know what your getting !!!
 

if you buy any type of precut Kit know what your getting in it, get the full contents in witting or in an Email,,

I needed a Wing Kit for my plane and I found (on RCU) the guy that originally lofted the Drawings, I emailed him then I talked to the guy on the phone, and he picked his word very carefully, I needed the kit and the guy has been in the hobby a long long time so I thought I could trust him, so I ordered the Wing Kit,

keep in mind the Wing Span on this plane is ONLY 73 inch !!

as I said he picked his words carefully, I thought I would receive a full Wing Kit,, but in the end for $80 all I got was Ribs and "used" Drawings (see photo for ribs),,, no Spars, no Leading or Trail Edge, no Wing Tips, no Sheeting,,, ONLY Ribs and used Paper for $80 !!

the Drawings has glue on them and one side has a hole in it (sorry, no drawing photo),,

I can send the kit back but I will loose $40 with the shipping I have paid and the return shipping and his Restocking Fees,,

he has made this ugly for me, it makes me want to just burn the plane, and move on,,

just be careful when you buy a precut kit, now what your getting !!!!!
Jim

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

I have just had a similar experience, where I bought a kit supposedly nib complete with plans. When it arrived the box suspiciously light and when I opened it the was no cowl, no canopy, no h'ware, some wing ribs missing, some fromers missing and no sheet or sticks. the plkans that wee in there were only a line drawn 3 view. I called the turkey and he said the kit had never been opened and everything was in there when he checked and he then hung up, and he never answered any more calls. I was lucky I paid with paypal, and will get my money back. I also contacted the seller an told him to arrange return of his junk himself. I guess I have been lucky so far on both ebay and rcu, only 2 deals in 2 yrs go bad so far. I guess its only a matter of time before any of us getting bitten, and in these troubled times its going to happen more sadly enough, Comunication can only help so far, if a clown is going to try to scam you he will no matter how much you talk. Its why I prefer to only use paypal if at all possible

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

Yeah, I've been very lucky. Almost 4 yrs buying on the internet ( mostly RCU & Ebay) "knock on wood" I've not been bitten yet , yet. I know it's probably coming. I have always been very critical of the sellers "feedback" & try to go by that. The only close call I had was; last summer I bought an item from a guy in Canada, no problem with the guy, but Canada's postal service must be prehistoric, it took almost 6 weeks to finalize the deal.

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

I have only had one issue with canada post being slow, and even then half my waiting was the seller. even my last item from canada took just 8 days to Australia [X(] but it took the clown 4 weeks to send it [:'(] I always check the postage times, gives me an idea off what sellers time is too, and on the whole most have been good, usually sending within 5 days which to me acceptable. Knowing how many people take checking ratings seriously I am always trying to be accurate, will only raise genuine issues if any. strangely the few times I have had to leave neg rates I have ended up in a %#@& fight and had all rates removed [:'(] which I feel detracts from the system. all the same I feel that so far it has been worth while dealing on rcu and ebay and will continue to do so. For the most part the people here seem genuine and easy to deal with, even if I am an aussie [8D]:D

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

I figure the ratio on Ebay to be about 35 to 1. 35 purchases or sales, that go good, to one that goes bad; or, is less than satisfactory. I have yet to purchase a laser short kit from a cutter, although I am in the process, as we speak! No money has changed hands yet. I have concerns about the deal, as the guy does not communicate.

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

I don't get it. What exactly could someone say that would cause such confusion? Did you ask him "what's included"? Did you seek him out to buy the kit? If you did he may have assumed you knew what you were looking to buy.

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

in that case I'd be looking elsewhere, the few bad deals I have had started out that way, nowadays if communications breakdown I call it off

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

As far as rants go this one is pretty well controlled and coherent.
There is no way to know if it was a simple misunderstanding or if there was intentional misrepresentation.
If I was cutting ribs $80 sounds like a very reasonable charge especially if that includes shipping.
If I am buying a wing kit $80 sounds like a lot of money for a set of ribs.
Since this was a verbal only deal its not quite the same as placing an online order and then later complaining about a high shipping charge that was clearly on the line item invoice before the deal was closed.
The fact that he is not identifying the other party is probably a good move in this instance.

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

considering I recently bought a complete short kit for a 82" edge from a cutter in the US for $112 I think he has every right to be upset,
I would be too

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

I think you're making assumptions that may or may not be correct. You assume he bought it from a "kit cutter". My reading of the post sounds more like he bought the kit from another hobbiest, not a professional. The OP searched out another hobbiest and asked him to make the parts so he could make a wing. Sure, $80 is a lot for a set of ribs from a kit cutter that just plops a couple pieces of balsa on the cnc laser and hits a button, but I don't see laser marks on those ribs, so for a hobbiest to break out templates, trace all the pieces out, cut them out, sand them, pack them and make a trip to the post office sounds more like he did the OP a favor for only $80. See how different things can be when you look at it from another angle?

