My order shipped today after 2 month wait and I survived! Take a deep breath a you will, too.
Originally placed my order on April 18, shipment email received June 16. Maybe one of the longer waits I've seen anyone mention on the forums here. Had one email correspondence with Melanie a few weeks after order when I noticed the availability dates had changed. She was super nice and apologetic and informed me about the updated dates, which ended up being accurate.
I probably shouldn't be surprised, but just WOW to all the people LOSING THEIR MINDS on the forums over having to wait for delivery.
I think it's pretty obvious that if they could fulfill orders 2x faster and therefore make 2x profit, they would. Their goal isn't to screw you over, it's to run a successful business. Nevertheless, the circumstances around manufacturing, shipping and the sudden popularity of sim racing are extraordinary and could in no way have been anticipated.
Could their fulfillment and communication process be better, of course. But they're humans and you shouldn't expect them to be perfect. When's the last time you were perfect? If you have patience, you'll get your gear. Losing your cool and being jerks to the employees of Fanatec isn't going to get it to you any faster. You're just putting more negativity into a world which already has its fair share right now. Take a deep breath and have some empathy for your fellow humans.
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April 18th also..... still waiting. I got the email also stating June 12th for shipment
April 13th here, you would think mine would ship out prior to an April 18th order...
I’m still waiting as well but there seems to be no order in how it is processed. I read earlier where someone ordered theirs on 5/29 and they got their shipment notification. Sucks. Just keeping fingers crossed mine comes at some point. Nothing else you can do but shrug it off and wait. Good luck on yours as well.
What did you order? curious to see if its things that I ordered that are going out right now
Well said. I was wondering if the order was going to take a while as I emailed a couple of different questions about my order and have yet to receive a reply. Sure it's frustrating not hearing anything back yet, but there are much worse things happening in life.
The fact that we can order these items shows we have money to enjoy life a little, best not stress over things we can't control. Hopefully I get them soon :)
ClubSport wheel base 2.5, Clubsport v3 pedals, F1 esports wheel, 918 rsr wheel. I think my order was delayed waiting on either the base or pedals. I'm in CA, USA for regional context.
Hopefully mine ships soon. I ordered just the 2.5 wheel base and BMW wheel on April 21st. Here's to hoping.
I got the exact same thing besides I only had one wheel, the BMW gt2, here's hoping as well..
I don't believe most people have a problem with the wait time. I think (for the most part) most people are fed up with the lack of transparency and communication. It looks very bad from any company when they do no communicate with their customers. Most people probably wouldn't have to much of a complaint if they were informed on some level.
It has never been the wait. It has always been the complete lack of communication. There has been no way to get in touch with anyone, to make any kind of arrangements. That, and knowing now that they don't hold items for your order until all are available. So even the wait shouldn't be as long as it is.
So, the wait is not the only thing that is frustrating it's that they charge your credit card and you have paid for everything without a product in your hands. Let me ask everyone here that defends them, how would you handle it if your employer PAID you two months after you completed work for him/her/company? And the employer said, be patient, you'll get paid in future. You just don't know when.
They should charge your card when shipped. I have NO problem with that! Just like I want my employer to pay me soon after (one week or two weeks) after I completed my work. NOT months later!!! And for region sake, I live in California.
Yes but..... Your example used basically comes to what it has been agreed between you and your employer in advance. Right? Right.
Well... You have and everyone else buying from FANATEC has agreed to the terms and conditions mentioned in the website.
https://fanatec.com/us-en/terms-conditions
....but it sells them to adults, who can purchase with a credit card or cash in advance.
So nobody took you/us for a ride and no one is defaulting (at least for the payment terms). And you/us also had the option if you/we felt that way to cancel the order and get full refund.
Sorry man unfortunately I have a bad habit from my line of work that has to do with contracts and payments, so I read them before I reach to an agreement.
lol I'm still waiting and I ordered April 17. They have 0 rhyme or reason to their order processing. What a joke of a company. Mine is actually still showing a preorder date of June 12. Unless I am extremely high, today is the 17th.
You are correct in all that. I didn't read terms and conditions ahead of time. I made the wrong assumption they operated like most online companies and charged the card when shipped (Amazon) or at least shipped within a week of order (most retailers). I WAS WRONG with that assumption. However as you point out they have a terms and conditions which they are not following. Per your link:
Delivery Time
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Shipping date estimates will appear in the order form. After placing your order, you will see both shipping and delivery date estimates in the order confirmation e-mail and in the order summary in Your Account.
