IguanaSell - a weird customer service experience

[sworist]

Hello,

Note that this was for the purchase of a watch, but IguanaSell offers high end pens, namely Namiki and Nakaya so I felt it was warranted to describe my experience here.


I originally made a mistake: I was looking for the Junghans 100th Jahre Bauhaus chronoscope. The 2020 max bill Chronoscope has the same coloring, but with red dials and date. I mistook the 2020 max bill for the 100th Jahre Bauhaus, so I ordered to 2020 max bill. After the order confirmation, I realized my mistake. I emailed IguanaSell for a cancellation (including the reason) - since they do not have a automated system. A prompt reply came saying that Iguanasell would be cancelling the order (customer service email, not a actual cancellation)- but they asked me what the reason for my cancellation was when I had clearly stated it in the original request.

I replied saying the reason again (I mistook the watch), IguanaSell replied asking me if I would switch my order to another limited edition. I said I was not interested and I asked IguanaSell to cancel my order again.

The final reply was "We are sorry we can't get the Junghans 100 anymore. It was a limited edition and we can't get it anymore . If you want to change it we can help you.". ..... which did not mention the cancellation of my order

It has been several days since then, and I was wondering why my order was still not canceled (in fact a email came saying that IguanaSell was preparing my order!) so I asked Iguanasell why this was the case through their chat feature, but all that was said was "It will be canceled soon".

Today (7 days since the original cancellation confirmation by customer service), I sent Iguanasell a email saying if the order was not cancelled by Friday I would be escalating to a paypal dispute.


While IguanaSell has always responded to my messages within 24 hours (1 business day), I am confounded as to why they keep delaying the cancellation and the refund of my order.

I will not be looking at IguanaSell for products and advise you to do your research before purchasing from them as well.


Edit: After I reached out by email, writing a review here among other things the refund was processed within 13 hours. IguanaSell has made things right and while their communication was confusing at times they have always replied promptly. Make of it what you will. Here is the response email I received.

"First of all, thank you for the patience shown.

We already have proceeded with the cancellation and the refund, but due to the high occupancy season we have a slight delay with managing inquiries.

At Iguana Sell we do mind the prompt responses and the customer service. This being said, our colleagues will work in extra shifts in order to get everything solved as soon as possible.

In the meantime, do not hesitate to contact us for further questions or help. We will be glad to help. "

[carlos.q]

From my point of view the lack of adequate or timely communication from a country that has adopted strict quarantine and lockdown procedures to confront a health crisis should not be interpreted as disinterest. I would suggest that a little patience, and giving the seller the benefit of the doubt, will go a long way.

[sworist]

From my point of view the lack of adequate or timely communication from a country that has adopted strict quarantine and lockdown procedures to confront a health crisis should not be interpreted as disinterest. I would suggest that a little patience, and giving the seller the benefit of the doubt, will go a long way.

Carlos, They have always been responsive - when I email or send them a "chat" they have responded within 24 hours as per the original post.

What I do not understand is their deflection of the cancellation, the offering of other products when I clearly state I am not interested, and their refusal to give a solid timeline (eg you will get a cancellation email by Friday the 24th)

In fact, I think many excuses can be had with the covid-19 situation: if IguanaSell told me upfront: "We are sorry, but your order can take up to two to three weeks to cancel because of our reduced capacity workforce and health safety measures" I would be understanding but their disregard for my asking of cancellation in their replies makes me think of this as a Iguana issue, not a COVID 19 issue

At the end of the day, I was not satisfied with their service, and other retailers like Goulet, Goldspot, Nibs have never given me issues like this, so I will be staying away.

Edit: also sending a email saying your order is getting ready after being asked (and confirming by email!) for a cancellation is rather puzzling.

[FredRydr]

What is the deadline for initiating a PayPal dispute these days?

[adhoc]

I have purchased many, too many things from them. A watch or two, a dozen of pens or so, twice as many inks. Every single time the pens I received were showing signs of being already used; scratches and other marks. The watch came severely scratched up. So bad in fact, I said to myself I'm never buying from them again.

I kinda fell in love with that shipping time, 48 hours from clicking buy to having it in my hands. Later on this too changed to weeks and they completely lost my business.

