Think twice before ordering from Panda Motorworks (cancellation fees on backorders)

[chris@pandamotorworks]

Adam at 4x4truckleds...


For the record, I've purchased at both Panda and 4x4truckleds and have had no issues.

Glad to hear!!

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[atx_chance]

Yeah... This is a bummer to read, I wouldn't buy from a company like this having read both sides of this story.

 

[Lifeliberty]

I gotta agree with the vendor here.

People think they can gamble with other people's money and lose. Nah, life dont work that way. Take your lumps and be satisfied we live in a beautiful world where you as a person can afford a Bronco while others are being blown apart by bombs.

 

[niterider006]

e only do when customer agrees to wait and we place the po in the customers name. 95% of the time this fee is not used. It's used when needed and the customer isn't being fair.

I'm just a prospective buyer but If 95% of the time the fee is not used, why have it in the first place? Usually something like this is implemented to protect the business from a big risk. 5% is nothing. Regardless of the odd practice, I would make sure you make clear on the site that Cancelled items on preorders would be subject to this fee.

 

[rtaylor]

Adam at 4x4truckleds...


For the record, I've purchased at both Panda and 4x4truckleds and have had no issues.

Yes, lots of similarities with these two vendors.

I also had a good experience ordering from 4x4truckleds. But I won't defend them...

 

[4x4TruckLEDs.com]

Adam at 4x4truckleds...


For the record, I've purchased at both Panda and 4x4truckleds and have had no issues.

Hardly. We support Panda Motorworks and don't like hearing people have issues with them. We never like hearing people have bad experiences with ANY vendor.

In Pandas defense, we've been thinking of doing the same thing. Not every financial company refunds their transaction fee. So if a customer orders $1,000 worth of items for example and there is say a 3% transaction fee, that's just the cost of business. But when that customer cancels the order, well that 3% is still being paid to the financial institution. So yeah... it sure does suck.

We just had a customer place an order only to cancel it 15 minutes later. I'm now out that transaction fee... all because he changed his mind 15 minutes later. Not fair to me. It's also not fair to the customer to be out it either. Basically everybody is getting screwed except the greedy financial institutions.

A lot of us dealers have been speaking to each other lately about these issues. It's interesting to see how everybody is in the same boat and how some companies are doing things different.

Special order items are always the worst too.

 

[chris@pandamotorworks]

I'm just a prospective buyer but If 95% of the time the fee is not used, why have it in the first place? Usually something like this is implemented to protect the business from a big risk. 5% is nothing. Regardless of the odd practice, I would make sure you make clear on the site that Cancelled items on preorders would be subject to this fee.

I have sent this over to make it more clear. TBH this is first time someone has made it unclear. Its there for instances of a $4k order canceling and us eating a $284 fee because we were taking to long to honor a sale price 3 weeks after order that didnt exist when he ordered.


I really hope you can see we are here to work with customers and more than willing to work with you so you can see our services and products first hand and decide for yourself if we provide the value to this community you are looking for!

 

[DapperDeeds]

We have no issue working with customers. The BBB is mostly on claims were warranty was denied from us or manufactures after we worked on a performance car and people did not take care of said car. If we were so bad at what we do we would not have a highly rated badge on google or a good reputation on other forums. Sure there will always be someone upset and that is there right just like here but this entire situation could have been avoided if he just replied to the email and let us work it out. Instead he ignored replying and ran to the forum

We are an open book. I never made an assumption and again 95% of the time the fee is not even enforced. We are here to work with customers but they must be willing to work with us as well. This is not a one way street just because we are a business. I would not be mad at the fee because I agreed to it no I maybe disappointed but I do not like you assuming you know me or how I would respond to something.

First off - google reviews are a dime a dozen and can easily be bought/manipulated. Secondly, I dont know you, nor did I say I did, nor did I assume that I did... I stated most people would be upset by this and you pull some weird red herring comeback, LOL nice!

I did not say he handled it correctly, or that it isn't legal, or that you didn't try to reach back out after saying he's going to get hit with a fee, or any of the other excuses you put in this thread... which seem to literally avoid and point fingers at the customer. The fact is that it's sketchy to charge a fee on unshipped products. period. Do it if that's what you consider "right" and dont if you dont but your company is the one that has to live with the outcome.

 

[niterider006]

I have sent this over to make it more clear. TBH this is first time someone has made it unclear. Its there for instances of a $4k order canceling and us eating a $284 fee because we were taking to long to honor a sale price 3 weeks after order that didnt exist when he ordered.


I really hope you can see we are here to work with customers and more than willing to work with you so you can see our services and products first hand and decide for yourself if we provide the value to this community you are looking for!

