29 replies to this topic

[larrygre]

It's been almost a year since I ordered one of A/FX's '71 Dodge Demon bodies. I've purchased from them before a couple of years ago and their quality is amazingly good, easily one of the best out there. But I have yet to receive the Demon body, and all e-mails to Wendell and Monica go unanswered. Has my money flown the coop? Have any of you had similar experiences recently? Clue me in please.

[RyanSilva]

Well if you head to the ''other'' model magazine message board and search afxnscale You will find ALOT of ppl in the same situation. A friend of mind ordered a resin hood 1 year ago, 2 weeks ago it finnaly arrived... with no apology. People have supposibly reported them to the BBB also..

[larrygre]

Thanks for the info Ryan.

This kind of problem is not uncommon in the model aftermarket, be it car, airplane, train, whatever. Almost all of these are part time "cottage industries" working out of their garage or something similar. And the story with all the cottage industry failures is the same: they all start out with good intentions and then, when the demand for their products outstrips the time they need to do business in a timely fashion, they find they cannot deliver on their promise. Looks like I'm out some money. Sometimes lessons can be expensive - for the buyer AND the seller.

Word of advice to fellow modelers: be very careful when you order from someone you are not familiar with. Check the reputation of the seller before you send them your money or credit card information - including asking all of us on this forum. Word of mouth is the best advertising there is - and the quickest way to let people know of bad business dealings.

And - never forget this, friends - customer service is KING, far more important than the quality of the product you have ordered. Nobody should have to wait a year for anything they have ordered from anyone. Six to eight weeks should be the maximum turnaround time for your transaction. For example, Don Holthaus (The Modelhaus), for example, states a very similar time frame on his order forms and on his web site. That is called, in business terms, "managing expectations".

Resin casting is not a service to modelers - it is a BUSINESS. And in business, the customer is KING.

[Marc @ MPC Motorsports]

It's been almost a year since I ordered one of A/FX's '71 Dodge Demon bodies. I've purchased from them before a couple of years ago and their quality is amazingly good, easily one of the best out there. But I have yet to receive the Demon body, and all e-mails to Wendell and Monica go unanswered. Has my money flown the coop? Have any of you had similar experiences recently? Clue me in please.

Probably out of luck and out of $$$ too. One just sold on Ebay last week for $93!!!

I guess mine with some Modelhaus chrome and some Fred Cady decals should be worth at least $150 LOL!!!

[Rob Hall]

I've bought a lot of parts and a few bodies ('68 Hemi Dart, '68 Dart 2dr sedan, '71 Demon, '72 Demon, '69 Mustang coupe, '66 Chevy II 2dr sedan, etc) from AF/X in the past--all of it of good quality but their delivery times were very spotty..sometimes a month or two, sometimes 4-6 months...and their communication (response to emails) is difficult at best..I don't know if they are using a library computer once a month or what

I'm not sure if I'd buy from them again given what I've heard on various boards..

[Ayatollah]

They are very prompt when it comes to cashing checks though.

[gasman]

I recommend only buying Resin either on EBAY, or in person, the only company that does online selling correctly is the Modelhaus. The longest I've had to wait for an order is 4 weeks, and they only take the money when they get to the order. its usually only takes 3-4 days to get the order after they process it

[charlie]

fred resin works does there order right.I order some stuff from him and had it in two weeks.

[larrygre]

It seems AFX in Scale Resin is alive and well and selling 50 plus items on eBay under the name "tangtang2".

And I am STILL waiting for either my 71 Demon body or a refund, whichever comes first. And still no answer to any e-mails.

[Ronster]

It seems AFX in Scale Resin is alive and well and selling 50 plus items on eBay under the name "tangtang2".

And I am STILL waiting for either my 71 Demon body or a refund, whichever comes first. And still no answer to any e-mails.

After reading your post I sent an email AND got a reply stating that they had just begun filling back orders and should be caught up within the next couple of weeks. When i placed my order last year, I had just broken my right arm, so I stated that I wasn't in a hurry. Good thing.

I do hope they can get back on track.

