Anyone buy from Expansys?

I had a great response back after my post, I was advised exactly where the stock was (including a screen shot) and was assured I would get a tracking number once the item left the UK warehouse.

The SA store is starting out and perhaps I was a tad harsh, there will be some teething issues and the fact these guys sell certain items that I cannot source anywhere in South Africa is a huge plus.

Hopefully they will in time get there ETA for deliveries up to date and it'll make shopping with them easier.

Now I can't wait for my new toy :D
 
Naveofcups said:
i can't speak for anyone else but my personal experience hasn't been very rosy. i placed my order a month ago.

i received an email telling me it was on back order as well. now that i see someone else shares the same story i am extremely concerned.
we've also tried to contact the MD. he sent us his email, but nothing since.

i hope no-one else falls into the same trap.

all i can do now is consider legal action. luckily we have lawyers in the family. it just seems odd to me that it appears to be a reputable company. perhaps its just their correspondance that's lacking.
Click to expand...


Can you please advise your order number ? The last 4 digits shall be suffucient ?

We have been struggling to get items delivered as per the ETA's given on the website and are busy in the process of changing the calculations to indiciate a longer waiting time but at least more accurate.

Further, please advise what correspondence you have not received feedback on ?

We can be contacted either by e-mail (recommended), msn or telephonically. We strive to respond to all e-mails within 12hrs maximum.
 
drew137 said:
I had a great response back after my post, I was advised exactly where the stock was (including a screen shot) and was assured I would get a tracking number once the item left the UK warehouse.

The SA store is starting out and perhaps I was a tad harsh, there will be some teething issues and the fact these guys sell certain items that I cannot source anywhere in South Africa is a huge plus.

Hopefully they will in time get there ETA for deliveries up to date and it'll make shopping with them easier.

Now I can't wait for my new toy :D
Click to expand...

DREW137> Thank you for your comments, they have been noted.
 
First - A quick note to the guys concerned - I got my stuff within four days of ordering - I ordered on Monday, and the item arrived yesterday, the courier said he had been struggling since Tuesday to get into the complex - so I'd say thats pretty fast.

Second - I received part of my order, as the rest was still coming from overseas - but considering I received the expensive part - I'm pretty sure you guys don't have anything to worry about... just give it time, and if you don't have time, maybe ask for a refund?

The item I ordered I couldn't find anywhere else, besides ebay, so I am happy to wait a week or three.
 
Yup, my stuff will be here soon too! They also took the initiative to order an accessory for the product I ordered which I ended up taking :D

I can't wait :P
 
I feel i have a responsibilty to tell you guys my expansys experience:

In January, i found expansys.co.uk, and they had an item i was looking for everywhere,so i ordered it immediatly... a few weeks later, i got an email saying that my order was refunded and got my money back... i had no clue why?! no explanation or anything... was very unhappy!

Then, i found expansys.co.za.. found the same item.. i called them, and asked why the .co.uk site rejected my order (After weeks), and they said that i should have used the .co.za website in the first place...

Then, on the 5th of Feb, i ordered the same item on .co.za... i am still waiting for it... it is now the 27th and i dont have the item.

I called yesterday and the gentleman told me that it has to come from america to europe to south africa... and now only is it on its way from america to europe...

cant say i am totally upset with them cause i want the item... but if i wait another week, i wont hesitate to cancel the order...

in the future, i would like a email explaining why its taking so long before i have to ask... is that asking too much?

will give you feedback next week...
 
nickza said:
I feel i have a responsibilty to tell you guys my expansys experience:

In January, i found expansys.co.uk, and they had an item i was looking for everywhere,so i ordered it immediatly... a few weeks later, i got an email saying that my order was refunded and got my money back... i had no clue why?! no explanation or anything... was very unhappy!

Then, i found expansys.co.za.. found the same item.. i called them, and asked why the .co.uk site rejected my order (After weeks), and they said that i should have used the .co.za website in the first place...

Then, on the 5th of Feb, i ordered the same item on .co.za... i am still waiting for it... it is now the 27th and i dont have the item.

