The Sushi Box FX Secret Society

[Sushi Box FX]

Fun story I forgot to fill everyone in on had an unexpected twist today, so now it's story time:

A few months ago I tried to find the manufacturer of the knobs I've been buying so I could buy them direct instead of dealing with the distributor. I found a company on Alibaba that had the picture of those knobs, so after talking to them to make sure I was getting what I needed, I went ahead and ordered 1000 of them. They showed up a couple weeks later, and not only were they the wrong size, they were a completely different design and looked nothing like the pictures.

I contacted the seller and asked to return them as they are not what I wanted, even offering to pay return shipping. They refused, saying that this was what I ordered and returning would mean they have to deal with customs on their end. So I filed a claim with Alibaba stating that I was not satisfied with the product and wanted a refund. I sent them all the pictures and copies of my correspondence with the seller. I thought I had a solid case, but they denied it because "Buyer never specifically requested that the product look like the picture." I was speechless, I thought I was going to end up either losing the money or trying to re-sell the knobs to someone that could use them.

Now Alibaba doesn't accept paypal, but paypal has a neat feature where you can generate a virtual credit card number linked to your paypal account, and that's what I had used for the purchase. I figured I would try my luck with paypal, and filed a paypal claim. I sent all the same evidence and explained the case, and paypal sided with me! I would get a full refund minus return shipping, but because the payment wasn't sent directly to the seller but to "Alipay" I was told to ship it to the Alipay office in California, I didn't even have to send it to China. So I followed the tracking, and two days after it was marked delivered I got my refund! Happy ending to a stressful two-month online fight.

Or so I thought...

A few minutes ago my wife texts me a picture of a big box with the word "REFUSED" written across the top. Alipay refused the shipment and sent the knobs back to me! My first instinct "okay, free knobs!" but now I'm nervous that someone is going to come after me. So I'm not going to reach out to Alibaba or the seller as I feel like I left the ball in their court, but I'm going to leave the box sealed and tucked away for at least a couple months, and maybe after that it would be safe to say I got free knobs?

 

[MT Hope]

Fun story I forgot to fill everyone in on had an unexpected twist today, so now it's story time:

A few months ago I tried to find the manufacturer of the knobs I've been buying so I could buy them direct instead of dealing with the distributor. I found a company on Alibaba that had the picture of those knobs, so after talking to them to make sure I was getting what I needed, I went ahead and ordered 1000 of them. They showed up a couple weeks later, and not only were they the wrong size, they were a completely different design and looked nothing like the pictures.

I contacted the seller and asked to return them as they are not what I wanted, even offering to pay return shipping. They refused, saying that this was what I ordered and returning would mean they have to deal with customs on their end. So I filed a claim with Alibaba stating that I was not satisfied with the product and wanted a refund. I sent them all the pictures and copies of my correspondence with the seller. I thought I had a solid case, but they denied it because "Buyer never specifically requested that the product look like the picture." I was speechless, I thought I was going to end up either losing the money or trying to re-sell the knobs to someone that could use them.

Now Alibaba doesn't accept paypal, but paypal has a neat feature where you can generate a virtual credit card number linked to your paypal account, and that's what I had used for the purchase. I figured I would try my luck with paypal, and filed a paypal claim. I sent all the same evidence and explained the case, and paypal sided with me! I would get a full refund minus return shipping, but because the payment wasn't sent directly to the seller but to "Alipay" I was told to ship it to the Alipay office in California, I didn't even have to send it to China. So I followed the tracking, and two days after it was marked delivered I got my refund! Happy ending to a stressful two-month online fight.

Or so I thought...

A few minutes ago my wife texts me a picture of a big box with the word "REFUSED" written across the top. Alipay refused the shipment and sent the knobs back to me! My first instinct "okay, free knobs!" but now I'm nervous that someone is going to come after me. So I'm not going to reach out to Alibaba or the seller as I feel like I left the ball in their court, but I'm going to leave the box sealed and tucked away for at least a couple months, and maybe after that it would be safe to say I got free knobs?

Mark it Re-refused and send that back like a game of hot potato.

