Shipping Issues/No Recourse?

At the beginning of September, I placed an order for the new ClubSport Steering Wheel RS * QR1 Wheel-Side (ClubSport Quick Release Adapter) * ClubSport Shifter SQ V 1.5 * ClubSport Handbrake V1.5.


The Ship date was to have been the beginning of October. I got a email from Fanatec on October 5th stating that the order was going to be delayed until October 15th due to shipping issues, so about an additional 2 weeks. Ok fine I give them that.


I then get another email on October 14th again saying my order is FURTHER DELAYED until November 10thnow….so another month. That would be two and a half months since my initial order, and about 2 months since my initial ship date. Why hasn’t Fanatec at least offered some form of future discount or a small refund, cheap button replacements  – something to ease the delay for THEIR logistical issues? They have my money and earning interest on it I have NO PRODUCT.


I asked customer service and was given the “sorry your shipment is delayed” and nothing more. I expected more from them considering I have spent over 3500 USD (had bought several items before) and will potentially spend more. This has kinda left a bad taste in my mouth….any one with any suggestions or solutions? Or I this what I need to temper my expectations to?

Comments

  • hi i agree with you,

    i have had the same treatment from then it would seem that they no longer care about the loyal customer base, i will no longer pre-order from them for anything, currently i have a cls DD+boost kit which i placed an order for on june 5th, the availability was sep23rd then it changed to oct now its saying nov 2nd, and i have no confidence that it will turn up before xmas, the fanatec store has next to nothing in it and its all pre-order but with their current attitude towards customers i will never pre-order from them as you can’t get an answers from them even got 2 emails last month saying your item has been dispatched, only to check the order numbers to find out it was for items i had had over a year ago, not to mention the hype for the csl dd and the three waves that were supposed to go out, they only informed us of the first wave then nothing, nothing about the second or third waves, even now they are staying quite, we all need to stop pre-ordering items, maybe then they might take a different stance and take some notice.

  • Personally, I think it’s not the wisest idea to spend money on a preorder, no matter what the product may be. Especially pretty pricey items, that are MONTHS away from expected release. Then when it gets delayed people are upset. With people still placing orders even when things are in preorder status, items just stay in preorder. There are a lot of sour grapes out there. Understand, I am NOT saying it has been handled smoothly by any means.

  • Dominic BrennanDominic Brennan Member, Administrator

    Hi guys,

    We try to provide accurate availability estimates on each product page, but in the past few months this has been much more difficult than usual, with many unforeseen circumstances contributing to delays. We are currently affected by the global semiconductor chip shortage, the global supply chain crisis, and the global shipping crisis. It is affecting all kinds of industry, it is not just us. We are doing our very best to reduce the impact of this situation.

    I'm sorry that you have to wait, but everyone is in the same boat here. As an enthusiast myself I understand how painful it is to wait for hardware, but it will be worth it in the end.

    Of course if you are not satisfied you can cancel your order through the 'Orders' section of your Fanatec account and receive a full refund, and wait for a time when things are back to normal and supply has caught up with demand. But bear in mind that our industry might be dealing with the effects of the current situation for many months to come, so it might be worth holding on to your place in the queue.


    [Fanatec Community Manager]

  • Well that’s not surprising, as soon as some one mentions stopping pre-order, an Issue that would affect Fanatec income there’s a response, as a leader in sim racing equipment you should not state pre order dates if you can not meet them, in the uk it is a criminal offence to sell something you don’t own or don’t physically have, which is basically what’s happening here, and we are the ones who suffer.

  • Yes it stinks but if one has the means to even order these luxury items we can wait given the pandemic and its effects.

    Things are different now as after any global crisis. The entitled days of next day from China are over.

    Has Fanatec made mistakes, yes. Has Fanatec ever dealt with business on this scale before, no.

    The Playstation deal, its a lot.

    Be patient, you will be happy in the end!

  • Wow, complain when delayed. Complain that when they give a reason, you says it’s an excuse. Sounds like Fanatec is in a no win situation…..oh yea, they aren’t in the UK. Based out of Germany. Sold from Germany. Imported to UK after purchase. Not to mention they always say dates are an estimate.

