Hi,
it's now starty to get nasty…
DS keeps claiming to have shipped two heads but can not show evicence. The photo they made shows only one head.
There are claims without proof from DS, and evidence from German customs. So it's now becoming a trust issue.
Regarding the Doll Sweet's decision to ship with TNT, again, knowing that this would cause issues, here is the back story. It goes back one year.
- Before June 2016 - I pick up package from DS in Dalian with my own DHL Express account. Usually, shipping is smooth and fast. The fastest transit time from Dalian to Berlin with DHL Express was three days. Yes, days, not weeks. At some point DS seems to have lost their export licence; I never got a reply why, but suddenly they could not export themselfes anymore and started to use shipping agents, like most other Chinese doll manufacturers.
- June 2016 - DS starts to ship with TNT. Recurring problems with freight papers and customs declarations occur. DS can not produce valid invoices that allow smooth customs clearance. Shipments are delayed up to six weeks. Yes, weeks, not days.
- July 2016 - Issues with TNT shipments from DS continue, it gets annoying.
- October 2016 - Severe issues surface with another TNT shipment from DS. Freight papers indicate a 3 part shipment with a total weight of 114 kg. Tracking shows that some pieces of this shipment are lost in HK and later recovered. Comparing documents issued by DS and the ones carried with the shipment shows that TNT seems to have manupulated freight papers. Everything is inconsistent. DS explains: "I think the shipping company change our invoice make it only total price, this may easy pass Chinese customs." Again, customs declaration is wrong and incomplete, leading to a physical customs inspection during import and further delays.
- October 12th, 2016 - Shipment is delivered by TNT with severe damages. The doll is damaged, the neck is jammed, and there are various other issues. I am filing a shipping damage claim with TNT which is immediately rejected because the shipper is "Royal Run Trading" and only the shipper can make a shipping damage claim. I am asking DS to file a shipping damage claim to allow for a compensation. "Royal Run Trading", a umbrella corporation for DS, fails to file a damage claim with TNT. I do neither get a compensation nor a replacement, neither from DS nor TNT. I summarize the incident to DS: "This is a total desaster".
- November 21, 2016 - I explain in detail to DS what went wrong with the last TNT shipment and that it is just inacceptable that they leave me out in the rain with massively overdrawn import fees because their wrong paperwork - and a shipping damage.
- February 8th, 2017 - When arranging the next order, DS again calculates shipping costs for TNT, completely ignoring the desaster from only a few months ago. I explicitely ask: "Is there any other option than TNT? They are bad, bad, bad - and super expensive after shipping. […] Still no chance to use DHL Express or Fedex? *Anything* not TNT […]". After that, DS ships with DHL Express, and shipping is smooth - quick customs clearance, no shipping damage.
- April 22nd, 2017 - Confirming the current order after discussing shipping options UPS, DHL Express, and Fedex. When placing the order I explicetely request: "[…] let's stick with regular shipping with DHL Express or Fedex […]"
- April 23rd, 2017, - I am asking DS: "Which shipping carrier will deliver the doll?" - No reply.
- May 31st, 2017 - DS sends TNT tracking code without further explanation, resulting in the damage shipment.
So there is a documented history with recurring issues when DS is shipping with TNT to Europe. It goes back a full year and comprises of multiple shipments. One TNT shipment after the other was delayed, damaged or caused other trouble. None of theur TNT shipments from the past year went smooth.
I have repeatedly notified DS about these issues, but they kept using TNT.
For the current shipment, I explicitely requested
not to ship with TNT. DS still shipped with TNT.
And on top of that, they keep claiming to have shipped a head that did not even arrive at German customs.
Considering that DS used to be a most trusted manufacturer, this is just horrible. What happened to the "old DS" I admired and trusted?
Sandro