I hope you get it sorted.

[sworist]

I have purchased many, too many things from them. A watch or two, a dozen of pens or so, twice as many inks. Every single time the pens I received were showing signs of being already used; scratches and other marks. The watch came severely scratched up. So bad in fact, I said to myself I'm never buying from them again.

I kinda fell in love with that shipping time, 48 hours from clicking buy to having it in my hands. Later on this too changed to weeks and they completely lost my business.

I hope you get it sorted.

Hopefully you had some sort of compensation. They have a solid rating on google and other places, but I did not dig enough before making the purchase. Lesson Learned.

[RobJohnson]

We all have our own opinions on naming and shaming, especially when the organisation is not involved in the discussion.

The business has been trading since 2007 with a great many positive reviews. Without knowing what is happening inside the business I don't think it is right to condemn the business.

Have you tried calling them? Or used Facebook contact?

[sworist]

@Fred
I think it is 160 or 180 days, not too sure.

It's just baffling to me. I've never had a place that delays canceling a order especially after confirming they will cancel it.

It's not like they stop responding, but they refuse to acknowledge "please cancel my order" in emails, and instead say "If you want to change it (the order) we can help you"

[adhoc]

The damage on pens was typically minor, so I didn't bother. The watch came with a hefty discount, though it was still sold to me as new. I'm not really the type of person to stir up a ruckus, I just turned away instead.

[TSherbs]

We all have our own opinions on naming and shaming, especially when the organisation is not involved in the discussion.

The business has been trading since 2007 with a great many positive reviews. Without knowing what is happening inside the business I don't think it is right to condemn the business.

Have you tried calling them? Or used Facebook contact?

I actually appreciate the OP. This is exactly the kind of info that I appreciate having, in the same way my neighbor and I might exchange info on experiences with local plumbers. We all know that it is just one person's experience. And he also wrote simply to be cautious and do research before buying from them. There are no "condemnations" here, as you say. It's just some anecdotal information about a company that he has actually otherwise had good business with. I've never bought from them, so I appreciate the info, for what it's worth, and that from the other posters as well.

[RobJohnson]

We all have our own opinions on naming and shaming, especially when the organisation is not involved in the discussion.

The business has been trading since 2007 with a great many positive reviews. Without knowing what is happening inside the business I don't think it is right to condemn the business.

Have you tried calling them? Or used Facebook contact?

I actually appreciate the OP. This is exactly the kind of info that I appreciate having, in the same way my neighbor and I might exchange info on experiences with local plumbers. We all know that it is just one person's experience. And he also wrote simply to be cautious and do research before buying from them. There are no "condemnations" here, as you say. It's just some anecdotal information about a company that he has actually otherwise had good business with. I've never bought from them, so I appreciate the info, for what it's worth, and that from the other posters as well.

I have bought from Iguana Sell and very happy with the service. I have made a call to them and suggested that take an interest in this thread.

As I said, we all have a view on naming and shaming, your view is different to mine Sherbs unless the possibly guilty party is involved with the discussion. There have been a number of situations in the past on FPG where a potentially damaging allegation is made and less that half of the true facts have been presented.

This thread has a whiff of sour grapes/revenge more than a reminder of caveat emptor.

Suggest we wait and see if Iguana Sell makes a response thereby giving an explanation from their perspective as to the dispute.

For example, I have recently been involved in an online purchase that was not fit for purpose. The item was paid for by a credit card. The seller said that a refund had been given to the credit card, which was not backed up by the credit card company. After a week, I called the company and they again confirmed that a refund had been given. it turned out that the card company ( the largest in the world) was giving low priority to refunds and the seller was blame free. It would have been a simple matter for me to have gone on social media accusing the seller of poor service and possibly damaging their excellent service history.

[sworist]

We all have our own opinions on naming and shaming, especially when the organisation is not involved in the discussion.

The business has been trading since 2007 with a great many positive reviews. Without knowing what is happening inside the business I don't think it is right to condemn the business.

Have you tried calling them? Or used Facebook contact?

