DO NOT BUY FROM USA HOT STUFF

Akasoap

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They claim that they are US based and would deliver within 3-7 days in the US. They also add a processing fee that is not on the total and is charged with the credit card. Went from $83 total on the website to $91 on the credit card. This site also doesn't reply back to you whenever you have a question about shipping. The only tracking I got was "pre-shipment" sent to USPS. 7 days later, there was not a single update about the pre-shipment.

DO NOT BUY FROM USA HOT STUFF
 

how_do_i_do_that

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There is a reason that you are paying international fees. Almost all payment processors in the US treat flashcart vendors like they do porn and will not do business with them. This requires vendors to seek payment processors outside the US. On top of all of that, the US is a pro IP country that has made it a point to put out of business businesses that sell things that are defined as contraband, etc.

The average fee for international purchases is around 2%. This is applied AFTER s/h is added. Depending on your credit card fees, you can be also dinged for things like currency conversion rate fees (there are multiple fees for this one), etc.

The US shipping you got is 5.99 if the only thing you bought was just 1 flashcart. From the difference that you listed above, 91 - 83 = 8. From the 8 bucks difference, 8 - 5.99 = 2.01. That means your bitching over 2.01 of credit card fees that come from your card fees and not the vendor.
 
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Akasoap

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Not when they claim to be US based and promise delivery with 1-5 days. The customer support on this website doesn't even care that you are asking them about the product. I can understand the fees and all. All I'm saying is to be aware of sites like USA Hot stuff. I have read multiple reviews after buying my product and was already too late to cancel my order. I understand now that I should have looked at reviews before buying from a site.
 

how_do_i_do_that

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They are based in Singapore, they have a warehouse in the US. That doesn't make them a US based shop. There will always be a lag time between when you order and it getting shipped. 3dsgamerworld is the same way, they got a warehouse in the US. This isn't amazon prime, your not getting it shipped the next day with tracking within 2 hours of your order, nothing is automated when you buy a flashcart from any vendor.

Vendors that can ship from a warehouse in a country of a buyer, are known as virtual vendors. People that know what they are doing buy from these types of vendors for shipping times. Buying something from a chinese vendor site and getting shipped from china can take 2-4 weeks in shipping time depending on where in the world you live in. The UK, pretty much has only virtual vendors left due to the IP laws in place and how active customs is in seizing contraband.

There are less than 5 shops that are physically operate in the US today compared to a few years ago. If you want to deal with US vendor, you can use modchipsdirect, they are one of the last US vendors.

http://www.modchipsdirect.com/

If your getting a 3DS flashcart like the Sky3DS+, even modchipsdirect can't ship it from the US. They have been using international DHL 3 day from asia, which roughly means your paying 30 bucks for shipping.
 
Last edited by how_do_i_do_that,

Akasoap

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I understand what you are telling me. I'm just telling others who are also impatient, to not make the same mistake as I did.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

And the fact that they ignore all of your messages that you send to them is just horrible customer service.
 

how_do_i_do_that

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Then your over reacting and panicing over small things and something you didn't understand in the first place. And then making an opinion of the vendor before you even gotten the flashcart in bold and caps no less in your very first post.


Because they are in another country, they might not have an english speaking and writing person to attend to your problem right away.
 
Last edited by how_do_i_do_that,

Akasoap

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It's been longer than a week since I messaged them a question about shipping and they just completely ignored it. Honestly, I should have looked at reviews before purchasing from that website. If I had, I wouldn't be making a post about this. It's not about getting the flashcart, its about the fact that they promised 3-7 days delivery after shipping. They gave me a tracking number that hasn't even been updated in 7 days and I have messaged them if they even shipped it out yet... I will post back when I get the flashcart.
 

DHall243

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They are based in Singapore, they have a warehouse in the US. That doesn't make them a US based shop. There will always be a lag time between when you order and it getting shipped. 3dsgamerworld is the same way, they got a warehouse in the US. This isn't amazon prime, your not getting it shipped the next day with tracking within 2 hours of your order, nothing is automated when you buy a flashcart from any vendor.

Vendors that can ship from a warehouse in a country of a buyer, are known as virtual vendors. People that know what they are doing buy from these types of vendors for shipping times. Buying something from a chinese vendor site and getting shipped from china can take 2-4 weeks in shipping time depending on where in the world you live in. The UK, pretty much has only virtual vendors left due to the IP laws in place and how active customs is in seizing contraband.