  • Sean AllenSean Allen Member
    edited October 2021

    All the issues I understand. Maybe even more than most because of the industry I am in. The problem is the actual customer service. Send me a bone, 10%. off my next order, a t-shirt, something to say we are working at it and we appreciate you bearing with us. To say I can always cancel my order for a full refund is akin to saying you don’t want my business. Brand loyalty should be tantamount to Fanatec, as it is people like me that will continue to purchase items, repeat customers and encourage others to do the same. 

  • I’m sorry at what point did fanatec give a reason ?, the same old story its the pandemic, how is it other companies have managed to not have an empty store, how is it that other companies don't give answers like ....if you don’t like it shop elsewhere !!! and not to mention that some of us have a lot of money’s worth of fanatec equipment and more or less stuck in the fanatec eco system, as i have said before if my cls DD is delayed one more time, i will wait till it arrives and won’t use fanatec again and will sell it all, and go with another company that at least values there custom.

    qote "Of course if you are not satisfied you can cancel your order through the 'Orders' section of your Fanatec account and receive a full refund, and wait for a time when things are back to normal and supply has caught up with demand. But bear in mind that our industry might be dealing with the effects of the current situation for many months to come, so it might be worth holding on to your place in the queue."

    the thing is here in the uk we are charged for non uk transaction and currency conversions, and at the current rates we lose out, so no i do not accept the forum mangers post as a satisfactory answer, having worked for some of the largest company in the world, the statement is one of the poorest i have seen so far, and as for the pre-order date is an estimate that a total cop out and a legal loop hole to cover their own backs.

    also as a side note:

    i have a terminal illness, and i don’t know how long i have so when i place a pre order i expect it to be at least within a week of that pre order date .... not months, and i really hate fanboys get a grip on reality.

    also just as an example go look at simucube not one of their items is out of stock or pre-order, my guess is fanatic are using a cheap manufacture in china and use the JIT stock system.

  • some not so off topic, i work at a well known company and the shortage of absolutely everything is real. If you order a biggest product we are making, you will have to wait for about 8-12months before you get it. Average Joe is not thinking about stuff like Suez canal stuck for days which made thousands of other ships to reroute or wait before they get to the destination. There is shortages of containers, electronics, other materials and parts, anything you can think of right now and the orders are pouring in at ridiculous amounts.

    I knew i will have to wait a loooong time before i get my stuff from fanatec and ordered anyway. Thousends of people are in the same position right now and waiting for their wheels and i would imagine that fanatec are putting some serious amount of overtime to make things as quick as possible but there is a lot of things that they cannot control right now.



  • Pawel is right. The average" Joe" don't know or don't understand the situation of the global shit all industries are facing regarding shortages or delays, if you are not in the industry... Just think of that.... Coca Cola usually is using containers to ship their products. Now because of fucking shortages in container boxes and container vessels they are chartering in BULK CARRIERS and loading in crates in order to minimize delays.

    You will ask what is the difference. Well slower steaming speed, longer loading/offloading operations, bigger cargo insurance because is not a safe way to do and will have more damaged product during transit etc etc.

    Container lines charter rates because of the vessels stuck in ports are charting triple the charter rate, and fucking container boxes are not meeting demand because either they are stuck loaded onboard vessels or stuck in fucking ports... Plus all the other shit happening with manufacturing components being in shortage.



    At the end of the day. A pre-order is a pre-order with estimation of delivery date that has many variables. "Criminal offence in UK to sell something that they don't have" . Newsflash.... They didn't hide that they don't have it. They told you they don't have it and still you continued with your order. So there goes your argument about the UK Laws. Read better in the whole the laws and not only 1 line that suits your arguments.



    Please stop using your condition as an excuse. It is not nice. Seriously. It is the 2nd or 3rd time in different threads that you do that when you complain about something or want to make a point. Seriously dude. Not nice.