I actually appreciate the OP. This is exactly the kind of info that I appreciate having, in the same way my neighbor and I might exchange info on experiences with local plumbers. We all know that it is just one person's experience. And he also wrote simply to be cautious and do research before buying from them. There are no "condemnations" here, as you say. It's just some anecdotal information about a company that he has actually otherwise had good business with. I've never bought from them, so I appreciate the info, for what it's worth, and that from the other posters as well.

I have bought from Iguana Sell and very happy with the service. I have made a call to them and suggested that take an interest in this thread.

As I said, we all have a view on naming and shaming, your view is different to mine Sherbs unless the possibly guilty party is involved with the discussion. There have been a number of situations in the past on FPG where a potentially damaging allegation is made and less that half of the true facts have been presented.

This thread has a whiff of sour grapes/revenge more than a reminder of caveat emptor.

Suggest we wait and see if Iguana Sell makes a response thereby giving an explanation from their perspective as to the dispute.

For example, I have recently been involved in an online purchase that was not fit for purpose. The item was paid for by a credit card. The seller said that a refund had been given to the credit card, which was not backed up by the credit card company. After a week, I called the company and they again confirmed that a refund had been given. it turned out that the card company ( the largest in the world) was giving low priority to refunds and the seller was blame free. It would have been a simple matter for me to have gone on social media accusing the seller of poor service and possibly damaging their excellent service history.

I purchased through paypal. I would have been given instant notification since paypal does same day refunds, while it may take awhile for it to show up on my credit card, it would - and has - shown up on my paypal transactions.

As for revenge, not sure what "revenge" is to be had. I have shared my experiences and you can share yours. While mine was somewhat confounding, I tried to be understanding and have reached out to the community to see if there were similar incidents, or if this was a anomaly.

As for contact, I did try using their chat options, but I do not use Facebook or whatsapp as suggested on their website. I always communicate through email, and it has worked well for me so far.... with responses that were given within 24 hours.

[Johnny_S]

We all have our own opinions on naming and shaming, especially when the organisation is not involved in the discussion.

The business has been trading since 2007 with a great many positive reviews. Without knowing what is happening inside the business I don't think it is right to condemn the business.

Have you tried calling them? Or used Facebook contact?

I actually appreciate the OP. This is exactly the kind of info that I appreciate having, in the same way my neighbor and I might exchange info on experiences with local plumbers. We all know that it is just one person's experience. And he also wrote simply to be cautious and do research before buying from them. There are no "condemnations" here, as you say. It's just some anecdotal information about a company that he has actually otherwise had good business with. I've never bought from them, so I appreciate the info, for what it's worth, and that from the other posters as well.

I have bought from Iguana Sell and very happy with the service. I have made a call to them and suggested that take an interest in this thread.

As I said, we all have a view on naming and shaming, your view is different to mine Sherbs unless the possibly guilty party is involved with the discussion. There have been a number of situations in the past on FPG where a potentially damaging allegation is made and less that half of the true facts have been presented.

This thread has a whiff of sour grapes/revenge more than a reminder of caveat emptor.

Suggest we wait and see if Iguana Sell makes a response thereby giving an explanation from their perspective as to the dispute.

For example, I have recently been involved in an online purchase that was not fit for purpose. The item was paid for by a credit card. The seller said that a refund had been given to the credit card, which was not backed up by the credit card company. After a week, I called the company and they again confirmed that a refund had been given. it turned out that the card company ( the largest in the world) was giving low priority to refunds and the seller was blame free. It would have been a simple matter for me to have gone on social media accusing the seller of poor service and possibly damaging their excellent service history.

I purchased through paypal. I would have been given instant notification since paypal does same day refunds, while it may take awhile for it to show up on my credit card, it would - and has - shown up on my paypal transactions.

As for revenge, not sure what "revenge" is to be had. I have shared my experiences and you can share yours. While mine was somewhat confounding, I tried to be understanding and have reached out to the community to see if there were similar incidents, or if this was a anomaly.

As for contact, I did try using their chat options, but I do not use Facebook or whatsapp as suggested on their website. I always communicate through email, and it has worked well for me so far.... with responses that were given within 24 hours.

I don't use Paypal myself but I am aware that they are not good at notifiying of refunds, even though they have instructions from their client.