Best wishes, ron

[bobss396]

[quote="larrygre"]It seems AFX in Scale Resin is alive and well and selling 50 plus items on eBay under the name "tangtang2".


They've been selling on evilBay under that name off and on since 1999. I've never had a problem with them on any auctions that I won.

Bob

[larrygre]

They've been selling on evilBay under that name off and on since 1999. I've never had a problem with them on any auctions that I won.

You know, Bob, the same thing is true for me. When I won any of their items on Evilbay, I got timely delivery. But when I ordered from them online through their web site, I got NO delivery. And I have formally complained to my bank about the non-delivery of two resin bodies. And my bank took action.

I'd still like to have that '71 Demon body though.

[kelson]

i to have had the same experience with them ordered some resin parts through their website paid with my credit card got an e- mail saying they got my order would let me know when it would be sent ,11and a half months later still waiting,did notice wasted no time billing my card though.

[bobss396]

i to have had the same experience with them ordered some resin parts through their website paid with my credit card got an e- mail saying they got my order would let me know when it would be sent ,11and a half months later still waiting,did notice wasted no time billing my card though.

At least you have some recourse using a credit card, just call the number on your bill and tell them you paid your $$ but never received the goods. Explain that you tried to resolve it with no luck. They should make good on it.

Again, there's only a couple of resin casters that I will mail-order from. The rest I do either on eBay or in person at shows. Saves me a lot of aggravation for sure.

Bob

[rickcaps55]

Hi to all i am in the same boat i am in for $ 152.00 and it,s been a year.I just went on line and did a report with th ( BBB ).If anybody is in the same boat go on line it takes 10 mins and log a report with the (BBB) good luck.

[truckman1958kits]

Hi to all i am in the same boat i am in for $ 152.00 and it,s been a year.I just went on line and did a report with th ( BBB ).If anybody is in the same boat go on line it takes 10 mins and log a report with the (BBB) good luck.

*****HI, I went to the louisville show this past july and was looking forward to buying some afx hoods. Wendel's father-in-law was selling the afx stuff last year. Well, afx was a no-show. I asked another resin guy from the nashville area and he advise me that wendel has broken his arm and ankle. I guess this guy has his ass in the perverable sling. I've been selling model stuff for a long time and I know I would return any $'s if I couldn't delv. as promised. I think they call it mail fraud if a vendor takes your hard earned $ and doesn't send you the goods. Steve

[v8horsepowercj]

I've also had the same problems with AFX I ordered several hoods and some other odds and ends and it took over 1 year and constant E-mails on my part to get my order. I explained to them (before I knew about this forum and had seen the comments about them) That I needed one of the hoods for a show I was assured that "it wouldn't take long to get my order out". Approx 8 months later I was informed that Wendell was in the hospital from a "spider bite" and that was the reason for the hold up. It seems everyone whos had problems getting their orders when they got a response something had happened to Wendell to cause the orders to be late I've heard he was bitten by a spider (twice) He's boken his leg, he'sbroken his ankle, He broke his arm etc etc I'm not one to kick someone when they are down at all but If I had all that happen everytime I got an order I'd shut down the buss. or never leave the house! However two weeks ago I placed an order with Competition Resins I received an E-mail confirming my order within 2 hours! I was told the order would take somewhere around 2 weeks to ship In one week I came home and the items were on my doorstep packaged carefully and upon examination of the items ordered they were flawless the first thing I did was go to the PC and send them a TY E-mail when you get that kind of customer service and a flawless product packaged carefully and shipped in a timely manner it's very hard to look elsewhere even when theres only one company that's casting the piece you desire.

Chris

[Ron Hamilton]

I've been lucky. AFX has always gotten my orders out in a timely manner, and yes, I have one of those '71 Demon bodies, and no, I will not sell it now.

[VW Dave]

I was just rootin' around Ebay, and there's a recent seller(since July this year) from Pleasant Shade TN......sound familiar? New name, same game most likely.

AFX???

[lizardlust]

Hi Dave - if you are asking about dragin_plastic, they are indeed the same outfit. I saw the LX coupe advertised and asked them point-blank if they were. They responded(surprisingly!) in the affirmative.