Sporty's Pilot Shop - Online Scam?

[Sunfish]

Ordered a Garmin D2 watch from them 5/2/14. Queried absence of a USPS tracking number and was told "we don't do tracking numbers, but your order shipped today".

Two weeks later and no watch. By comparison aircraft bits ordered 7/2 turned up yesterday.

What am I missing? I'm starting to think this is an online scam.

[morno]

If the item wasn't sent via airmail, then expect around 3 weeks from the US.

morno

[V1rhot8]

Might be that they shipped it to Melbourne, Florida in the States. I would ask again as I am quite sure USPS international shipments all come with a tracking number. Sounds like someone bungled your order, https://www.sportys.com/Pilotshop is real, even have a physical location.

[VH-XXX]

Sporty's have been around for years, they are not an "online scam."

Next time however, try upgrading your freight option to include tracking or express as express is usually tracked. I bought an instrument from "The Sensor Connection" in Michigan two weeks ago and it was sent via USPS express for $60 and arrived 5 days later via the US snow storms and it spent two of those days in Australia.

[Sunfish]

I have an invoice from sportys for $22.99 which is for "international airmail" same state (ohio) as my aircraft parts came from.

[VH-XXX]

Raise it with your bank if it doesn't arrive; assuming you used your credit card and haven't paid your bill yet, the bank currently owns your D2.

[morno]

I don't get why you bother coming on here to whinge then Sunny? Surely there's other people who can be helping you with your enquiry right now.

Wouldn't be the first time something has gotten lost in the post, christ. :ugh::ugh:

morno

[Jack Ranga]

Claim it back on your credit card insurance if it doesn't arrive, they do most if the work.

[Sunfish]

Not whinging, merely asked if anyone had any knowledge, good or bad.

[Ixixly]

Of all the people Sunfish, I'm surprised you actually sent your stuff via USPS!! Expect it to take a while mate, I'm not too far away in the South Pacific and have had items take 2 months to get to me, highly recommend avoiding USPS like the black plague!!

They usually have a number but unless you paid extra there won't be tracking. I'd honestly just give it a while longer before getting too concerned, probably a month at least IMHO.

[uncle8]

USPS is my preferred carrier because of the lower cost. Multiple parcels despatched on different dates often turn up in a different order. Sometimes a lot different and I have been a bit worried too.
Take comfort in the fact that your credit card provider will refund your money if the item does not arrive and you make a claim within three months ( I think) of the purchase date. After that time they don't want to know you.

[blueloo]

I have ordered a couple of things from Sporty's - and have gone through your similar dramas... they do send it - via the slowest method possible! Completely non traceable too.

They don't appear to have the option to upgrade (internationally) to a priority mail with tracking, yet the postage they charge is equivalent to priority mail. In general 3-4 weeks is the norm. I have waited anxiously till the end of the 3rd week then pestered them on the phone and usually the next day it arrives. Next time I waited till 4weeks and a few days... same deal, pestered them on the phone and lo and behold package arrives next day.

It is just very slow mail. They must have found a mail barge which transits the Galapagos islands on the way to Australia.

[Ollie Onion]

Next time just buy it from AMAZON, traceable the whole way and generally a better price!

Amazon.com: garmin d2 pilot

[VH-XXX]

Seems you may have wasted your $500.

Does it even work in Australia?


I so wanted to love this watch, but its garbage.
By Lynn Dixon - January 8, 2014
Amazon Verified Purchase
I have been looking forward to this watch for a long time. I was excited to see someone selling it Amazon, so I ordered it immediately. Garmin does GPS well, but they suck at watches. Let me go through all the things that I dislike about this thing.

First off, the display is impossible to read indoors. I tried adjusting the contrast to make it better, but nothing helped. I have to constantly turn on the backlight when I am indoors. My office has flourescent lights, and I can still only barely make out the display. However, in direct sunlight, it looks just like they advertise.

Secondly, this thing weighs a TON!!! I am used to wearing a titanium Citizens Skyhawk, and this D2 felt like I was wearing lead on my wrist. It also kept sliding to one side of my wrist for some unknown reason.

Thirdly, its as big as a brick! The thing is so damn huge, that I have a hard time getting my hand into my pockets on my work slacks as well as blue jeans. Its stupid huge! If you have gigantic hands/wrists it MIGHT look ok on them. On me, it just looks like a gawdy, getto watch. Sorry.

Fourthly, despite it being massive, and weighing a ton, the case feels cheap. Its plastic-y, and has a matte finish. I was really hoping for some type of quality metal here. Stainless would have been nice. Titanium would have been perfect.

Navigating the map page is pretty cumbersom if you want to pan. and there is very very little information on the map page. Pretty much juist shows airports and state boundry lines.

Now for the things it does good at. It does connect to my Android phone and I can send my flight plans from Garmin Pilot really quickly. I like that. The alarms and alerting are really nice. I like the altitude alert for practicing manuevers, as well as the ones for when you get close to waypoints.

I am going to be sending this piece of junk back, and hopfully Garmin can get it right on their second version, if there is one. For $449 I was expecting a quality watch. I didn't get that.

[Sunfish]

We live and learn...... I received a message that Sporty ships via a mail aggregator- American Internaltional mailing. As for the performance of the D2 watch, I am prepared to be an "early adopter" and give it a try. I usually fly cross country with a Garmin Forerunner on my wrist which just happens to have every VFR waypoint in Southern Australia programmed into it - just in case.

Last cross country tour I must have had Five GPS on board, iPad, iPhone, Bluetooth, Forerunnner and of course the aircrafts...which reminds me of a friends quote: "A man with one watch knows what time it is, a man with Two is never sure".


My response:

Dear Sporty's.

Thank you for your prompt and candid reply. I have to tell you that had I known that you were shipping via a mail aggregator and not via USPS with a tracking number, I would not have dealt with you. This is nothing personal, it's just that for a personal purchase of this nature I would like to know when I can expect the goods and "somewhere between Ten and Thirty days depending.." does not do it for me when I can get delivery from a host of other businesses in America with a tracking number in between Six and twelve days maximum most of the time.

Please note that I am not in any way being abusive, you have done nothing wrong. The fault is mine. I assume the goods will eventually arrive...eventually within your stated time limits. I am offering this as simple feedback from an insignificant international customer who will not be ordering again.

[bankrunner]

I received a message that Sporty ships via a mail aggregator- American Internaltional mailing.

Watch out, then. A lot of stuff shipped via aggregators goes via Europe, or pretty much anywhere really, depending on how they can get it here cheapest.

Late last year, I had some equipment (not from Shorty's) shipped from Los Angeles to Sydney via Belgium, of all places. Took about 5 weeks.

[Sunfish]

Yep, caveat emptor, caught again.

[mhossen]

I've had stuff from Sporty's take over a month and a half to get here. I too was worried, but it got here eventually.

[the_rookie]

Marv golden does the same thing. Bought a flight bag over a year ago $100 cheaper then the same in oz. After purchasing they send you an email to say shipping will be $80. And takes 10-15 days. Over a month later the bag arrives (they did take $20 off the postage cost because of the delay) but in the long run only saved $20 compared to buying here, and had to wait a long time for the bag.

[500N]

Freight from the US has gone up a huge amount in the last two years.

[Jack Ranga]

Aircraft Spruce are the best of the lot, superb service, full tracking :ok:

[Possum1]

Agree. I have also found Aircarft Spruce to be quick - about 5-7 working days by their cheapest method, US Postal Service Priority Mail.

Bruce's Custom Covers is also this quick - once they have made the cover of course - also 5-7 working days by US Postal Service Priority Mail which is also the cheapest method offered by Bruce's as well.