F-Stop (Is this the beginning of the end - I certainly hope not)

ecoleman said:
Just charge back your card for non delivery. Can do it on credit and debit cards.
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Then it will never turn up haha, if they advertised the real delivery time, I wouldn't mind but it's gone from 4-6 weeks to 13 or 14 (the estimated of middle of May)

sarahhj said:
I'd been lusting after the Red Bull colour for a while but hadn't quite been able to justify buying it as I already have two Loka. My husband then bought it as a gift for me - It's a great colour on screen, and imho even better in-the-flesh than I expected. Hopefully yours will turn up soon.
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I sold my loka to buy it so hopefully it will be here when they said and because I complained they offered me a choice of a free item so my delivery date has more than doubled, at least I got something free this time (if it comes).
 
The bags are great but the customer service really is poor. Until they sort themselves out, I don't think I would order anything direct from them that wasn't in stock. Hopefully you won't have to wait too much longer.
 
sarahhj said:
The bags are great but the customer service really is poor. Until they sort themselves out, I don't think I would order anything direct from them that wasn't in stock. Hopefully you won't have to wait too much longer.
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Website said 4-6 weeks, since then I've been told a few dates but looking at the end of June...for now, if I didn't have 4 ICU's I would just cancel my order and get the mindshift backlight but I'm stuck as is.
 
There's a Red Bull Ajna on eBay at the moment - albeit lightly used. Getting your money back from f-stop might be another battle though. You might want to look into getting it back via your card company though under Section 75?
 
It's already sold, I found a brand new one sold last month too, although it was more expensive that what I've ended up paying. I'm in no rush for it to get here, I'd just rather have it before they go bankrupt, which can't be long at this rate.

As for a refund, I ordered few bits last year and because none of it was ever in stock at the same, they never sent me anything, so after 6 months cancelled 1 item and had the 2 they had in stock delivered. They don't split orders and won't do free delivery on half an order either. Then it took another month for a refund to my PayPal.

I don't need anything else after this though and in all fairness, they have offered to ship any other colour and I'll have it next week. Never again.
 
I have just purchased a Red Bull Anja and some other F-Stop bits from Camera Tools in the Netherlands, delivery was quick and they were quick to answer my emails. Could be worth taking a look if you are on the hunt for F-stop gear.
 
I don't think its mentioned here... (ignore me if they were), cvp.com in UK sourced my fstop gear couple years back. They even matched the prices on fstop website.
 
CVP don't stock F-Stop anymore (they had none in stock the last time I looked).

I have had a large waterproof cover on order for 8 weeks now and still no sign of it being dispatched (from F-Stop Europe), I have used the live chat feature twice and all they will say is "Spring". There is still no improvement when ordering anything that is "out of stock" I'm afraid. [emoji45]

Andy
 
Keebsuk said:
CVP don't stock F-Stop anymore (they had none in stock the last time I looked).

I have had a large waterproof cover on order for 8 weeks now and still no sign of it being dispatched (from F-Stop Europe), I have used the live chat feature twice and all they will say is "Spring". There is still no improvement when ordering anything that is "out of stock" I'm afraid. [emoji45]

Andy
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I've tried to order that a few times, it's never in stock so I don't have one 3 years later, I just keep an eye out on eBay, I found an unopened one around xmas time but it went for silly money
 
CVP didn't stock it when I got it from them either. They can source it for you (at least they did in the past) by making a custom order.
 
Just thought I'd post a quick update and heads up to others thinking of ordering from F-stop.

Last year I waited three months for a bag that was on a clearance sale (so would have thought it was in stock), and went through weeks of making complaints before it was finally sorted by someone from their CEOs office. All this time they had my money, as seems standard for F-stop.

Thought I'd give them one more chance and ordered some accessory bags earlier this month. With last year's experience still in my mind, I contacted the CS rep in the CEOs office to check on expected dispatch and was told it'd take a week as they were fulfilling back orders - not ideal but I was prepared to wait a week. A week came and went, so I got in touch again - 'will ship sometime next week' was the reply. Well, its now coming up to three weeks and still nothing.

So I'm afraid that even items being in stock doesn't mean you get them in a reasonable time. Think this will be my last order with F-stop.
 
J.D. said:
Just thought I'd post a quick update and heads up to others thinking of ordering from F-stop.

Last year I waited three months for a bag that was on a clearance sale (so would have thought it was in stock), and went through weeks of making complaints before it was finally sorted by someone from their CEOs office. All this time they had my money, as seems standard for F-stop.

Thought I'd give them one more chance and ordered some accessory bags earlier this month. With last year's experience still in my mind, I contacted the CS rep in the CEOs office to check on expected dispatch and was told it'd take a week as they were fulfilling back orders - not ideal but I was prepared to wait a week. A week came and went, so I got in touch again - 'will ship sometime next week' was the reply. Well, its now coming up to three weeks and still nothing.

So I'm afraid that even items being in stock doesn't mean you get them in a reasonable time. Think this will be my last order with F-stop.
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Hahahaha... you'll be waiting much longer than that. I'm 16 weeks in, said 6 weeks on the website, I think it still does.
 
jonoooo125 said:
Hahahaha... you'll be waiting much longer than that. I'm 16 weeks in, said 6 weeks on the website, I think it still does.
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Six weeks lead time? Sounds like my experience last year...don't think I'd have had the patience for 16 weeks. The three months I waited was bad enough.

All of my order is in stock though (or so I'm told), so there really isn't any excuse for even a three week wait as it is right now.
 
