Negative experience with NealsGadgets

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

excellent post!
I think this thread is serving the purpose of warning people not to have high expectations of after sale service from Neal. There are many times when he ignores contact after sale, as this thread shows.

so, if someone has a problem with an order from Neal… and he ignores your email… Just escalate to Paypal Dispute and get a refund. Neal is quick at giving refunds when a Paypal dispute is opened.

^ This whole thread could be summed up to this comment right here. It has been said 1,000 different ways on many pages, but that is what people coming to this thread to get information about the precautions of ordering from NG should know.

People coming here for drama, well.. they are the ones who are likely to leave finding what they were looking for..

What do you guys think is an acceptable resolution to an incorrect order? I received the wrong variation of my order. Ideally, I would want to return and have the correct light shipped out to me. Would you guys settle for a measly 10% refund or would you want a full refund at the minimum? Somewhere in between?

well… you should ask for what you actually want

if it does not happen, due to ignored emails, or other distractions, and unacceptable offers (such as 10% refund)… you can take control of the situation by:

1. dispute the transaction in Paypal, suggest you use the category:
“I received an item that’s not as described”

2. after you get the refund, buy the light you want, from somewhere else

3. IF Neal wants the light you received, returned to him, then either he can provide you a prepaid label, or, Paypal can refund your return label cost.

That’s what I proposed and that was his offer (I guess I can count myself lucky I got a response considering the thread I’m on). Thanks for the confidence. I’m gonna stand firm and push back.

> I’m gonna stand firm and push back.

well… the most effective way to push back is to use Paypal Dispute

I suggest you use the category:

“I received an item that’s not as described”

I missed this thread before, but both of these comments are spot on. Some people really love drama and creating a stink for others to hear and egg on. Unless you’re a newbie and need direction like m00nshine is asking for, I don’t think this community needs to hear about how an order went wrong and how frustrated you are how thats not cool and how “never again” and blah blah blah. It’s a part of life plain and simple. People buy brand new houses and they aren’t perfect sometimes. But they have warranty and it gets fixed. When people buy a new car, sometimes you have to take it in and use your warranty because something isn’t quite right. Do people go and scream and get everyone to pile on with them if a car issue comes up? NO, an adult just takes it where needed and gets it taken care of. This should be considered completely normal in adult life. If you buy a flashlight and it didn’t go well, use your PayPal and file a claim. It’s seriously not that hard and doesn’t require an episode of General Hospital or Days of Our Lives to get to the bottom of.

Everyone needs to make sure to use services that provide buyer protections like PayPal and Amex do. And if you have an issue, take advantage of them and use them. I think not enough people do, and when they do, it’s not soon enough either. If after a week of getting ghosted or an unfavorable solution is offered. File a claim and tell them you did not get the working product or it did not arrive as described. One week should be the standard acceptable limit to hear back and have a resolution offered to you. If after that you’re still chasing them, file your claim. Sellers need to know we’re not gonna waste a month or two giving them all this leeway. Thats the only thing they’ll understand. And if everyone does it, it sets a precedence and lets sellers like Neal know that quick resolutions are needed or this will get kicked up right away for a refund. Then it will be on them to either do better, or lose the funds.

Neals can be very bad at times, but just protect yourself with him and all sellers and you will be fine. He has great deals that I would def take advantage of, but I would never let him or anyone else play me. I know I’m either getting what I ordered, or my money back, them’s the only options. Looking for an audience to cry and complain to about it on public forums achieves nothing to that end. Some around here are still new and don’t know, I get it. But one time is all anyone would need to learn this very simple lesson.

This is literally everything and cannot be overstated. No need to try and get responses from sellers if they aren’t responding. File a claim and put them and your refund on the clock. This is the biggest and most firm “push-back” one can do.

FYI…

If you place an order on Nealsgadgets that includes batteries but does not include a flashlight, they cannot ship your order. Your payment will be taken and then your order will sit in “unfulfilled” status up until the point where you reach out and inquire. If you did a “buy and forget,” your order might be sitting in perpetuity as “unfulfilled.”

So 2 weeks later, when I saw my order didn’t budge, I reached out and… that’s how I discovered this. There is NO warning on the batteries pages. Nothing at all. If anything they should have “Please be aware that if you buy this battery, you need to purchase a flashlight that uses this battery, or else we cannot ship it.”

When I learned, I was told “please add a flashlight to your order and we can ship it. You can add a cheap one.” Essentially, if I added something like an Olight i3 EOS, my order could ship… and the larger batteries wouldn’t be going installed in a flashlight. Well, everything cheap is sold out. Nice.

This is 2022… and there’s really no reason why this condition couldn’t be covered by text content on the battery pages or logic in the shopping cart.

I believe the law states that the battery has to be installed in the device. So, I don’t think it’s even legal to ship an 18650 and a i3 EOS in the same package since the battery can’t be in the device.

I quit buying there after 2 trials which were a struggle to get what I paid for. For 2 years I’m happy with Banggood and Ali.
I really admire people gambling with their site. I’d rather risk that money in Las Vegas, at least i would have some fun :smiling_imp: