Dont buy from NDSGamer

[StereoBit]

So Ive recently got into the homebrew scene after buying a DS and a TTDS for my girlfriend.
I decided to get myself a used DS as well, and I wanted to grab an Ackard 2i along with it.

I did some looking around and decided I was going to order my Acekard from NDSGamer.com.

I placed my order (throught paypal) on the evening of Wednesday April 18th, last week.
I received the receipt in my email immediately after, and a link where I could check the status of my order.
So I waited until the next day around the same time to check if my order has been shipped.

Well the next day came, and the status of my order was still the same.
Didnt say if it had shipped, just said that I had paid. Paypal didnt have the shipping informaton either.

I sent an email to [email protected][member='NDSgamer.com'], along with my Paypal transaction ID, asking them when my order would be updated.
I waited a day, got no response. I should note that it says the following on the contact page:

Expect reply within 3-6 days due to Holiday Season & high amount of emails.​

ALL Unanswered Emails will be answered this week, we are very sorry for the late reply, but all emails will be answered this week.​

Firstly, I dont know when this was updated last, as they havent provided any date information. For all I know, they could have written this been before Christmas.
And secondy, I have no idea what holiday season they are talking about. It isnt holiday season, which leads me to believe that this was written before Christmas.

So I started to feel uneasy about the whole business. I decided I'd sign into my customer account and see if there was anything else I could find out about my order. But when I tried to sign into my account, I kept getting a "Access data incorrect". I can assure you, Ive tried many times, and the login informaton Im using is correct. So I clicked "forgot my password". They asked for my email address, I provided it, and they send I should receive an email shortly with my login credentials.

Well, I never recieved an email. (Mind you, this was all done on Thursday, which was 4 days ago. Ive still yet to receive any emails from NDSGamer, regarding my shipment, or my customer informaton, and Ive tried many times). So I sent them a reminder email just saying "Hey, Im sorry to bother you guys, but Im still waiting for information on my shipment?". Also, I should note that Paypal hasnt received any shipping informaton yet, or confirmation that the order has been shipped.

But I waited a couple more days, maybe they're backed up, whatever the case may be.
Still nothing.

So finally, 2 days ago, I sent them email. I told them that if I did not receive my shipment By Tuesday, then I'd be cancelling my order, and opening a dispute with PayPal in order to get my money back.

Of course, I still haven't receive a response.

Ive decided though, that I will wait until Wednesday morning before I cancel my order, because on their website, they state that international orders will take a minimum of 5 days (This is also why I havent left negative feedback on NDSGamer's Shoptemp page yet. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now). I live in Canada, and NDSGamer ships from Texas. So because of the non-existent customer service, the broken website, and the fact that my order probably hasnt even been shipped yet, if I do not recieve my order in the minimum number of days, then I'll be opening a dispute with Paypal to get my money back.


So thats that.

I recommend not ordering from NDSGamer, especially if you live outside of the US. It seems that they just dont have what it takes to be a reliable merchant.
As I said, Im going to wait the minimum number of days before I open up a dispute with PayPal and cancel my order.
Its a shame because I saw a lot of people on this forum who ordered from NDSGamer before. Unfortunately, I dont like doing business with companies I cant even contact, regardless of whether or not I receive the product in the 5-15 day time slot.

Now that Im done with my rant, does anyone know of another website where I can buy an Acekard from (and future purchases)?
Preferably one with good, timely customer service.

 

[EyeZ]

Sorry to read about your problems with NDSGamer, but this is a trustworthy site http://www.zhuzhuchina.com/store/acekard_2i_dsi_1_4_3_flashcard_with_anti-fake_code_original_compatible_3ds_last_firmware_with_usb_card_reader.html

 

[The Catboy]

I am sorry to hear what happened to you
I personally suggest using 2 sites, zhuzhuchina, I have bought from this site and can confirm that it's safe. As well this site, etcome, buying from them will support GBAtemp to help make our site better!

 

[Sicklyboy]

As for me, I've always been partial to RealHotStuff. For what it's worth, though, all links on their website seem to be broken now. I got to this link through google though. They're probably doing a redesign of the site, I would guess. Keep in mind that their shipping isn't free, but if you place your order before 4PM EST, it ships out that same day iirc. So you just have to weigh between free shipping and taking a while, or paid but fast shipping.

But yeah, ZhuZhuChina is definitely a good, reputable site as well.

edit - and yeah, as The Catboy said, etcome is also good.

 

[StereoBit]

Thanks guys! I'll check out those sites.
Its funny, I was going to order from probably ZhuZhuChina or ETCome, but I didnt want to wait very long for shipping.
Guess it wouldnt have really mattered at this point.

You know what, fuck it, Im just going to cancel my order with NDSGamer right now.
I gave them more than enough time to respond to me, and as far as Im concerned, they are not a legitimate merchant.

 

[Sora de Eclaune]

A friend of mine had the same deal when trying to buy a flash card from there, except they eventually received their flash card.....about a month after they had placed another order elsewhere for a better card and already had the better card for a few weeks, which was about two months after the date they were supposedly supposed to be getting the thing in the first place.