 

[mmbongo]

Fun story I forgot to fill everyone in on had an unexpected twist today, so now it's story time:

A few months ago I tried to find the manufacturer of the knobs I've been buying so I could buy them direct instead of dealing with the distributor. I found a company on Alibaba that had the picture of those knobs, so after talking to them to make sure I was getting what I needed, I went ahead and ordered 1000 of them. They showed up a couple weeks later, and not only were they the wrong size, they were a completely different design and looked nothing like the pictures.

I contacted the seller and asked to return them as they are not what I wanted, even offering to pay return shipping. They refused, saying that this was what I ordered and returning would mean they have to deal with customs on their end. So I filed a claim with Alibaba stating that I was not satisfied with the product and wanted a refund. I sent them all the pictures and copies of my correspondence with the seller. I thought I had a solid case, but they denied it because "Buyer never specifically requested that the product look like the picture." I was speechless, I thought I was going to end up either losing the money or trying to re-sell the knobs to someone that could use them.

Now Alibaba doesn't accept paypal, but paypal has a neat feature where you can generate a virtual credit card number linked to your paypal account, and that's what I had used for the purchase. I figured I would try my luck with paypal, and filed a paypal claim. I sent all the same evidence and explained the case, and paypal sided with me! I would get a full refund minus return shipping, but because the payment wasn't sent directly to the seller but to "Alipay" I was told to ship it to the Alipay office in California, I didn't even have to send it to China. So I followed the tracking, and two days after it was marked delivered I got my refund! Happy ending to a stressful two-month online fight.

Or so I thought...

A few minutes ago my wife texts me a picture of a big box with the word "REFUSED" written across the top. Alipay refused the shipment and sent the knobs back to me! My first instinct "okay, free knobs!" but now I'm nervous that someone is going to come after me. So I'm not going to reach out to Alibaba or the seller as I feel like I left the ball in their court, but I'm going to leave the box sealed and tucked away for at least a couple months, and maybe after that it would be safe to say I got free knobs?

Yep. I’d just deny ever receiving them back. “What package?? I returned those months ago”

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Mark it Re-refused and send that back like a game of hot potato.

I did consider that. I really don't want them, if I ended up keeping them I would just sell them. Hot potato would be a little more fun. I wonder how many times it could go back and forth before USPS just throws it away.

Yep. I’d just deny ever receiving them back. “What package?? I returned those months ago”

I paid extra for "signature required" and somehow it got marked as delivered, so I would have a reasonable enough case there.

 

[macmanlou]

I paid extra for "signature required" and somehow it got marked as delivered, so I would have a reasonable enough case there.

The USPS has been ignoring "signature required" for many of my shop's packages for over a year because of the pandemic.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

The USPS has been ignoring "signature required" for many of my shop's packages for over a year because of the pandemic.

Ah, that makes sense. Paypal required me to get it because of the value of the package, but it makes sense that it still got delivered if they're just ignoring it.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Well I was hoping I would feel better by the time I got home, but I in fact feel worse. The components for the Underground Accelerator LEs are here, so I'll put them down in the workshop, have dinner, then go to bed and see how I feel in the morning.

The good news is I got a new shirt

 

[Jim C]

I did consider that. I really don't want them, if I ended up keeping them I would just sell them. Hot potato would be a little more fun.

But they aren't the right knobs in the first place! Return them and move on; much better karma. You just learned a lesson in manufacturing. There are no "steals" especially working through unusual channels and working directly with professional vendors is worth it.
I know two companies who wanted to go to China for manufacturing without a legitimate broker and both lost $15K.

 

[JonathanSV]

The longer the wait the better the pedal. Can't have it too soon.

 

[BunchyMutt]

The longer the wait the better the pedal.

Josh Turner’s original lyric

 

[MTN.bass72]

The USPS has been ignoring "signature required" for many of my shop's packages for over a year because of the pandemic.

Ah, that makes sense. Paypal required me to get it because of the value of the package, but it makes sense that it still got delivered if they're just ignoring it.

As a mail carrier, I assure you that we're not ignoring the request for a signature... protocol just had to be adjusted because of... well, you know...
Packages are still delivered, we just have to treat the signature portion differently

 

[Killing Floor]

Congratulations on your new shirt!

Did the box of knobs come with a return shipping label? Last time I had an issue with a shifty seller I taped 2 cinderblocks together and stuck on the label. At least I felt pretty good about it.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

But they aren't the right knobs in the first place! Return them and move on; much better karma. You just learned a lesson in manufacturing. There are no "steals" especially working through unusual channels and working directly with professional vendors is worth it.
I know two companies who wanted to go to China for manufacturing without a legitimate broker and both lost $15K.

