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Raphael vendor / Reseller Reviews.

There's a lot of different resellers about and equally many roumers of who's good and who's dodgy at the moment . So that we all know who's who out there, heres a little Thread with Vendor reviews.
If you have something positive or something negitive to say about a seller please say it here.
Also please rate your vendor XX out of 10, I might add a field to the vendor wiki.
Vendors and prices here >http://wiki.xda-developers.com/index.php?pagename=HTC_Raphael_Vendors

I've always used Expansys / MobilePlanet. I'm USA so MobilePlanet.
There is some atrocious whining in their forums from - for want of a better term - EXTRAnoobs.
But in my dealings they are professional, rock solid and I've never had any problems.

Onthegosolutions
I have used Maobile Planet in the past and had no specific problems.
For some years not I have been using OntheGoSolutions and I have been pleased because I always know who I am speaking with. Seems to have very little turnover and they are small enough that I can communicate with one person. They are definitley not the cheapest but have at least twice in the past lowered a price for me when I pointed out an advertised lower price elsewhere.

I bought my Raphael online from Expansys Canada... All I can say is the transaction was very easy, and shipping was SUPER FAST!!!
Ordered it Friday afternoon (approx 3pm), after a small billing problem (I gave them a different phone number from the one on my Credit Card account), confirmed the order on Monday morning at 10am (they aren't opened on weekends), I had the device in my hands Tuesday just before noon...
All in all, besides the phone # problem, I'm very happy with the transaction. It was easy, smooth and fast...

Inkino UK
To all in London and southeast
Eugene at Inkino (I never knew I needed one), 48 Tottenham Court Road www.inkino.co.uk is a mine of information on all things HTC. They are one of the few, if only, HTC Ultimate Partners and it shows.
I have bought my Trinity and now Touch Pro from there.
Yes I could probably get a few pounds off here or there but the service and honest opinions I have had from Eugene and his collegues at the sister branch 9 Great Russell Street mean that I will simply not buy from elsewhere. If I have a problem I know I can call up or drop in and I will speak to someone who knows his products inside out and is a straightforward trader.
Pleasure to do business with.

I ordered mine from Expansys UK. I live in Cyprus and Expansys is propably the best choice. Although I should have used Expansys Cyprus, the UK site was 40 Euro cheaper so I went with them. The service is excellent! Prices are among the best in the market. (630 EURO inc. DHL shipping fees).
They support Paypal, which is a big plus in safety matters, and by using DHL you get your phone in record time.
All in all, i am a happy customer=p

I'm in the US and I bought mine from Clove. A tad more expensive, but I was having problems with Google Checkout (which Handtec uses for overseas orders). Clove was a little slow to receiving my order, but once they did they shipped it out within hours. DHL got it to me in 2 days, all the way from UK to California, and by 10am no less.
One thing about Clove (that I appreciated) is that they require you to confirm the order by calling your CC company and requesting the 6-digit charge authorization number for the charge. Maybe it's an extra hassle, but it's nice to know they're serious about your security.
I would order from Clove again, but of course now I have no money.

I'm in the US and purchased from Smart Mobile Gadgets. All was as they said, including Saturday delivery.

I ordered my TP from On the Go Solutions in July. They said they would call and make sure I still wanted it before they would ship. They also shipped the day the said they would, a month in advance. I am very satisfied with the way they do business.

This is a statement of one set of circumstances and does NOT impute or call into question the credibility or otherwise of this particular organization. There may be an explanation - but so far - my client has not received one.
A client of mine bought direct in a Buy It Now eBay auction from a company with a high level of positive feedback with thousands of positive transactions on eBay. Their public site is - Popular Electronics http://www.popularelect.com.
Approx 24 hours after buying eBay declared the auction NULL AND VOID and advised my client that they do not have to pay. eBay stated:
"As eBay removed the item, you are no longer obliged to send payment for it. Please don't send money or respond to any emails from the seller.
If you've sent payment but haven't received the item, please wait a reasonable period of time for delivery. If you don't receive the item, please contact us again by clicking "Contact Us" on any eBay Help page and selecting the following contact options:
Buying and Finding>Fraud and Payment Concerns for Buyers>Item Not Received or Item Not as Described (you paid)"
My client has called and emailed the company direct and not received any replies.
I've carefully reviewed the eBay email and header codes and believe the email is genuine and not a phish. All the auctions that for TouchPRo's that WERE on ebay from this company have disappeared at 9/3/2008 14:00 EDT.
I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

BEWARE OF THE TIGADUACELLULAR!!!
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=2617797#post2617797

Has anyone actually baught anything from tigerCellular out there? If so let us know are they real or fake? thanks... im betting the latter but you never know

2call.nl 5/10
Got my TP from 2call.nl
Price without contract (as I use company sim) was good and delivery was very fast.
However, as my TP came with the know problems (GPS instable and hot, black paint falls off,...), I asked 2call within two weeks after pruchase to take my device back and replace it by a new one.
They refused.
As price and delivery is not the only thing I expect from a retailer of a some hundred euro device, I personally will not buy at 2call.nl again.

How much for a Touch Pro, reputable US dealers?

I'm thinking about possibly gambling that the Elite Team gets 3G working for U.S. frequencies on the existing Touch Pro's.
A quick Google Shopping search yields a lot of prices way to low to be legit. What are they going for legit, and any good recommendations for U.S. based sellers?

the cheapest i've seen it from a reputable seller is from plemix. they have it for $787. here is the direct link:
http://www.plemix.com/phone-htc-touchpro-phone

I bought 2 units from an ebay seller. Perfect transactions, with next day air optional. He's not the cheapest, but answers email and is a pleasure to deal with. He has been locked in as the only seller I will deal with in the US. He even carries (and has in stock) the Advantage and Shift.
Seller's store is located here (smart-mobile-gadgets' store)
At this moment...he has 94 available here in the US, and at a list price of $200 less than my unit, and $150 less than my wife's. Guess that's what I get for my lack of patience!

the most safe shipping way from China to Uk

never even heard of ems before this... but dhl is very reputable in the US. I would go with them.

