What the hell is going on at Mat Mladin Imports?

[rgvlee]

Well rather than sit on my hands I've finally had enough with a parts order that's been going on for 2 and a half months... so I fired this off to the importer today.

To paint a picture. Order for chain and sprockets placed on July 3rd with superbikesupply.com. Still waiting 2 and a half months later. No ETA.

Spoken to Tim at superbikesupply, the hold up is Mat Mladin imports.

These parts are available in the US, I could have ordered them direct with a recent parts order.

There are no excuses.

I find that waiting nearly a 1/4 of a year for sprockets for an 01 YZF-R6 unacceptable.

I doubt it will change anything, except for the fact that it may give some of you that extra excuse to shop overseas.

What the hell is going on at Mat Mladin Imports?

How long does it take to supply Vortex sprockets?

On the 3rd of July I placed an order for a front and rear sprocket for my bike (01 YZF-R6) with superbikesupply.com. The sprockets in question, Vortex, I am told are distributed in Australia by your company, Mat Mladin Imports.

As a consumer I figure that a couple of sprockets bought in Australia should take no longer than 2 to 3 weeks to source/deliver. We're not talking sprockets for some sort of exotic bike; this stuff should be easily available. Hell I'd be prepared to wait up to a month to support a local business in an industry that is seeing an increasing number of consumers head overseas for cheaper parts and accessories.

Well I can tell you if I had of known it would take 2 and a half months... and still counting... to locally source a normal wear and tear item for my bike I would have cut out the middle man and gone straight to the states. 2 and a half months! Nearly a quarter of a year! For a front and rear sprocket!

How hard is it to get 2 sprockets sent from the states?

Wait, I can answer that. It's not. I frequently order parts from the US and UK and it takes no more than 2 weeks for an order to arrive. The longest I have EVER seen is 3 weeks, and on that occasion my parcel was sent to Austria by mistake.

I could have got them thrown into a recent order from the states and had them within 2 weeks. They were available and not on backorder, there was no supply issue. So why couldn't Mat Mladin Imports do the same?

You should be ashamed. The people you are hurting are those that need the most support… retailers like superbikesupply.com… who rely on prompt delivery, competitive prices and customer service to keep them in the market. It's hard enough for them to offer a competitive price... you're doing them, and yourself in the long run, no favours by pissing off good customers with unacceptable delays for run of the mill consumable parts.

It is no wonder many skip the local shops and go overseas for their parts and accessories. You're a business. Provide your customers with a reason to shop locally. Give them the decency to deliver a product in a reasonable amount of time and for a competitive price. Making them wait ridiculous amounts of time and then charging them for the privilege is, I am sorry to say, a piss weak business model.

Annoyed!

rgvlee

[nath]

I'm pretty sure most of us have experienced this with Australian retailers at one point or another..

It really is a disgrace that an overseas retailer can have a part to your door quicker that a local one.

[perdition]

mat mladin seem bullshit with their prices and crap customer service, i emailed them a couple of times when i was chasing stuff for my 05 R6 - never got a reply - so i ordered pipe and pc3 from the states.

mind you alot of aussie importers are crap , awesome imports also were shit, never respodning to emails asking about stuff they were selling.

[flashthebiker]

I ordered a Puig screen throuh Tim and Superbike Supply. After about 3 months of the importer not supplying I got it in 3 days from Motomummy...

[rgvlee]

Yes, I know we all bitch about them. But if you don't tell them, nothing will change. I don't know if this will do anything, but it made me feel better. End of the day, for a run of the mill part for a reasonably common bike, there should be no issue... but that is not the case. 2.5 months is absurd and I can't believe I have been this patient so far.

[semi]

mladin are fucked. Apparently they had a giant whinge at pazzo because people didnt want to pay their markup and were buying directly from the US, so motomummy are no longer allowed to sell pazzo's to australia

[nath]

Just cancel your order and place it with someone that can deliver.

Superbike supply have been good to me in the small dealings I have had with them so its a shame for them to suffer... but a retailer is really only as good as their wholesaler.