This is incorrect. My order did not have an estimate delivery date based on availability. As per theirs terms and conditions. I was going by the preorder availability dates. Which have moved a couple of times and have all passed at this time. So, does that meet your default terms? Or do they get to ignore what they have put in writing?
Im in the same boat no estimated ship date. I didn't order as far back as April like some did but it has been over two weeks with no communication, and all my items still say preorder availability June 5th. I feel like if I wait long enough my order will arrive. It is very discouraging to not hear anything from them though.
I ordered(CSL Elite bundle) April 25 and it was finally "processed" June 12th. I am still waiting for shipping details.
We are all living in uncharted times right now. As consumers, and human beings for that matter, are trying to maneuver and cope with the crap that's going on in the world that none of us have ever experienced before in our lifetime. This includes businesses. Everyone is going through this right now. Putting everything in perspective, things could be much worse. Not that it isn't with almost 450,000 dead worldwide. And people here are screaming bloody murder for some petty materialistic items which I'm sure will eventually arrive.
Maybe it's a lack of understanding or maturity of what we are actually living through right now with those who rant and complain on this forum, I don't know and don't get it. Maybe "ignorance is bliss". I do understand it and have been patiently waiting.
On the flip side, I strongly feel Fanatec needs to be much more transparent and communicative with it's customers. We all need to change and adapt to these unprecedented times, both consumers and businesses.
Stay safe!
Bruce sorry mate but the key words are “based on the availability” and “estimate”.
if something is on pre-order it means there is no stock which means no availability and cannot even give you a secure estimation date.
again sorry for all of that and I can feel your pain since I was waiting 20 days the first time (but I knew that because re-seller was in Ireland) and 1 month the second (because suppliers shop and wharehouse was totally closed due to lockdown of COVID in UAE. Maybe you guys dont understand how that shit has affected companies in countries that were in 24/7 lock down for weeks or months and dont blame you cause everyone tackled it differently.
As for Amazon, because I ordered for desk and bookselfs for my study in the house, you are partially correct regarding payment.
Order and payment done 21st May with seller/supplier in USA promised me delivery 17th June. (Through AMAZON). Money where immidietelly deducted from my visa.
remaining ammount was showing that 2300 usd were deducted. 2 weeks later seller contacted me that shipping was impossible due to covid (but actually it was because shipping costs have been double due to covid) so he asked me to cancel the order or wait until shipping can be arranged.
Took the prion of cancelling but money were not received back. Emailed and called Amazon only to find out that amount was blocked from my bank account and that if AMAZON didnt claim until the shipping date (which they entered for the bank when “taking” the money out) would appear automatically back into my account.
had to sent to my back the whole communication between me, seller and amazon in order to release the ammount back to my account.
read their terms (amazon) as well and you will notice that indeed they say charge the carge uppon shipping BUT in reality when you place the order it automatically you get an sms that this money got out of your pocket. Even if virtual and you cant use it. Right? So what is the difference? In the later case you are giving the BANKS a 0% loan to use until seller ask for the money to unblock and hit his bank account.
The “fine” printing is all what matters when the shit hits the fan.
Fanatec? yes lacks in communication but trust me every one is struggling around the world and trying to cope with it, depending on the region and how depended they are to external suppliers or manufacturers.
Please be patience and dont forget what we have is a luxury hobby and should be happy that we can still do it. (My other hobby is real racing that for know I have “my equiptment” collecting dust since I cannot even go out for testing) but I stay positive and cant wait to hit the track once I am allowed to.
Alexandros, I have not experienced what you have with Amazon. Only a pending purchase on the credit card, but that isn't the actual date it comes out of the account and interest would start accruing. Fanatec actually pulls the money from the account and you/me/us have to repay the credit card. I do not have a problem with wait times. It is the sign of the times. No worries there (that's nobody's fault). I do have a problem with payment in full with no actual planned delivery. In fact, availability dates that appear are changed farther into the future. Well, so be it on delays. What would be a fair business practice is a partial payment (called a down payment) and payment in full at shipment, whenever that date will be. It like buying a Tesla, you make a down payment and some future date when the car is delivered you pay in full.