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

thanks for the good words guys !!,, I wrote it short without babbling the little stuff,, let me try to tell it short and to the point,,

he told me on the phone,,

1) the Wing Kit was $70,,, I DID ask what was included in the kit, the way he worded it I thought I was getting a complete Wing Kit, after all he did call it a Wing Kit !!

2), shipping he said was $15, I told him I wanted 3 day shipping, he said that would be $10 more for a total of $25 for the shipping,,

so with that, the Wing Kit and 3 day shipping was $95 total,,

3) on the phone he TOLD me he WOULD reimburse me the difference in the shipping price to what I paid him for the shipping,, so with that I paid the $25 for 3 day, shipped cost him $5.75 so at that he owed me $19.75 back (as the deal was !!)

A) so at that point the total was $95,, when I got the ribs I Emailed him and complained, so he said he would sent back $10 because he sent it ground,,

B) so for $85, shipping cost him $5.75, so that means I paid $79.25 for Ribs and USED Drawings,,

C) ribs ONLY do not make a Wing Kit !!

D) 6 of the ribs are damaged, but with a little extra glue they could be used

Jim

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

smithcreek ,, the guy is a professional, he has been lofting Drawings and Kiting kits for many many years..

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

smithcreek ,, when I Emailed him I asked him if he had Wing Kits he Emailed me back and said (quote) "yes, I have wings kits"

Kit, is the key word here, he called it many times "kit"

NO MATTER who or how it's cut ribs DO NOT make a "kit" !!!

it's simple, the guy suckered me..

Jim

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

ok I just had a bit of a browse and various sites that sell kits, and I agree with The wasp, he got gyped big time. common for the sites that had wing kits, when the term wing kit was used it was a complete wing kit, ribs, spars, le/te and sheeting. What he got is what was termed a rib kit. The price is beyond a joke too.
It was mentioned it may be a hand cut kit, because no burnt edges, not necesarily so, they could also have been cnc router cut. The chattered edges on the small pieces would indicate that.
seems like a shonky deal to me too

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

yee-up !!


hey,, a For Star 120 (80 inch span) COMPLETE kit with wing and fuselage is $160..

Jim

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

I recently bought a kit for a 136"ws glider, thats a full kit for $127 plus shipping. there were a lot more wing ribs too

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

Move on pal. I he doesn't communicate before he gets your money he'll probably disappear after he does.

Bill

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

Bill,, he wont disappear, he's a professional hobbyist, he has been lofting and selling Drawings for many years, there are wed-sites with reviews of his planes, he builds $3000 planes and sells them on RCU, he's going no where,,

I will move-on, but after I have my say ;)

Jim

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

I'm not picking on you, Wasp, but what is "lofting"? Probably a term that oldsters use that we young'uns (62) haven't heard. 8>)


Ed Cregger

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

that's when someone takes fullsize drawings and change them to a different size..

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

Lofting is the laying out and drawing of full sized plans and templates, still commonly used today for boatbuilding

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

Lofting is when you get taken by a seller and Loft them out the upstairs window.

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

Thanks Ed, I figured I was the only on that didn't know what lofting was! Started on your Banshee yet? Back to the subject, that is a sinful amt of money for a set of ribs, hand cut, lazer cut, cnc cut or whatever. Even for a complete wing kit its a little steep. I know you are worried about being sued for divulging the business name, but this guy deserves it. Thats ok , I'll figure it out for myself.

regards Sugarfox

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

my friend "Tom Daniels" was a boat builder for may many years, he used the word as I asid,, I guess a better terming would be "Scaling Down"

suoatfox, thanks !!,,

yeaa I feel better today about it all, what really got me upset is I never built a kit and this is a super nice plane, a real show piece, so one of my friends that has built many kits said he would build the wing for me, BUT after he saw I only received the ribs he said no,, so I'm stuck,,

ether way, if I keep the Ribs I was over charged about $50, if I send them back I will be out $40 because I have to pay shipping and pay a re-stocking Fee,,,

what a SOB !!

Jim

RE: know what your getting !!!
 

Even though it is too late now, and most of us would not think to do it, you probably needed to ask a series of specific questions:
> Are the main spars included?
> What kind of wood are they?
> Is the leading edge included?
> Is it preshaped?
> Is the trailing edge included?
> Is the sheeting included?
> If there are cap strips, shear webs, or sub-spars; are they included?

I guess it would sound like a police interrogation, but it's the only way to know exactly what to expect. And, I wouldn't have thought to do the interrogation. It is easy to think of all of this from my chair, after you have described the bad experience and the evasive answers you got about what is in a "wing kit."