  • it's not an excuse,im stating a fact, blood cheek, its to point out we all can't hang around while a company takes the piss with pre orders,"we might or might not have it" i order items from all over the world, and never have i had these issues with any other company and the comments like oh well you will just have to wait or go somewhere else, its my money and they are sitting on it, if i cancel it i lose out and as the OP stated there is no recourse, not even a sorry here is a 5% or 10% discount for the inconvenience, so piss off and keep your comments to yourself, fucking fan boys.....go look at any other sim retailer none of them have this issue.

  • Keep your words down pls. What part of estimated delivery did you not understand?


    And to complain here or come around with your condition to get a discount doesn’t make you look any better.

  • I feel sorry for you and your condition and indeed... Life is short and you don't know what is the next day going to bring. But again as I pointed out, what you are doing is not nice

    You said it once, twice but come on mate...

    Anyway thank you for the best wishes to piss off as a fucking fan boy .

    At least I am not using any physical condition of mine to make others feel sympathy , or to excuse my temper and manner or get a discount...

    Over & Out... 🖖

  • Well with name calling, cursing, and constantly using your “condition” as an excuse to act immature, you just seem like a petulant child at this point. How about you just have a nice life….or what’s left of yours…..


  • You, sir, are an idiot. Your statements are just plain wrong. One of my friends just got a VRS wheel base. He had to wait 4 months after ordering the thing - the sim shop had shortages. And the shortages are not limited to the sim world. Have you tried buying a CPU or graphics card or laptop in the last year and a half? I have. You take what you can get, not what you want. How about an Xbox or Playstation? Those are all shipping products, and they are facing horrendous delays, shortages, and price gouging by whoever manages to get their hands on one. If you "can't hang around while a company takes the piss with pre orders", what the hell are you doing ordering stuff clearly marked as "pre order" and giving explicit "your order might be delayed because of the world situation" warnings?

    There was never any guarantee of a delivery date from Fanatec. Fanatec never said "we might or might not have it". Fanatec straight up said "we don't have them yet. We expect to get them then". Nothing wrong with that. Based on the current world situation, delays (which were very prominently and explicitly warned of when ordering the stuff) are not unexpected. You explicitly agreed that there might be a delay when you ordered the thing.

    Grow up.

  • David ChiengDavid Chieng Member
    edited October 2021

    as of today:

    CSL DD costs €349.95 - "availability" date is 9 Dec. (about 7 weeks away)

    DD1 costs €1,199.95 - available now...

    Simagic Alpha Mini / Simucube 2 Sport; costs more than €1,200.00???

    (I know the specification of the CSL DD is not comparable to the other mentioned above... but you get my point)


    Quite logical that the CSL DD must be over subscribed and so certain orders may be pushed back for whatever reason. Factory not able to meet the order request? Units that did not pass quality control? You just have to wait for it unfortunately.

    I prefer that they allow me to pre-order as it gets me in a queue as opposed to having to wait for the product to become available before I can buy it. How long will I have to wait? Do I need to log on and check every day? You may say that they can always come up with a registration system to purchase on a first come first serve basis, just so that when the unit is available, they contact the next in queue, wait for your reply, you pay for it, and you get it. But the logistics of that is so troublesome! And you will get some who will just register and then decide not to get it. What a waste of time for Fanatec! I do not mind Fanatec making some money by holding onto my money for the past almost 19 weeks just so that I can have ownership of a DD base costing €349.95 instead of whatever else is out there which is more than double the price.

    Some will complain of a lack of customer service? In this day and age with the population that we have now, there will be enough demand if you price your item correctly. Long gone are the days of customer being always right! Those who quote as such, are those customers that always... are always demanding... and illogical, disrespectful, unreasonable... have no notion of how difficult it is to work in the customer service industry! Price is what drives now. That is why the high street is dying slowly, if not already dead! Everyone shopping online, why? The price is cheaper. It is always the price. Lower price... You do not like it? Please, there are always other options out there.

    By the way, just before you checkout on the Fanatec website, you have to tick a box which says that you understand that there may be delays... worded along those lines...

