Just what does "In Transit" mean anyway?
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I have been waiting impatiently while my Spark was being prepared (whatever that means), and today I was thrilled for a moment to see the movement as I was informed that my Spark is now "In Transit". I honestly don't know what to make of all this. Certainly, this all is in violation of common business practices. When I signed up for the pre-order, I didn't expect to be charged immediately then wait an interminable amount of time for the product. Recent positing with estimates of the cash flow resulting from tens of thousands of pre-orders cause me concern. This feeling I have of being attached to getting this advanced and amazing techno-gadget but having to wait some portion of a year or more for it seems to be very similar to the feeling you get when you are involved in a con and you don't wan't to give up on it because you already invested and don't want to lose your investment, and are attached to the hope it will work out despite growing evidence to the contrary. There is a remote possibility that the only Spark units ever built are the ones that went to youtube reviewers and that all the forum posters that said they received their units were trolls. I don't think this is the case, but I have never been involved in a scene like this before and I am considering asking for a refund and just paying twice as much for some immediate gratification. The possibility of buying one later on after they resolve these issues and fix the software bugs is looking more reasonable as time goes on. If I hang in there and then am not happy with the state of the product when it does roll in, I will most likely be more angry than I am today.
But getting back to my question, what does "In Transit" mean anyway? Does that translate into some number of weeks of expected delay, or is it just some more vague rhetoric?
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@doug You will find that everything having to do with this company is arbitrary. I have likened the entire "tracking update" feature a complete fraud and a way to string paying customers along so they don't cancel. Give them a little update every 6-8 weeks and make them think it's just about there!! My amp was "in transit" for 7 weeks. That was supposedly the time it took for the amp to get to the USA. Now, anyone that's ever ordered or even manufactured goods from China (which I have) knows that it does not take this long to ship a product. Not even close. So we know they are playing games. Yesterday, my status changed to "Local Distribution" but it says it could take 2 weeks OR LONGER to get the product shipped. Again, in a day when Fedex Home or USPS Priority Mail can ship anywhere in the cont US in 2-4 days, there is ZERO excuse for it to take 2 weeks OR LONGER to ship. If it ONLY takes 2 weeks, that means it took NINE WEEKS once it left the factory in China to get to my door. That is over 2 months. That is completely inexcusable. And it simply means Positive Grid is lying to people so they can keep as much of that $15 MILLION + in pre-order funds they have received. Yes, you are correct. It's all in violation of common business practices.
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@cratica I was In Transit for 7 weeks. Now I'm in Local Distribution. I think it means the ship has arrived and now they are sorting through the container.
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@doug In Transit means that your unit has left the factory. It could be on its way to a container which then needs to be on its way to a port to await being placed on a ship to be sent to your country, then it will have to go through customs and arrive at a logistics center where it will get a shipping label and be transferred to a local package delivery service, which will then get it to you eventually. It seems that the amount of time the whole process takes once we receive the "in transit" notice varies greatly depending on your country and area within that country. If you live in an area where there are a lot of orders, it's easy to fill up a container so it will take less time. If you live in an area where there are fewer orders it may take longer to fill up the container so the wait will be longer. Much of the whole "in transit" process is beyond the control of PG.
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Well, that is enough for me. I sent a message to support asking for my refund. I can't spend the next few months fuming about this. It is not good for my mental health and stress level to be wondering about the actuality and motivations of the people who have all our money. I am also sure I will never again order anything from these people. This situation has left a bad taste in my mouth. I read in a posting that a user applied an update and it bricked his Spark. If that happened to me I would lose my sense of reality and hate myself for my stupidity. Best of luck to those that stay in. I hope you get something good Stay safe, Douglas.
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@dhbailey Thanks. This information helps us understand why this is taking so long for some of us.
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@dhbailey That doesn't make much sense to me.