I called yesterday and the gentleman told me that it has to come from america to europe to south africa... and now only is it on its way from america to europe...

cant say i am totally upset with them cause i want the item... but if i wait another week, i wont hesitate to cancel the order...

in the future, i would like a email explaining why its taking so long before i have to ask... is that asking too much?

will give you feedback next week...
Click to expand...

Dear Nickza

We do apologise for the delay in receiving your SE HCH-70. There is an actual shortage of this product, they're not available locally nor in the UK/Europe so this product needs to be procured and then shipped to us from the US.

We are doing everything we can to get you your item in the shortest possible time under the circumstances.

Please contact us should you require any further assistance,

Kind Regards,

eXpansys South Africa
 
hmmm.. doesnt really help me when i have now placed two orders, one with .co.uk and now with .co.za and i still do not have my product... been a month now when i was told two weeks... also, last week when i called, i was told i would get it this week...
 
nickza said:
hmmm.. doesnt really help me when i have now placed two orders, one with .co.uk and now with .co.za and i still do not have my product... been a month now when i was told two weeks... also, last week when i called, i was told i would get it this week...
Click to expand...

Dear NickZA.

Please note is you only have one order and that is with .co.za.

Further, we would like to inform you that during your conversation last week you were informed that the unit was arriving in the UK this week and would then ship to us, you were not told to expect delivery this week.

As mentioned last week, stock finally arrived in the UK yesterday and is shipping off to us today.

You shall receive a waybill number of our shipment once it becomes available to us to monitor the shipment in transit to our JHB premises.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require any further assistance, we do appreciate your patience and understanding to date.
 
Just an update from my order, I got the goodies last week delivered to our offices! Exactly what I ordered the guys from Expansys actually ordered the extra accessory for the stuff I ordered which I happily took.

It did take slightly longer than quoted but as they have thousands of products on there site I can only imagine it would a huge mission to update.

There prices are good, they have stuff I couldn't get locally I just had to learn to be patient! :D

All in all I'm happy with there service.
 
Update...

Sorry to disagree with you eXpansys but you are wrong on two points.
As i told the story, i initially placed an order on the .co.uk site in mid January. They took my money, then two weeks later gave it back saying that the order was cancelled... wasnt cancelled by me.

When i posted my last message i was told i would get the package last week... I never said it was you who told me, but someone from expansys did... I remember asking them, "When can i expect the package?"
they said, "next week" which is now last week...

Anyway! It is now the 11th of March and i placed my order on the 5th of Feb. I find it funny that it took less than a few days for the package to come from America > England > South Africa... why couldnt this have been done, well, i dont know, a month ago?

As things stand now, my package is sitting at OR Tambo in customs... has been since Sunday... not saying that this is Expansys fault... but it is there...

I have also decided to go and collect the package from expansys as soon as they have it... so i can have some sort of control over the delivery...

Drew137.. yes, you are correct in saying that we have to be patient, and its worth it because of their prices... totally agree... but come on... its been over a month.
 
nickza said:
Update...

Sorry to disagree with you eXpansys but you are wrong on two points.
As i told the story, i initially placed an order on the .co.uk site in mid January. They took my money, then two weeks later gave it back saying that the order was cancelled... wasnt cancelled by me.

When i posted my last message i was told i would get the package last week... I never said it was you who told me, but someone from expansys did... I remember asking them, "When can i expect the package?"
they said, "next week" which is now last week...

Anyway! It is now the 11th of March and i placed my order on the 5th of Feb. I find it funny that it took less than a few days for the package to come from America > England > South Africa... why couldnt this have been done, well, i dont know, a month ago?

As things stand now, my package is sitting at OR Tambo in customs... has been since Sunday... not saying that this is Expansys fault... but it is there...

I have also decided to go and collect the package from expansys as soon as they have it... so i can have some sort of control over the delivery...

Drew137.. yes, you are correct in saying that we have to be patient, and its worth it because of their prices... totally agree... but come on... its been over a month.
Click to expand...

NickZA >

Firstly, we do not control, nor process UK orders. The fact that we as well as you were only notified after two weeks that your order was cancelled is not something we had any control over.

Secondly, by someone representing this company giving you false information is something we take seriously but without a name of the person you spoke to, we cannot ensure that this does not repeat from the same person.

