rkuklinski096

If you buy from DHGate, expect very long delivery times, cumbersome and sketchy payment methods where you have to send them scanned credit cards, IDs etc. and worst of all awful product quality and horrible customer service. I bought a carbon road bike off the website which was advertised as fully assembled, was delivered in pieces. I had to spend $300 to have it assembled and on top of it, the bike was such a horrible copy the handlebars broke after a month of riding, rendering the frame completely and utterly useless. Even though the seller (BikeFactory) promised 1-year warranty they ignored my pleas for help and customer service which I have been contacting for 3 months every couple days, could not force the seller to uphold the promise because "payment was released." Absolutely worst online buying experience ever. After 6 months after the purchase, I stopped contacting them and decided to swallow the $2000 loss and make sure no one buys from them.


Here is the full letter I sent them:


Contact Information

DH Gate

To whom it may concern,

I am writing this letter to describe my unfortunate buying experience through DH Gate. I have been trying to contact the seller and the customer service at DH Gate on numerous occasions but nothing has been accomplished that would resolve what I see as a great injustice caused by the seller: BikeFactory.

I purchased a bicycle from BikeFactory in May of 2018. The Specialized VengeVias road bike order #352627413 was advertised as a complete, assembled bicycle that a buyer would “only have to attach the wheels to the frame” and it was ready to be ridden. To my surprise the bike came completely unassembled. The seller started claiming that it is not that big of a deal and that everyone could assemble the bike, even though the bicycle has internal cable routing and very complex internal and external parts. I was presented with a dilemma, a seller claiming that they did nothing wrong and I would be responsible for putting the bike together or I would pay $170 to ship the bike to the seller. Right away I was cheated, disrespected and inconvenienced by the seller. It took the intervention of the customer service to receive $150 compensation, even though I spent close to $300 at professional bike shops to have the bike assembled because of the “knock off” nature of the bicycle and the sub par parts provided by the seller.

If I knew that the bicycle and the seller would cause so many problems and grief I would have gladly sent the back to the seller at whatever the cost. After riding the bicycle for 2 months, the handlebars cracked, even though it is a road bike and the shocks to the handle bars are not that great. I notified the seller that their product is faulty and inquired what their 1 year warranty covers. The sellers notified me that they can send me new handlebars if I pay the $30 shipping fee. I declined and told the seller that I do not trust them and would like a refund so that I could purchase original Specialized handlebars because it is completely pointless for me to keep on purchasing new handlebars, new cables and routing and pay $200 at the bike shop to have it assembled. Essentially, I would be spending $300 every couple months the handlebars would break. The sellers said that is the only solution they can offer or I could purchase the original Specialized parts and have them assembled. After going back and forth with the seller and the customer service for weeks, I decided that I would purchase the original parts myself which cost me $500. To my dismay, they do not fit! The seller knew they would not fit and still insisted I purchase the parts myself. Now I have a bike that is completely unusable, endured months of grief and disrespect from the seller and indolence of DH customer service and are in danger of spending $3000 and still not having a usable bicycle.

I spent:

BikeFactory Knock off VengeVias bicyle that cost $1950

$300 for new routing and housing, break pads and labor to have the bicycle assembled.

$250 for original Specialized Handlebars which does not fit the knock off BikeFactory frame

$250 for original Specialized Stem which does not fit the knock off BikeFactory frame

After taking the bicycle to a professional bike shop, I was told that nothing can be done and I literally threw $1950 away. After I realized that I contacted the sellers BikeFactory to purchase new handlebars in hopes that I could sell the bike to someone else. The seller notified me that they refunded me $150 already and they are not responsible for anything and will not even sell me new handlebars. There is very little I can do expect rely on the seller to help me by either providing me with new handlebars or even better, allowing me to return the bike, which I would gladly do. This has been the worst online buying experience and I would not wish such an experience on my worst enemies. No one should be exposed to such conniving and cheating behavior. When I was purchasing the bike they assured me it is a well made bike, it is sold as a complete product and there is a one year warranty. None of these assurances were true.