Sorry to hear about your tracks. In Northern California ours are open. I have been to Thunderhill, seen videos of Laguna Seca track days. But I have not looked to see if Sears Point (Sonoma) is open. Hopefully yours will follow and open soon.
I 100% agree with this. I ordered a CSL Elite bundle back in May, with a pre-order date of June 12. June 12th rolls around and the only change I see is that my order had been partially-processed. I waited over the weekend and saw no change in the status, and then on June 15th I checked again - my order status is still the same, but there was a new pre-order date on the web site of Aug 7th. Immediate frustration set in... until the next morning, when I received a shipment notification.
I feel silly now for over-reacting . I even allowed it to sour my mood for the entire day on Monday. Your thoughts make a lot of sense: so far this year I've had a number of events canceled or postponed due to Covid: the Indy 500, a trip to Germany, several concerts, MLB Opening Day, etc. Hell, I haven't even traveled for work since mid-March, so I've been working entirely from home, staring at my laptop every single day from the same chair (honestly, I don't know how office-bound people do this.) Purchasing this wheel was a bright spot in all of this madness, and when it didn't go immediately as planned I became consumed with built-up frustration. I didn't stop to consider the pandemic's effect on their supply chain, combined with the surge of interest in sim-racing.
At the same time, they're certainly not helping things. I work for a company which provides products around the globe, many of which are being used right now to find a cure/vaccine for Covid-19. When issues arise clients just want communication and awareness - they're not necessarily expecting miracles, especially right now. Stating that you'll respond in two-weeks is simply not a good way to treat customers.
I'd like to give everyone a glimmer of hope at the very least, I ordered the CSW2.5/BMWgt2 wheel bundle with a set of v3 pedals, my order was shipped today and I received a tracking number. I know the transparency is what's killing everyone but even if it's behind the scenes they are trying to sort everything out
Totally disagree. Keep in mind I'm not arguing that it's ok to be a dick, but we're completely in our right as a consumer to have communication. THE COMPANY SETS THE EXPECTATION. This is one of the most important rules of business, and is the reason many small businesses have gone under. Manage expectations. Don't put "availability dates", or, like many other companies, put an realistic estimation of possible wait times. Just literally anything other than taking orders with a set expectation of availability, and then not communicating. Some companies simply do not accept orders if product is not in, including MANY Sim racing retailers. So no, I don't think it's right to give them a pass because we're all "humans". Business hasn't changed in terms of communication, and consumers have rights.
Paul, do you mind letting us know when did you placed your order? Also, where about are you? I've ordered the exact combo with added Brake performance kit. I'm trying to gauge timeline for my order. Thanks man.
I placed my order on June 4th, west coast US, I should be receiving my order on Friday. I'm hoping they are at least trying to get the people who placed orders earlier because I know a lot of people have ordered before me and haven't gotten any updates :(
Thanks for the quick response. I'm on the same coast as well. And my order was placed on May 4th. For sure they're others that ordered theirs earlier than mine. You can see why people are furious about this. On my end I'm wondering if they're waiting on the brake performance kit to complete the order.
Anyone with 'good' phone number to contact them?
Thanks.
Best thing to do is find a thread where Dominic Brennan posted and DM him, he got back to me in 2 days or less every time I messaged him. As far as I know the phones are never answered and I sent emails weeks ago and no response, best bet is Dom in my opinion.
I sent a DM to Dominic yesterday regarding my unfilled order from April 27 and received this today. The same message was sent to another upset buyer on this forum today:
Dominic Brennan 1:17PM
Hi Alfredo,
I haven't been able to follow up on individual requests today unfortunately. I am aware that there was a general delay on some of the orders due to ship on the 12th, and that customers that are affected will be receiving an email from sales soon.
Best regards,
Dom
[Fanatec Community Manager]
Yup........just more BS
I sent a DM on my order placed April 18th and haven’t heard a thing back
This customer service at this point is bigger than any joke. I can't believe that Fanatec can't find someone to answer emails and general questions about orders. It seems Dom is the only employee that does any of that, and he isn't even a sales team member. Who runs a business like this? For me it has never been about the delay, but their ineptitude in communicating with customers that you would think would be considered important.