They told me they had already gotten their money back and everything, but I guess the stupids who run the site didn't revise their shipping list.

 

[Xarsah16]

So far Zhuzhuchina is processing my orders pretty quickly My supercard was ready for shipping pretty quickly, though I didn't get the email from them that my payment was received. At least I know they're shipping the item out and that's what matters I'll let everyone know of my experiences with ZhuZhu but so far so good. I think I'll be a return customer Also, all I've heard is good things about them, and that's good

 

[The Catboy]

Thanks guys! I'll check out those sites.
Its funny, I was going to order from probably ZhuZhuChina or ETCome, but I didnt want to wait very long for shipping.
Guess it wouldnt have really mattered at this point.

You know what, fuck it, Im just going to cancel my order with NDSGamer right now.
I gave them more than enough time to respond to me, and as far as Im concerned, they are not a legitimate merchant.

I can confirm from at least ZhuZhuChina, it takes less than 2 weeks to get your order. I haven't used ETcome, yet. I plan on ordering from them soon to test out their shipping speed.

 

[Another World]

every flash kit site in china that i've ever ordered from (hmm looking at 17 nds kits, 3 gba kits, and a genesis kit in front of me) takes at least a week just to get the status moved to "shipped" and some take longer. after that it can take 2-8 weeks for your item to arrive.

there are many chinese holidays and there very well could be one right now. when they have holidays most of the people in china are off of work, so they can't fulfill your order, let alone get it shipped out in time.

most flash kit sites in china are run by a handful of people, regardless of who accepts that fact or not, this has always added to the delay and the difficulty of getting "good" customer service.

paypal is shutting down flash kit sites left and right. it is near impossible to find a site that still accepts it. more than half of the complaints i've read from resellers are from users who had no idea how the whole system works. they base their purchase on assumptions and expect everything to happen in a way for which they are accustomed. sadly, this is not how flash kit sites operate, and understanding that means 1 less complaint.

in the end you'll do as you wish, and you might be the guy who kills another flash kit reseller by removing their paypal status. which in turn makes it more difficult for everyone else to enjoy homebrew, just as you are attempting to do. all of this could have been avoided if you simply understood what to expect. have a bit of patience by granting them a few weeks to make it right!

-another world

 

[Janthran]

Thanks guys! I'll check out those sites.
Its funny, I was going to order from probably ZhuZhuChina or ETCome, but I didnt want to wait very long for shipping.
Guess it wouldnt have really mattered at this point.

You know what, fuck it, Im just going to cancel my order with NDSGamer right now.
I gave them more than enough time to respond to me, and as far as Im concerned, they are not a legitimate merchant.

I can confirm from at least ZhuZhuChina, it takes less than 2 weeks to get your order. I haven't used ETcome, yet. I plan on ordering from them soon to test out their shipping speed.

ETcome took.. A week to a week and a half, I think.
I got my order before Christmas and I ordered on the 10th-15th..

---

 

[Lily]

You never would have received it today from the US. Have you never shipped across the border before?

The day you made your order (Wednesday) is a complete write-off. Even assuming the absolute most efficient picking and packing, it won't be processed into the postal system or even picked up/dropped off until Thursday at the earliest. So assuming Thursday is the day it goes out, you need to give TEN business days (i.e. scratch the weekends). The absolute earliest in a completely perfect process would have had the package in your hands on May 2nd, more likely May 4, and possibly as long as the week of May 7 depending on the volume of mail.

You sound awfully impatient.

Next time, order from a Canadian retailer (they ship from Oshawa, ON) instead of pinching a few pennies and opening yourself up to all sorts of hassle.

 

[jimmyemunoz]

Alex, of ndsgamer, will ship your product and he gets behind on emails all the time. I have done business with him more than once and he always ships even if he hasn't answered your email. He is in a business with extremely impatient people who do nothing but add to the pile of emails.

 

[StereoBit]

every flash kit site in china that i've ever ordered from (hmm looking at 17 nds kits, 3 gba kits, and a genesis kit in front of me) takes at least a week just to get the status moved to "shipped" and some take longer. after that it can take 2-8 weeks for your item to arrive.

there are many chinese holidays and there very well could be one right now. when they have holidays most of the people in china are off of work, so they can't fulfill your order, let alone get it shipped out in time.

most flash kit sites in china are run by a handful of people, regardless of who accepts that fact or not, this has always added to the delay and the difficulty of getting "good" customer service.

paypal is shutting down flash kit sites left and right. it is near impossible to find a site that still accepts it. more than half of the complaints i've read from resellers are from users who had no idea how the whole system works. they base their purchase on assumptions and expect everything to happen in a way for which they are accustomed. sadly, this is not how flash kit sites operate, and understanding that means 1 less complaint.

in the end you'll do as you wish, and you might be the guy who kills another flash kit reseller by removing their paypal status. which in turn makes it more difficult for everyone else to enjoy homebrew, just as you are attempting to do. all of this could have been avoided if you simply understood what to expect. have a bit of patience by granting them a few weeks to make it right!

