issues with strada motorsports

Hi All,
I wanted to inquire with others in this forum if they have had this experience with strada motorsports as I have had.

Back in the end of November I placed a rather large order with strada - full payment through pay pal and then nothing for three plus weeks until I finally get an email that the owner is on vacation and wont be back until after the new year. Fair enough - tis the season to be jolly but some of these items were presents for friends :banghead:. Finally after waiting all of December, I get a response that strada will send out my order mid january but only missing one part - fair enough - trade it out for another and process it - both parties agreed. Simple and easy. Right?
Wrong. :nono:

Only half the order came by the end of january. The rest of the order was "could not be fulfilled because of minimum order requirements" even though on the site it said in stock and through several several emails the owner claimed everything was in-stock when he got back from vacation. So now its March.....almost the middle of March and still no finish to my order, no responses to emails requesting what the status of the order or even IF he was going to refund this purchase after this long. So I've gone back to PayPal (sadly it's after 45 days) but they will do their best to push the seller to finish the order or there will be review over the business account. Needless to say, I'm still ripped. I love this hobby, and would gladly pay a hobby shop in the US to keep them in business IF there was honesty. I've had great experiences with M & S Hobbies but Strada....man.....that's a sock in the nuts.

Reason I am bringing this up? Very simple. While I know this is a very tiny industry its also a very dedicated one where there is a demand and supply. And it's a shame that I can order from companies in China, Japan and Europe and those orders are processed very quickly, owners are honest when there are issues and fast to resolve the issue but a simple shop in America can't even be honest, and then vanishes without fulfilling the order, little communication or resolve. November to March - and only half an order can be fulfilled - give me a bloody break. Honesty is huge if you want to keep a customer base and good value. Truly sad. I can say from now on I will certain be giving my business to better hobby shops than Strada Motorsports. Thanks for listening. :banghead::banghead::banghead:

Hi WRX,

I feel your pain. Dealing with the communication (or lack there of) with Stradasports can be frustrating, but I've always received what I ordered. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes it takes a year... you never know. I wish Kevin was better about responding to emails and updating the website, but he offers fair prices and inventory it's almost impossible to find other places. So I'll keep shopping there... but I always ask if the products I want are in stock first. (And not order anything I need now.) And I'm okay with that... I just wish I didn't have to learn to do that the hard way.

I hope you get your problem resolved.

One thing to keep in mind is they do not have everything in stsock they show. When you order he orders the part from somebody. I have asked and gotten e-mails when I asked if it is actually in stock Then I ordered and got the parts. Try MSHOBBIES.com. He does not have quite as much but he does not list anything he does not have in stock. It is the best and most responsive service I have ever used. I made an order online once and the next day I got an e-mail apologizing that he couldn't process for a couple days because he was in Europe on vacation. That's service. I always check there first. He is an Arizona.

Thanks guys. I totally understand what you are saying entirely and actually have earlier emails to strada confirming if the parts were in-stock before the order since the site isn't up to e-commerce standards but via phone it was verbally communicated he had everything in stock except for one part which was fine and switched out the part for another.

Anyways, I too hope it gets resolved or PayPal can get some response where I can't. Ah well.......back to sanding and priming. Thanks again for the advise!

That's too bad. I've only ordered a couple items from them, with some items ordered not being in stock. I wasn't charged for them tho & in stock items were sent. So far I haven't had any bad experiences with anybody...but I still keep my fingers crossed. I do value good communication & will give repeat business for that

I had placed several orders with Strada in the past with out any issues but my last order which was placed on 12 Oct. appears to have gone into a black hole.

He contacted me to say one item was out of stock but was due within a few weeks. Thats the last i've heard and my emails have been going unanswered.

No charges have been made against my card so i can't complain but its disappointing and you don't know where you stand :confused::confused:

I've had good luck with Kevin - pretty prompt responses, and he's willing to work with me to either ship what they have and ship the rest later once it arrives, or just hold everything until then. I've never been charged for what hasn't shipped.

Did you use a credit card through PayPal? If so, go that route.

I've always had great service with Kevin. Always lets me know what is and is not in stock, and always ships very promptly !! He does have a job other than this business and i'm sure it keeps him busy. He does take a couple days to answer emails, but I understand he's busy so I can deal with that.

I've had mixed feelings about dealing with Kevin. The inventory is pretty good, as are the prices, but the hassle is the website does not have info about what's in stock and what's not, so you need to check with him first, otherwise your whole order can be delayed or fubared. I'll try mshobbies next time I guess,

ianc

Let's be realistic. Stradasports is not his day job, and he probably has family obigations etc.... I have bought a ton of stuff from him over the years. Sometimes gratification is instant, sometimes it is not. We should all feel lucky there is someone that stocks so many obscure items for a miniscule audience.

I agree, it can be frustrating to deal with Kevin. He has always delivered everything that I have ordered, but sometimes it takes a month, and sometimes it is 6 months. It makes me kind of nervous when I'm ordering a Hiro kit that costs $300!

I agree, it can be frustrating to deal with Kevin. He has always delivered everything that I have ordered, but sometimes it takes a month, and sometimes it is 6 months. It makes me kind of nervous when I'm ordering a Hiro kit that costs $300!

I had ordered Hiro kits off him in the past without issue but his lack of communication on this order i have outstanding means I have now lost confidence in him.

I'm in no hurry for my order but the lack of communication means you are left hanging and you can't purchase off another vendor as you have no idea what he is up to. :runaround: :runaround:

Pedrop nailed it, and so did Ffreak

Kevin works nights, and he is on a goofy schedule. There are times when you can't get in touch with him, or hear from him for a couple of weeks. Kevin is NO thief, or scammer. He will get you what you ask for, you just have to be patient sometimes.

