ThingFling $$$$ Buyer Beware! Thing Fling

[flungthing]

I bought an Auvi`s Fantastic Digital Audio HiFi Vertical AM/FM/CD Player from them, used it about 8 or 10 times in 3 months, then it broke. I went to the manuf website, all links are broken, all phone numbers are disconnected. Contacted FlingThing who ultimately told me: "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach the person from the manufacturer company as he no longer works there and this item was part of a closeout deal."

They refuse to issue me a refund.

Don't buy from these folks. With very few exceptions, just about eveything I've purchased from them has been marginal at best. And they don't stand behind what they sell.

[flungthing]

I bought an Auvi`s Fantastic Digital Audio HiFi Vertical AM/FM/CD Player from them, used it about 8 or 10 times in 3 months, then it broke. I went to the manuf website, all links are broken, all phone numbers are disconnected. Contacted FlingThing who ultimately told me: "Unfortunately, we were unable to reach the person from the manufacturer company as he no longer works there and this item was part of a closeout deal."

They refuse to issue me a refund.

Don't buy from these folks. With very few exceptions, just about eveything I've purchased from them has been marginal at best. And they don't stand behind what they sell.

[nomaxim]

Welcome to RR.

Please don't double post.

Mods, double post, please close.

EDIT:
Alternatively, I guess you could merge the two threads also.

Thanks.

[nomaxim]

Is this them?

http://www.thingfling.com/home/index.rails

If so, the website gives no contact info except to say,

Where are you located?

We're in New Jersey, home of the Sopranos! So be careful or we'll have to send Silvio after you!

The WhoIs info shows a private registration, so that is no help. Also the BBB has no record of the URL.

This is one of those sites that only sell one item at a time, and usually with no type of warranty. The FAQ's page pretty much spells that out.

What's your return policy?

At ThingFling.com we are proud of our products (THINGS) and guarantee all our products (THINGS) as being as advertised.

ThingFling will accept returns of most merchandize if the following requirements are met:

a) The return must be pre-arranged with ThingFling.com before being sent to our warehouse. This can be done by submitting a ticket on our HelpDesk

b) You must contact us within 3 business days of the date you received it and the product must be shipped to us at your expense;

c) the product must be unused and in its original condition, including its original packaging,

d) the product is not defective as a result of misuse, improper installation, connection to the wrong voltage or other abuse or misuse.

Per the sections I highlighted, if you have had the item longer then 3 days or have used the item, they will not except any returns. So any product warranty would have to be through the manufacturer.

Most retailers, website in this case, only cover a purchased item for 30 days anyway. Even a CC company will only cover you for 90 days. It appears to me that you problem is with the manufacturer, not ThingFling.com, as it has been beyond 90 days.

Also, the Auviworld.com website seems to be working fine for me. The 'Contact Us' page gives,

Main Switchboard
To Contact Auvi Directly,
Auvi Technologies
5988 Mid Rivers Mall Drive
St. Charles, MO 63304
Call: +1-636-447-4005
Fax: +1-636-447-4010

Whitepages.com confirms the contact info,

Auvi Technologies
work
5988 Mid Rivers Mall Dr, Ste 1090
Saint Peters, MO 63304-7119
(636) 447-4005

Job title:
unavailable
Company:
Auvi Technologies

I believe that this is the warranty info for item# MSW1150, auviworld.com/auvi/warranty/AuviElectronicsStandardUSWarranty.pdf

Auvi Electronics N.A. warrants this product to the original purchaser to be free from defects in material and workmanship, under normal conditions, for a period of 90 days for parts and labor and 1 year for parts only from the date of original purchase. Auvi Electronics N.A. agrees at our option during the warranty period to repair any defect in material or workmanship or to furnish an equal product in exchange without repair charges during the first 90 days. After 90 days, a flat labor rate* will be charged and needs to be sent along with the product. All warranty services are to be performed strictly by Auvi’s technical support staff.

It appears that the item you bought only carries a 90 day warranty anyways. After the 90 days you will have to pay to repair the item.

[flungthing]

I tried the Auvi site before I contacted ThingFling, since it was about 3 months since they sold the item to me. However, all the Auvi phone numbers are disconnected, and most of the pages on their website are broken links.

ThingFling responded to me, saying they had no contact info for the vendor, it was a "closeout deal". They also indicated that they are not responsible for the item after they sold it to me, but you would think that if the manuf that THEY bought it from was unavailable for warantee work or repairs (I'd gladly pay so as not lose my total purchase price!), that they would make good on it. I've bought over a dozen items from them.

My warning to potential buyers from this site is: Beware -- they sell you stuff from bankrupted manufacturers, where warantee/repair work is impossible. AND, given that, they themselves don't stand behind what they've sold.