[thro]

You know my experience with Aussie online suppliers (B components) - they don't seem to give a fuck.

As you say, i'd be willing to cut them a little slack to support local (in the case of my order an extra 150 bucks over what i'd pay elsewhere), but when you're waiting for several months with no end in sight, you have to ask yourself why.

I'm guessing your card was billed the day you ordered, or the next day?


edit:
Have had similar stuff with online dealings with just about every australian online business i've dealt with. If you're going to have an online presence, actually monitor it, ffs. All having a "click here to order/email" button does is piss people off, if you don't respond to it. If you can't respond, just put a phone number up and no other contact?

AS far as bitching to b components goes - he took 2 weeks to respond to email, didn't answer his phone, etc. However, he responded THE NEXT DAY when my original order failed to process automatically due to his credit card billing software not working. Go figure...

[rgvlee]

yeah, i paid for this stuff on day 1.

that in itself doesn't bother me. It's the wait and their expectation that i'll bend over and smile whilst they fuck me on the delivery date and expect me to be ok with it.

[barfridge]

Good rant Lee, but the real question that needs to be asked is: why the fuck weren't the sprockets already on the shelf locally? As you say, they're a common part.

Ordering a part, then blaming a supplier shows you are already one step behind. I do purchasing for a living, and most of the time we have better stocks of essential items than our suppliers.

Reminds me of a local dealership that never has oil filters in stock, when only 60+% of their bikes all use that same filter.

If you know supply is a problem, you should be pro-active and take up any slack in the supply chain yourself

[Rob]

Last I heard, Trent from Punchbowl was workin' there...

[Cbr1k]

I feel so sorry for the dealers as they have to deal with these wanker importers and their high markups.

As for the lead-time I have seen this before with a supplier. What they have probably done is wait until their is a shitload on backorder and then get it shipped ocean freight as a single large shipment.

[t bone]

I had a massive run in with Power Bronze it took neally 4 months for my rear hugger and i spoke to THS they passed the buck to Power Bronze in the East they inturn passed the buck to England so I called them and got Bullshit and no real answer I spose we just have to put up with it no PR there.
I also wanted a carbon fibre tank pad and filler cap cover form THS 3 weeks ex Japan.Told Management this was not good as it has been the same part for the last 10yrs on the Blades 600's and 919 on no stock they said sorry not good enough

[Superbike Supply]

It does make it very difficult for retailers if they can not receive stock in a timely maner from distributors - It hurts the retailer's reputation and forces good loyal customers elsewhere (usually off shore)

[El Loco]

It's a shame.

I always go direct overseas now as items are cheaper and show up quicker. The last items I ordered from the UK arrived in 6 days and I saved over $AU 120.00

Contact the ORIGINAL supplier and let them know their local distributor is damaging their product identity by not being able to fulfill orders adequately.

[arwon]

is it possible to order COD from them... seems like the only option, then give them 5days to deliver, if it doesn't turn up buy overseas, then once a decent case for their demise is developed hit the papers and MCNEWS about the cocks they let advertise in their mag.

[TORQ]

Lee - I know it's hindsight now, but also checkout Sprocket Center ... Chad over there (US) has given us good service, fast delivery (matter of days) and always had the goods ...

[XIII]

good onya i am sick and tired of most companies out there these days if they do not have it on the shelf or can not walk out the back to get it bugger them i will get it myself fuck paying for someone else to do what you can do your self quicker.

[Kwackernaut]

Hi,
I almost always order motorcycle stuff from the USA. It is cheap, quick and totally reliable(so far). I have ordered at least $3000 worth of stuff.

American companies are generally very reliable and USPS(US Postal Service).

No problems so far.

Latest purchase is a Shoei RF-1000(same as XR-1000) for $430 including air freight rather than paying $700 here in Perth for the same helmet.

Grant

[Cbr1k]

Mind you it seems to be endemic here in Perth as well. I order stuff for work all the time from places like Blackwoods and Coventry's and if it goes on back order then the only chance I ever have of seeing my goods is constant harrasment.

I am still waiting for some stuff since may