  • I guess to add my 2 cents... like any other company Fanatec through marketing and project management created the product, released it to the public, and created a pre buy scenario recognizing there would be huge interest. They created the pre buy option so people could get on the list and not have to wait for the products to show up on shelves. They were accurate it seems in estimating public demand. My guess is those plans were laid out well before the global market recognized that the supply chain problem was actually far far deeper. I would also argue that the pure depth of that supply chain hole has yet to be discovered. The recipe for that potential disaster was laid out way before covid in the format of "just in time" delivery, covid just ended up being the catalyst for the global crash. My suspicion is that Fanatec took what information was available to plan delivery windows and queues nearly a year to year and a half ago. Supply estimates, customer demand estimates etc. which meant their info was inaccurate... everyones was.. the entire system is off. And what makes it more complex is that the situation is COMPLETELY dynamic and changing literally daily. I dont envy Fanatec right now or really any business relying heavily on the supply chain. I do agree that it would be good to have at least some information on predictions for actual delivery, but minimally that already exists and that is on the order status field. additionally that information could be almost worthless. I for example am waiting on my first complete Fanatec wheelbase setup, expected availability date is Nov 2. That being considered if my wheel is sitting on a ship...in a container.... in Los ANgeles.. that Nov date may mean nothing. frustrating? absolutely. is there a better solution? nope. the global supply chain currently sucks and is going to continue to suck for likely another 9 months at least. We have a handful of choices: dont buy anything that you cant physically lay hands on on a shelf, cancel prebuys and bank the money, or take a deep breath and be patient. We are all in the same crappy predicament. I guess just be happy that we even have an option to prebuy products. try buying a graphics card and youll understand what I mean. For now... i check my shipment status daily and cross my fingers and use my worn out logitech that rattles and clunks but at least gets me around the track.

  • exactly my sentiments Richard ...👍

    i waited 19 weeks before getting my 1st wheel base. absolutely loved it coming fr "limited" keyboard driving... 😆

    i know i am more patient than most... 19 weeks! but loving every minute now...

    just be patient.

  • Thanks David! Yes I am super excited as well. I have never even driven a DD but hear amazing things. I am very curious to see how the feedback occurs. I finally was able to install triple monitors a month or so back and that in itself was an epic improvement. Currently I find myself relying on visual queues and audio response to feel for events like breaking traction and sliding. I cant wait to see how it feels on the DD. But for now I shall be patient and use my Logitech 920 with Acelith wheel for Iracing. It woks pretty well but in truth is a crude tool. I bought it in February when started iracing (Facebook: RickSwanRacing) and its already tired.. maybe 1/4" of gear slop. This week in IMSA Hagerty Phillip island practice I thought the wheel was going to completely vibrate apart. No I have no real complaints with Fanatec for now... they are in a tough spot and doing the best they can. My only.. ONLY complaint... was I went to the Fanatec SRO GT America race in Sebring a few weeks back and Id hoped to see some Fanatec product and representation on hand as they were the main sponsor. :( Would have been a great opportunity... maybe even see the new BMW wheel. Maybe they will be at Daytona Rolex ;)

  • Supply chain issues due to covid, ships being delayed etc, I think the experience the is expected for purchasing a premium product is the problem. I had recently purchased some items from Sparco and how it was dealt with when they experienced delays was way different and left me feeing positive about supporting the company in the future. That is really the root of my original post. Fanatec needs to support the community and invest in how they communicate and service the community. We - after all is said and done ARE fanboys, or we wouldn’t be buying the products, getting several add-on wheels or lingering on the forums. We are all here for Fanatec, we just need them to be here for us. Name calling each other is unnecessary, since we belong to the same group. Fanatec, let this be a guide as to how we all feel and fix how you are perceived by us here in the community, as without us, there will be no Fanatec.

  • There is a global supply chain crisis that is affecting every business in every country that imports or exports parts, finished product, or raw materials. This isn't Fanatec's fault and there is nothing they can do about it. It's the reality that we live in at the moment and you just have to be patient and wait, or, cancel your order.

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