Vapes.co.za Is A Chancer,beware

[zaVaper]

All I can say on this topic is that it's just good practice to be open about the whole transaction process. It's understandable that Bjorn is miffed, that's a whole bunch of cash, vapes could have said, listen the stocks going to take a bit of time here's the tracking number bla bla.

It's your reputation at stake, it's all out in the open now. Anyone google's vapes.co.za and wammo this thread pops up.

Considering the growth of the vaping market in SA it's absolutely critical to make customer service a priority, add value and offer decent products or your business won't be sustainable.

 

[devdev]

I'm going to just say it outright. To me there is direct proof on the part of the buyer that the seller has been evasive and unreliable. To be perfectly honest, from my perspective, the seller's justifications amount to "the dog ate my homework" type of excuses. It is never his fault, it is always someone elses - a little honesty, accountability and integrity go a long way, combine that with transparent and timely communications and this situation would never have occurred.

In my view the buyer should have done his homework, but that is a business lesson, and although R4.5k is no small amount, if that is the price for the lesson then it can be considered 'school fees' (and is arguably a cheap lesson at that price). The real blame here is with the seller. I will make no secret of that.

My advice to the buyer: There are plenty of credible and accountable vendors on the forum who would offer you the support and assistance you need, some may even consider allowing you to become a regional distributor for them. I would encourage you to explore this option. Bloem needs a reliable local supplier. These vendors are also much more worthy of an order of R4500, based on their contribution to the forum andthe vaping community as a whole and most importantly from their business track records.

All that being said, the view expressed above are entirely my own opinion.

I am not here to make a quick buck, Im here to provide the products my customers want, fast delivery and good prices. I'm here to stay.

Here is the link to the thread where this quote came from: http://www.ecigssa.co.za/threads/stock-is-in.1041/

I think the warning signs were all there in that thread, and that was back in Feb. I am satisfied that the vendor in question does not operate in accordance with the moral convictions of our forum. For this reason I am of the view that any association with this business in an official capacity ('certified'), whether directly or indirectly, is actually to the detriment of the community as a whole, .

The claim that he is "here to stay' is clearly being extremely economical with the truth. His last post was in March, and then not another word (to my knowledge) until this incident. This indicates to me that we have someone hoping to make a quick buck, as opposed to serving the community and being an ambassador for the industry.

I propose a motion for removal of this vendor from the forum, on account of his apparent lack of integrity, accountability and a very poor track record on the forum.

 

[baksteen8168]

I'm going to just say it outright. To me there is direct proof on the part of the buyer that the seller has been evasive and unreliable. To be perfectly honest, from my perspective, the seller's justifications amount to "the dog ate my homework" type of excuses. It is never his fault, it is always someone elses - a little honesty, accountability and integrity go a long way, combine that with transparent and timely communications and this situation would never have occurred.

In my view the buyer should have done his homework, but that is a business lesson, and although R4.5k is no small amount, if that is the price for the lesson then it can be considered 'school fees' (and is arguably a cheap lesson at that price). The real blame here is with the seller. I will make no secret of that.

My advice to the buyer: There are plenty of credible and accountable vendors on the forum who would offer you the support and assistance you need, some may even consider allowing you to become a regional distributor for them. I would encourage you to explore this option. Bloem needs a reliable local supplier. These vendors are also much more worthy of an order of R4500, based on their contribution to the forum andthe vaping community as a whole and most importantly from their business track records.

All that being said, the view expressed above are entirely my own opinion.



Here is the link to the thread where this quote came from: http://www.ecigssa.co.za/threads/stock-is-in.1041/

I think the warning signs were all there in that thread, and that was back in Feb. I am satisfied that the vendor in question does not operate in accordance with the moral convictions of our forum. For this reason I am of the view that any association with this business in an official capacity ('certified'), whether directly or indirectly, is actually to the detriment of the community as a whole, .

The claim that he is "here to stay' is clearly being extremely economical with the truth. His last post was in March, and then not another word (to my knowledge) until this incident. This indicates to me that we have someone hoping to make a quick buck, as opposed to serving the community and being an ambassador for the industry.

I propose a motion for removal of this vendor from the forum, on account of his apparent lack of integrity, accountability and a very poor track record on the forum.

Very well put. I share your opinion 100% and agree with the suggestion for removal.

 

[Gizmo]

Pieter is my dad, each time he called you he clearly said, pieter from bloemfontein bjorn's dad.
When he called u, u said u will sent tracking number asap and he said we will be waiting on whatsapp for it,and u said its fine,we waited and waited and u just dont send anything.

Here is links to some of our chats on whatsapp, the rest was over the phone.:

http://postimg.org/image/x275f4dur/
http://postimg.org/image/3maaa34yp
http://postimg.org/image/ipe9neg1l/

http://postimg.org/image/nsptdiw99/

This whatsapp conversation is extremely poor service, I must say. Even dealing with Chinese with their broken English is more efficient than this.

