Contacting foreign retailers - do they ever respond or is it just me they don't like?

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Supa_T

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Hi all,

I am a returned Airsofter having purchased a lot of RIF's prior to the VCR bill. Been out of the sport for years but in January started back up again and am loving it. On 10th Feb I will qualify for my specific defence and will finally be able to buy that SCAR-L I've always wanted - however...

When I used to buy RIFs before I generally used Redwolf or WGC (probably a UN Company a few times as well). In preparation for my impending spending spree I have e-mailed Redwolf twice with a product enquiry, receiving no response. Vowing to go elsewhere due to the poor customer service - certainly not what I expected based on my experiences with them all those years ago - I contacted WGC with similar queries. Despite receiving an automated response and then a subsequent reference number to be quoted in any additional correspondence they appear to be ignoring me. Given that I intended to put in an order ranging between $600-700 ( which I told them) I now feel inclined to look elsewhere again and find someone who will at least offer some assistance before taking my hard earned.

Does anyone else here have problems getting responses from these retailers? I remember WGC actually calling my mobile one time previously...

 
I've never had an email from any of them either in all honesty, though I've never even considered having a gun shipped over just because of how downright ridiculous the customs charges tend to be, as well as the chance of customs seizing it, however slim I'd rather avoid all possible chance.

Though I'd have thought they'd pay more attention to such a large order.

It could be that their site and emails see a lot more traffic since you used to play, the hobby has grown pretty substantially over the last 5 or so years from what I can tell. They might just have a lot of stuff to sift through before getting around to replying to you.

RedWolf actually have a UK based retail store now, opened around May last year, contact details are on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/redwolfuk.retail/info

You could order through them, deal with them over the phone though, they can be equally sketchy with the emails. Or you could just go to the shop, of course.

Are you aware of all the UK retailers? There are quite a lot, I'd have thought almost everything you could want apart from maybe a few specific custom parts of body kits could be bought from within the UK now. Or specially ordered through a UK retailer.

 
I am aware of the UK retailers but I suppose I'm still in "pre-VCR bill" mode when I regularly ordered from the aforementioned sites with no problems whatsoever. Sometimes I got charged by customs and sometimes I didn't - I remember one particularly satisfying promotion where Redwolf were offering free shipping and I got an M14 (can't remember the make - possibly G&G) with a free extra hi-cap for £200 delivered.

Prices still look cheaper abroad, even allowing for shipping (which is quite reasonable considering we're talking about shipping from Asia) and the potential 20% customs hit...

 
Not really potential anymore.

Every single thing i've ordered over £50 has had the 20% tax slapped on it.

You'd be saving possible £20 from ordering from Asia.

Email has always been a duff choice of communication for most retailers.

ehobby have replied to be but they were as useful as always, all the others have not replied.

 
Unless you are looking for something that isn't stocked in the UK, then if buying a whole RIF you would probably be better off using a UK Retailer. Yes, the prices can be a bit higher, but if something goes wrong then you have the protection of the UK Sale of Goods Act and the Distance Selling Regulations, neither of which apply to overseas internet retailers. If your $600 gun goes wrong after a month, I doubt the overseas (HK?) retailer would do anything about putting it right, or possibly even care.

I'd suggest using HK for those cheaper spare parts, or those that UK retailers don't stock, but leave the problems of shipping RIFS and avoiding the Border Agency and import charges to the professionals.

 
Wow - bit doom and gloom regarding the HK retailers. "Back in the day" no-one ever thought twice about ordering abroad...ok maybe people did think twice as forums were full of "will I have to pay import duty" threads. Been doing some research and although almost everyone complains about delays there are no horror stories about guns getting impounded or destroyed.

From the UKBA Operations manual:

"The VCRA sets out a number of defences to prosecution which although do not technically apply at the point of import it is UK Border Agency policy to apply them to private individuals as if they did."

I can't find a UK retailer stocking a VFC Scar though so still considering a HK order - and even a £20 saving is a £20 saving...

I understand what you say about risking the gun going wrong, but that was always the case and it didn't bother me back then, but then I am a gambling man :)

As my original question was about getting responses I'm tempted to just slap in an order and not pay for it, see how long it takes them to take an interest in what I'm asking when they're chasing money...

 
I'm very loyal to WGC as they have never let me down. Their guns come packaged extremely well, was particularly happy with my VFC HK417 it had enough bubble wrap to make it bounce back up should it be dropped LOL

But yeah just register with them, and I'm sure they'll reply. Sometimes they may take upto 48hours, but that's usually due to the large volumes of emails they recieve. Overall I can't fault their customer service. In the order, they also ask you the % of the invoice you want to be declared. I will say no more about that specifically, but yeah wicked retailer and amazing prices. The 417 in the UK still is around £420 and £40 a hicap mag. I got the gun and 2 hicaps shipped for £370 including VAT and ParcelForce charges. I was a happy bloody camper :D

I actually have a KJW M9 in the post with a belt and M9 specific holster and mag holder, £98 shipped and I shouldn't be getting no extra charges because...yeah i'm under the threshold for "gifts" ;)

 
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Please let me know how you get on with the M9 order.

I have registered with them but my "specific reference number to your query" e-mail was sent 2 weeks ago now and nothing since - bloody annoyed really as I referred to throwing them at least $600-700 business...

I've done a bit more reading and a lot of people seem to get hit with annoying delays - I'm now considering using Redwolf UK and seeing what they can do :)

 
Ok so Redwolf UK is a scam as far as I'm concerned. Check out the video in this thread:

http://www.airsoft-forums.co.uk/index.php/topic/11262-redwolf-airsoft-uk/

At about 1:30 - he mentions that although they can't exactly match the HK site prices in order to keep wholesalers happy, they aren't massively more expensive and that "shipping and import is already taken care of". I'm not naively assuming that I can simply ignore shipping and customs by ordering through them - they will obviously add on a bit - but I've just got them to quote for a VFC Scar: £459!!!! :blink:

Current exchange rate if ordering from Redwolf HK: £254. Honetly, I'm feeling I've got £200 to play with there for shipping, customs and parcelforce so I think my money will be going abroad this time. I'll let you know how I get on...

 
If it was the RW UK store you e-mailed, they're having a lot of work done to the walk in store to make it bigger so it may have effected communications. But RW guys are very friendly :)

 
It was a quote over the telephone for an item they have in stock right now...

Edit: Unless you were referring to my original question, in which case no it was the Redwolf HK site I e-mailed along with WGC.

 
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Supa_T said:
Please let me know how you get on with the M9 order.

I have registered with them but my "specific reference number to your query" e-mail was sent 2 weeks ago now and nothing since - bloody annoyed really as I referred to throwing them at least $600-700 business...

I've done a bit more reading and a lot of people seem to get hit with annoying delays - I'm now considering using Redwolf UK and seeing what they can do :)
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One thing that I guess can let down the service, is that once the order goes through it can take them a few days to get it to ship. If you use EMS, it usually lands in the UK within 2 days of leaving WGC which is pretty quick if you ask me.

When emailing them, I'd say forget the reference number and just send it to the mail@wgc address. I rarely ever get a response that takes longer than a day or two. I've checked a few Hong Kong retailers but they seem to usually have the best prices up.

 
Thanks for the suggestion mate but it didn't like that address for some reason :wacko:

 
Well, WGC responded although their UK correspondent clearly didn't understand my e-mail as my polite enquiry as to whether or not they would match 2 Redwolf prices was met with:

"Dear Customer, Thanks, customer may check out with our shopping cart."

Does anybody speak Chinese as I think that might be the way forwards... :huh:

 
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