Never had problems with either EMS nor DHL.
Please remember that if the value is higher you can expect a import tax bill a few weeks after delivery. (once after 7 weeks!)

sierra086 said:
who knows the most safe shipping way from China to Uk?
is it EMS,DHL or else?
who knows,tell me please~!
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EMS is good and very strong localy..well DHL no need to mention I blieve. shipping cost might be by EMS lower. if the cost no matter and the goods that you shipping is high value go with DHL ( on save site)

Mi4c EU warehouse - best place to buy?

Hello there,
I want to buy a Mi4c 2gb cellphone from europe or somewhere were I have not to pay taxes for the customs.
Do you guys know the best sites to buy it?
Thank you :fingers-crossed:

if you buy from an eu location, taxes will be already paid and incorporated into the cost charged to you so they will cost more compared to those shipped from china (the extra cost being same as the value of tax that would have been paid). If you import from china, there is a decent chance you won't have to pay tax, but if you do then the total will come up to the same as one bought from the eu. so i'd say if you can wait a couple of weeks, buy from china as you are quite likely to avoid taxes anyway, but if you can't wait buy from the eu.
i bought mine from:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141809095028?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
ordered on 5th june, delivered on 24th june to the uk. No customs taxes, it was marked as a $20 mp4 player on the packaging

kickassy said:
if you buy from an eu location, taxes will be already paid and incorporated into the cost charged to you so they will cost more compared to those shipped from china (the extra cost being same as the value of tax that would have been paid). If you import from china, there is a decent chance you won't have to pay tax, but if you do then the total will come up to the same as one bought from the eu. so i'd say if you can wait a couple of weeks, buy from china as you are quite likely to avoid taxes anyway, but if you can't wait buy from the eu.
i bought mine from:
ordered on 5th june, delivered on 24th june to the uk. No customs taxes, it was marked as a $20 mp4 player on the packaging
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The problem is that I'm from Portugal and the taxes are really high, I'm going to pay almost 60€ in taxes...

Dannycoelhoo said:
The problem is that I'm from Portugal and the taxes are really high, I'm going to pay almost 60€ in taxes...
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Ah yes but what i'm trying to say is that if you're intent on buying a xiaomi phone, you'll have to be prepared to pay the tax either way. if you buy from the eu, the cost of tax will be incorporated into the cost charged by the seller so you're guaranteed to pay the tax. but if you buy from china, you will probably not have to pay tax but there is a chance you do so you have to be aware of that. chinese sellers typically mark their products as gifts or as a low amount (like mine) as to avoid taxes as customs officials can't open every package that comes through their borders to check inside. this means that most chinese goods will make it through untaxed but if you're unlucky you'll have to pay up.

kickassy said:
Ah yes but what i'm trying to say is that if you're intent on buying a xiaomi phone, you'll have to be prepared to pay the tax either way. if you buy from the eu, the cost of tax will be incorporated into the cost charged by the seller so you're guaranteed to pay the tax. but if you buy from china, you will probably not have to pay tax but there is a chance you do so you have to be aware of that. chinese sellers typically mark their products as gifts or as a low amount (like mine) as to avoid taxes as customs officials can't open every package that comes through their borders to check inside. this means that most chinese goods will make it through untaxed but if you're unlucky you'll have to pay up.
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Yes, I understand you. But there are places like gearbest that sells it in a good price and it avoids the customs, but they're out of stock. Thats why I want other sites that sells it in EU

I bought mine from honorbuy mobile 2 weeks ago.

Gizchina has EU warehouse
http://shop.gizchina.com/mi4c/

If you don't want to pay tax, you'll have to order from China directly, not from a EU warehouse.
From China, you could randomly have to pay taxes too...
Note that you'll have to wait 2-3 weeks more.
PS : you should consider the 32Go version instead of the 16Go. For the storage, but for the RAM too....

Be aware of buying phone from playfone.go on ebay

So ebay offered $50 off coupon couple days ago. I decided to get the S9+ 128gb from seller playfone.go. I paid $839 plus $25 shipping. Turned out to around $816 after the discount. Few hours later, seller contacted me saying there's an issue with DHL that they can't ship it out. Then asked to cancel the order until DHL issue is resolved. They made it sounds like I can buy it again when the issue is resolved. It left me with no choice but to cancel the order. Few hours after I cancelled my order, I noticed the seller raised the shipping cost to $150 from $25. I asked them how come they raised the shipping after my order is cancelled. They told me they couldn't cancel the listing so they raised the shipping so no one would buy from them.
Today I found out they updated the listing again and raised to $965 plus $25 shipping. I suspect they didn't want to sell me the 128gb model at the price I paid for in the beginning. So I told them I will report them to eBay. I am so mad they gave me a bogus excuse and tricked me into cancelling my order instead of given me an honest answer. I would've feel better if they tell me they are a mistake on the price then I would buy from other sellers instead.
Playfone.go has multiple s9 listings on eBay so be aware of this shady seller.

Same here but with a seller called rating_us
I gave a negative rating

Ricardo_G said:
Same here but with a seller called rating_us
I gave a negative rating
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I tried to leave negative feedback but I couldn't anymore for some reason. Just called ebay and reported this seller. The rep I talked to over the phone agrees that the seller raised the price after my order was cancelled. She asked me to report the item and they will look into this and possibly stop seller from selling this item again for violating ebay listing practices