41 replies to this topic

[Dougy]

Has anyone here ordered gear from Rodeo Master through Rakten Internet shopping? I ordered some Burton Cartel bindings back in March and still haven't gotten them. Originally the shop said that they would be arriving in Oct but it came and went and nothing. In November we got an e-mail from them saying there were delays. A week or so later they had been booted from the Rakten website. They also sell through Yahoo and I found a notice saying everything will be here on the 26th but we've had no e-mails from them to confirm anything. I've tried ringing, faxing, and e-mail but no replies to anything.

I've ordered stuff from these guys in the past and never had a problem but this is all starting to sound like a scam. I phoned a mate at Burton in the States and he said that these guys are not even authorised dealers and are parallel importing. Is anyone else in the same boat. If my gear hasn't turned up when I get back from Niigata on the 31st then I'm going to the warehouse in Saitama to find out WTF is going on.

[BagOfCrisps]

Sorry to hear that.

Have they taken your money?

[ian.f]

Ordered in March and not got?
Sounds as if there is a big problem there.
Good luck.

[bcoasis]

I am assuming you paid by Credit Card, if in fact that is the case get in touch with your Card company, give them all the info and request a charge back. If they give you static - push them as you are well within your rights at this point. That action may be enough to push this company into delivering on their obligation in which case problem solved. Good luck.

[Mr Wiggles]

No one selling this season's Burton gear in Japan at a big discount will be an "authorized dealer" trading with Burton Japan. They will be selling parallel imports.

It's just the way it is. Maybe Burton Japan have massive costs or cannot buy at special prices from Burton USA. Whatever the reason is, the same stuff can be sold cheaper via a parallel importer buying wholesale in the US. It's gone on for years.

Most official Burton dealers in Japan make a point of identifying themselves as such. Most sell at the retail price or a minor (say up to 15%) discount. The grey stuff can go at up to half the Japanese retail price depending on how the yen is doing.

This only refers to how Burton is sold here.
It doesn't mean you shouldn't get your gear.

[Dougy]

I paid back in Oct when they said the gear will be here in a week or so. About a week after I paid we got the "delays" e-mail then a week later the one saying they had been booted. There's a huge thread on a JP site called Heavy Snowker with like 150 posts from people in the same situation. One guy went to their "shop", a dodgy looking office in Shinjuku and spoke to the owner and he turned nasty and basically said "so sue me". If the gear doesn't turn up then I'll be contacting some FujiTV friends of mine and paying a visit to Shinjuku. Either way it's the last time I deal with these idiots and urge others to steer clear of them.

[connackers]

I posted a link to these people a month or so ago. Apologies to anyone who bought anything through them as a result. I wasn`t aware of any of this.

My mate got fed up of waiting and cancelled his order. He then went out and managed to find similar stuff for as cheap or cheaper in sales. It sounds like anyone else who is waiting for orders would be well advised to do the same.

[Roger's head]

That sucks big time, thanks for telling. I wonder if that warehouse will still be there...?

[Dougy]

Well the 26th has come and gone and still no bindings. I'm off to Niigata for 5 days tomorrow and if they're not here when I get back then I'm off to Shinjuku and Saitama to try and find the warehouses. I certainly hope they are still there. I'll let you all know what eventuates. Thanks for the support. Now go play outside.

[fukdane]

Best of luck Dougy. Give em a kick from me.

[connackers]

*bump*

Dougy,

have you had any luck getting money back of these people? Or has anyone else managed to? My mate`s still waiting for his...

[fukdane]

Yes I remember this do tell.

[Creek Boy]

this sounds like an ore ore scam to me...

[connackers]

what`s an ore ore scam?

[Creek Boy]

http://www.skijapanguide.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/8/3734.html?

as I pulled this off I realized it was never answered.

Its where some guy calls up, generally, a woman/granny, saying ore ore da, meaning its me its me, and say theyve just been in an accident and have to pay X amount of money. Then the phone gets handed over to 'supposedly' a "police officer" who states what happens. Next, the woman then gets the bank information of the victim and usually furikomis the X amount that should be paid.

All in all, you must be a F'ing moron to not recognize your own husband/sons voice and just pay money to anybody out there. Just shows how gullible Japanese are.

[Dougy]

Well it took a while but I finally got it sorted. It's not a scam just bad business planning/practise. The company usually only gets a few hundred orders for their pre-order sale but this time they got 20 000 odd and they weren't prepared for it. As they order through Europe they had trouble sourcing enough gear. In the process of it all people quit, computers were upgraded and ultimately the early orders, including mine and a few hundred others, were lost. Now, instead of saying there is a problem the boss must have just decided to say "F$#k it" I've got enough problems filling the orders I still have. Anyway I finally got the time to get out to Saitama and to their werehouse. I spoke to the werehouse manager and he explained the problem. To make it up to me he gave me a set of P1 Carbons instead of the Cartels I ordered. This actually worked out well as I trashed my Custom and bought a Triumph and the P1 Carbons are more suited to that board and my no-dodgy-180-ollies-on-green-run (don't get me started on this one) riding style.

[Hokkaidough]

Interesting that. Few hundred to 20000.

[danjp]

I also ordered some gear from rodeomaster but as it didn't arrive, I cancelled my order and then purchased the gear elsewhere. I paid into their postal saving account so I can't use that credit card option. Travelling to Saitama is out of the question for me, plus I don't want any gear - just a refund. Anyone have any ideas?
I've tried emailing and phoning but there is never a response...
Also it seems on some Japanese forums that faxing doesn't get a reply either...

[connackers]

Is there any standard legal procedure that you can take if a company does this to you in Japan?

For example is there the equivalent of a Citizens Advice Bureau like in England?

[danjp]

I have been to the local International Center here who inturn contacted some officials at the City Hall. After trying to contact the company themselves (and discovering that the rodeomaster business address on the website is not in their records), they instructed me to post a request for refund using a special mail service called Delivery Record Mail (haitatsu-kiroku-yuubin). I will enclose copies of all my paperwork and my request for a refund. If I haven't heard anything after one week, I have been instructed to go to the police. I think these officials will handle all of that so at least something is happening now...
Thumbsdown to rodeomaster