Hacking People who ordered DSTT from Deal Extreme

[neogba]

Well, mine shipped quite fast, it shipped from dx on the 8th, arrived in canada on the 16th...
i'm getting really impatient though....
it's been at customs ever since...
tmr marks the 2 week point at customs... they'll be getting a very angry phone call tmr.

They're playing Contra DS on your new cart!

 

[sepinho]

I've already received my refund for both the out-of-stock rumble pak and the memory protection thingy I cancelled. Took them less than 24 hours, plus they apologized for their screw-up. Might've helped that I said I'd order again, as soon as I'd received the refund.

Maybe they've somewhat sorted out the DSTT chaos now; their reaction to my latest complaint was pretty quick and competent. Considering that the Chinese New Year is just around the corner, I'm actually pleasantly surprised. Then again, I wasn't really expecting much.

 

[NeSchn]

Hey NeoGBA, this is what I got from them regarding the GBA Flashcart!

Sorry for lat getting back to you.

we have made an exchange for you, item 10369 will be sent to you within these two days.

please feel free to open a new ticket once you have any other question.

Regards,
Tiffany

Im getting a product that is $10 more then what I paid for, now thats good customer service right there!

 

[neogba]

Hey, as long as you're happy, that's fine.

It depends on the total deal compared to elsewhere.

What did you order first? The stress boob or what?

How much trouble was this deal? What is the total shipping time (including corrections)?

Were you mislead by there site?

You see, the whole idea of "we have this and not that now" goes against their stated business practice of just-in-time inventory. Basically they do not have ANYTHING until your payment goes through and they can order(or drop ship) it.

I must therefore guess that they are referencing the "stock" (and therefore word) of there suppliers. Thus the chaos.

The very fact that those who ordered "in-stock" are getting it after (or not yet) compared to those who ordered when Out-of-stock, and got their's already, should tell you something.

While I have no doubt that there's a demand for DS flash carts; such as the DSTT, This is not the only source of incompetence by DealExtreme and their shipper. It is a plausible excuse. Don't be fooled.

In there own words: (See these on there site before they change it).

We keep small inventory.
We make purchase orders on a daily basis.
We contact all suppliers for the latest supply status multiple times each day.
Our warehouse is literally next to our shipping carrier.

...and FAQ's:

For Airmail and Registered Airmail packages, it takes 3 to 5 working days for postal tracking to show online.

Don't be fooled here. This is the mysterious, unexplained and additional time period between when DE finally shows it as shipped and then the HKP actually shows it as shipped. This is not honest, and is without accountability collectively. This count does not start when you pay. It took almost 6 for me and 7 is reported here. This count ended (shipped out) a total of 21 days after ordering.

Items that are unavailable will be placed on back order, and the remainder of your order will be shipped. Please check our web site for the back ordered item's estimated time of arrival. Please note that these dates are estimates and not guaranteed to arrive on that date.

Our customer care staffs may request that you send a picture of the original packaging to research on

Repairs on defective merchandise are handled by the manufacturers and not by DealExtreme, unless otherwise indicated.

If any item arrives damaged due to shipping, immediately contact the carrier. Keep all shipping materials and contact us immediately.

Send us a Support Ticket first. Upon receiving an authorization (RMA), proceed and send you package back to us

For defective products, our customer care staffs may send you different return addresses that's geographically nearby to your country. Remember to follow instructions given for those cases.

a "back ordered" product can show "typically ships in 2 to 3 days" in the product status area for a prolonged period of time (and thus not caused by the 45-min delay mentioned above). This is general due to data entry errors occurring at the warehouse.

See, if you didn't know better, you'd think the product status was accurate within 24 hours. Yet, it is not. It means nothing.

What do these (their own) disclaimers, being posted up on their site, indicate about the frequency of them actually happening to your order? Do you think we are telling the truth?

