Mulling my first China order - many questions...

[domesticextremist]

Yes, me, DomesticExtremist - Mr tightasagnatschuff.

What has driven me to this?

YOU, YOU LOT!

Each and every one of you is a shinyitis typohoid Mary

Nah, not really, though returning here has been a reeducation and I want to get me a decent MTL tank and another mod.

[domesticextremist]

...butI'm mostly happy with my setup:

MTL at 16-20mg 50/50 juice, mostly homebrewed.

Evods, a T3D (using the single coild hack) and Aspire CE5s on my stable of Ego batteries.

I have an iStick20 with GS air2 tank and a Pico with Melo III mini.

All of these I happliy rewick and rebuild as necessary.

I should be happy, but - and here's where we enter the third of the five stages of grief (for my wallet):- bargaining.
The iStick is secondhand and will die sooner or later (hopefully later).
For the GS tank and clearos I have a stock of coils to rebuild, so should be fgood for a long time, though they do eventually pass the point of no return.
The biggie is the Melo III mini tank. I was able to get good results with Triton 1.8 coils and an adapter that took Eleaf GS coils, but the RBA adaptor is still not really floating my boat and I really hate being dependent on stock coils.

After quite a bit of sporadic research, I have settled on the idea of a Kayfun V3 mini as an "everlasting" alternative.

Problem is when they show up in the classies they are gone in no time, so the only option is to get a clone from China.

Obvs, if I'm going to do that I would want to get a mod at the same time to make it worth the shipping and the wait.

I'd like another Pico but they won't ship it to the UK without extra jiggery-pokery, so I've settled on an Evic VTC mini.

This is where the questions start.

[domesticextremist]

Do I need to make an account with Fasttech?

How long does shipping take?

How much more does the "fast" option cost?

Which is the best option?

I'm away from home a lot for family reasons, so I want to be around when the boat comes in and will need to time the placing of the order so that delivery occurs around a time when I'm here and not there (or vice versa).

Among the Kayfun mini clones (there seem to be loads) some around the $10 mark others around the $18 mark.
Are there any that are to be avoided/sought out?

Finally (for the mo) - what happens if something goes wrong with the order?
Do they have customer service?

I'm sure this all seems silly to those of you for whom ordering from China is second nature, but I've never bit that bullet before so please enlighten me.

Ta

Dom

[phtumshk]

Im pretty sure you have to open an account before or as you make a purchase but its free so no biggy.
Ive never gone for e packet I just go with whatever the 6 - 14 day option is, normally an extra dollar and usually takes around 10 days.
They do have customer services of sorts just need to remember there a few hours ahead/behind so messages normally take a day to get read/answered.
Not really my forte the kayfun v3 but its normally the sjmk or the sxk? that are the better clones.
But I have bought super cheap options that have been real peaches.

[Perpetua]

Jun 26, 2017 23:53:26 GMT domesticextremist said:

I'd like another Pico but they won't ship it to the UK without extra jiggery-pokery, so I've settled on an Evic VTC mini.

You'll get a Pico on FT without having to jump through hoops Dom . . . . they say that authenticity stickers will be removed, but I've not had one yet that has.

There's also the option of a ' Wanted ' ad on the forum . . . .

Jun 27, 2017 0:00:35 GMT domesticextremist said:

Do I need to make an account with Fasttech? - Yes

How long does shipping take? - about 10days for me using British Express/Epacket.

How much more does the "fast" option cost? - pennies, depends on the value of the order.


I'm away from home a lot for family reasons, so I want to be around when the boat comes in and will need to time the placing of the order so that delivery occurs around a time when I'm here and not there (or vice versa). - If it's signed for/too large then you'll get the usual RM red card.


Finally (for the mo) - what happens if something goes wrong with the order?
Do they have customer service? - Yes of sorts . . . . . frankly I never order anything from China that I wouldn't be prepared to bin come the worst case scenario. Can't have it all ways is my philosophy.

[goneforagasper]

The Kayfun Mini V3 is top notch for flavour and ease of build. I have several different clones and would recommend the SXK - they are worth the extra few $'s and I use epacket these days, its an extra £1 ish but delivery is about a week providing FT have got it in stock.