J.D. said:
Six weeks lead time? Sounds like my experience last year...don't think I'd have had the patience for 16 weeks. The three months I waited was bad enough.

All of my order is in stock though (or so I'm told), so there really isn't any excuse for even a three week wait as it is right now.
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Last year I ordered some ICUs and a raincover, all supposedly in stock but they were never in stock together, i gave up after 6 months as only 2/3 were ever in stock and I never got my rain cover, they wouldn't put anything aside for my order or split the order which is annoying but what can you do. Nowhere has the red bull Ajna at the price f stop do so I'll have to carry on waiting, getting a refund is just as difficult as getting something delivered
 
Having heard stories like the above on many occasions I've never placed an order directly with f-stop via their website. I've now placed two separate orders for f stop stuff via cameranu.nl and got the orders within a few days (last one was within 2 working days which isn't bad considering it came via UPS from the Netherlands). Prices were about the same as the F stop website.
 
Yeah, I've used Cameranu and another Dutch company whose name I forget too. Always had my orders in no more than a few days.

Both times I've ordered direct have been because F-stop came in cheaper. But I'm about to see how much the same order would be with cameranu so may cancel my order. Unfortunately, from what I've heard their refund process can take as long as the order times. Shame they make such nice bags as they really are a joke of a company.
 
jonoooo125 said:
Last year I ordered some ICUs and a raincover, all supposedly in stock but they were never in stock together, i gave up after 6 months as only 2/3 were ever in stock and I never got my rain cover, they wouldn't put anything aside for my order or split the order which is annoying but what can you do. Nowhere has the red bull Ajna at the price f stop do so I'll have to carry on waiting, getting a refund is just as difficult as getting something delivered
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Im told by my contact in CS that everything is in stock but they're fulfilling back orders, hence the delay. I've sent another request for an update today so will wait to see what's going on and may well cancel if it doesn't look like it'll ship soon.

Thanks for the heads up on them not holding partial orders, that's ridiculous. I'll ask some questions about that and see what the situation is - it wouldn't surprise me if this was the actual reason for delay.

If I do cancel I'll be speaking to my credit card company if a quick refund isn't forthcoming.
 
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Just had another update - all items are in stock and my order is now being 'prioritised'. Fingers crossed it'll ship this week.
 
That Dutch website was 30 more euros for the Ajna red bull colour plus I'd have to get a refund from f stop and pay conversion to euros and pounds 2 more times, it wasn't worth it when I was told 10 weeks then 18, I never bothered and I'm getting a free accessory too (maybe, we'll see if it gets delivered) if it ever arrives, I'm in no rush now, I hope you get yours soon, ICUs are great at organising stuff
 
jonoooo125 said:
That Dutch website was 30 more euros for the Ajna red bull colour plus I'd have to get a refund from f stop and pay conversion to euros and pounds 2 more times, it wasn't worth it when I was told 10 weeks then 18, I never bothered and I'm getting a free accessory too (maybe, we'll see if it gets delivered) if it ever arrives, I'm in no rush now, I hope you get yours soon, ICUs are great at organising stuff
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I can understand that, at the time you ordered there was a price difference in the red bull Ajna but not other items, it seems the prices have nearly caught up. The red bull Ajna is €269 from f stop and €279 from cameranu. It's probably worth knowing about for others thinking of placing new orders but sadly probably not much help for you.
 
rob-nikon said:
I can understand that, at the time you ordered there was a price difference in the red bull Ajna but not other items, it seems the prices have nearly caught up. The red bull Ajna is €269 from f stop and €279 from cameranu. It's probably worth knowing about for others thinking of placing new orders but sadly probably not much help for you.
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Mine cost €249 so there is a silver lining after all haha, I'm sure it will turn up eventually
 
jonoooo125 said:
That Dutch website was 30 more euros for the Ajna red bull colour plus I'd have to get a refund from f stop and pay conversion to euros and pounds 2 more times, it wasn't worth it when I was told 10 weeks then 18, I never bothered and I'm getting a free accessory too (maybe, we'll see if it gets delivered) if it ever arrives, I'm in no rush now, I hope you get yours soon, ICUs are great at organising stuff
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Thanks, hope you get yours soon. You've got more patience than me!
 
If anyone was following, or planning on ordering, it was meant to come Thursday but the geniuses didn't put my house number on it so had to ring parcel force for Friday delivery. 17 1/2 weeks but it is a nice colour so I'm happy now but I wasn't for all the weeks before it
 
jonoooo125 said:
If anyone was following, or planning on ordering, it was meant to come Thursday but the geniuses didn't put my house number on it so had to ring parcel force for Friday delivery. 17 1/2 weeks but it is a nice colour so I'm happy now but I wasn't for all the weeks before it
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I'm glad you finally got it. You will soon forget about the delivery issues once you start using it, hope you start to love it like others do.
 
I don't want to be negative about all your new purchases and bags. But the famed quality of these bags in not true anymore. The first generation were built to last, but since then the build quality is not so great, especially at this price point. I do have an Ajna myself, and I am happy enough with it, though it has only had relatively light use.
 
I placed an order for an Anja and large ICU with F-Stop on 3rd June and it was out of stock according to the site. Based on so many reviews of F-Stop I wasn't expecting it for weeks but I got a shipping notification on the 8th June and it was delivered on the 12th.

I haven't taken it out yet so I can't comment on how comfortable it is but I did have a trial pack and it seems to fit everything perfectly! My primary reason for buying is a trip to Canada in September - I figured it would arrive by then if I ordered it 3 months in advance ;)
 
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