My question then is, why would the excuse of high demand automatically dictate massive "data entry errors occurring at the warehouse."? Besides many non-demand items also not being accurate, What does it tell you if they make more errors proportionately; when in demand(or not)? Apparently, these are not isolated; as the spin would suggest. Now, we are not only talking about delays due to staying accurate. We are talking about delays and being left in the dark because of massive "data entry errors" and not just "data entry errors" too. Then they blame it on the New Year. Was the February New Year causing the problem in November, December or mine, in January? I wonder what the next excuse will be? This is textbook plausible deny ability.

They say "general due to data entry errors" and I'm telling you that's the tip of the iceberg. My experience (and many others are reporting) that they are generally irresponsible, not trust worthy, slower than other (even China based) companies and have very poor (and slow) communications. Combined this with the fact that if you get a bad product, all this is multiplied.

If you try hard enough, you can match or beat their total deals! This includes total price, total support, total time, real tracking and total experience. Plus they are not always the lowest price. Ask about price matching and coupons.

Know the risk you are taking, that's all. Shop around. Promote only good service. It's your personal choice. What we do collectively, drives the market.

 

[helpme]

ive only used them once & i wont deal with them again i got my DSTT in a month which some people would say was ok
but minionlinestore done it in 8 days & they both came from china to the uk

 

[NeSchn]

They were a bit confusing, and the original item was out of stock. So I am guessing thats why the changed it too, to keep the customers happy. which is what business is all about.

 

[NeSchn]

...

 

[NeSchn]

...

 

[NeSchn]

Oops, my computer went on the fritz. Sorry about that...

 

[neogba]

In Addition to my post below you may also want to consider the discussion on DE's own site. Here's a very current example:

Subject: My DSTT is definitely defective.
SnackAdmiral Monday, January 28, 2008 11:46 PM Reply
So I've done some research. After eliminating the people who were simply not installing firmware correctly (or other user errors), I see three main DSTT malfunctions reported across the internet.

(1) DSTT is not recognised, and your DS goes to normal loading screen with "There is no DS Card Inserted". This seems to involve the card's contacts, and I've been able to get around it by gently flexing the card a bit. Fairly annoying.

(2) Both screens are white, and you can faintly see a ghost of the "Warning - Health and Safety" screen on the bottom. This also seems to be a contact issue. Holding the card firmly in the DS and other messing around can get past this, but it's very annoying.

(3) The system loads to the DSTT screen, but games eventually fail to load. This seems to result in a corruption of save files, and requires a full re-format. Extremely annoying.

I get (1) and (2) about 30% of the time, respectively. I have not been able to get to (3) yet, as I'm experiencing a 4th issue.

(4) The DSTT Logo loads, the little square 'loading' animation rotates in the lower left, and the upper screen says "SYS File Loading..." - forever. I have only seen a few reports of this error, and it seems to be in the recent batch of DSTTs.

I ordered mine on 12/17/07, and like most of you it was delayed, only getting here today (01/28/08). I understand the reasons for the delay, but I can't help but think the supplier rushed this batch to meet demands, and a large number of customers got a $40 piece of crap.

Here's what I need: a new and tested unit, or a full refund including return-postage. Honestly I feel ripped off. This was actually a birthday present for my sister, and I'm very glad I tried to get it set up before I wrapped it up.

DealExtreme: Based on the number of reports I'm beginning to see, I'm sure this will not be an uncommon issue for you. I understand that you did not manufacture these parts, but I expect you to make this right. You've got a bunch of great DS gadgets that I want, but I'm not waiting over a month for another broken product.

I hope you see what I mean (above) in what I said my below. Poor everything. If you get a bad one, it's worse.

Hey, as long as you're happy, that's fine.

It depends on the total deal compared to elsewhere.

What did you order first? The stress boob or what?Â

How much trouble was this deal? What is the total shipping time (including corrections)?

Were you mislead by there site?

You see, the whole idea of "we have this and not that now" goes against their stated business practice of just-in-time inventory. Basically they do not have ANYTHING until your payment goes through and they can order(or drop ship) it.

I must therefore guess that they are referencing the "stock" (and therefore word) of there suppliers. Thus the chaos.

The very fact that those who ordered "in-stock" are getting it after (or not yet) compared to those who ordered when Out-of-stock, and got their's already, should tell you something.