                                        

[TJ]

domesticextremist If you don't fancy the wait, I happen to have a Kayfun V3 mini new in it's box, a black Pico new in it's box and a black Evic VTC mini which has just been used for a tiny while so it is still as new and put back in it's box, I was supposed to put them in the classies on here but I haven't got round to it yet so pm me if you want prices etc I won't rip you off price wise guvnor.

[striker42]

Jun 27, 2017 6:21:21 GMT TJ said:

domesticextremist If you don't fancy the wait, I happen to have a Kayfun V3 mini new in it's box, a black Pico new in it's box and a black Evic VTC mini which has just been used for a tiny while so it is still as new and put back in it's box, I was supposed to put them in the classies on here but I haven't got round to it yet so pm me if you want prices etc I won't rip you off price wise guvnor.

That's a great offer, domesticextremist and the lady most definitely will not rip you off.
Returning an item to Fasttech can turn into a saga. You firstly, must learn the language of Chinglish, although their correspondence of late has been rather better than it was at first. It involves taking pictures and a video, sending it to them so they may view the problem. Firstly, having acknowledged you have a problem, you will be offered a $10 gift certificate for your $50 mod that won't even switch on, which you will politely tell them to poke where the sun don't shine. Then they will ask if you can take it to local vape store to effect repair, to which you reply, "Fasttech is my local store, it's that local I don't even have to leave the house to shop there". By this time, you will have grown a grey beard and will slowly be giving up the will to carry on. Then you will receive an RMA number and a return shipping address and instructed to return it by the cheapest method possible, take a picture of the shipping receipt, send the pic to them and they will refund you the cost. Give it 2/3 weeks then ask them what's happening with your return, as they are not too keen and letting you know when it has arrived at their Chinese scrap yard. OH YES, it's one of life's experiences returning tat back to China/Hong Kong. If in the course of the procedure, it all becomes too much, I can recommend this:-

 

[djs]

I always use the e-packet when I can. 6-10 days vs. 10-32 days. (Yup... 32 was my worst). No Li-ion batteries allowed.

If you are new, keep the order simple and make sure everything is 'ready to ship' or certainly no worse than 'in stock'

[Richard46]

Jun 26, 2017 23:53:26 GMT domesticextremist said:

,,,

I'd like another Pico but they won't ship it to the UK without extra jiggery-pokery, so I've settled on an Evic VTC mini.

,,,

I have an Authentic Eleaf iStick Pico 75W in transit from FT right now; no problem ordering payed with a credit card ia PayPal.
 

[GunJack]

www.fasttech.com/products/5648802

exact copy of pico, couple of $ cheaper - Mini-Gun#1 has one and it is EXACTLY the same and as good

my last order wasvia UK e-packet...6 days

[dave]

Well domesticextremist ,if you have really "settled on the idea of a Kayfun V3 mini as an "everlasting" alternative". You could always get the original

www.cremedevape.com/epages/yxve46fvrnud.sf/sec223d595b88/?ObjectPath=/Shops/yxve46fvrnud/Products/SM-090

I know

For the money though it is an outstanding RTA with excellent build quality

[ceedee]

Rather than putting in one large order with FT, split it across several small orders to keep the value of each one as low as possible.
This will reduce the chance of you being hit with vat (and something like an £8 handling charge) if the parcel is inspected by HM Customs when it arrives in the UK.

[domesticextremist]

Jun 27, 2017 6:21:21 GMT TJ said:

domesticextremist If you don't fancy the wait, I happen to have a Kayfun V3 mini new in it's box, a black Pico new in it's box and a black Evic VTC mini which has just been used for a tiny while so it is still as new and put back in it's box, I was supposed to put them in the classies on here but I haven't got round to it yet so pm me if you want prices etc I won't rip you off price wise guvnor.

Thanks for the offer TJ, but now I've agonised over and crossed the mental Rubicon of actually ordering from china, I'll probably go ahead.
Besides, I expect I'll chuck a few 'stocking fillers' in with my order too

[domesticextremist]

Jun 27, 2017 21:17:32 GMT ceedee said:

Rather than putting in one large order with FT, split it across several small orders to keep the value of each one as low as possible.
This will reduce the chance of you being hit with vat (and something like an £8 handling charge) if the parcel is inspected by HM Customs when it arrives in the UK.

So how low is low?
£20, £50, less than £100?