did.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

Thanks for all the advice here. Definitely, Dronefly is on my Do Not Fly List from now on.

I did open a resolution ticket through Amex, so I'm hopeful and confident they will eventually get it squared away for me. I sent the bozos at Dronefly another email today, no response whatsoever.

I understand they may be a small operation, encountering growing pains but at this point there really is no excuse for this level of fail! I'll keep the thread posted when I hear back from the Amex ninjas. :)
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

I've noticed a lot of "UAV" and "Drone" stores opening up. I haven't ordered anything from UAV-outlet.com but I didn't notice in a craigslist ad for them that they are more or less in someones garage. Or at least appear to be ( http://orlando.craigslist.org/boa/4276119797.html ). I have no problem with a small start up but when you are selling a product that is fairly new and is easy to crash or break, I would want someone who has years of experience and has the resources to attend to my issues. If they were selling coffee mugs or beach towels, then a small shop in someones garage is just fine.

Unless they are retired or just rich, most of the time these garage based businesses are side projects which means that returning phone calls and emails is done when they can and not right away. The problem is that with the internet, anyone and everyone can look like they are a huge company with a massive staff. I used to work for a very small company (my boss, my self, an assistant) and he made it seem like we were a massive company. Either I or his assistant would answer the phone when it rang. They always wanted to talk to my boss so we would transfer it to the other person before transferring it to my boss. This made it seem like he was at the top of the food chain with tons of people working below us. Little did anyone know, we were working in someones garage and all of us were sharing the same folding table and just passing the phone between us. He was able to charge a small fortune because the appearance of success and power were there. The same thing is happening with online companies. They get a website designer and use the photos that DJI provides and that EVERY site uses and thats it, a full blown business.

In my opinion, unless you are getting something small and under $50, I would stick with the big companies. Amazon (even though its all being fulfilled by someone else) and B&H. These are both companies that have the money in the bank to make strong decisions. A $1200 Vision is not going to bankrupt them. A garage based business that might be making only $200 bucks a Vision would feel the affects of a $1200 loss.

The problem is that people don't realize who to stay away from until they have a bad experience and come to the forum.
 
Re: Ugh, Dronefly, you're killing me (and owe me $490)

My local shop was going to be a dealer for DJI but DJI wanted there sales to be 40k a month and he was not big enuf for that kind of sales . If you ask me that is a heavy nut to carry just to sale and be a authorized dealer .
 

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