Kiteboardingasia (KBA) sells defect kites, don't ever buy

[Sonchai]

I agree that in Asia businesses operate differently to the West.

I was told that a large "business" in Thailand was at one time operating with a smaller "business". From what I understand a large amount of "goods" were supposed to have gone missing. The offended "business" sent round local "debt" collectors to intimidate not only the proprietor of the other "business", but also his wife when he was not there. No one was harmed from what I understand.

The way to make a successful business is to have corrupt friends in "high" places, try and blow your opposition out the water, and pay Sonchai the tea money

555!

[VTL]

Alexrider.... I didnt want to comment here but seeing that you are so stupid I need to say something


TELL ME HOW MANY TIMES DID YOU BUY SOMETHING FROM A STORE AND YOU LOOKED FOR THE SERIAL NUMBER???

NOT EVEN ON A FREAKING CAR PEOPLE SEE IF THERE IS ALL THE SERIAL NUMBERS THERE BECAUSE IF YOU BUY FROM A STORE YOU ARE SUPPOSING THAT EVERYTHING IS OK...

DONT KNOW HOW MUCH KBA IS PAYING YOU BUT I WOULD PAY YOU 2X SO THAT YOU CAN SHUT UP

Going to the topic of this....

I see that KBA dosent want to tell not even North were did the kites were bought from. What I think we could do so that this will not happen to anyone else because someone can loose his life with a bad kite is to see all the brands that they sell and start sending emails to that brands to show what they are doing and in this point no brand would want to work with them...

you can play with alot of things but not with someone life

how yes I dont know you and never been there but I dont need to be a rocket scientist to know what is going around there...

[SpoonZie]

It turns out, that kite has production defect and needs to be replaced by warranty.

Also for the record, his kite was not admissible for warranty, and the resolution was done at the cost and through the goodwill of North international and several distributors.

i'd say you got really lucky. north said.. the kite was NOT admissible for warranty.

now if north or Dan would elaborate on why it was NOT admissible then i would say the situation could be more clearly seen .. however my view on it is clear

if the reason its not admissible is ONLY the chopped serial then fair enough KBA should of helped.

but from your own words you have admitted that the Warranty was NOT valid because of the date.

3) North +6 months extended warranty is started in August only. So mine kite isn't covered by this warranty, since kite was bought in May

now im not going to pretend that i am completely unbiased because i myself have purchased from KBA before , i bought a Cabrinha Switchblade 12m 2011 last april (just as the wind died there) and had problems with the airush bar last month (not a fan of the cabrinha bars) ... BUT they took photo's of it , got replacements sent in and my bar was fixed within a week.

my Experience with KBA has been great so far. they sell the equipment cheaper, they were helpful when i had problems .. what more do you want ?

[Laughingman]

...
Each and every person who makes a buck in the sport, be it Mfg., retailer, instructor, or otherwise should have a PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE PROFILE where ANYONE can comment on their service, products, or whatever.
...

Good idea. But it would only be fair if Mr. ANYONE's comments or criticisms is backed by evidence and he is not allowed to remain anonymous, as the KBA bashers (Laughingman, chasingthewind, et al.) are, cowardly spewing their venom here. Vlad lost his anonymity only because Raam named him. ANYONE, fine, but with PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE PROFILE as well.
How to avoid commercially motivated rants, as it seems to be the case here?
Backers of Vlad show your faces if you're no wimps and try to prove me wrong in my suspicion you are buddies of the opposite gang of losers.

Laughingman , chasingthewind and the noob Thaiki , the trio of wet rags, who are you?

Alex (aka Silverfox)

Dude, I think you might be losing it a bit, I posted twice on this thread in support of a consumer who got ripped off by a retailer. I have no connection to that side of the world or the people effected other then I applaud their efforts to right the wrong that has been done to them. You on the other hand seem to think that all this is okay... Because you use your first name...? My name is is Peter, and anyone that matters on this forum and on the beach know who I am, if you don't know who I am then maybe you just don't matter...?
I do welcome the opportunity to keep this thread on the top of the google listing though so thanks for that.

Loser.

[Ron Segal]

A couple of comments to various people in this thread (its a great discussion on a valid topic, isn't it?)

