Strada Sports

[kendog261]

I've used Strada Sports a few times. If you use PayPal you will be charged at that time just know that up front. I just send Kevin a email and ask if he has stock before I order its that easy. If he has I buy it if not I don't.

[vwdave92]

while like so many others I'm going to pile on...

Kevin is top notch. If he can't get something he will let you know. Would order from him anytime.

[Dave B]

I ordered a HRM 450S Maserati & a RHD GTO conversion from Kevin around 9 months ago and they has only just arrived. I didn't expect to be billed immediately (Paypal), that hurt a bit, but he was always responsive to my follow up e-mails. HRM are slow and I did make an allowance for that when ordering.

PS, The 450S was worth the wait, beautiful!!

Edited November 14, 2013 by Bantoft

[Shardik]

I have only ordered from Strada Sports twice, but both transactions have followed the same pattern.

Both times I ordered items listed on their website and paid via PayPal at the time of ordering.

Three weeks after my first order, I received a vague e-mail stating that "one of the items" I had ordered was out of stock but expected "shortly" and that I will be informed when my order has shipped.

Another three weeks goes by and no further communication. By this time I'm a little frustrated and send an e-mail inquiring which item is back ordered, and could he please ship what is in stock and allow me to pay whatever additional shipping is required when the other item arrives.

Two weeks later I am informed that the missing item is the resin GT40 engine which comes from a small caster who makes them to order and can take from four to eight weeks. By this time it has already been eight weeks!

Another week goes by with no communication. Now I'm irate. I send an e-mail requesting that he ship what he has and cancel and refund the balance of my order. A week after this I get a message saying "oh, sorry, I thought we had already done that". One week later I finally get my merchandise and refund. The transaction took ELEVEN WEEKS from start to finish...For an incomplete order!

Eight months later, having calmed down somewhat, I determined to pass it off as an isolated incident and give Kevin another chance. What was I thinking?

This transaction began on 27 Sep. 2013. To date, following the same pattern as above at an even slower pace, I have had only two e-mails from Kevin. The first, apparently standard, notification that "one of the items" I ordered is out of stock etc... Two weeks after I make the same inquiry as above he deigns to inform me that he will look up my order. This was two weeks ago, and I have heard nothing else since.

Tonight I canceled my order.

If he could even be bothered to communicate with his customers and give some impression that he values their business and is working to fulfill his end of the transaction, I would not be so upset.

Strada Sports has the absolute worst customer service I have ever encountered.

I will not make the same mistake again.

Edited November 17, 2013 by Shardik

[jaymcminn]

It's pretty annoying dealing with Strada sometimes. That being said, they do offer a lot of stuff under one virtual roof that can be difficult to track down otherwise. I've ordered from Kevin maybe 4 or 5 times and played the whole game with the backordered/ out of stock items repeatedly. I've also gotten some pretty cool items I wasn't able to find elsewhere. Generally, I've learned to order from Strada if A: I can't find the item elsewhere and B: I don't really need the item right away. Which might be kind of a lousy way to do business with an online vendor, but so be it.

Edited November 17, 2013 by jaymcminn

[Shardik]

That's part of the frustration. He lists some really cool and unique stuff, but does he have any of it?

[Thatswhatshesaid]

Why do people continue to order from places with such a sketchy reputation? Then go back and place another order when the first one was unpleasant? Some people must like the abuse. Having hard to find stuff doesn't seem worth it when it takes weeks/months to get it.

[KingSix]

Why do people continue to order from places with such a sketchy reputation? Then go back and place another order when the first one was unpleasant? Some people must like the abuse. Having hard to find stuff doesn't seem worth it when it takes weeks/months to get it.

Some people don't mind waiting indefinitely. I'm not one of those people. If I'm laying out my money for an item, I either want it in my hand or have a concrete date that I will have it in my hand. I guess I'm just one of those "crazy" people that likes to know what's going on .. If you've ever had the "pleasure" of meeting this guy in person, as I have, you kinda get the big picture. He acts a bit "aloof" like he's just a little better than everyone else and he's doing the world a favor by being in business. There are enough people that tolerate his practices to keep him in business, I won't be one of them ..

