So back in mid February this article was posted on SRK:
I saw it and thought “Hey, I could use a custom stick”. Up until this point, I’ve been using a modified TE stick with a hitbox custom layout. It works, but it’s not pretty. I figured I could get a bit of both with a custom stick.
Anyways, I contacted these guys and asked them for a few specific things; namely a hitbox layout that is a bit different than the standard one. They assured me it wouldn’t be a problem and all I needed to do was use their layout tool and attach an image showing the layout I wanted to our email discussion.
Up until this point, they were relatively responsive. It took a week for the initial reply to my original inquiry, but that was claimed to have been an issue with emails.
Here’s where things got interesting though: a bit under a month later, I sent an email; simply asking for an update since I hadn’t actually received any sort of confirmation on my custom order. The problem here is that they have two emails and I wasn’t sure which to inquire to, so I did to both:
It this point, I’m getting a bit irritated. Not because the stick is taking a while to get to me, but because they just aren’t responding. I’m not even getting a “Please be patient since this takes time” response.
So I wait until around the end of March for something and I’m not getting any kind of a response. At this point I’m pretty much done. I then just file a dispute with Paypal to get a refund. Even still; here, they just aren’t responding. I then escalate the claim to just simply get a refund. A few days later, the stick actually arrives in the mail. I’m not sure why the escalation with Paypal got their attention while my simple emails did not, but at least I finally got what I paid for, right?
Wrong.
Have a look:
Notice something wrong here? I’ll give you a hint: I ordered a custom hitbox layout.
At this point, I am beyond irritated. I report to Paypal that I received the item, but it’s not what I asked for.
So I suppose it’s all done at this point, I just need to send the stick back and submit the tracking information over to Paypal so they know it’s on the way back.
April 16th rolls around and FINALLY, someone from Shadaloo responds:
I’m surprised here. Given their response I felt like this was just a simple bit of a communication problem and maybe they’ve been overworked. After this we had a series of responses back and forth and (long story short) we agreed that the best bet would be for him to just cut me a new panel and send it my way for free. He was even going to allow me to keep the original panel. It’s not useful to me at all, but still.
And yet again, I lost contact with him. The last time I heard any response from these guys was on the 20th of April. Several follow up emails later, and several months later, I am not stuck with a custom stick case that is completely useless to me. I am terrible on an arcade stick and using a pad is even worse for me. At this point, I’m pretty much out $240+ for really nothing. I don’t really understand the process of making a custom case like this at all but I’m sure that just cutting a couple new panels for me should have only taken a week, MAYBE two. Barring that, they should have been able to keep in contact with me. Unfortunately, I am well beyond the cut off date for any sort of dispute through Paypal so I am just stuck with the thing.
Additionally, I checked on their facebook page and a couple other people seem to have had similar issues with them. Those comments are now deleted. Even though their Facebook was pretty much dead since mid April, I sent them a message hoping for a response on there. Nothing. It’s pretty clear they’ve seen it since they just posted something earlier today, but still; nothing. I posted a comment on their wall this time and I’m wondering how long it will take for them to respond, notice it, or delete it altogether, but one thing is clear: I’ve been ripped off.
I should have not given them the benefit of the doubt on the Paypal dispute. I should have just taken the refund and gone somewhere else. Oh well I suppose. This review is basically a heads up to anyone else who may be considering purchasing from them. Granted, the case is really quite nice and I’d love to be able to actually use it, but I just can’t. I’d even feel ok about selling it to someone else since, again, the quality is great. Their service, however, is EASILY the worst I have ever had from any company.
I am still hoping that they will come through with what they agreed to and send me the replacement panel, but I sort of doubt that will actually happen.
[EDIT]
I actually managed to get in touch with they and the issue is pretty much resolved. Long story short, it looks like they tried to send out replacement panels once and they must have gotten lost in the mail. This time, they went with something that could be tracked more easily.
