Negative experience with NealsGadgets

No Double Standard…Never read that thread! I had NO reason to because my experience was bad and Fits this thread :wink:

Flashoholics are people who love to argue about flashlights. Tint, cri, size versus power versus runtime, fuel supply type, method of refueling, price tag, manufacturers to acquire/avoid, region of manufacture, method of review/testing/measuring, method of carry, how to store, how not to promote, flood versus throw, what they should not be used for, type of light source, tool versus hobby versus collect versus naked consumerism, to not or yes modify, for what purpose to modify, what type of switch, location of switch, what type of user interface, and.... ....

... ...who to/to not order from, and what is on and/or off topic, and what is the topic/not the topic.

BLF GT94: Still Rocks!

Your post has no merit. Makes no difference if it’s a guy’s first post or 50,000. What matters is the people who posted after him. The people that agreed the guy has issues. That’s all that matters. The OP just took the initiative.

You are focusing on the OP Instead of the disdain, incompetency and unresponsiveness of Neil. How are you going to dispute the dozens and dozens of people who are disgruntled by Neals actions? Are you going to discredit them? Just cuz you believe the OP shouldn’t have posted this thread?

It is kind of clear what’s important here.It is the experience of the hundreds of post after the OP.

Yeah….Neal shipped the wrong emitter. Complete radio silence when pushed for an answer. Paypal did a partial refund.

Is it my problem that Neal is possibily overwhelmed/has issues with English/cannot access certain non-China sites/some other excuse? No it is not my problem. It is the businessman (Neal) issue to go hire additional headcount once business expands.

Would never buy from Neal again.

I have to ask. Do you honestly feel members are fabricating complaints just to attack Neil as you clearly imply?.

Also, members often post about their bad experience with a seller and make denigrating comments about the seller including a couple of the members defending Neal. Nothing is said. Why is this different?.

No. Please read carefully. I only wondered why some members wanted to deny positive comments in this thread. I think sometimes too much is said. There is a difference between sharing your experiences and calling someone a @#$%^.

Paypal is pretty much his “bank account”. And he couldn’t even be bothered. They ruled in my favor. Why? He went silent on both me and Paypal. Clear cut case.

Maybe, just maybe, there can be excuses for him to go radio silence on me. Just maybe. But on Paypal too??? Seriously?

And I’ll say more, the OP stinks of throwaway sockpuppet.

Another Neal fan on the Wrong thread! Lol!
:person_facepalming: :wink:

People can post wherever they want, Cochise. And no, I ain’t no fan of him, but I do know who you are. Always eager to hop on the manicheistic narrative when it’s conveniently against him.

EDIT: And I also noticed just how snide you get whenever suspicion is raised on the post-and-run OP account so unusual to see in this forum. Pretty sus…

∆∆∆∆

Right… I had two bad experiences with Neal and that was enough. So if I have an opportunity to commiserate with others about his inadequacies, I post it. Is that okay with you? And when others protect him and defend him and discount the bad experiences of others, then I also post. For those that don’t like it that’s okay too.

I agree Henk4U2. There's nothing wrong with having a thread that allows members to share their experiences, be it positive or negative. However, when it morphs into a predominately "bashing" thread, how does that serve the community as a whole?

Furthermore, anyone performing their due diligence, as they should prior to purchasing from a discount seller that carries such a broad range of products at such low prices, such as Neal's Gadgets, shouldn't expect the same degree and breadth of customer support as a domestic seller who charges much more. There are obvious reasons why smaller and/or newer discount etailers from overseas won't be equipped or prepared to meet the demands of every buyer with some sort of issue, it's just not possible! And quite frankly, anyone who buys from high volume-low price, overseas sellers should only do so with "caveat emptor" in mind! If you do end up with difficulties, then at least you'll have done so with eyes wide open.

Moving on, perhaps it's time for "sb" to reconsider combining the positive experiences thread with this one, as he previously considered in post #105. Consider that not everyone who comments on this thread realizes that there is also a "positive experiences" version available from which to develop a fuller picture before deciding to purchase. Combining them would not only provide this benefit, it may also help temper overly polarizing comments.

If "sb" did combine the two, I would then suggest changing the title and add a notice that clearly states something like, "all BLF members are asked to remain civilized and limit their posts to factual experiences, whether good or bad". Doing such would help maintain "sb's" preference for limited moderation by reducing the potential need to jump into overly-heated exchanges and having to possibly threaten and/or impose sanctions for blatant violators.

If this thread is left as is, I would bet that it's going to continue becoming less about giving members a means to share their individual experience(s), as well as letting potential buyers know if a seller has had problems with post-sale support before they decide to commit to a purchase. Instead, it may continue becoming more about an opportunity for certain members to bitch and moan for no other reason than doing so apparently fulfills some innate need.

In summary, I personally believe that combining the two threads would help prospective customers of Neal's Gadgets get a broader, more informative impression of what they might experience in terms of primarily post-sale customer support from a sole proprietor of a discount webstore. Again in my opinion, this would help to preserve the family-friendly spirit of the forum.

FWIW, I don't know, nor have I ever communicated with Neal or anyone who has ever purchased anything from Neal's Gadgets.

Now, I must ask "cochise334ever", why do you find it so important to stoke the fire of controversy? This appears to be a long running theme for you since your time on CPF. Such behavior got you banned from there, and I suspect that the feuds you instigate here have led to you changing your username several times already. Why must you be so obstinate?

