hmm... i guess the joke's on me?

[sukeiasa]

just picked up the replacement ebike today and boy am i disappointed. as opposed to the bike mentioned on their website with 350w and 48v battery, they sent me the 2012 version with 250w and 24v battery.... contacting the reseller and hopefully we can resolve this issue....

how would you guys follow up with this?

 

[pxpaulx]

Details? What did you end up ordering and from where? I saw your last comments about working with Evan with crazy lennys, I can't imagine that is where you ended up buying by the sound of it.

 

[sukeiasa]

i wanted to leave off the name but you are right on....
i was in the market for another bike and clicked on their april sale event and saw that they had the vibe at a great price so called to make the order. clicking on the page led me to a page with a bike called the vibe, but described with all the features of the vibe+ (350w motor, 48v battery, etc.)
in fact when i called and placed the order with the boss i asked about the throttle assist because the review on this site stated that it was an option feature, but the owner responded that while it was a non traditional throttle control that you have to push a button add speed, it was on there.... so i placed the order. i know, i didn't verify, but the advertisement clearly showed 350w motor and 48v battery. in fact, in one of the private messages i received on this site from one of the store reps, the individual wrote "getting the vibe+ at this price is a steal" so it seems clear to me that they knew what i ordered.

i had the bike shipped to a local bike store to be put together so i didn't know about this change until i went to pick it up and i was kinda stunned at the store... but i couldn't really do anything about it since it wasn't the lbs ordering the item... so i rode 3 miles back so i can check my records on my computer.

on one hand i guess i could have been more careful and made sure that it was indeed a vibe+ but even right now their website shows the vibe+ under the name vibe. just very disappointed right now and not sure how we can actually make this right.... what do you guys think?

 

[Lenny]

just picked up the replacement ebike today and boy am i disappointed. as opposed to the bike mentioned on their website with 350w and 48v battery, they sent me the 2012 version with 250w and 24v battery.... contacting the reseller and hopefully we can resolve this issue....

how would you guys follow up with this?

Sorry for all the trouble. Not sure what happened here. April 1 was a busy day and one of the sales guys must have dropped the ball somewhere.
If this was a problem on our end, we will take care of it.

 

[Cameron Newland]

just picked up the replacement ebike today and boy am i disappointed. as opposed to the bike mentioned on their website with 350w and 48v battery, they sent me the 2012 version with 250w and 24v battery.... contacting the reseller and hopefully we can resolve this issue....

how would you guys follow up with this?

If I were you, I'd arrange to return to bike to the dealer at no cost to you (hopefully they'll allow you to do that).

I think it makes a difference what price you were charged, though. If they sold it to you for cheap, like $500, then I think you should've known that you weren't buying a 2015 model and you ought to consider just keeping the bike that you ordered. However, if they sold it to you for closer to $1,500, then I wouldn't blame you at all for assuming that you bought a 2015-model ebike, and I think that the seller has a responsibility to try and rectify the problem because that sounds more like a bait-and-switch scenario. Hopefully everything works out in the end. Good luck!

 

[sukeiasa]

i'm hoping for a good resolution and they have been very responsive so far. price was somewhere in between the 2 spectrum you mentioned.
they have been known to sell bikes at discounts that cannot be matched elsewhere so i'm not sure if price is a good indicator... further, there was no evidence that they even had the 2012 model in stock... plus i was buying the bike at a 'special sales event' for whatever that's worth.
i reserve making any judgement to see how things develop at this point. but really appreciate everyone's thoughts.

 

[MLB]

So how'd it shake out?

 

[sukeiasa]

they've been very responsive and proactive in resolving this issue. from what we've discussed, i'll be able to drop off the bike with ravi here in dc and ravi would graciously take the bike to the retailer. the retailer will take off the revo lights that i had installed on the bike (i dropped off the items prior to the bike arrived) and install them on the bike that I should have gotten and ship it to me at their expense. I am willing to pay the difference in price for the new model since the retailer said that there's no way they could have sold the new model at the original price.

so right now i think i'm just waiting for them to work with ravi to get a date when i can initiate the exchange?

i will be a satisfied camper if things can work out as planned.

