Author Topic: A rather negative experience with XMIplay  (Read 6444 times)

DandyAndy

A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« on: January 05, 2017, 02:39:48 PM »
When I was scouting for the 036 frame I asked few vendors for a quote. Essentially the choice came between Dengfu and XMIplay. Dengfu was cheaper and their site is more professional. But Paul from XMIplay reacted faster to my emails and was able to answer most of my technical questions while the girl from Dengfu was most clearly lost or had no interest. So I asked Paul to lower the price and went to order from him. Paid with PayPal and started to wait. Paul’s behavior changed from that moment on.
First it took XMIplay more than 2 weeks to ship the frame and reminder from me like - “what’s goin on guys?! why aren’t you shipping the frame?” This is despite the fact that Paul assured me before that this frame is on stock and ready to be shipped. But ok. Another month, a pack of papers which I had to fill for the customs and 50 euros later I got my frame!

Unfortunately my excitement upon getting it evaporated very quickly. I am pretty sure XMIplay sent me a bumped one.

When I unpacked the frame - I saw that the headtube was hit on the lower ring at sharp angle. The paint got cracked and lower cup got bent, so that the headset didn't fit in anymore. The frame was wrapped very very well, I'd say - nukeproof and it is lower ring, it is not exposed to the bumps during transportation. So I am pretty sure XMIplay have sent me already bumped frame. But, I cannot be absolutely sure. Also the plastic insert which holds the pivots was snapped in two. It didn’t seem to cause any problems though, because of the good wrapping.



After few emails back and forth, when I was slowly getting angrier and angrier, Paul reacted with a promise that they gonna reimburse me if I go to the LBS and ask them to reface the cups and repaint the frame. But apparently Paul meant Chinese bike shop, while I live in Germany. His reimbursement readiness lay around 10$. May be you can do this job in China for 10 bucks, but not in Germany. Refacing the cups alone costs around 15 Euros. Paint job around 300. Ok, I wanted a compromise and told him that I will not insist on the paint job, because the defect is minimal but 10 bucks won’t fly either. Paul said that he needs to discuss this with manager and gone he was! No mails, no response, nothing.



Grinding my teeth and cursing XMIplay I refaced the cup, restored the paint for my own money. But unfortunately that was not the end of the story.

Now, after couple months, and when I have done all the aesthetics and almost 'm done with my build, I have found another defect of the frame. There are 2 blisters next to the head tube. I cannot tell whether this is just paint blistering or a structural defect. Sound test gives a clear defect, but it cannot differentiate. And I don’t have an endoscope to sneak a pic from the inside. Of course it is hard to make photos but still, you can see the 2 bubbles (1 large and 1 small) where the paint is off the frame. When I pressed it with my finger, the large bubble cracked and got a hairline. But on the other hand I cannot press further and there is no creaking. I hope it’s just paint.



So, XMIplay have sent me a defected frame! And ignored my last emails! At that moment I went ballistic and initiated a case with PayPal. Naturally after this I got a message from Paul where he accuses me of “using” the frame for 2 months, meaning how dare I to have any expectations after 2 months!!!  ;D and suggesting to give back like 70 bucks.



So, guys, what would you do in my place? I’m tending towards to escalate the case with PayPal and see what they decide.



In conclusion - looks like I should have gone with Dengfu and that is where my money ‘ll go next time.

« Last Edit: January 05, 2017, 04:22:37 PM by DandyAndy »



Sitar_Ned

Re: A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« Reply #1 on: January 05, 2017, 08:51:47 PM »
So, guys, what would you do in my place? I’m tending towards to escalate the case with PayPal and see what they decide.

I say absolutely initiate a dispute/chargeback with PayPal. I wouldn't hesitate for a second.. you have been very reasonable and patient. PayPal is usually very buyer friendly and you shouldn't have any problems.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. Sad to see xmiplay take such a dive with customer service. Even worse that is seems they may have knowingly sent you a damaged frame and the damage didn't occur during shipping.. or at the very least they didn't inspect the frame at all before shipping.

Midwest-MTBer

Re: A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2017, 01:27:24 AM »
Wow, that's a really rough experience! I agree with Ned. Chinese vendors should be held to certain standards with their products and quite frankly you've been more than patient enough. I'd dispute the case for sure. I hope you can at the very least get a replacement frame! I'm very happy with my 036. Good luck with it all! Keep us posted.

SportingGoods

Re: A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2017, 02:22:06 AM »
I still can see how the head tube can be cracked like this during shipping. It would take a massive blow as frames are always packed with thick layers of dense bubble wrap (I have received 3 frames from China). This is not good. I mean that with such a strong hit you can't tell if there are other internal, hidden, damage.
What I can't explain is the scratching on that same hit. With bubble wrap you can crack the frame but it can't be scratched. That would tell me that the hit happened before packing.