[nomaxim]

I concur that the phone number, (636) 447-4005, no longer works. Have you tried to e-mail them. I sent an inquiry to tech support, it didn't bounce back, so have to wait and see if they respond.

I can find nothing to suggest that Auvi Technologies, or the parent company Sansun Holding Inc., are bankrupt or out of business. There are no records with PACER about it. And I went all the way to the enter my billing info in the shopping cart. So they seem to be still taking orders.

As for FlingThing.com. While I somewhat agree with you, I am aware of no legal precedence in which the retailer is responsible after the 30 day period. A lot of e-tailers do not cover items beyond that period. Always read the ToS/FAQ's of a website before ordering.

Also, have you left a review for them?
http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Thing_Fling
Currently they have a 5 out of ten rating (avg rating is 7.52/10) with 12 reviews since 1FEB2007. This company rates below average.

EDIT;
I found another phone number for Auvi in the WhoIs info. Per Whitepages.com,

Santosh Patel
work
1691 Rembrandt Dr
O Fallon, MO 63368-6829
(636) 980-1384

Job title:
Chief Executive Officer
Company:
Auvi Electronics Na LLC

[flungthing]

Emails don't bounce, but they don't reply either.

I agree -- technically and legally, ThingFling is not on the hook.
But what I'm telling folks is: if you want to deal with a good vendor, they get failing grades.

They abide by the letter of the law, not the spirit.

Any problems I've EVER had with Amazon, Buy.com, woot, etc were always resoved by them.

For ThingFling to say it's not their problem is like getting food poisoning at a restaurant, and the restaurant tells you to contact the poultry farm that they get their chicken from.

C'mon....

[ThingFling]

Hello all,

I’m here to bring our side of the story more than to give my opinion about this situation. I’m a moderator on the site in question and we treasure our community’s opinion, good or bad.

With very little research you can see that our forums are one of very few places that allow its members to talk about anything, other sites, bad experiences etc. We are a very open community and our goal is to bring you the most accurate information about us and our products based on what our members have to say from previous experiences.
Now back to the thread.

The information about He provided on his purchase is correct, he completed the order and we fulfilled it. Delivery date was 08/21/2007
His first email to our helpdesk was on 12/18/2007(over 3months) where all he asked for was a contact to the manufacturer.

We were in fact unable to get one besides the one on the website.
Our payment processor is unable to issue refunds after 60 days. Despite the fact that his transaction does not qualify for a return or refund based on the site’s policies.

He replied to us stating that he understood we were following the law and that on the “spirit of law” the right thing to do would be to make things right and based on that email I personally contacted him to offer a gift from ThingFling to make things right to his satisfaction. A different stereo, no returns required. We are waiting on an answer to the offer.

All the sites mentioned by him are very good sites and I buy from them myself and I would like to state that none (not one of them) would work on an issue over 90 days.

He also stated that he would make a lot of bad posts if we did not refund his order and here we are.

For the ones in doubt we are an honest and legit company and even though it’s impossible to make everybody happy we try our best to do so.

[ThingFling]

Originally Posted by nomaxim

Is this them?

http://www.thingfling.com/home/index.rails

If so, the website gives no contact info except to say, The WhoIs info shows a private registration, so that is no help. Also the BBB has no record of the URL.

This is one of those sites that only sell one item at a time, and usually with no type of warranty. The FAQ's page pretty much spells that out.Per the sections I highlighted, if you have had the item longer then 3 days or have used the item, they will not except any returns. So any product warranty would have to be through the manufacturer.

Most retailers, website in this case, only cover a purchased item for 30 days anyway. Even a CC company will only cover you for 90 days. It appears to me that you problem is with the manufacturer, not ThingFling.com, as it has been beyond 90 days.

Also, the Auviworld.com website seems to be working fine for me. The 'Contact Us' page gives,Whitepages.com confirms the contact info,I believe that this is the warranty info for item# MSW1150, auviworld.com/auvi/warranty/AuviElectronicsStandardUSWarranty.pdfIt appears that the item you bought only carries a 90 day warranty anyways. After the 90 days you will have to pay to repair the item.

You can contact us through our HelpDesk (button on the home page) and if you do need to contact us by phone it can be arranged by the helpdesk as well, also on our customer's credit card statement it does have our phone number as required.

We try to answer all tickets as quickly as possible and work on a 72 hour turn around period. (high volume season)

PS. thank you for the info provided.

[demyztikx]

I'm posting here only because it comes up fairly high in Google when you search Thing Fling.
Thing Fling is a great site that I have used for many years now. I have never had a problem with them. None at all. I basically stick to buying things from them and Woot.
I would also like to point out they have: Six-Month Rating: 9.89 / 10