Have you tried speaking to Iguanasell before going public on their service?

[sworist]

I don't use Paypal myself but I am aware that they are not good at notifiying of refunds, even though they have instructions from their client.

Have you tried speaking to Iguanasell before going public on their service?

The matter with paypal - that it is "not good at notifiying of refunds, even though they have instructions from their client" is blatantly untrue. Perhaps I should call paypal? <- Sarcasm, if it wasn't unclear
When a client refunds (and I have issued invoices and refunds before) within 3-4 minutes you will get a message of the transaction. This is a automated system where you click "refund" and the system instantly processes it.

I have sent them over 3 emails and a chat message. I thought that was more than enough reminders, with more than enough time so I decided to leave my experience here.

And if you think my statement was libel, I described my actions and theirs and have emails and chat logs to back it up.

[Fermata]

I don't use Paypal myself but I am aware that they are not good at notifiying of refunds, even though they have instructions from their client.

Have you tried speaking to Iguanasell before going public on their service?

But have you tried speaking to PayPal before claiming in public that it is “not good at notifying of refunds” and risking the company's good name?

The timestamp of the email I received from Iguana Sell's web shop platform notifying me of order cancellation is the same (to the minute) as the timestamp of the email I received from PayPal notifying me of the refund. Just now I went into my Iguana Sell account and reviewed the details of the order, and the time of order cancellation matches the timestamps of the aforementioned email messages.

I've been refunded by other online retailers (based in Europe and in USA) through PayPal in the past as well, and there were no delays in email notification from PayPal of such as far as I can recall. In some instances, I was in online chat with the retailer, and by the time the person on the other end told me, “I've just issued a refund,” I've already read PayPal's email notification.

Iguanasell are in Lockdown.

[Chrissy]

I've been refunded by other online retailers (based in Europe and in USA) through PayPal in the past as well, and there were no delays in email notification from PayPal of such as far as I can recall. In some instances, I was in online chat with the retailer, and by the time the person on the other end told me, “I've just issued a refund,” I've already read PayPal's email notification.

This has been my experience with PayPal email notifications too.

[TSherbs]

We all have our own opinions on naming and shaming, especially when the organisation is not involved in the discussion.

The business has been trading since 2007 with a great many positive reviews. Without knowing what is happening inside the business I don't think it is right to condemn the business.

Have you tried calling them? Or used Facebook contact?

I actually appreciate the OP. This is exactly the kind of info that I appreciate having, in the same way my neighbor and I might exchange info on experiences with local plumbers. We all know that it is just one person's experience. And he also wrote simply to be cautious and do research before buying from them. There are no "condemnations" here, as you say. It's just some anecdotal information about a company that he has actually otherwise had good business with. I've never bought from them, so I appreciate the info, for what it's worth, and that from the other posters as well.

I have bought from Iguana Sell and very happy with the service. I have made a call to them and suggested that take an interest in this thread.

As I said, we all have a view on naming and shaming, your view is different to mine Sherbs unless the possibly guilty party is involved with the discussion. There have been a number of situations in the past on FPG where a potentially damaging allegation is made and less that half of the true facts have been presented.

This thread has a whiff of sour grapes/revenge more than a reminder of caveat emptor.

Suggest we wait and see if Iguana Sell makes a response thereby giving an explanation from their perspective as to the dispute.

For example, I have recently been involved in an online purchase that was not fit for purpose. The item was paid for by a credit card. The seller said that a refund had been given to the credit card, which was not backed up by the credit card company. After a week, I called the company and they again confirmed that a refund had been given. it turned out that the card company ( the largest in the world) was giving low priority to refunds and the seller was blame free. It would have been a simple matter for me to have gone on social media accusing the seller of poor service and possibly damaging their excellent service history.

"Potentially damaging" remarks? You kidding? Are you opposed to the idea of reviews? Are you opposed to the principle of community feedback? Do you work for this company in question? There are dozens of maker and seller and distributor review threads here, and not everyone is pleased with the service they have received. Whatever you "whiff" here might be your own bias toward the issue.

[RobJohnson]

We all have our own opinions on naming and shaming, especially when the organisation is not involved in the discussion.