Case in point: In your first post of this thread under a different username, you stated loud and clear that, "I am One and done with this Neal guy. I have no patience for irresponsibility".

Obviously "one and done" was only referring to your one & only purchase experience with Neal's Gadgets and not your perceived inalienable right to pile on the negativity, because after your initial complaint post, you went on to posts 5 more highly critical, commentaries over a 7-month span with an intention of ingratiating yourself with others who also had a bad experience. You could seriously consider that "if you don't have anything positive to say, then just don't say anything at all".

But then you come back here again and claim your interjection following what "PhT" had to add was to stay true to the thread's title, since there's another thread available for those who have had positive experiences in purchasing products from Neal's Gadgets. But your real motivation for trying to keep this thread solely about "negative experiences" is based on an intent to stir the pot for your benefit. You have been intentionally controversial for many years under the guise of "being an unapologetically honest person". You simply love fanning those flames, then arguing with whomever is willing to challenge your superior intellect.

"Hey dude (I know how you love that), are you seriously still bitter about Neal not responding to your emails fast enough? That was over two years ago! Perhaps it's time to go on one extended, 25,000 mile walk until you get the negativity out of your system.

It’s the coupon codes. Neal does tie ups with promos and coupon codes. Customers like the coupons.

I agree ..There is no need to be positive here about Neal .

people here are here because he's screwed them and they can't get answers ,any solution or communication from a vendor . Feeling a need to defend him because you have had a positive experience or think he's a swell guy is meaningless to a herd of people he's bulldozed .

the thread exists not for people to say whether they like or dislike Neal . It solely serves as a warning to anyone who ever thinks about shopping from him . He's screwed over this many people ...guess what . There's no way in hell I'd recommend him . These threads serve as a warning to members of who is off their game... and who is rock solid . these threads don't exist for a vendor like Illum.com, Mountain Electronics ,and a huge number of reliable dealers .

Having any discussion about what someone else says here is pure trollish bullshit . BLF invites people to have opinions and freely make comments . The internet allows people to think they have a nifty anonymous way to take shots at what people say .

The Don't be rude and play nice rules here mean keep someone elses words out of your mouth . I've always thought the Quote button is the quickest way to arguments and contention. If for some damn dumb reason you can't keep from commenting then at least just make a statement..and not react to someone elses comment .

I've heard for years that Americans are arrogant when expecting someone from another country to have the same customer service etc as they might find at home .It dawned on me that honesty , compassion , fairness,communicating ,support,dealing with issues ......these aren't qualities or values unique to vendors or peoples in only a few countries .

If a vendor sucks and you protect him from getting his bad behavior announced publicly . You are allowing him to further abuse members and not letting him learn the lessons he needs to grow into a better business.

+1

In this way we will show the pros and cons for an accurate evaluation of a possible purchase.

Another user from reddit. Go figure :person_facepalming: Not a Neal fan, and the only thing I’ve bought from him was the original GT several years ago, and the original FW3A a few years ago. Tired of people whining, thats all.

I’m tired of people whining about people posting their legitimate problems with a seller. This whole controversy started because a handful of people for whatever reason attacked the credibility of members posting about problems with Neal.

In the face of pretty overwhelming evidence, (negative postings on 3 forums that I know of and a review site) these members refuse to acknowledge or admit that Neal is a unreliable and irresponsible seller. Very odd.

I never saw any member’s rights to free speech being denied or Neal being unfairly being accused or abused or not nearly as much as the members claiming that are accusing and abusing other members. A member or two seized on seems to be an innocuous statement to try to make that case. To me you fail.

So I believe a few people should let go of the hypocrisy, denial, and animosity toward other members and in the face of very convincing evidence admit that ordering from Nealsgadgets is a crapshoot and you stand a good chance of wasting your time and being disappointed and the members posting about it have valid complaints.

well said

especially this part:
“just make a statement…and not react to someone elses comment .”

agree completely… people who tailgate to disagree with a post, are off topic

it is very poor form to fail to post on topic, and instead target someone elses opinion

and regarding Neal
I waited a long time before taking a chance on ordering from him

My FWAA arrived quickly. It worked OK, but one LED was dimmer than the others. I knew Neal would ignore any after sale contact… and he did.

I chose not to use Paypal Dispute to get a refund, because I already expected to change the LEDs to 219b for myself

done… the light works fine… I fixed it myself

Add my vote for that - I think it'd be a good idea and a fair one. Neal has done us a lot of good and there's no need to totally throw him under the bus even though it's clear that there are some serious issues, sporadic and apparently inconsistent as they may be. OP was a new member and had his axe to grind, of course, but this thread should be retitled and merged with the other, put in the right place. What's silly is trying to squelch anyone, right thread or wrong thread, and the little war of sorts that seems to have evolved between these two + and - threads. imho.

It’s the fear of losing Nealgadgets’ coupon codes.

We’ve a local store which had terrible service, but still managed to amass a cult following as a result of its “competitive pricing”. Anyone who posted negative experiences will experience character assassination and be shut down immediately by the store’s fans.

yeah, it’s pretty telling that Intl-Outdoor (hank), Convoy (simon) and other similar stores do not have the kind of negative feedback which Neal gets