 

[pxpaulx]

I'm sure they will work it out with you - do give them a little bit of time...they had a fire at the store this morning (in case you missed their post here!).

 

[sukeiasa]

yep thanks for the reminder. not putting pressure on them. but ravi did contact me today so i'll shoot them an email to confirm eveyrrthing soon

 

[sukeiasa]

just to update that ravi picked up the bike last night and it's on the way back to lenny~

 

[Lenny]

Thank you for understanding.
This was a mistake on our part and when you have 6 employees, you end up with miscommunication like this.
We will refund the bike+ shipping cost.

 

[sukeiasa]

5/9 update.
had a chance to speak with ravi who is apparently working with/for the shop this summer. at first i thought lenny and i had a deal worked out that i will pay some more money to get the new version of the vibe, but the shop seems to be pushing other bikes that are just over my budget. at the end of the day, i just want this to be over with so i'm opting for the refund and for them to remove the revolights i had a lbc install. i was under the impression that the lights will be mailed back to me, but i guess there's yet another misunderstanding there and i will be getting them delivered by ravi, with no delivery date set. sigh.... will let you guys know when i do get my money back and my lights back.

also just want to make a few things clear because within the dealings, i experienced a few times when folks related to the transaction were perhaps sarcastic in saying like how could you expect to buy the new vibe at $590. i expected that because that was the item advertised during a sale. it's not up to me the consumer to know if the dealer just wanted to clear inventory or create good will. the item description and the pictures online both pointed to the new model. even when discussing the purchase with the store owner, we talked about the peddling assist system for the new model rather than the old model. i was even going to give the shop a break and work out the price differences but really did not like being pushed on things that i've stated were priced outside of what i want to spend.

i don't doubt the shop's passion in electric bicycles and don't doubt that they have operated in this space very successfully over many years. unfortunately this particular transaction did not go through as i expected. I will be a more prudent shopper next time.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

5/9 update.
had a chance to speak with ravi who is apparently working with/for the shop this summer. at first i thought lenny and i had a deal worked out that i will pay some more money to get the new version of the vibe, but the shop seems to be pushing other bikes that are just over my budget. at the end of the day, i just want this to be over with so i'm opting for the refund and for them to remove the revolights i had a lbc install. i was under the impression that the lights will be mailed back to me, but i guess there's yet another misunderstanding there and i will be getting them delivered by ravi, with no delivery date set. sigh.... will let you guys know when i do get my money back and my lights back.

also just want to make a few things clear because within the dealings, i experienced a few times when folks related to the transaction were perhaps sarcastic in saying like how could you expect to buy the new vibe at $590. i expected that because that was the item advertised during a sale. it's not up to me the consumer to know if the dealer just wanted to clear inventory or create good will. the item description and the pictures online both pointed to the new model. even when discussing the purchase with the store owner, we talked about the peddling assist system for the new model rather than the old model. i was even going to give the shop a break and work out the price differences but really did not like being pushed on things that i've stated were priced outside of what i want to spend.

i don't doubt the shop's passion in electric bicycles and don't doubt that they have operated in this space very successfully over many years. unfortunately this particular transaction did not go through as i expected. I will be a more prudent shopper next time.

First of all,
Arthur, I want to thank you because I have learnt a great deal in this whole process. Retail is not my forte but it's been a terrific lesson.

Secondly,
Either tomorrow or Wednesday, I will drop off your lights and pay you $580 for the bike + shipping you paid.

Len tried his best to help you but at some point, we have to agree to disagree, respectfully.

Text me or email me your schedule and we will get this case closed this week.

 

[JoePah]

@sukeiasa

You were very fortunate to be dealing with Lenny.. other internet sellers would not be as responsive.

 

[grench]

@sukeiasa

You were very fortunate to be dealing with Lenny.. other internet sellers would not be as responsive.

+1

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

5/10/16 update.

I personally met Arthur Kuo, returned his bike light. Apparently, the batteries for the light on the bike, which will be mailed to him. He had forgotten to give the keys, which he gave, thanks for that!
I also gave him a cheque for $770 which includes the complete cost of the bike and shipping he paid.

Sorry, we tried our best to help you but it didn't work out. Hope you find a good bike for your needs.