The business has been trading since 2007 with a great many positive reviews. Without knowing what is happening inside the business I don't think it is right to condemn the business.

Have you tried calling them? Or used Facebook contact?

I actually appreciate the OP. This is exactly the kind of info that I appreciate having, in the same way my neighbor and I might exchange info on experiences with local plumbers. We all know that it is just one person's experience. And he also wrote simply to be cautious and do research before buying from them. There are no "condemnations" here, as you say. It's just some anecdotal information about a company that he has actually otherwise had good business with. I've never bought from them, so I appreciate the info, for what it's worth, and that from the other posters as well.

I have bought from Iguana Sell and very happy with the service. I have made a call to them and suggested that take an interest in this thread.

As I said, we all have a view on naming and shaming, your view is different to mine Sherbs unless the possibly guilty party is involved with the discussion. There have been a number of situations in the past on FPG where a potentially damaging allegation is made and less that half of the true facts have been presented.

This thread has a whiff of sour grapes/revenge more than a reminder of caveat emptor.

Suggest we wait and see if Iguana Sell makes a response thereby giving an explanation from their perspective as to the dispute.

For example, I have recently been involved in an online purchase that was not fit for purpose. The item was paid for by a credit card. The seller said that a refund had been given to the credit card, which was not backed up by the credit card company. After a week, I called the company and they again confirmed that a refund had been given. it turned out that the card company ( the largest in the world) was giving low priority to refunds and the seller was blame free. It would have been a simple matter for me to have gone on social media accusing the seller of poor service and possibly damaging their excellent service history.

"Potentially damaging" remarks? You kidding? Are you opposed to the idea of reviews? Are you opposed to the principle of community feedback? Do you work for this company in question? There are dozens of maker and seller and distributor review threads here, and not everyone is pleased with the service they have received. Whatever you "whiff" here might be your own bias toward the issue.

Yes I am opposed to Naming and Shaming without the full facts.

I do not work for this company in question.

We do not have the full facts. If Iguana Sell are guilty then fine, the OP is correct to accuse, name and shame but there has been a long history with other sellers and repairers that show how unusual it is for all the blame to be on one party alone.

[Johnny_S]

Seems to be a lot of fuss over not very much if ASD's interpretation is correct and not enough to justify the bad press on a long established business.

[adhoc]

A Smug Dill, I'm just not the type of person to want to argue. If something isn't great in a restaurant I never say anything, I simply never return.

That said, two particular items do come in mind where I complained; aurora nebulosa limited edition pen which came with the worst nib I have ever seen, I would honestly be able to literally chisel out a better nib with a butter knife. I told them about it (I ordered an italic nib and - I am not exagerating - it was cut like a bad architect nib, so the cut was perpendicular to what it should have been + it would not write at all) and they told me that it's me and that the pen is fine. I took it to the forums and I was told Aurora can do no wrong and that it must be my fault for not understanding the pen. I'm sure you can still dig out my posts and pictures about it here and on FPN, should you be interested enough.

I have/had over 50-60 mid to high end fountain pens in my life (and countless cheapies), I have been using them for nearly 25 years, and I have had all grinds out there, be it flex, all sizes EF-3B, italic, oblique, architect, all of them. I am absolutely confident I was right and I was made an idiot out of, both in the community and by Iguana Sell. They did refund me in the end, however.

When I ordered the watch I told them just how badly scratched up it is, they told me "at least you got a good discount on it". I left it at that and I am done with them, even though I was such a frequent customer there some of the employees recognized me by name and even knew what kind of collection of pens I have (they asked me how is my collection of Lamys and Pelikans looking half a year after purchasing several of them).

I don't know, perhaps I just had bad luck, but that has been my experience. I am not lying.

Without looking it up I can tell from my memory I got badly damaged Aurora Nebulosa (refunded), Pelikan R800 Stresseman (accepted), Lamy 2000 50th anniversary amber (replaced), Laco Memmingen watch (accepted), 2 pilot vanishing points (replaced twice, upon which I just gave up). There's more, but this is just off the top of my head.

I do recall the Pelikan M800 Stresseman and Lamy 2000 SS came absolutely perfect, so I don't talk only negatives.