I order stuff from all over the world, and they are usually sent by courier, or even regular registered mail, and they NEVER, EVER take this long or are subject to filling a container. They may go in a container, sometimes, but it's a container "of the courier" (or "of the postal service"), not "dedicated to my stuff". The only Country I know depending on their container being full is the Kingdom of Tonga :-D .
As PG said in the pre-order page that the order would be fulfilled in purchase order, this system is pure BS: it could NEVER keep the promise. They should simply send the amps by courier in the purchase order, that's it. And it's not difficult either.
Also, even with the system you described, what defines "area"? Is Europe an "area"? Or does it refer to a Country, a province, a city...? Because there's people in Europe who ordered MORE than a month later than me, for example, and already received their amp, while I'm stuck in "Being prepared" state. And there's people in other "areas" of the world who received theirs in THREE WEEKS while others are awaiting since Dec. 2019 - Jan 2020. It SUCKS, big time. -
@drbaroni I agree with you. I believe that the people who pre-ordered these would be happy to pay whatever expedited shipping feed are required to get a more normal shipping speed. If it had been offered, I would have paid $100. The inconsistency and lack of visibility is what made me so angry. I didn't expect to get mine before people that ordered last year, but I don't understand why people who ordered several weeks ago have FedEx tracking numbers already.
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@doug For $200 I'm happy to wait. The price makes it a great deal if it works well.
I ordered mine after seeing no added fees for tax and shipping. What other options are there for the same cost ? I have a 63 Fender Super Reverb, and an American-made Blues Junior.
I'm in no hurry. -
@doug If you feel your order has been overlooked, you should submit a support ticket to PG. Others here have posted that they were in your situation, with newer orders being shipped before theirs, and they have reported receiving a tracking number almost immediately. It's worth a try!
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After almost 2 weeks of emailing everyday I finally got a response “that there was a logistical error” and that I should receive mine in a few days. A week later and nothing. Not even a tracking number. And Now some others who were in the same order number range as me have received theirs or at least a tracking number.
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@doug try the line 6 amplifi amp, it does the same thing and is readily available. like you i am to deeply invested to pull out now but was glad to see their is an alternative amp that does the same thing, wish I had bought the line6 1st but only recently found out its been around for 6 years lmao.
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Hello,
I just posted a question about this procss. I fully understand from this post what is going on now. I do not have a problem waiting, I bought this as a COVID pacifier device for me during this home sheltering period.
I used Paypal credit, so I have 6 months until I have to pay. I hope I get my item before the interest kicks in :)
As for those who wish to get expedited shipping, it is just not possible. As the pre-orders come in, Positive Grid (PG) has their China factory crank these out. Undoubtedly, they wait to see in a given period how many they sell, like per month, etc. So I will assume for the month of June they sold "X" amount, which hopefully is enough for the container to be filled to whatever level is needed and then put the container on a ship bound for the US. Now those orders taking 7 weeks "In Transit", this is most likely due to the month in which you purchased they did not sell enough to fill whatever portion of the container was needed for it to be filled enough to go on the ship. Let's say, for example, they need to sell 1,000 to fill a whole container. If in March they only sold 500, then the container is not full yet, so until they sell another 500 the container will not be filled and thus not loaded onto the ship, and your amp will not be bound for the US, yet. So let's say in April, they sell another 500 units, which means they now have a full container (1,000 amps sold). Now it is time to pack that container and put it on the ship bound for the US. This can take 4-8 weeks, depending on many things. Things like delays due to weather, ports, etc. Once the ship lands in LA, and it is unloaded, PG will have to drive the 18 wheeler to their warehouse and unpack, inspect, etc. the 1,000 amps inside the container. Once this is done, they can start to use the "Local Distribution" to FEDEX or UPS your order, and at this point we could be given a tracking number. To unpack and then box and ship 1,000 amps could take up to 2 weeks, maybe less. At this point, the time estiamtes are:
Fill a container = up to 8 weeks
Ship travels to US = up to 8 weeks
Unload ship and travel to warehouse = 1 week
Warehouse unpack and ship = 1 weekSo a single order could take up to 18 weeks, but that is a rare case. A more realistic estimate might be 8-10 weeks, cutting most estimate of time in half.