While I have no doubt that there's a demand for DS flash carts; such as the DSTT, This is not the only source of incompetence by DealExtreme and their shipper. It is a plausible excuse. Don't be fooled.

In there own words: (See these on there site before they change it).

We keep small inventory.
We make purchase orders on a daily basis.
We contact all suppliers for the latest supply status multiple times each day.
Our warehouse is literally next to our shipping carrier.

...and FAQ's:

For Airmail and Registered Airmail packages, it takes 3 to 5 working days for postal tracking to show online.

Don't be fooled here. This is the mysterious, unexplained and additional time period between when DE finally shows it as shipped and then the HKP actually shows it as shipped. This is not honest, and is without accountability collectively. This count does not start when you pay. It took almost 6 for me and 7 is reported here. This count ended (shipped out) a total of 21 days after ordering.

Items that are unavailable will be placed on back order, and the remainder of your order will be shipped. Please check our web site for the back ordered item's estimated time of arrival. Please note that these dates are estimates and not guaranteed to arrive on that date.

Our customer care staffs may request that you send a picture of the original packaging to research on

Repairs on defective merchandise are handled by the manufacturers and not by DealExtreme, unless otherwise indicated.

If any item arrives damaged due to shipping, immediately contact the carrier. Keep all shipping materials and contact us immediately.

Send us a Support Ticket first. Upon receiving an authorization (RMA), proceed and send you package back to us

For defective products, our customer care staffs may send you different return addresses that's geographically nearby to your country. Remember to follow instructions given for those cases.

a "back ordered" product can show "typically ships in 2 to 3 days" in the product status area for a prolonged period of time (and thus not caused by the 45-min delay mentioned above). This is general due to data entry errors occurring at the warehouse.

See, if you didn't know better, you'd think the product status was accurate within 24 hours. Yet, it is not. It means nothing.

What do these (their own) disclaimers, being posted up on their site, indicate about the frequency of them actually happening to your order? Do you think we are telling the truth?

My question then is, why would the excuse of high demand automatically dictate massive "data entry errors occurring at the warehouse."? Besides many non-demand items also not being accurate, What does it tell you if they make more errors proportionately; when in demand(or not)? Apparently, these are not isolated; as the spin would suggest. Now, we are not only talking about delays due to staying accurate. We are talking about delays and being left in the dark because of massive "data entry errors" and not just "data entry errors" too. Then they blame it on the New Year. Was the February New Year causing the problem in November, December or mine, in January? I wonder what the next excuse will be? This is textbook plausible deny ability.

They say "general due to data entry errors" and I'm telling you that's the tip of the iceberg. My experience (and many others are reporting) that they are generally irresponsible, not trust worthy, slower than other (even China based) companies and have very poor (and slow) communications. Combined this with the fact that if you get a bad product, all this is multiplied.

If you try hard enough, you can match or beat their total deals! This includes total price, total support, total time, real tracking and total experience. Plus they are not always the lowest price. Ask about price matching and coupons.

Know the risk you are taking, that's all. Shop around. Promote only good service. It's your personal choice. What we do collectively, drives the market.

 

[neogba]

More than 28 days for me now. I don't even show it (no tracking) hitting the US yet!

 

[tjas]

More than 28 days for me now. I don't even show it (no tracking) hitting the US yet!

It will come believe me.. it is known that it takes a long time befor it arrives... just wait!

 

[NoNameFace]

I ordered my DSTT with a cellphone crystal case on 02 Jan.
The crystal case was shipped on 04 Jan (according to the tracking on DX) and came in about 8 or 10days....
The DSTT left HK on 09 Jan (according to the HK Post) but until now I don't see a thing in my mailbox.

 

[rwilts]

Email today to say that they have now shipped my EDGE card. So that means another week before HK post recognise the dispatch number and then a week from then for arrival.

 

[Mnshredder]

I ordered from them about 2 weeks ago and finally it shipped out on the 29th. Good thing I bought my card else where for the time being or else i would have gone nuts. The cards from DE are going to be birthday gifts to my lil brothers. Man they are slow. So I am not in a hurry anymore hehe. The prices are good though. But I will have to see if its worth it when the items get here, plus i ordered a pouch for my ndsl.