[Darin Bastedo]

I order quite a bit from Strada Sports The only time I have to wait a long time is when I order hard to get Items. I placed an order about 6 months ago, he had most of what i ordered and all he lacked was A couple of sets of Foose wheels from Scale Productions. When I found out they were back ordered of course i checked other suppliers but they seemed to be made of unobtainium. So I just didn't worry about it. Lo and behold Kevin came through for me, a few weeks ago I get an email saying he got some and do I still want them. I said yes and the showed up for the original price and free shipping. Most other places simply delete your back-ordered items and you never hear when they come in.

I will continue to order from Strada Sports,because he has good service and prices, and if what I want is out of stock I will check my secondary suppliers or wait until they are restocked.

[KingSix]

That's your choice, but you're supporting / encouraging bad business practice . Your choice though ..

[Thatswhatshesaid]

Some people don't mind waiting indefinitely. I'm not one of those people. If I'm laying out my money for an item, I either want it in my hand or have a concrete date that I will have it in my hand. I guess I'm just one of those "crazy" people that likes to know what's going on .. If you've ever had the "pleasure" of meeting this guy in person, as I have, you kinda get the big picture. He acts a bit "aloof" like he's just a little better than everyone else and he's doing the world a favor by being in business. There are enough people that tolerate his practices to keep him in business, I won't be one of them ..

I guess I am one of those crazy people too. I can't see how so many can find it acceptable to hand over their money and wait months/year+ (see Perrys Resin topic) to get their stuff. Its the same complacency that was over in the 'latest issue' thread before it got locked. If people keep supporting these places with shoddy service the bar never gets raised and it will be more common.

[Darin Bastedo]

I guess I am one of those crazy people too. I can't see how so many can find it acceptable to hand over their money and wait months/year+ (see Perrys Resin topic) to get their stuff. Its the same complacency that was over in the 'latest issue' thread before it got locked. If people keep supporting these places with shoddy service the bar never gets raised and it will be more common.

If you pay with credit or debit you aren't handing over your money. If it's out of stock and available elsewhere get it there, that is what I do. If you choose not to buy from Strada, then don't. There are many other vendors out there. It really is that simple. If they are out of banana's at my favorite grocery store, I buy them at the store up the street.

[Thatswhatshesaid]

You missed the point. But there is always one guy that steps up and defends the lousy service of an aftermarket vendor. It just amazes me that people buy from these places more than once.

[raildogg]

Sometimes I'm so disappointed by the after market. I am glad it's there to be sure, but it is so often under stocked, and under managed that it hardly seem worth it to even be in business. This source, to be sure is always, out of stock, for almost all the items, as are the others. Their sources are often small cottage makers that ,can't satisfy demand. It is exactly this peril that has kept me out of the arena of specialty sales. I hope that some day, in the future, the disease of "out of stockism",can and will be cured.

[KingSix]

There is a simple way to remedy this issue. There is an OVERABUNDANCE of "canned" website designs that have a built in cart, that automatically makes the inventory changes for you. All you have to do is enter the correct number of the items on hand, the program does the rest. Once the last item is sold, it will show "out of stock" alerting potential buyers. They ( the customer ) can make an informed decision form there. Look elsewhere or roll the dice and place an order and wait. Indefinitely.

Also, a simple disclaimer up front, along the lines of " Items listed may or may not be in stock, please call or email to determine availability". But that only works if the seller actually communicates in a timely fashion with the potential customer. As I said before, in todays world of "instant" communication, there is no valid excuse for somebody offering a service to not respond within 24 hrs. Being a small side business coupled with a "real" job or being "too busy" is not a valid excuse. Do one or the other, or update your website with automation tools.

Pretty simple stuff to alleviate poor customer service, confusion and angry customers, wouldn't you agree ?

Edited November 18, 2013 by KingSix

[Roncla]

There is a simple way to remedy this issue. There is an OVERABUNDANCE of "canned" website designs that have a built in cart, that automatically makes the inventory changes for you. All you have to do is enter the correct number of the items on hand, the program does the rest. Once the last item is sold, it will show "out of stock" alerting potential buyers. They ( the customer ) can make an informed decision form there. Look elsewhere or roll the dice and place an order and wait. Indefinitely.