The only palce a FEDEX RUSH would help you get your item faster is the last part, the US based shipping process, and that is only going to save you a few days on a multi-week process.
I ordered beginnign of June, and July 1st I got a notice IN TRANSIT, which I will assume means by container is on a boat. Boat gets to the US in August, I will expect to see my amp by the end of August.
I well report back the exact arrival date here on this forum.
Regards,
David
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@knightcloud2k said in Just what does "In Transit" mean anyway?:
line 6
FYI, if there's interest in a comparison between the line 6 and the Spark.
TLDR; Spark wins, depending on what you're looking for. YMMV
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FYI - I had an Ampli150, you can get those used for under $200 now if you look around. It was loud enough for practive at home, not loaud enough for band practice, my drummer could swamp it easily. It was also not as easy to use it like a preamp to a bigger amp or powered mixer. I could do it, but not as simple as I thought it would be. Also an iPad was mandatory, there are almost no controls on the Amplify. The Amplify interface reminded me of a Firehawl or Helix interface, with limitations. I used it more as a BT audio device for parties. In the end I sold the Amplify and kept my Firehawk 1500.
I purchased this unit because it was cheaper than the Amplify new, and I am hoping the software will be cooler, but I will have to play with it and see. If it works well as a preamp I can take and plug into a mixer and go, then I will love it. I think Positive Grid missed the mark by NOT having an XLR direct out :( :( /cryLOUD If they added that it could be my practice unit that I took with me to band practice... time will tell.
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@howarddavidp I had similar experiences with Amplifi150. Got a good deal on one from an employee, played with it for a few weeks, and it’s been gathering dust ever since. I drank the koolaid and got a used Firehawk 1500 for a good price a couple years ago, tinkered with it for a few weeks, now its used as something to stack my tube heads on.
I use the Spark constantly to practice all the songs in my cover band while at my girlfriends house each weekend. Compact, simple to set up with iPad, Bluetooth stream a song to it, pick a preset that I’ve saved to match the various songs, and play.
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Just for info I live in the UK. I ordered on 8th of Feb with an expected delivery mid March. I received it on Monday 7th July. It was showing 'in transit' for 7 days before delivery. Good luck. Personally I think it was worth the wait.
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@howarddavidp I work in the ports of LA and Long Beach. It only takes a week and a half to two weeks for a ship to travel from China to the US. Ships are normally unloaded and loaded back up within 2-4 days. A container can sit on a container terminal for 2-5 days before a truck comes to pick it up. If it sits there any longer, storage fees are tacked on. Customs is not even a factor. With the millions of containers that arrive in the ports every year, it’s logistically impossible for them to inspect them all. In fact, Customs inspects less than 10% of all containers that arrive.
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@sajames Thanks for sharing that with us -- I had searched online and the info I found said about 4 weeks to ship from China to the US. I have no clue where they got that information. I trust your expertise over Google's anyday!
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@dhbailey Yep, it works. I did exactly that, beside "protesting" here and on their facebook profile, and you know what? I got my amp today, in less than 48 hours it came from Germany to my door. And the "order status" has been updated all the way from "being prepared" up to "shipped" at once... AFTER I had the amp in my hands. :-D
It SHOULDN'T be like that. It should be linear and smooth...
Of course I'm happy to have my amp at home. BUT I'm still thinking of all the people who were and are in my same situation, wondering where their stuff is lost, or when (and sometimes "if") they'll receive it, and still can't get their arms arond it. This should be a fully automated process, it's easy to do, and would make the people who pre-ordered feel respected and build an image of PG as "honest, decent and reliable Company" not based only on the product but on the customers' relationships. Sincerely, I think this aspect is even MORE important than the product itself... :-)
I'm so disappointed about his treatment of so many customers that I haven't even unboxed the thing yet... And I don't think I'll do today. :-(