That would make sense to protect your business in that case. It's been a while since I've worked with CC processors, but I there used to be an option for a max CC fee on a purchase. Sound like it's all switched to a straight % fee? Maybe shop around for a new processor. Or change the way you bill customers on preorders. I mean what would happen if 3months turned to 5? Would you still make the customer wait?

To all future customers. I wouldn't let this deter you. The business world is crazy right now and companies are trying to get creative to make money and protect themselves. I don't agree with the policy, but if Panda makes it clear during a purchase, I don't see a problem with it as then you are able to make an informed decision whether you still want to make a purchase or shop elsewhere.

 

[chris@pandamotorworks]

That would make sense to protect your business in that case. It's been a while since I've worked with CC processors, but I there used to be an option for a max CC fee on a purchase. Sound like it's all switched to a straight % fee? Maybe shop around for a new processor. Or change the way you bill customers on preorders. I mean what would happen if 3months turned to 5? Would you still make the customer wait?

To all future customers. I wouldn't let this deter you. The business world is crazy right now and companies are trying to get creative to make money and protect themselves. I don't agree with the policy, but if Panda makes it clear during a purchase, I don't see a problem with it as then you are able to make an informed decision whether you still want to make a purchase or shop elsewhere.

If a manufacture can not meet obligations and the customer wants to cancel past the deadline they agreed on we have no problem working with them on the fee. Actually did today on some Diode lights that have been delayed $2k order we waived the fee as it was out of his control and ours. It is order dependent and circumstances we try and make it as clear as we can and we are just trying to protect us.

The issue is every year we are tasked with new challenges. We try our best to eat them but sometimes its not possible. Todays world with big items that are new is pre order and wait or dont buy until in stock. We are not the only ones with the FEE nor were we the first to even implement it. Like @4x4TruckLEDs.com we talk and are always working to make sure we are fair and competitive we will always have some differences which is great and offer different things and why you always have a choice.

 

[sgraing1]

I had an item on order from an online vendor for 10 weeks.They had my cc number and everything. When the $1200 item came in 10 weeks later the vendor called and left a message for me to call them.When I called them they stated that they just wanted to make sure that I still wanted the item. No "STRINGS ATTACHED". I still wanted the item. However, if I stated that I no longer wanted it they would not ship it and would not charge me one red cent. They accepted responsibility for selling something that they were unable to provide at the time and wouldn't take my money if I decided to cancel in the meantime since it was delayed.

 

[rtaylor]

In Pandas defense, we've been thinking of doing the same thing. Not every financial company refunds their transaction fee. So if a customer orders $1,000 worth of items for example and there is say a 3% transaction fee, that's just the cost of business. But when that customer cancels the order, well that 3% is still being paid to the financial institution. So yeah... it sure does suck.

It seems like vendors have 2 choices
1 - charge full price immediately on items that are backordered with no known delivery date
2 - wait until item ships to charge for items

Vendors that choose #1 and require payment up front need to deal with the resulting issues. If cancellation fees, it should be very clear to customer so they can choose whether or not to place order. Hiding a backorder cancellation fee in vague terms in fine print doesn't cut it.

As a customer, I now have a greater appreciation for companies that are easy to deal with and don't charge until pre-order items are shipped.

By the way, love your ARB bracket!

 

[gryphon1231]

Panda Motorworks has a policy of charging a 7% cancellation fee on backordered items.

While a reasonable person might assume that this policy applies only to returns, they are applying it to backordered items that are not yet in production and have no delivery date.

Fine print in final checkout (one section of long document talking about returns):

I filed a dispute with my credit card company and will let them decide whether they will let Panda charge me $284 for something they never shipped and isn't in production yet.


What do you think? Should I be outraged at this cancellation fee or do you agree with Panda?

I'd be mad at myself for not reading what I was agreeing to.

 

[LSBronco13]

Panda Motorworks has a policy of charging a 7% cancellation fee on backordered items.

While a reasonable person might assume that this policy applies only to returns, they are applying it to backordered items that are not yet in production and have no delivery date.

Fine print in final checkout (one section of long document talking about returns):

I filed a dispute with my credit card company and will let them decide whether they will let Panda charge me $284 for something they never shipped and isn't in production yet.


What do you think? Should I be outraged at this cancellation fee or do you agree with Panda?

Pushing paper cost money too as stated in their refund policy. You are out $284.

 

[rtaylor]

I'd be mad at myself for not reading what I was agreeing to.

I guess I must be the only one that doesn't read multiple documents of fine print and consult with a lawyer before placing an order...

Here's the "Find Waldo" puzzle for the day. See if you can find an unambiguous order cancellation fee in the full Panda policy.


https://www.pandamotorworks.com/policies/terms-of-service
https://www.pandamotorworks.com/policies/refund-policy

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