Also, a simple disclaimer up front, along the lines of " Items listed may or may not be in stock, please call or email to determine availability". But that only works if the seller actually communicates in a timely fashion with the potential customer. As I said before, in todays world of "instant" communication, there is no valid excuse for somebody offering a service to not respond within 24 hrs. Being a small side business coupled with a "real" job or being "too busy" is not a valid excuse. Do one or the other, or update your website with automation tools.

Pretty simple stuff to alleviate poor customer service, confusion and angry customers, wouldn't you agree ?

As one who endured an 11 month wait for a part off Strada with out a shred of communication I for one do agree.

[lanesteele240]

I gave up waiting on strada and asked about my order. He was like, what order. I was like, the one you took the money for. He was like ,oh, thats out of stock. I may never get them in.

So i was like can i have my money back. Still waiting on that too.

Never again.

[Darin Bastedo]

You missed the point. But there is always one guy that steps up and defends the lousy service of an aftermarket vendor. It just amazes me that people buy from these places more than once.

No you missed the point. The point is, that just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean everyone does. I've ordered From them dozens of times over the years and always got good service. I'm not "defending lousy service". I'm stating that I never got bad service. The only time I had to wait a long time for anything, was for something I simply could not get anywhere else, even direct from the manufacturer.

I'm sorry if the fact that I'm happy with Strada Sports gets in the way of you trashing him, but I'm happy with the Price, service and communication. If you aren't there are other vendors. Use them.

[KingSix]

No you missed the point. The point is, that just because you had a bad experience doesn't mean everyone does. I've ordered From them dozens of times over the years and always got good service. I'm not "defending lousy service". I'm stating that I never got bad service. The only time I had to wait a long time for anything, was for something I simply could not get anywhere else, even direct from the manufacturer.

I'm sorry if the fact that I'm happy with Strada Sports gets in the way of you trashing him, but I'm happy with the Price, service and communication. If you aren't there are other vendors. Use them.

I'm happy for you, no ill will intended. You're one of the very lucky few. There is more negative stuff about Strada than there is positive ..

[Cali Bear]

Strada Sports doesn't always have in stock what they have on the website. That being said, they never EVER charge your card until they have the item on hand and ready to ship. And Kevin Rodgers is very honest about any issues they may be having with outside suppliers...as an example, I ordered resin Porsche 962 wheels from Speedline, and Kevin wrote me to tell me that they've not had a resin caster for quite some time. When they get them back into production, they would send them right out. And they did, last week, and they're exquisite. Strada Sports is awesome, and Kevin is the real deal. Order with confidence, they'll do right by you.

[aurfalien]

Old thread but I thought to post in the event some one recently read this thread.

Kevin with Strada is very very cool and has had to deal with my order changes/mods w/o issue.

I'm very happy stores like his are around so be rest assured Strada is a very very good retailer.

You'll wait a bit but well worth it. If you need something ASAP, then you'll order else where and pay more as time is money.

Edited December 21, 2014 by aurfalien

[drball]

I order based upon reputation and customers feedback. I now stick with Hobbylink for Asian products, a few online casters, but for most aftermarket purchases I rely on big swap meets. I have had no issues and have eliminated frustrations.

[Quick GMC]

I used to order from Strada almost exclusively. Without a doubt, Strada has gone downhill. i used to get stuff within a couple of weeks, Kevin would answer emails, etc. Now I'm at least 6 months in from my last order with no communication. It took him weeks to answer my last email several months ago.. I've abandoned any hope that I'll have my order completed.

when you make your own custom products, i can understand that it might take a while, but Strada is a distributor. If the manufacturer doesn't have something or it's on back order, send a freakin email to let people know.

[southpier]

glad I stumbled upon this thread. I'm getting my "winter modeling goodies" orders together and one was actually going to be to Strada Motorsports.

since SM doesn't actually manufacture any of the items which I was considering, I've been able to source them all from other online dealers whom I've previous successful transactions.

a definite public service from the MC forum!

[jbwelda]

perhaps unfortunately I just ordered a HRM Porsche 914/6 GT transkit from them (they were somewhat recommended or at least cited as a place to buy the kit), then I remembered this thread, THEN I took time to actually read this thread. I believe I paid with paypal and actually have paid for the item. hopefully I will see it sooner than later though this thread is not very encouraging. I will report back with progress if and when any is made

jb