 

[Andre]

I support the motion by @devdev.

 

[Sharrivz]

I support the motion by @devdev.

Likewise

 

[RevnLucky7]

Hang on...

The guy is a retailer.
He's not a good one, nor do I think he should be one. But he is one none the less.
If he had no intention on making good on this transaction we'd not have heard a word from him.
You can obviously judge in his correspondence he had every intention of completing the sale, however bad it might have been and that he was playing for time. Whether or not his website states that bulk transactions take time I have not checked but this was obviously not clearly communicated to his customer.

Pending the outcome of this transaction I might change my mind.
I don't like that the forum allows for anyone to just carry that badge by simply asking for it. But it does. Whether you are transparent or not.

X him with a million bad ratings... give him bad reviews, do whatever, but fact remains, he's a retailer none the less, however he chooses to go by doing it. I hate that I'm writing this, but we have no clear cut "laws" here on what justifies who stays and who goes, unless I missed it.

I'd like to see Vapes flip this around. This kite doesn't fly and you're going to be hard pressed coming back from it. I would however like to see you try. If you're cut off from this forum you might as well close your doors. This business might be your lively hood as it is for many of us. A mark on you is a mark on us all.

I can see you tried... you just didn't try hard enough.
How many vendors on here have not replied to e-mails? Or sent the wrong products? All of us?
Don't see any of us hanging yet. We have a similar situation here that has obviously been escalated. Let the guy handle it. The way he's gone about it is right here for everyone to see. Is that not hard enough?
Surely is fair enough.

There's too much: "oops, now that you guys mention it, we fcuked up" going on around here and the guys aren't stupid. People see it. But truth is the forum is currently open for it. And wide open at that. It's as much a customers responsibility to research their supplier before making a purchase as it is a suppliers duty to do honest business. No one wants bad ratings, because it's simply bad for business. But that does not mean you do not have the right to trade or market, even if I badly wish that it did.

 

[crack2483]

@RevnLucky7 I do agree to a certain degree however, because this an open forum it's really up to the forum owner and the admin staff how to deal with this. You must remember it's their prerogative to protect us forum members from this type of thing. His lively hood would be his own website. The forum is merely a platform for advertising and interacting with potential customers.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[RevnLucky7]

@RevnLucky7 I do agree to a certain degree however, because this an open forum it's really up to the forum owner and the admin staff how to deal with this. You must remember it's their prerogative to protect us forum members from this type of thing. His lively hood would be his own website. The forum is merely a platform for advertising and interacting with potential customers.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Yeah I already hate myself for posting that, I just want them to consider that the only thing Vapes is really guilty of here up until this point is bad service. He hasn't stolen anything.... Yet, that I'm aware of. He's offered explanations that to me aren't that far fetched.

I don't really want to stick my nose in here more than I have, I just wanted to offer the flipside of the coin to be taken into account.

 

[crack2483]

Yeah I already hate myself for posting that, I just want them to consider that the only thing Vapes is really guilty of here up until this point is bad service. He hasn't stolen anything.... Yet, that I'm aware of. He's offered explanations that to me aren't that far fetched.

I don't really want to stick my nose in here more than I have, I just wanted to offer the flipside of the coin.

I understand, that's why I said I agree to an extent.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

 

[Danny]

The debate around the 'certified retailer' thing to me is just a terminology issue. One of the only ways to verify a seller is through open forums like this one, to give people a badge saying 'certified retailer' implies that they are accepted and verified by this community. The term certified is misleading especially if the badge is just given to someone that asks for it. Remove the term 'certified' and give people a 'retailer' badge and the problem is somewhat less of a problem, people are still identified as retailers, and no implication of community certification is given. When I first joined I definitely thought all of the certified retailers were totally trustworthy, reliable and Certified by reputation in this community.

 

[shabbar]

That sounds like a good idea !!!

Plain retailer badge and a verified / certified retailer badge once the vendor has submitted something to verify themselves ?

 

[Matuka]

Yeah I already hate myself for posting that, I just want them to consider that the only thing Vapes is really guilty of here up until this point is bad service. He hasn't stolen anything.... Yet, that I'm aware of. He's offered explanations that to me aren't that far fetched.

I agree, we must not be too quick here - I have had appalling service from some of the most highly rated retailers on this forum. Retail businesses make mistakes from Pick n Pay to Joe's Fish & Chips. At the end of the day, market forces will dictate which of them flourish and which fail.

 

[drew]

The debate around the 'certified retailer' thing to me is just a terminology issue. One of the only ways to verify a seller is through open forums like this one, to give people a badge saying 'certified retailer' implies that they are accepted and verified by this community. The term certified is misleading especially if the badge is just given to someone that asks for it. Remove the term 'certified' and give people a 'retailer' badge and the problem is somewhat less of a problem, people are still identified as retailers, and no implication of community certification is given. When I first joined I definitely thought all of the certified retailers were totally trustworthy, reliable and Certified by reputation in this community.

