Warning - Buying from TomTop

[GMG]

td;lr

While in some markets TomTop’s price is substantially lower than other options, you’ll have NO warranty and NO support if you have any issues.

———
The longer story
A few months ago, my Mavic was stolen, including all my accessories.

Not a day’s gone by without thinking about it and missing shots I might’ve gotten if I’d still had it. So I did my research and found TomTop had them on sale. I did some googling and found nothing too concerning and many positive comments so went ahead and ordered another Fly More Combo.

I decided to order from their European warehouse which was a bit more expensive, to ensure there’d be no VAT, customs or warranty issues. Total price seemed excellent: 1098 €.

When it arrived last Saturday, I charged everything and went through the process of activating it. In the final stages of setting up, I got this message, which is apparently new:

"Your DJI product has been determined to be from an unauthorized source. As such, your one-year product warranty has not been activated. Please contact your seller to arrange an exchange."

I immediately contacted both TomTop and DJI support to try and understand what was behind the message.

Five days later, following many follow ups, TomTop Support has been silent – despite a relatively swift response to a previous issue about problems in completing an order on their website, which leads me to think it’s not simply a matter of being behind on emails.

In the meantime I’ve had a number of back-and-forths with DJI Support, with Blair finally confirming that...

“...this message shows up because the dealer does not register the aircraft in his system so the aircraft does not have warranty. This operation is specially for dealers in China.

We recommend you to exchange the product from the dealer or get the dealer to register the aircraft in our system.”

So, this appears to be a means of avoiding/minimising “grey market” sales.

It is possible to buy offshore, but DJI doesn’t offer international warranties, so IF you have a warranty issue, you need to send the machine to the market in which you purchased it. Even this doesn’t apply to TomTop however, as they’re not registering the aircraft they buy.

In the interest of ensuring people know what they’re getting into, I’m posting this on both MavicPilots and DJI’s forum.

 

[diveinstructor]

td;lr

While in some markets TomTop’s price is substantially lower than other options, you’ll have NO warranty and NO support if you have any issues.

———
The longer story
A few months ago, my Mavic was stolen, including all my accessories.

Not a day’s gone by without thinking about it and missing shots I might’ve gotten if I’d still had it. So I did my research and found TomTop had them on sale. I did some googling and found nothing too concerning and many positive comments so went ahead and ordered another Fly More Combo.

I decided to order from their European warehouse which was a bit more expensive, to ensure there’d be no VAT, customs or warranty issues. Total price seemed excellent: 1098 €.

When it arrived last Saturday, I charged everything and went through the process of activating it. In the final stages of setting up, I got this message, which is apparently new:

"Your DJI product has been determined to be from an unauthorized source. As such, your one-year product warranty has not been activated. Please contact your seller to arrange an exchange."

I immediately contacted both TomTop and DJI support to try and understand what was behind the message.

Five days later, following many follow ups, TomTop Support has been silent – despite a relatively swift response to a previous issue about problems in completing an order on their website, which leads me to think it’s not simply a matter of being behind on emails.

In the meantime I’ve had a number of back-and-forths with DJI Support, with Blair finally confirming that...

“...this message shows up because the dealer does not register the aircraft in his system so the aircraft does not have warranty. This operation is specially for dealers in China.

We recommend you to exchange the product from the dealer or get the dealer to register the aircraft in our system.”

So, this appears to be a means of avoiding/minimising “grey market” sales.

It is possible to buy offshore, but DJI doesn’t offer international warranties, so IF you have a warranty issue, you need to send the machine to the market in which you purchased it. Even this doesn’t apply to TomTop however, as they’re not registering the aircraft they buy.

In the interest of ensuring people know what they’re getting into, I’m posting this on both MavicPilots and DJI’s forum.

No way to get in touch with your bank or credit card company to report fraud sale? Im sure if they cancel the payment to TomTop you will then get all the service you need from them.....

 

[GMG]

No way to get in touch with your bank or credit card company to report fraud sale? Im sure if they cancel the payment to TomTop you will then get all the service you need from them.....