My concern in returning them (again) would be that they just get refused and come back to me again and I would be paying an additional $80 or so in shipping. I've decided to let them sit in the corner for a month or so just in case anyone asks about them. I was able to find one seller on Alibaba that I still deal with regularly and they are who I get my enclosures and footswitches from. It turns out I was already getting their products through a US distributor, so I tracked them down to deal directly with them. This is what I was trying to do here as well, but it looks like I got the wrong company. I'm going to continue working with the company I already have a relationship with, but I'm done trying out new ones.

Congratulations on your new shirt!

Did the box of knobs come with a return shipping label? Last time I had an issue with a shifty seller I taped 2 cinderblocks together and stuck on the label. At least I felt pretty good about it.

Unfortunately no return label, just the same package I sent with the word "Refused" written on top. If there was a return label I would not hesitate to send it back to them, but since there isn't the box is just going to hang out in my basement for a while.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Also after 12 hours of sleep last night I feel much better this morning, but I'm going to continue to take it easy and see if I can get back to 100% before I commit to more pedal work.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

I'm thinking about opening August ordering on Friday. Planning for a batch of 20, and August will have the following changes:

- Particle Accelerator and London Underground both discontinued in favor of Underground Accelerator
- Westinghouse has been discontinued, I don't have a replacement yet but there will be something along the same vein later
- August 2021 will be the last month Lab Rat X is available. I like it, I know other people like it, but it just hasn't sold very well and I want to slim down the number of pedals offered to make the lineup more sustainable on my end
- Fractured Cherry is no longer available, but white finish with either simple or full color artwork is available for the standard $20 upcharge

I think that's it. I'll get with @Sonicblaze to make sure everything is all set with the website then get an email out to announce it officially.

 

[jbybj]

I'm thinking about opening August ordering on Friday. Planning for a batch of 20, and August will have the following changes:

- Particle Accelerator and London Underground both discontinued in favor of Underground Accelerator
- Westinghouse has been discontinued, I don't have a replacement yet but there will be something along the same vein later
- August 2021 will be the last month Lab Rat X is available. I like it, I know other people like it, but it just hasn't sold very well and I want to slim down the number of pedals offered to make the lineup more sustainable on my end
- Fractured Cherry is no longer available, but white finish with either simple or full color artwork is available for the standard $20 upcharge

I think that's it. I'll get with @Sonicblaze to make sure everything is all set with the website then get an email out to announce it officially.

This is great news. Now, when you become an internationally renowned pedal building superstar, I’ll be able to sell my London underground mini and my Westinghouse for thousands of dollars. Many thanks.

 

[mmbongo]

This is great news. Now, when you become an internationally renowned pedal building superstar, I’ll be able to sell my London underground mini and my Westinghouse for thousands of dollars. Many thanks.

Heck I've got the gold mine....Fractured Cherry Particle Accelerator, a LabRat X, and a London Underground! My retirement is set!

 

[Sushi Box FX]

This is great news. Now, when you become an internationally renowned pedal building superstar, I’ll be able to sell my London underground mini and my Westinghouse for thousands of dollars. Many thanks.

Heck I've got the gold mine....Fractured Cherry Particle Accelerator, a LabRat X, and a London Underground! My retirement is set!

Just doing my part to keep the used market pumped up

I was hoping to get my Optipus Compressor rocking so I could discontinue Deep Dish, but no such luck. I'm pretty good at debugging (comes with making thousands of mistakes) but I have no idea what I did wrong on this one.

 

[mikeGJ]

Heck I've got the gold mine....Fractured Cherry Particle Accelerator, a LabRat X, and a London Underground! My retirement is set!

Any of the OG mini tube pedals will be sought after. I’m not selling my top jack PA.

 

[Sushi Box FX]

Any of the OG mini tube pedals will be sought after. I’m not selling my top jack PA.

I still have one of everything sitting on a shelf, my wife is trying to get me to sell them all so we can replace some windows in our house

Actually I do have an extra mini tube LU in pink, I made it for a friend then he sent it back so he could get a LUX. Maybe I'll get rid of the pink one as I still have a full-color one.