Anyone had problems with Blu-Bin?

[Chopperx]

Hi, I haven't posted on here a lot so apologies if this is in the wrong place.<br>

I'm posting this to warn other members of a 3D printing outfit going by Blu-Bin. Back at the end of January I saw a post on a 3D Props page on FB promoting their 3D printed stun batons and shields. I duly ordered a baton and was told it would be sent out in two weeks. Nothing arrived and I was fobbed off with excuse after excuse until they stopped replying altogether. This continued to April when I gave up and opened a PayPal dispute. Surprise surprise, the box arrived around ten days later. Being the idiot that I am, I closed the dispute before I checking the contents properly. The handle and one of the greeblies was missing so I fired off another email and was promised a replacement. I even asked them to send me the handle file on its own and I would print it myself but apparently it would take too long for me to print. That was the last I heard from them and because I closed the dispute I'm screwed. I've been emailing the various Blu-Bin members since then with no response. I had decided to mark it down to experience until someone posted about them on the Jimmiroquai FOTK build group on FB. That seemed to get the ball rolling and it turns out that there are about 5 or 6 who have had similar experiences with Blu-Bin. I'm one of the lucky ones in that I actually received something. Most of the others haven't received anything from them and have experienced the same radio silence. Between us, it was agreed that the boards should be made aware of this business so that nobody else loses money to them. I sent several emails to them informing them that we were going to go to the boards and no response. That's how much they care about their customers or, indeed, their business.<br>

I've checked on google this morning and their physical shop is now listed as permanently closed so it seems unlikely that any orders will be sent out now.<br>

I know the names of three of the people who own or have taken orders for Blu-Bin but I don't know if I am permitted to post them. I would be concerned that this crowd will pop up again with a different name but the same dodgy business practices. One of them even to purports to be a member of the 501st. They same guy who sent a cheeky "have a nice day" message to one of the other customers who told them that he would open a PayPal dispute. That's not how 501st members behave.

[ukswrath[Staff]]

Thanks for the heads up John and sorry to hear about your experience. This has been happening a lot lately unfortunately.

 

I've often though of starting a post where offending vendors names can be posted to warn others, unfortunately anyone with a bone to pick could throw someone under the bus. 

 

Anyways thanks again for sharing. Troopers Helping Troopers

[camprandall]

Yep, I'm actively waiting for my PayPal dispute to complete with these guys too. How unfortunate.

 

Sent from my SM-N920V using Tapatalk

[tk48911[TK]]

same here...made 2 paypal claims against them...hopefully should have my money back by 7/6...they WILL NOT RESPOND to anything...screw that Jacob Pena guy...and their idiot owner, Alder Riley...

[Chopperx]

Should just add, I've had a look at their FB page and it appears that they are still running, although the negative comments seem to have disappeared.<br>

I've no doubt that they simply took on more orders than they could handle. Offering 3D printed props for sizeable items like the baton and shield is lunacy to begin with. The first thing you learn about 3D printing is that it is incredibly slow. Failure to respond to requests for info or refunds though is unforgivable though no matter the circumstances.<br>

Yes, Alder has been kicked off the Jimmiroquai build page now, although he seems to go by three different names.

[DarkTrooper[TK]]

I was able to get a baton kit from them. I was able to deal with them person to person though. They are fairly local to my location, 50 miles or so. The location I went to was at a kiosk in one of the malls here in the Bay Area of California. From what I could conclude from online posts they may not be at that location.

 

I sent an email recently inquiring about another 3D project I wanted a quote on and have received no response.

[TK4205]

Didn't I say that only good will come from private facebook groups?

 

Oh wait, it was the opposite of that.

[camprandall]

I won my paypal dispute and should be refunded shortly. They seem to have completely disappeared.

 

Didn't I say that only good will come from private facebook groups?

 

Oh wait, it was the opposite of that.

 

I don't think this has anything to do with Facebook Wyatt. People have been burned equally by vendors selling here, on FB or anywhere else.

[Chopperx]

Didn't I say that only good will come from private facebook groups?

 

Oh wait, it was the opposite of that.

No, I found them on the 3D Print Props group which is public. The Jimmiroquai group is private as far as I know, presumably so that the posts primarily focus on building Jim's armour, but have never seen the blu-bin folks on there.

 

Yeah, I can imagine that they prioritise face to face customers. It's far easier to simply delete mail from Internet ones.

[TK4205]

I just never miss an opportunity to gripe about facebook. 

[Backstep[TK]]

I ordered a baton on April 26th and was told that it shipped out at the ending of May. Never received it. All my emails, messages and phone calls all went unanswered. I even ordered a shield from them and never received it. I opened a PayPal claim a few days ago, now I'm just waiting for my refund.

 

Francis TK88001

[camprandall]

I just never miss an opportunity to gripe about facebook. 

 

 

I think we've seen on these forums, the 501st forums, and Facebook that the tools are definitely as useful as the people using them. All environments have definitely turned toxic at various points depending on how people use them.

[pdrinkut]

So are you still missing parts or did you find replacement? I know I'm new here but if we can figure out what files they use I could print you up the missing parts.

[Chopperx]

Thanks for the offer but I did get a handle downloaded from tinkercad I think. I was having a closer look at their design and it would be fine for display but I think that where the handle joins the body may be too weak to stand up to swinging it around. <br>

On a side issue, from some of the guys in Jim's build group, it seems that Blu-Bin are now playing the system with PayPal and people are having problems with their claims. Please spread the word about this outfit so nobody else gets screwed over. And if anyone is in any of the Northern California garrisons then please have a word with Pena!

[davej[TK]]

I had the same sort of issues with them. They have a couple of mouthpieces that post on Facebook for them. I commented negatively on a couple of these posts, and 10 days later, my baton turned up. A mate of mine did the same thing, and a miracle happened and his baton turned up in about 10 days.

Another fellow in my area ordered one, and it has turned up a couple of weeks late. 

They don't seem to know how to run a business.

[thisiskevin[501st]]

I've been calling ching (their customer service person) a lot of times and she promised me lots of things such as 1. expedited shipping at their own cost. 2. Sending another set of the items if they don't arrive on time. and couple days ago she promised to give me a refund. This process went on for around 2 months or so, in the end i believe she only said what she said to stall the refund process. Oh and she also told me they've sent the items but lost the tracking number...

[DownhillNat]

Ordered the baton back when it was first announced. Still missing an end piece.