The credit card company wouldn’t consider this fraud, as the item has been delivered. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[mQo]

i got mine from tomtop last thursday - got it for 830euro which is lot lower than 1200 they ask here - bought it from china warehouse, came in 10days with DHL - no tax/customs.

The box which the mavic came in looked like it was chewed by Daenerys dragons - but inside everything was ok.

Activated without any issue, and i also bought DJI Care refresh which also worked (in EU - 119Eur). I'm still pretty sure that the warranty won't be applied here in EU, but at least i could get the refresh in case something happens. Other than that my drone flies well, has no issues whatsoever. Only drawback is that if i checked the SN of the Mavic it says it was made on 27th of May 2017.

My issue with tomtop is that they didn't honor the 9% cashback, which was handy money (at least for one more battery)- overall i'm satisfied, but probably would not buy from TomTop, rather from Gearbest

 

[GMG]

Activated without any issue, and i also bought DJI Care refresh which also worked (in EU - 119Eur).

Interesting that you had no issues on activation but that mine did. Incidentally, mine was manufactured on Tuesday, August, 1st 2017.

 

[mQo]

could be that some kind of warning like this popped up but i just closed it. I was fully aware that i'm not getting the warranty here in europe. But as i said, from what i heard you can still purchase care refresh

 

[whiskeylover]

The credit card company wouldn’t consider this fraud, as the item has been delivered. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Did you talk to the credit card company and explain the issue? Your purchases are usually covered with 30 day return if there are issues. And lack of warrant IS an issue.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

The credit card company wouldn’t consider this fraud, as the item has been delivered. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Did you talk to the credit card company and explain the issue? Your purchases are usually covered with 30 day return if there are issues. And lack of warrant IS an issue.

Delivery of the product doesn't negate a claim (damage, not as described, etc.). Second, your credit card company gives you a MINIMUM of 90 days to file a chargeback, some offer longer (Amex was 6 months last I checked).

So there's that:

RE: TomTop, BangGood, GearBest, etc: Great prices, but the service is lacking so I don't buy anything much over $100. I had a MX Bugs quad with a bad battery and I had to keep HAMMERING on them to make good. So that's my advice, keep hammering away at TT and your bank/credit card company. I don't know about the Chinese business culture, but it seems like you REALLY need to keep at it until you get satisfaction.

Good luck. Sucks to get your new Mavic and then have that warning pop up. :-(

 

[GMG]

I will look into the credit card. In other news,
I found a thread on TomTop specifically about their warranty. Awesome, I thought. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and posted, asking them to confirm warranty based on my messages from DJI (i.e. are they underwriting this themselves). I then included further questions. None of this was aggressive and arguably would offer purchasers more confidence if they have bona fide cover.
My post has since been removed, although all previous posts (proclaiming how wonderful TomTop’s warranty is and how fellow buyers can trust TomTop) remain.
They seem to have time to do dodgy moderation of threads, but none to respond to my emails requesting support.

 

[Neil]

So, to be clear - are you able to fly the Mavic? Is it just that you have been denied the warranty?

 

[GMG]

I’ve not flown the Mavic as I’m trying to get TomTop to register the s/n through DJI (which in turn will allow activation with warranty)

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

Anyone have experience with buying inexpensive items from TomTop (was looking at ~$40 GoPro alternatives)? Delivery times, returns, etc. Want an inexpensive 4K action camera, tired of paying $400 to greedy GoPro...

 

[Youser]

i got mine from tomtop last thursday - got it for 830euro which is lot lower than 1200 they ask here - bought it from china warehouse, came in 10days with DHL - no tax/customs.

The box which the mavic came in looked like it was chewed by Daenerys dragons - but inside everything was ok.

Activated without any issue, and i also bought DJI Care refresh which also worked (in EU - 119Eur). I'm still pretty sure that the warranty won't be applied here in EU, but at least i could get the refresh in case something happens. Other than that my drone flies well, has no issues whatsoever. Only drawback is that if i checked the SN of the Mavic it says it was made on 27th of May 2017.

My issue with tomtop is that they didn't honor the 9% cashback, which was handy money (at least for one more battery)- overall i'm satisfied, but probably would not buy from TomTop, rather from Gearbest

Cashback with which site? Mine tracked at £97, hopefully they pay.

