Amazon Order Lesson Learned

[akdrone]

When DJI had no RC Pro available I ordered from Amazon. There was a link to go to the DJI store and I thought I was ordering from DJI through Amazon but it turns out I wasn't. I was ordering from a Chinese company and there is no warranty on my RC Pro. I'm sure I simply failed to look closely as to who it is being sold by but just know that if you are not ordering directly from DJI it could be through a third party. In my case the warranty is for anyone in China. I'm not . I've sent it in to see what the repair would cost. It's rather minor. One antenna swivels freely when they are opened. It may still be working but it won't stay "pointed" to the flat side as it should be so it's not optimal. I have other controllers so I won't be without my drone or anything but it's ground shipping from Alaska so it's going to take a while. I bound an older RC controller. It's not listed as compatible by DJI but it seems to work.

 

[minipro3]

When DJI had no RC Pro available I ordered from Amazon. There was a link to go to the DJI store and I thought I was ordering from DJI through Amazon but it turns out I wasn't. I was ordering from a Chinese company and there is no warranty on my RC Pro. I'm sure I simply failed to look closely as to who it is being sold by but just know that if you are not ordering directly from DJI it could be through a third party. In my case the warranty is for anyone in China. I'm not . I've sent it in to see what the repair would cost. It's rather minor. One antenna swivels freely when they are opened. It may still be working but it won't stay "pointed" to the flat side as it should be so it's not optimal. I have other controllers so I won't be without my drone or anything but it's ground shipping from Alaska so it's going to take a while. I bound an older RC controller. It's not listed as compatible by DJI but it seems to work.

Yes, I almost ordered a Mini 3 Pro from same place on Amazon. Glad I didn't. I assumed the same thing. Thought I was being directed to DJI site.

 

[msinger]

It's rather minor. One antenna swivels freely when they are opened.

This is a common problem with the RC Pro. Why not return it through Amazon instead?

 

[mavic3usa]

Yeah, unfortunately "The DJI Store" on Amazon is just a virtual store and is not connected or in any way tied to doing business at DJI.com.

 

[akdrone]

This is a common problem with the RC Pro. Why not return it through Amazon instead?

It was bought through amazon but it was a Chinese company that sold it and the warranty is only for people living in China. It was bought in May 2023 so I don't think there is any way to return it. I did contact the company "support" folks via email but I don't plan on sending it to a 3rd party even if they say they will do some warranty work. I'll have it repaired by DJI or not repair it at all. Didn't know it was a common problem...

 

[REStewart]

I had to send two back before finally getting one with antennas that didn't flop. Would encourage you to go straight to DJI service. BTW enjoy your videos.

 

[rwilliam99]

It was bought through amazon but it was a Chinese company that sold it and the warranty is only for people living in China. It was bought in May 2023 so I don't think there is any way to return it. I did contact the company "support" folks via email but I don't plan on sending it to a 3rd party even if they say they will do some warranty work. I'll have it repaired by DJI or not repair it at all. Didn't know it was a common problem...

Since Amazon was the "middleman", it seems like they should/could handle a return for a defective piece of hardware. They are usually pretty good with returns, especially returns that are done soon after purchase - at least that has been my experience.

 

[Photo Beaty]

My TC Pro developed a floppy antenna (left side) and I thought maybe I had accidentally stressed it somehow. I sent it to DJI and they repaired it for no charge.

 

[akdrone]

When DJI had no RC Pro available I ordered from Amazon. There was a link to go to the DJI store and I thought I was ordering from DJI through Amazon but it turns out I wasn't. I was ordering from a Chinese company and there is no warranty on my RC Pro. I'm sure I simply failed to look closely as to who it is being sold by but just know that if you are not ordering directly from DJI it could be through a third party. In my case the warranty is for anyone in China. I'm not . I've sent it in to see what the repair would cost. It's rather minor. One antenna swivels freely when they are opened. It may still be working but it won't stay "pointed" to the flat side as it should be so it's not optimal. I have other controllers so I won't be without my drone or anything but it's ground shipping from Alaska so it's going to take a while. I bound an older RC controller. It's not listed as compatible by DJI but it seems to work.