I believe I have wronged tremendously and would like to politely ask that one of the following resolutions are provided to me:

BikeFactory should purchase the bicycle back because of the numerous problems with the product and incompatibility with other parts other than the cheap knock off parts from BikeFactory for a $1950 refund.

Allow me to send the whole frame back for a $700 refund. (The sellers continue to sell that frame for that price)

Provide me with a way to transform the bicycle into a time trial bicycle so that way the handlebar parts will not be exposed to stresses the road handlebars do.

Provide me with new handlebars with assurances that they will not crack after couple weeks of use because exchanging handlebars is a very costly procedure.

If DH Gate wants to rival other online retailers you should ensure that the products listed are of better quality and there are more ways of ensuring that the sellers keep the end of the bargain and treat their customers like they are valuable, money paying individuals not people who they can cheat due to big distances and the fact that money was already released. I purchased multiple items from DH Gate: 2 bicycle helmets, bicycle clothing and this bike. If I knew that purchasing quality items that are usable for more than 2 months, I would never have purchase the bicycle.

Again, I would like to politely and respectfully ask that you help me resolve this manner in a way so I get my money back or I have a usable product. I have screenshots and documentation from all of my conversations with customer service and the BikeFactory seller upon request.

Please help me.

Best Regards,

Sy Reene

Shocking treatment, service and quality!

Planemaker

So you knowingly purchased a knockoff bike and you are surprised that it didn't turn out the way you expected?

You gambled $2,000 and lost.

You wanted to purchase knowingly defective parts and resell the bike to some other sucker.

I'm sorry but, I don't have a great deal of sympathy for you.

Thanks for posting though. I'm sure others who might be tempted to purchase a knockoff might think twice.

CycleryNorth81

You were ready to sell that lemon to somebody else. Not cool.

Wileyrat

Caveat Emptor.

I'm half surprised that the shop that assembled it didn't report it as a counterfeit to Specialized.

delbiker1 

I honestly do not have a lot of sympathy for the OP. Seems to me they took a chance on a bike from a company they new nothing about and got stuck with a costly mistake. That they were then willing to try to sell the junk to some other sucker really shows a lack of empathy for anyone else, the very thing they are now trying to get from others.Welcome to the real world.

mstateglfr 

That was a really long email, so maybe I missed it while skimming, but why don't regular handlebars fit?
and why not just get a different stem to allow regular handlebars to fit?
is this one of those absurd proprietary cockpit bikes for 'aero' gain that really just complicates life for recreational riders?

Drago1010

Troll or just dumb. Let this thread die.

BirdsBikeBinocs

TROLL one post.

alcjphil

hey, you pay your money and you take take your chances. You lost this time. Think of this as a learning experience

rkuklinski096

Hey all-knowing posters!

First of all, I do not want any sympathy from you, I did not ask for any nor do I want it.

Second of all, I do not need your patronizing either. Do not tell me that its a learning experience or that I deserved that happen to me. You want to be a troll and an ahole you can do that somewhere else.

If you read the thread title, its meant to warn other people that the website and sellers on that website operate in very unscrupulous ways. Take it or leave it.

I was willing to sell the frame to someone who might have found a use for it. Obviously at fraction of the price. Believe me, its such an obvious knock-off there is no fooling anyone.

Stem and handlebars did not fit because the fork tube was 1-1/5 inch as opposed to 1-1/8inch. Adapters for the stem did not work.

Like I said before. The reason I posted the thread is to make sure no one buys from them and I would love for that website to die. What happened to me and my money is my problem. I do not need your patronizing, your sympathy or advice as to what I should buy or not.

Thank you for your attention!

tagaproject6

Buying a known knock-off then complains on the internt under the guise of "warning other people" like it's a public service.

indyfabz

Yeah. Because we all know that a TT setup puts less of the rider's weight on the front end compared to a road setup. I am much more upright when riding my TT bike.

laternser

Try 'dhgate reputation' on your search engine.

Discover the remarkable 10% buyer recommendation buyer.

I never would have even tested the site except for this.
So yes, it is an effective troll to get you there.