What's the downside of the Mavic being made in May 2017?

I thought I got good service from them. Delivered by UPS within 7 days, no customs to the UK. Box was had no damage.

 

[Youser]

I will look into the credit card. In other news,
I found a thread on TomTop specifically about their warranty. Awesome, I thought. I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and posted, asking them to confirm warranty based on my messages from DJI (i.e. are they underwriting this themselves). I then included further questions. None of this was aggressive and arguably would offer purchasers more confidence if they have bona fide cover.
My post has since been removed, although all previous posts (proclaiming how wonderful TomTop’s warranty is and how fellow buyers can trust TomTop) remain.
They seem to have time to do dodgy moderation of threads, but none to respond to my emails requesting support.

When I bought mine from them, I remember it clearly saying on the Mavic Pro page that they do not offer warranty on this product.

If you did have a warranty issue though, would you be prepared to ship back to china and have it shipped back from DJI to a Chinese address who then has to forward it on to you?

I knew about DJI not offering international warranty and it was a risk that I took.

I seem to be suffering from the 'mid-flight gimbal reset' problem straight out of the box. When I contacted tomtop, they asked for a video of the problem. They then sent that to an 'engineer' to have a look at. They got back to me and asked me to contact DJI, explained the international warranty situation and then they offered me a refund or replacement but I would have to cover the cost of shipping to China.

Decided not to go with it as I can live with the problem and I've read that it's common. Also didn't want to receive a replacement with the same problem as some have had this from DJI replacements.

I asked if they'd part refund me or cover the cost of a repair. They said if I sent them a repair invoice, they'd help cover some of the cost. At the moment, there's no known fix for the problem.

Overall, can't complain about the service. Although responses took a while (expected when dealing with Chinese companies) they did respond to all my emails.

Just hoping the cashback pays out (12 weeks wait time) as it would drop the cost of the Fly More Combo to £780 for me.

 

[mavicn00b]

Do a PayPal dispute if they don't come to the party

 

[GMG]

When I bought mine from them, I remember it clearly saying on the Mavic Pro page that they do not offer warranty on this product.

If you did have a warranty issue though, would you be prepared to ship back to china and have it shipped back from DJI to a Chinese address who then has to forward it on to you?
[snip]
Just hoping the cashback pays out (12 weeks wait time) as it would drop the cost of the Fly More Combo to £780 for me.

There was nothing about no warranty (in part the reason that I went ahead and ordered from within Europe, was so I’d have warranty cover, rather than taking the cheaper option of getting it from their main warehouse in China.

I’ve followed a number comments about people shipping a return to TomTop in China but not getting a refund, so that’s worried me about all this (although if I do opt for this, I’ll post what happens).

 

[GMG]

Another update: I received an email from TomTop support asking for the order number. 6 days after my initial email.

 

[Youser]

There was nothing about no warranty (in part the reason that I went ahead and ordered from within Europe, was so I’d have warranty cover, rather than taking the cheaper option of getting it from their main warehouse in China.

I’ve followed a number comments about people shipping a return to TomTop in China but not getting a refund, so that’s worried me about all this (although if I do opt for this, I’ll post what happens).

Thats one of the reasons I didn't want to send it back, just in case something goes wrong, I'd have nothing.

I meant warranty from tomtop not DJI.

How long did it take for you to receive the drone?

Mine was sent from china to Germany and then UPS picked it up and delivered it to the UK. That's how they avoid the customs fees. It only took 7 days and am now wondering if yours was actually originally sent from China.

 

[GMG]

I ordered mine on the 16th and it arrived on the 21st.

 

[Z953]

I ordered one of those buid-it-yourself guitar kits that looks like a Strat for $60. I got it in like a week; I haven't opened it yet but the box was in once piece so I wasn't going to open it up until I have time to actually build/paint it. I just hope that everything is inside after reading this thread.

Anyone have experience with buying inexpensive items from TomTop (was looking at ~$40 GoPro alternatives)? Delivery times, returns, etc. Want an inexpensive 4K action camera, tired of paying $400 to greedy GoPro...