There are less than 5 shops that are physically operate in the US today compared to a few years ago. If you want to deal with US vendor, you can use modchipsdirect, they are one of the last US vendors.

http://www.modchipsdirect.com/

If your getting a 3DS flashcart like the Sky3DS+, even modchipsdirect can't ship it from the US. They have been using international DHL 3 day from asia, which roughly means your paying 30 bucks for shipping.
Modchipsdirect.com ships out of canada, thats where all my stuff from them come from.
 

DHall243

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If it has a usps preshipment notification chances are that its held up in an ISC or International Sorting Center, i had to call usps over a sky3ds plus that had sit in NY ISC the day after i called they shipped it from there to maryland. It took me a month for it but because of usps not the vendor, also usps doesnt show all or if any of dhl or chinapost tracking.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

You got the wrong shop.

Modchipcenteral is in canada.

Modchipsdirect is in the US.
Your right lol i have no issue with anything i order out of canada tho, but im only 5 hrs from the border, im about to start buying from amazon.ca

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

Ps OP pray to god your package goes threw a ISC in California or Chicago
 
Last edited by DHall243,

evilsearat

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I dunno man I'm starting to think you are right. They definitely do not set the right expectations on their site. I ordered a DSTwo from them on 4/2/2016 (Saturday). Their web site says that they ship as soon as payment is accepted so I assumed that we would see a shipping confirmation on Monday 4/4. It is now 4/7 and the order status is still just "Payment Accepted."

On top of the foreign transaction fee of roughly two dollars that my bank charged me they also charged me roughly $5 more than they had invoiced. They charged $65.14 (in addition to the foreign transaction fee, which I know is not their fault) instead of the $59.26 that shows on the order as well as the invoice, which was supposed to include tax and shipping.

I have tried to contact them three times since ordering. I tried to cancel the order just a few hours after placing it with no response. After I saw the money come out of my account I asked them if they could please provide tracking and there was no response. Finally I reached out again and asked them about the extra charge on my credit card, again with no response.

This is starting to feel a bit like a scam. Their facebook page leads to a dead link and there doesn't seem to be any new reviews or activity from them since early 2015. I am thinking I will need to dispute these charges with my bank if I do not hear anything soon.
 

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Update: Late last night around 11pm I received a message back:

Dear Customer,

So sorry but your order had been shipped out already, but the USPS print system issue occurred , and it has no tracking number to be provided at the moment , but we will update the tracking number for you very soon once their system updated. Thanks for your kind understanding!

Regards,
Customer service

So they are not cancelling the order as I had requested before the item shipped. All in all I can't recommend these guys at all. I had a much, much better experience with dsflashcart.com. They charged what they said that they were going to charge, communicated well, and most importantly they actually shipped in the timeframe that they promised.
 

Akasoap

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Sorry for not posting back right as I got the Gateway 3ds. My package from USA Hot Stuff arrived April 4 but I have not opened it yet. I'm trying to reach them for a refund but they are not allowing a request for refund. I ended up ordering from ModChipsDirect for a Gateway 3ds and it arrived within 3 days after purchasing. Seems like USA Hot Stuff's refund policy is a scam and won't allow a refund even if you didn't open the package. Oh well, guess I'll give it to a friend.
 

how_do_i_do_that

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Modchipsdirect has a no refund policy so you understand, means all sales are final. Your problem with usahotstuff ended up being you trying to micromanage your order.

From usahotstuff website on returns.
Returns Policy
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. USAHotStuff will also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).

If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. USAHotStuff's stuff notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
It would be faster to just resell it to one of your friends. Returns for flashcarts from chinese or asian vendors are mostly a waste of time, literally, since a refund can take 2-4 weeks or more.
 

evilsearat

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Akasoap - Their refund policy and shipping policies are both complete jokes. I requested that they cancel my order the day after I placed it, long before it ever shipped, and they completely ignored me, and charged more than they invoiced on top of that.

And now it's been 10 days since the order was placed and the tracking info still just reads Pre-Shipment Info Sent to USPS.

These guys are just not worth the hassle.
 
Last edited by evilsearat,

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