Not sure how tricky it would be to implement in the backend, but possibly retailers could have a rating system similar to what you see on auction sites.

 

[johan]

Solution: Signed agreement between potential vendor/retailer and A & M staff (panel/board) with clear stipulated rules, including arbitration in cases like this before certified as an approved vendor/retailer on this forum. But that's just my opinion.

 

[shabbar]

Taken from bid or buy :



Become a Verified User - Building trust and security
Become a Verified User on bidorbuy.co.za for a once off R100.00 (non-refundable) registration fee.
bidorbuy will submit your details for an Identity check, Credit check and a Fraud check. Approval is at bidorbuy's discretion, based on the outcome of the checks. The process can take up to 21 days.

Verified Users Get the Following Benefits:
Eligibility to receive payments using bobPay Credit Card (entirely at your discretion).
An icon Verified User next to your rating indicating that you are a Verified User (This will increase your reputability significantly and subsequently the number of bids on your items).
Increased peace of mind for bidders bidding on your items through the bidorbuy Buyer Protection Programme.
Eligibility to become a Store on bidorbuy.
To Become a Verified User You Must:
Have a valid South African Identity document.
Complete the bidorbuy Verified User Registration Form
Complete the indemnity form and print and fax or scan and email it to us (details below).
Send bidorbuy a copy of the front page of your South African ID book by fax or email (as below).
Fax: 086 509 5243 or Email communitywatch@bidorbuy.co.za
Agree to the Verified User Agreement.



Something like this could work ? Instead of R100 , I would suggest R250/200 ?

Just my thoughts on this

 

[kimbo]

Taken from bid or buy :



Become a Verified User - Building trust and security
Become a Verified User on bidorbuy.co.za for a once off R100.00 (non-refundable) registration fee.
bidorbuy will submit your details for an Identity check, Credit check and a Fraud check. Approval is at bidorbuy's discretion, based on the outcome of the checks. The process can take up to 21 days.

Verified Users Get the Following Benefits:
Eligibility to receive payments using bobPay Credit Card (entirely at your discretion).
An icon Verified User next to your rating indicating that you are a Verified User (This will increase your reputability significantly and subsequently the number of bids on your items).
Increased peace of mind for bidders bidding on your items through the bidorbuy Buyer Protection Programme.
Eligibility to become a Store on bidorbuy.
To Become a Verified User You Must:
Have a valid South African Identity document.
Complete the bidorbuy Verified User Registration Form
Complete the indemnity form and print and fax or scan and email it to us (details below).
Send bidorbuy a copy of the front page of your South African ID book by fax or email (as below).
Fax: 086 509 5243 or Email communitywatch@bidorbuy.co.za
Agree to the Verified User Agreement.



Something like this could work ? Instead of R100 , I would suggest R250/200 ?

Just my thoughts on this

I am a Verified User on BidOrBuy and if your ratings fall below a certain percentage you loose the verification, like was suggested before, cant the retailers get a rating system, if that rating is say 90% and up you are verified and between 70 and 89 you are a retailer and below that "use at own risk". Something like that

 

[Rob Fisher]

I will reserve comment for now... I am awaiting feedback on the delivery of the said items. Once that is complete I will comment.

 

[Tiaan]

I will reserve comment for now... I am awaiting feedback on the delivery of the said items. Once that is complete I will comment.

Agree. Lots of people have had sales that don't go 100%. Its life. When the items are delivered and we get feedback from the buyer we can take matters further. Will be also interesting to see in what ways the seller plans on making this right.

 

[baksteen8168]

Okay, maybe I agreed a bit too quick. will wait and see if items are delivered before I finalise my judgement. The thing that caused me to jump in and give my 2c worth of remove the seller is the fact that a tracking number that was not activated / did not exist was given to the buyer... This happened to me before and nothing good came off it (Not on here)

But that is just me and my experience. Will wait until OP updates and then add my 2c again.

 

[Silver]

Hi guys

The Admins and Mods team have already started deliberating this matter and I am pretty sure that we will come up with a good solution, going forward.

 

[BumbleBee]

I feel kinda bad for vapes, this seems a lot like the modern day digital equivalent of a public execution, so far all he is guilty of is being unorganized. Perhaps his business has got away from him and he can't keep up?

 

[ET]

aye, give the oke a chance to sort it out. mistakes were made here on both sides so let's see how the situation gets resolved

 

[Tom]

aye, give the oke a chance to sort it out. mistakes were made here on both sides so let's see how the situation gets resolved

off topic: may I ask you....what nick was it before it became ET??

 

[devdev]

off topic: may I ask you....what nick was it before it became ET??

He was DenizenX @Tom