- SpoonZie, KBA is the official dealer of Cabrinha and Airush, hence there will be most likely no warranty issues. The issues exist with their grey imports (or copies or seconds or whatever) of kite brands where they make very loud offers and have NO dealership. They cut of serial numbers in order not get caught with how they do this and what their sources for these kites are. Hence this is a scamming practice!

- Toby, as the webmaster of this forum I understand your effort to make peace. But on the other hand, what I miss is you taking a clear position as a pro in the light of this obvious scam. Knowing KBA owners personally and being nice to you or organizing world cups has absolutely nothing to do with what this is about.

- Alexrider, well man you seem to be quite aggressive. I have probably as much local knowledge as you do. You talk about evidence? Would you please go to the beginning of this thread and look at the picture of the cut off serial number. And as I have mentioned before I have seen this at the beach with my own eyes 2 times before in Hua Hin. Common KBA practice. Why don't you go in one of KBAs shops and take a look at a North kite (and probably other brands)! Then tell me, is it ok for you, if lets say one of your friends buys such a kite or is it not? And KBA is not 10 times bigger than everybody else combined. They maybe have a market share of 30-40% in Thailand. The large volume of sales is due to the fact that they ship gear worldwide, which Airush and Cabrinha to my surprise seem to tolerate.

-VTL, thanks man very well spoken. Right, ultimately its about the safety of the customer. Since when do customers have to search for serial numbers before they buy?

-BTW there are some comments about Asian business etc. These guys are Israelis, there customers are 90% western folks.

What I miss here in this thread is to hear from a couple of parties what they have to say regarding this (I have reason to believe they are all reading):

North: what is your position in this? What are you doing to prevent more customers falling in this trap?

Cabrinha and Airush: since KBA is your official distributor in Thailand, do you tolerate that they scam customers with other brands?

North Kiteboarding Club: you are the authorized importer and dealer of North in Thailand. What is your position?

[pascal vietnam]

How many kite with default for every 100 kite produced?

[sharky79]

How many kite with default for every 100 kite produced?

My guess is that for the more reliable brands the percentage of defects out of the factory is 0.5%
before the final factory inspection it's probably around 2%.

So, my guess is that 1 of every 200 kites that reaches the shops is defected, unless there's a major recall, which actually happens to North quite a lot.

[alexrider]

Alexrider...... you are so stupid I need to say something
DONT KNOW HOW MUCH KBA IS PAYING YOU BUT I WOULD PAY YOU 2X SO THAT YOU CAN SHUT UP
how yes I dont know you and never been there but I dont need to be a rocket scientist to know what is going around there...

I don't argue with an idiot. You will drag me down to your level and beat me with experience.

2x zilch is zilch. Not interested in your offer.

The more i read such imbecilities, the more I sympathise with KBA.

[alexrider]

A couple of comments to various people in this thread (its a great discussion on a valid topic, isn't it?)
- Toby, as the webmaster of this forum I understand your effort to make peace. But on the other hand, what I miss is you taking a clear position as a pro in the light of this obvious scam. Knowing KBA owners personally and being nice to you or organizing world cups has absolutely nothing to do with what this is about.

Perhaps he has some inside information that compels him to keep a neutral stance? He knows more than you would suspect.
Furthermore, as owner of the forum, you should understand he cannot take sides. The whole forum would be the platform of the opposition. Aren't you happy there is only one single silverfox who isn't barking with the wolves? You want Toby to join the pack?

- Alexrider, well man you seem to be quite aggressive. I have probably as much local knowledge as you do. You talk about evidence? Would you please go to the beginning of this thread and look at the picture of the cut off serial number....

Would you please go to my comment. I said that the absence of SN seems to be established. KBA didn't deny it, that I know. What evidence was I referring to? Incriminating evidence from the legal point of view.
Has it been established KBA has committed a crime under the law?
If it hasn't you all better shut up, because the whole case becomes a question of interpretation of what's ethical and what's not in this business. There are unfortunately no standards other than profit. Inevitably, it's biased in order to suit ones own agenda...

-BTW there are some comments about Asian business etc. These guys are Israelis, there customers are 90% western folks.

Here we are! That's all there is in this issue. The argument and the thread should end here.
Asians don't distinguish between farangs and Israelis. Only you do.
Draw your own conclusions why KBA are hated.
Nothing to do with serial numbers and dumping; they are just opportunistic justifications to join the crusade.

[Sonchai]

There is more than one can of worms to open here, and maybe people reading this will be compelled to open them!