Wow.... I contacted Amazon. They are going to refund my account! It took a while on a chat that went to three different people but they are refunding the account. I will reorder from DJI. This was bought May of 2023 so I'm pretty pleased.

 

[akdrone]

I had to send two back before finally getting one with antennas that didn't flop. Would encourage you to go straight to DJI service. BTW enjoy your videos.

Thanks.... I do put up a lot of videos with a very small audience . With so many thousands of drone pilots taking so many videos very few get much more than a handful of viewers so we all best just enjoying doing it for it's own artistic sense.

 

[EssenYVR]

Yep, you need to look closely at the "Sold by" and "Shipped from" labels when you buy from Amazon. And it's not just Amazon, there are a lot of retailer web sites like Walmart and Best Buy that do a side hustle by acting as a marketplace for third parties.

 

[akdrone]

Yep, you need to look closely at the "Sold by" and "Shipped from" labels when you buy from Amazon. And it's not just Amazon, there are a lot of retailer web sites like Walmart and Best Buy that do a side hustle by acting as a marketplace for third parties.

It's so sad. By now I thought I had learned everything I would ever need to know and then this!

 

[mavic3usa]

About 50% of the time, I have been able to find 3rd party sellers who have prices that are lower than Amazon prices. This allows you to get something cheaper when it is Sold by: [3rd party] but Shipped by: Amazon. You can still have the item delivered quickly by Amazon to your home or a locker in just a few days, free shipping, and you get the benefit of the return policy (i.e. I can return it to Kohls, UPS store, Staples, etc). AND you still get your 5% discount when you charge your purchase to your Amazon card.

 

[EssenYVR]

About 50% of the time, I have been able to find 3rd party sellers who have prices that are lower than Amazon prices. This allows you to get something cheaper when it is Sold by: [3rd party] but Shipped by: Amazon.

Just be aware that when you're not buying from Amazon itself you're having to place trust in whatever company is actually selling you the goods.

 

[mavic3usa]

Just be aware that when you're not buying from Amazon itself you're having to place trust in whatever company is actually selling you the goods.

Fortunately I don't have to share my credit card details with the seller, I don't pay them directly, I don't have to worry about them failing to ship the product since it is shipped directly from Amazon, and if I don't like what I get then I can return it to Amazon under the Amazon policy they created (which means they will mostly take it back without a lot of questions and without a fee). For the most part, the seller didn't even manufacturer the goods when they first shipped them to Amazon so what kind of trust exactly do I need to have in the seller?

 

[EssenYVR]

...so what kind of trust exactly do I need to have in the seller?

A lot of scammers rely on the fact that for low-value items many purchasers won't contest the sale if it turns out to be bogus. This is why there are so many counterfeit items like SD memory cards that get sold on Amazon and other online e-tailers. A scammer will take a super-cheap 8 or 16GB card, format it with a partition table that makes it look like a 512GB card, and sell it for a ridiculously low price. You'd think the low price would be a giveaway that it's a fake but there's a saying about how often suckers are born, and when they find out they've been duped they're often too embarrassed or couldn't be bothered to contest it.

If you're willing to go to the bother of contesting the sale every time you've been duped, then more power to you. But I personally would rather avoid the scam in the first place. I do buy from non-Amazon sellers from time to time, but I'm a lot more cautious about it when I do.

 

[mavic3usa]

A lot of scammers rely on the fact that for low-value items many purchasers won't contest the sale if it turns out to be bogus. This is why there are so many counterfeit items like SD memory cards that get sold on Amazon and other online e-tailers. A scammer will take a super-cheap 8 or 16GB card, format it with a partition table that makes it look like a 512GB card, and sell it for a ridiculously low price. You'd think the low price would be a giveaway that it's a fake but there's a saying about how often suckers are born, and when they find out they've been duped they're often too embarrassed or couldn't be bothered to contest it.

If you're willing to go to the bother of contesting the sale every time you've been duped, then more power to you. But I personally would rather avoid the scam in the first place. I do buy from non-Amazon sellers from time to time, but I'm a lot more cautious about it when I do.

I'll just refer you to a different thread where we've already had this discussion. I haven't had any problems but you are correct, there's a lot of suckers out there that don't know how it work and your advice to them is most applicable.