Thirdly, we acknowledge the time duration that has lapsed since placing your order with us, as you may or may not be aware, there was no stock locally in addition to overseas markets of the HCH-70 which should make you aware that there is obviously an issue globally on the above holder and hence once the issue is resolved, all applicable markets will then commence receiving stock of this item which happened early last week in our US warehouse as both the French and UK warehouses are still awaiting stock from the respective distributors in those regions.

Once physical stock is available to ship to us then the transit time is a few days however if no stock is available to ship then you cannot equate a time period to this.

In terms of collecting your package, it simply saves an overnight delay, apart from that there are no issues nor reason to have "control over the delivery"

Lastly, whilst it has been over a month, unfortunately if there is no stock available globally then this is the soonest possible time you would have been able to procure this item.
 
Guys, if you're ordering something that gets sourced from various sources overseas - it sometimes will take long. There's really not much that can be done about, I doubt its under their control. I feel as long as communication is kept as open and honest as possible, just be patient.

I had the exact same issue when in Australia and ordering from Expansys there, it took about 3-4 weeks to get my order, but I did get it.
 
Yea.. my bad i bought an item on your website that said "IN STOCK", then expected it within a couple of weeks... i should have understood that you indeed didnt have stock, neither did the entire world, and i should have expected to get it in a months time...
sorry for that.
 
I’m going to give pretty detailed feedback here because I’d like to convey that while my order took longer than what people normally expect, I still felt that Expansys did a pretty good job of being proactive about issues along the way.

TIME:
I did my homework beforehand and contacted some of the guys who posted here and found out they received their stuff after a bit of a wait, so I knew the situation. Hopefully this post will encourage people who are apprehensive about the time factor to support what seems to be a decent new business in a market that is absolutely dying for more competitiveness (I saved nearly 2k).

I can accept delivery times of 4 weeks (or more) given how good the price and service was – the reality of the situation is that the demand for products in SA is absolutely insignificant compared to that of the EU/US, and our geographic location coupled with economies of scale/scope ultimately dictate that we need to wait if we want a good deal.

ORDER PROCESS:
  • 18 Feb: Placed order for camera and SDHC card
  • Early March: I noticed that the SDHC card’s delivery estimate had changed and contacted Expansys about this to see if the camera could be shipped earlier, but it hadn’t arrived yet either; I had no problems getting this feedback. I also received a courtesy call at some point about my delivery instructions (when I originally placed the order I was expecting to be out of town, but by this point it was no longer an issue). Shows somebody was paying attention.
  • 10 March: MSN’d to see if they still knew I existed. They said the order had been shipped to SA and should arrive soon.
  • 16 March: Received a call around 9ish that my camera had arrived, but the SDHC card had been delayed further. Was informed about another card that was physically in stock, but unfortunately that was a CF card, not an SDHC card (named the same though). Expansys rep said he’d get back to me about other options, but after a few hours (14ish) I decided I’d rather just get the camera and contacted them via MSN and had the SDHC part removed from the order without issue. Received notification later (16:00) that the package had been dispatched.
  • 17 March, 11:00: Received my camera. Box looked a bit rough on the outside but everything inside was in good order and an EU power adapter was included so clearly Expansys was paying attention. Either RAM (the couriers) or Expansys misspelled my surname (a four letter surname), and the name of the building (four letter name of a well known SA company became 3 letters unlikely letters), on the address printed on the package. Fortunately the street address was correct and the receptionist knew who I was. RAM did have my full details scrawled down on the delivery slip, and could have called Expansys if they really got stuck I suppose.

Given the amount of time involved, communication could probably be improved. Updating the order tracking screen just to acknowledge that deviations from the original estimate have occurred would be nice; more detail about exactly what is happening would be ideal. Cost savings from not having to answer as many inquiries would probably justify this too.

All in all I’m pretty happy with my purchase (the camera looks far more impressive in person than any of the photos I’d seen, and I'm dying for the weekend so I can take it outside to play!). I would buy from these guys again, but I realize that despite having been lurking years this is still my first public post. So send me a PM if you're concerned about my being legit :) (Other guys helped me out when I was concerned, so I'd like to offer the same service if it means supporting more competitiveness among importers.)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X