 

[neogba]

You see, anyone can post nearly anything in this thread. My posts have been about three things. Details, details and details. They are not just my report. They are things you can verify!

In hind site, we would all have been better served if I had canceled before DE said shipped! I apologize for that. I didn't know every detail to the process and that's what my posts are all about. So you may know. Every single, drawn out phase has it's misleading details.

Ironically, I could have had, not only the DSTT but also the GBA Pak (and rumble Pak too) and with "real" tracking; within the time I could have canceled and by now! My latest searching indicates, that whole deal would have been only $6.03 more and that's before coupon and price matching is attempted. You may actually find it for less, depending on the combo.

The devil is in the details. Do not let your excitement for a DSTT and DE's tricky site cause you to underestimate how bad it really is.

Once a person chooses DE, they don't want to admit that they perhaps overrated them. I'm admitting it. Please govern yourself accordingly.

Please see the many details I have posted if you would even consider ordering from DE.

 

[neogba]

OK boys and girls. I got the darn thing!

I orderer just barely after the Jan 3rd and received it Feb 1st. That's 28+ days from "In-Stock". Ha!

Cute little box; smaller than it looks on-line. It is slightly crushed (not that it matters). They just stuff it in a shipping envelop. Not a shipping box.

No freebies.

Cartridge and reader build is fine. No bump! Fit is OK, I guess. Card reader slot too. Whew!

I figured the 4GB (class 6) MicroSDHC was formated FAT32 correctly. It seemed to be. It didn't work on all games until I formated it FAT32 again! ...don't know why, but it works now.

With Kubuntu (for you other open software users) I simply...

sudo mkfs.vfat -F 32 /dev/sda1

...There are a bunch of simpler GUI ways to skin that cat too, but this way was lighting fast to do. Oh, and "fdisk -l" will show you that it's at "/dev/sda1" or what ever yours is ("/dev/sdb1" etc..). Don't format the wrong drive.

Addendum: Oh yeah. My "Game N Music" piece of crap test cart, has a tiny (128MB) MicroSD and so it's FAT (AKA FAT 16), not FAT32. These were and are only accessible as administrator so I had to run the file manager (Konqueror is my choice) as root (Administrator/Super user) to write to it. Yet as I suspected, with FAT32, I don't have this problem any more. It simply shows up on screen (Plug-able; as user) and I click and drag to it (with a split screen view). Easy peasey.

EDIT: Perhaps it depends on if your format the drive as user or not. FAT AKA VFAT(16) should be used up to and including 4GB flash. It's quicker, in the DSTT. One just can't have more that 512 large file names in the root directory. Use (V)FAT32 thereafter and it tops out at 32GB.

The games that didn't load are now working.

I am SO GLAD I did not get a bad one(so far). Then the fun would really begin. If you're thinking this indicates it's OK to go ahead a order from DE and that they're just slow. Don't!

I need more slot-1, GBA Paks and flash drives for as least two more DS lites. I was also interested in several items DE has to offer. I will not be ordering from DealExtreme if they gave them to me!

Run!!!!

Oh, I forgot to say, my post office now shows they received it this morning; so you don't really get much notice. Accept maybe the morning before. That's not extremely helpful tracking. I was completely in the dark and you will be too. So tracking is basically one notice when it left HKP (days late) and one at your post office the day it arrives. Since they send it registered mail, if you miss that, you have to spend your time and gas picking it up yourself. Why would I ever want that again?

Peace!

 

[EN!GMA]

neogba, if you shouldn't be allowed to enjoy your dstt after all your bad-mouthing...

btw, I ordered the same day you did, can I ask you which state you live in?

 

[NeSchn]

Nice, neoGBA, I also got mine today and it works perfectly so far! Except for that custom skins don't work, i haven't had to format mine it.

 

[neogba]

Hey what was that "other" product they're exchanging for the Elink 512Mbit?

Come on, you know it was the "stress boob".

Just say it! ( o )