-another world

I understand what you're saying, but NDSGamer is a Texas based company.
They operate out of Texas. Directly on the front page of their website, it says this:
"

NDSgamer.com is 100% USA owned and operated items shipped from​

Texas."​

So anything to do with chinese holidays or employees doesnt apply.

Regardless, you implying that I didnt "understand what to expect". If I make an order 5 days ago, and receive no shipment updates, no response from the company, and not even paypal has any shipment updates, then what am I supposed to expect? Waiting a month or two for my order? Why should I do that, when I can give my business to a more reputable merchant? So that they can then grow as a business, and in turn improve their customer service.​

The fact is, they run a shoddy business. I gave them ample time to at least respond to me.
I dont expect the best customer service in the world. But I expect something, anything.
Not even their website works correctly.

Im not upset because I didnt recieve my shipment in 4 business days. I didnt even cancel my order yet. I just opened up a dispute with paypal, where they directly send a message to NDSGamer on my behalf. I decided to do that now, because before I can get my refund through paypal, I have to wait 8 days from now for NDSGamer to respond to my dispute. So I dont want to end up waiting another 2 weeks, then filing a dispute with paypal, then wait another 8 days before Im allowed to ask paypal to review the situation, and then wait another couple of days for my money to be refunded.
Im just upset that its been close to a week and Ive been unable to contact the company, and there has been no update to the status of my order, through paypal or the website.

And guys, I know what "business days" are. Like I said, Im not being impatient about receiving the shipment.
Im just unhappy with the customer service, lack of shipping update (its my understand that because he uses paypal, he must provide paypal with the shipping information) and a broken website.

 

[Costello]

Stereobit: most flashcart stores pretending to ship from the USA are actually lying... it's not because they're saying they're shipping from Texas that it's actually the case.
Also, right now, there's no chinese holiday at the moment (i would know since i live there)

 

[StereoBit]

Look, guys, Im not trying to help destroy the homebrew scene.

I just needed to vent and let people know of my crappy experience with NDSGamer.
Ive opened up a dispute through paypal. They are just sending a message directly to NDSGamer from Paypal, on my behalf.
Ive still got to wait another 8 days before I can ask Paypal to review the situation and give me my money back.
So as of now, paypal wont be reviewing anything or shutting them down.

So Im still giving NDSGamer the benefit of the doubt. And I havent left any negative feedback on their shoptemp page yet.

 

[The Catboy]

Look, guys, Im not trying to help destroy the homebrew scene.

I just needed to vent and let people know of my crappy experience with NDSGamer.
Ive opened up a dispute through paypal. They are just sending a message directly to NDSGamer from Paypal, on my behalf.
Ive still got to wait another 8 days before I can ask Paypal to review the situation and give me my money back.
So as of now, paypal wont be reviewing anything or shutting them down.

So Im still giving NDSGamer the benefit of the doubt. And I havent left any negative feedback on their shoptemp page yet.

You know paypal might now just shut down their account, right? They have been shutting down the paypal accounts of flashcard stores lately.

 

[StereoBit]

Well I didnt know that they have been shutting down flashcart sites. I just signed on to Paypal today to look for any shipping information update, and I saw that I could dispute a transaction if I was unable to contact NDSGamer.

"The seller reviews your message and replies in the Resolution Center. This is your opportunity to communicate directly and resolve the issue by exchanging message posts. Communicate clearly and include suggestions about how to resolve the issue, such as through a full or partial refund.
PayPal can view all posted messages in case the dispute is escalated to a claim."


Paypal does not over see it. They just send a message directly to NDSGamer on my behalf.
However, after 8 days, if I still dont receive a response from NDSGamer, then I can escalate the dispute, into a claim, and Paypal will review the situation and claim.

As far as I understand, no one at Paypal will be looking into this matter, at least not until I escalate the dispute into a claim.

 

[Xarsah16]

And this is why we can't have nice things.

I understand as a consumer you're very upset about the whole situation. I would be too if that was me. However, with the way things run, one bad transaction can put a company out of business and that's just not right, especially with the legal lines this company is treading across. Who knows, this store could be the guy's only source of income and by starting to get paypal involved, there goes the business. They will get shut down and added to the paypal s*** list. If it was a couple weeks after the whole transaction, then I would try emailing again to see where the heck my order is, and I would act from there. But by waiting the "minimum time" you are hardly giving them a chance. You know that you're not going to receive a response in 8 days. Just be patient and order from a different seller next time.

 

[kthnxshwn]

You expected it to ship within a day?

 

[StereoBit]

You expected it to ship within a day?

No. I expect it to ship the next day. And I expected to be able to contact the shop owner.
Some sort of communication.
I would have also liked the website to work.

The site hasnt even been updated since who knows when.
The automated password retrieval doesnt even work.

NDSGamer just isnt a very good merchant.

I sent an email to a couple other sellers, including NDSGear and modchipcentral, and they responded within hours.

I dont know how many times I have to say this, but this isnt about my shipment not being here.
Im not annoyed because I didnt recieve my order within a couple of days guys.
Im annoyed that the customer service and quality is completely horrible, and virtually non existent.
And if thats something thats important to you, then I recommend you dont shop there.