All that said, this is not acceptable. I would not be happy with a partial refund. I would only accept to change the frame (even if I had to pay again for shipping).

I also want to mention that I really recommend American Express payments. I know this is rarely an option with Chinese vendors but they offer the best protection I've seen. I've been fully re-credited of what I paid for crap carbon rotors when the vendor ignored me. Banks are powerful (too much!), they just took the money back from the vendor :)

DandyAndy

Re: A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« Reply #4 on: January 06, 2017, 07:44:44 AM »
Ok. Thank you guys for the moral support! I am going to escalate the case with PayPal.
Normally, I'm trying to avoid conflict at all costs. Plus, I'm a fan of China and Chinese carbon. I want them to supply us with a good, low cost carbon. But it doesn't seem like XMIplay is looking to build up a reputation and good relations with customers.     

I still can see how the head tube can be cracked like this during shipping. It would take a massive blow as frames are always packed with thick layers of dense bubble wrap (I have received 3 frames from China). This is not good. I mean that with such a strong hit you can't tell if there are other internal, hidden, damage.
SportingGoods, you are fueling my paranoia! Of course it would be optima to do an X-ray on the frame, but I don't have an access to a machine. I obviously did a very thorough sound check. Everywhere except for those blisters the frame sounds nice. The tone is equal and high. But of course it's not an ultimate test.

   
What I can't explain is the scratching on that same hit. With bubble wrap you can crack the frame but it can't be scratched. That would tell me that the hit happened before packing.

The wrap was nuclear


All that said, this is not acceptable. I would not be happy with a partial refund. I would only accept to change the frame (even if I had to pay again for shipping).

Yeah... If I would notice the blistering at the beginning I would go for the exchange. I have finished the frame aesthetics. Put all the decals, frame protection e.t.c. The costs and time I put into this frame are not not significant. Heck, I'm almost done with my build. If not for the faulty Jagwire Shifting kit, I'd be done by now. Built and aligned. I'd just be mega bummed to ship the frame back. And I'm pretty sure that XMIplay wouldn't sent me a new tip-top frame. They would just repaint and resend me the same frame, and I'd be none the wiser.

SportingGoods

Re: A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« Reply #5 on: January 06, 2017, 07:56:56 AM »
Looking at the wrap, which is typical for chiner frames, I'd say the crash happened when the frame was not wrapped. So there is now 2 options:
- It happened before packing. Which is really not honest from the packing guy. The guy might have dropped it and was afraid to tell anyone. BUT, it's good for you as such an impact is caused by a smaller shock then what you would need to cause the same damage on a wrapped frame. The damage is probably more localized in this case.
- It happened after unpacking. Don't shout at me  ::), I'm just calling options, not that you actually dropped the frame yourself!

So... if you know for sure that your frame can't have been dropped after unpacking (i.e. you noticed the damage while unpacking, not after some time where the frame was let alone with a kid or an animal in a position it could fall), you know for sure that someone at XMiPlay is not honest.

DandyAndy

Re: A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« Reply #6 on: January 06, 2017, 09:43:33 AM »
Nea, the head tube bump I noticed immediately, during the unwrapping. Now I understand, that I should have done an unpacking video. Guess I'm just too trusting and naive. Live and learn! Let also others learn from my experience.

tripleDot

Re: A rather negative experience with XMIplay
« Reply #7 on: January 10, 2017, 02:19:12 AM »
Was there a problem?  I mean all I see is a kid with a that's BS look and a squirrel with a told you so-look... which were pretty funny btw.

Seriously, there's no way the bump came from shipping.  I mean it still came packed in a box, right? Also, don't these chiner frames come with a 2 year warranty?  Those "bubbles and hairline cracks should fall under that warranty.  Either as factory defect or unexpected wear and tear.  I'm all for the PayPal dispute, the delayed shipping was already something to support your case as it shows they were not handling your transaction professionally.

Yup, I always do an unpacking video for these kinds of transactions too.
July 2020 - Custom Waltly Ti 29er
Nov 2018 - Custom Waltly Ti Gravel
Apr 2018 - CS-496 29x3.0 - stripped
Feb 2018 - CS-RB01 (SS Road)
Sep 2016 - CS-RB01 (road sold)
Jun 2016 - Chinese CF XC - stripped
Mar 2016 - Haro Projekt (sold)
Feb 2008 - Jamis Durango 29 (sold)
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