Pedrop nailed it, and so did Ffreak

Kevin works nights, and he is on a goofy schedule. There are times when you can't get in touch with him, or hear from him for a couple of weeks. Kevin is NO thief, or scammer. He will get you what you ask for, you just have to be patient sometimes.

Well live and hope. Its been more than a couple of weeks since i last heard from him. 12 october of last year to be precise. As I previously said, no charge has been made to my card for that order so I'll just be patient.

Not answering any of my emails doesn't instill confidence in his business. I could phone him but the cost of an international call would probably be as much as the order is worth.

Like some of you I've had delays in orders from Kevin but he's always come though in the end. I find that he carries a lot of products that are hard to find anywhere else and because he's dealing with these small producers I'm sure he faces delays as well. He also lists a large variety of products and I can understand if he doesn't always have everything in stock. Anytime I order from small, 'mail order only', firms like his I just take into consideration that selling us hobby supplies is not likely the job that puts food on the table and that it may take a little longer. I'm never ordering something that I've just got to have tomorrow.

I sent him an order a couple of weeks ago, didn't hear back but didn't worry then got an email the other day apologizing for the delay. My order will come, I'm not worried.

rob

I stayed out of the last one, but I won't this one. Kevin has always come through for me. He is at the mercy of his suppliers and at the mercy of everyone else's orders. The reason why he gets such great prices from all of the places is that he normally buys in bulk instead of placing an order with just one item. Shipping is extremely high nowadays and he can pass what he saves on shipping by doing this on to you. As for some of his suppliers, they have a limited amount of product going out in all directions, so he can't just make a product appear. Finally he has a normal job just like the rest of us. If you are so worried about what is going on, give him a call. Don't just email someone. He'll either answer or get back in touch with you.

I know I'm not alone in saying that I have so much stuff, that I won't have any problem if anyone else never makes a new model ever again. I enjoy saving a few bucks and I don't mind waiting to save some money as right now I cannot devote as much time as I would need to finish some of these upper end models. However, if you can't wait, you can always order directly from the manufacturer. Most places will do that now. Just be prepared to pay some money in shipping and currency exchange.
Nic

I also have never had a major problem with Kevin.
Quite the opposite. I have found him to accomodating and often goes above and beyond to be helpful.
I have done business with him for years and will continue to do so in the future.

B Stoink

I hear all of you entirely. Kevin is a great guy, communication is tough and I'm sure I should have had far more patience with him. He gave me a refund which I was happy about.
It's a very interesting issue because there is a high demand on these parts - whether on ebay or through hobby websites. Hopefully with such a high demand on parts the suppliers can get parts out faster. For now I guess I'll stick to ebay or hobbyeasy to get the parts. Many thanks to everyone for voicing their feelings though and please understand I am not trashing Strada by any means and hope great business continues for him.

Personally I'd rather wait a month or so on certain items to save a decent amount of cash - and to be able to buy at one place. Many others don't carry the amount of brands that Strada does, so it's nice to have one-stop shopping. His site doesn't have stock information on it, but I've never had a problem hearing back from him whether or not he has it in stock, if he can get it, etc.

Are you sure there is "high demand" on this stuff? I'd be doubtful.

Personally I'd rather wait a month or so on certain items to save a decent amount of cash - and to be able to buy at one place. Many others don't carry the amount of brands that Strada does, so it's nice to have one-stop shopping. His site doesn't have stock information on it, but I've never had a problem hearing back from him whether or not he has it in stock, if he can get it, etc.

Are you sure there is "high demand" on this stuff? I'd be doubtful.
I've had many, many dealings with Kevin and had some issues you talk about. However, as with most things in life, *you* must be the squeaky wheel to get oiled. Be persistent. Keep writing if he doesn't. Every 3-4 days, write. That will get his (and anyone else's) attention.

Kevin is a good guy. I think he should get a "live" inventory program, though.

I also have never had a major problem with Kevin.
Quite the opposite. I have found him to accomodating and often goes above and beyond to be helpful.
I have done business with him for years and will continue to do so in the future.


This quote works for me.
Thanks Kevin!

I have to concur with the majority of the postings - I too have been buying from Kevin and Strada for many years now - I have had Kevin find some really obscure and difficult things to find and he has always come thru for me. If you are in a hurry with modeling, you're in the wrong hobby. I would recommend Kevin highly and if there's anyone that thinks they can do it better - have at it - yeah that's what I thought. I say thanks Kevin for all you have gotten for me - I will stay loyal and continue to patronize Stradasports - John

I think we can agree that Kevin is able to get a lot of esoteric stuff that is difficult to find elsewhere for a good price and that is a good thing. I think we also agree that the communication could be a bit better and his site is due for an overhaul to better reflect what is actually in stock at any given time. I myself have not had any terrible experiences with him and will continue to use him in future, but if those deficiencies were corrected, it would definitely transform Strada Sports into a first class establishment in my view...

ianc

Stradasports and Kevin is a small vendor that distributes many, many different items that are available globally. For those of us in the USA Kevin at Strada and Mac at Mac's Modeling are about it. For anyone that thinks these vendors are "WalMart" - think again - it would take several millions of dollars to have one of everything that is available in stock For the whiners that complain about having to wait a while - get real - you can always purchase globally, but you risk excessive shipping charges and the chance it could get lost or damaged. I'll stick with Kevin and Mac - between them anything that is available is obtainable - can't say enough about guys like that who spend countless hours for very little profit to bring our modeling dreams to reality - John