Rapido FL9 debacle. Have they always sucked?


MikeOwnby

Active Member
So Rapido advertises that their FL9 comes with a dual-mode DC/DCC decoder, or you can step it up and order the sound version which is DCC only. Then they ship all these FL9's out with DC-only boards and a coupon that (if you're lucky enough to find it buried in the bottom of the box), can theoretically deliver a DCC decoder to you in three weeks or so.

This is a fairly transparent attempt to save a few bucks on decoders by making those who actually want them (and again, even manage to find the f*%&ing coupon) send in for them and install them. Considering the price of these locos, that is just absolutely ridiculous. Paying a premium price to have them play this ridiculous BS is just beyond the beyond. This is the first Rapido loco I've ordered, and it'll likely be the last since I'm not real crazy about people who do business this way. Being in N-scale, I haven't had much reason to buy their products, but is this the way they've always been? Ripping off and inconveniencing customers to save a few dollars here and there even when they're charging premium prices?

At this point, I can't imagine Rapido will ever put out a product I need enough to do business with them again. I wish I could return this one. I suppose it's too much to hope for that they'll go bankrupt due to their unscrupulous business practices.
 
>>>Non-Sound Models

After listening to feedback from purchasers of our DC/DCC/Silent N Scale GMD-1, we decided to leave the decoder out of the non-sound N Scale FL9. We initially advertised this model as having a factory-installed dual-model DC/DCC decoder but this information is now incorrect. Inside the packaging for the N Scale FL9 is a voucher that can be redeemed for a dual-model DC/DCC decoder by return of post. If you have bought a non-sound N Scale FL9 and are wondering why it doesn’t work on DCC then it is because you need to ask us to send you the decoder! We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused purchasers of this model.<<<
 
>>>Non-Sound Models

After listening to feedback from purchasers of our DC/DCC/Silent N Scale GMD-1, we decided to leave the decoder out of the non-sound N Scale FL9. We initially advertised this model as having a factory-installed dual-model DC/DCC decoder but this information is now incorrect. Inside the packaging for the N Scale FL9 is a voucher that can be redeemed for a dual-model DC/DCC decoder by return of post. If you have bought a non-sound N Scale FL9 and are wondering why it doesn’t work on DCC then it is because you need to ask us to send you the decoder! We are very sorry for any inconvenience that this may have caused purchasers of this model.<<<

Not seeing anything there that makes me rethink anything I posted above. If you want to change your practices, you do it AFTER you've fulfilled your current promises. Then there's the fact that the voucher is buried where nobody who isn't told to look for it can find it. Why on earth, if they're so honest about this, wasn't it on TOP of the locomotive instead of buried where nobody would see it unless they were told to look for it? This is Rapido trying to save a buck and screwing the customer. Plain and simple.
 
Have you contacted Rapido? Jason Shron is a very reasonable guy who would probably love to interact with you one-on-one to see what went wrong, if anything, or he'd probably express regret that you had this negative experience, not only with the bait-and-switch, but with the essentially hidden coupon.

Personally, the price should have been reduced commensurately with the non-inclusion of an installed decoder, and an accompanying note should have made that clear. In fact, the selling price should always have reflected the change IMO. Or, he should have delivered the items as ordered/paid and had a DC-only line manufactured for those who didn't want decoders. I know it complicates things for him, but so do hard feelings and snarky posts from angry customers. There's no asset in a cheesed-off ambassador.
 
<nm> Sorry, the editing process somehow generated two replies, so this one got the boot.
 
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Have you contacted Rapido? Jason Shron is a very reasonable guy who would probably love to interact with you one-on-one to see what went wrong, if anything, or he'd probably express regret that you had this negative experience, not only with the bait-and-switch, but with the essentially hidden coupon.

Personally, the price should have been reduced commensurately with the non-inclusion of an installed decoder, and an accompanying note should have made that clear. In fact, the selling price should always have reflected the change IMO. Or, he should have delivered the items as ordered/paid and had a DC-only line manufactured for those who didn't want decoders. I know it complicates things for him, but so do hard feelings and snarky posts from angry customers. There's no asset in a cheesed-off ambassador.


I did contact Rapido, in fact. What I've found out actually makes me even angrier. I found out that the decoder is a 6-pin plug that still uses the original circuit board, which just reinforces my assertion that they did this as a money grab. Instead of leaving out the decoder, they could have easily included a dummy plug for people to REMOVE the decoder instead of the other way around. Every single customer has paid for a decoder, and yet they will get to pocket that cash and not provide one for every person who doesn't send in their voucher. They're betting that they'll pocket more money from the decoders they don't have to send out than what it'll cost in postage for the ones they do. They seem to not care much about any customers getting rightly annoyed about their DCC loco not being DCC. What they're doing is actually fraud, and it's only the vouchers that let them barely keep from being legally accountable for that.

Now, I get that the cost of sending in the voucher is minimal, but it still exists. When I purchase a DCC locomotive, for a DCC price, it should have DCC. I shouldn't have to work for it, I shouldn't have to pay extra ink, paper and postage for it, and I shouldn't have to install it myself. Then there's the issue of customers who CAN'T install it themselves and will end up paying or begging favors to get it done. The front coupler has to be removed to remove the shell, and to some people that's going to be a problem. I once sold a custom painted loco on eBay and the guy asked me to install the sun shades on the cab before I shipped it, even if it meant having them bent down to fit back in the box. He didn't have the eyesight and motor control to accomplish that himself. So what happens if he orders an FL9 and is then expected to remove and reinstall the front coupler?

The answer? He pays for it. He pays for a DCC install in a loco that he already paid a DCC price for.

Oh, and then there's the fact that by the time I ever receive my decoder the window for returning it to the retailer will have conveniently passed if I do have any issues.

So yeah...Rapido just plain sucks.
 



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