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View Full Version : Aquatraders Bad !!


GroYurOwn
09/11/2005, 09:32 AM
for those of you frugal reefers, you've probably been doing a lot of searching for reviews on jebo / odyssea products, and you probably saw these products offered by aquatraders.com. while i dont have any particular problem with jebo i had an absolutely terrible experience with aquatraders.com, and would like to help you to avoid one! here is what i posted on a thread i have been involved in about jebo products:

"i do want to make one very important side note, i can only find these products for sale either on ebay or on the internet at aquatraders.com . while i may not have a particular problem with ODYSSEA / jebo , i do have a very big problem with aquatraders, DO NOT BUY FROM THEM! i initially tried to purchase the MH setup about 2 1/2 weeks ago (8-29-05), they said my card was declined due to a mismatch on the address, so i went ahead and sent a money order, the same day i checked my credit card, and there was a hold for the sale amount on my credit card! so i called the customer service line, customer service is used loosely here, and told them that they needed to send back my money order if they were going to charge my card, the person i talked to could hardly speak english, and said all she could do was note the account. so i called the credit card company, they told me that the hold would probably be released within the following two days, so i emailed aquatraders to let them know to go ahead and cash the money order, since the credit card company said the hold would be released, got no response, i waited four days, hold had not released, still no response, fifth day, i get an email saying my order has been shipped....i can track it online, so i click the link, log in, and it says that the money order was canceled at my request ! so now i dont know if my order shipped, if the money order was cashed, when i will have my money back on my card...so i once again call the customer service line and say " i have a question about my order" and without asking any questions the guy says he cannot answer any questions about orders, i have to email! i told him all i want to know is did it ship or not, he cant answer.... i ask him what the number is supposed to be for, and he says to track orders! i tell him thats what i am trying to do, he says he cant track mine. so now what?! BTW funds still have not been released back to my card, and aquatraders is telling me it is because of my credit card company, my credit card company is telling me it is aquatraders credit processors, aquatraders refuses to even conatact their processors, and in reply to an email stating that i will contact a lawyer here is their response "A copy of the declined transactions will be mailed to you on Monday. Again, the
fund was "declined" two times due to not able to verify card information. In
other words, no money from your card get into our merchant account.
Please bring the copy to your lawyer and your credit card issuing bank/mall.
The professional can explain to you better what "decline" means.
This is your credit card issuing bank/mall not able to process the credit back
to your card. They are the party need to responsible for resolving the problem
with you.
Regards,
Aquatraders" finally i emailed them one last time and told them to make sure they send back that money order, and that "the professionals" have already told me who needs to release the funds, and told them that it doesnt seem as if it would be that difficult to contact the credit processor and ask them if they can release the funds. finally, today, the funds were released, i dont have the money order yet, but expect to see it in the mail soon. bottom line, if you buy jebo / ODYSSEA , youre already taking a risk on the product, but if you buy from aquatraders / 123fish / 99cent fish , your doubling the risk of being dissatisfied, im just gonna buy a current USA, i dont mind risking that my product may look cheap but i do mind being treated like crap!"

some history i found about aquatraders.com:
they started out as 123fish, mysteriously moved, and changed their name, to 99cent fish, were known for having terrible looking livestock, especially SW, and most recently moved again down the street, and changed their name to aquatraders, do some searches for aquatraders, you will find this info. they are shady people, and i wont do business with them again.

chadfarmer
09/11/2005, 05:46 PM
that sounds just like them.

that is why i would buy icecap go to there forum and see how you should be treated

wangster
09/12/2005, 09:42 AM
I wonder if they are in California? since there used to be a 99cent fish in San Mateo??

dhnguyen
09/12/2005, 11:51 AM
Originally posted by chadfarmer
that sounds just like them.

that is why i would buy icecap go to there forum and see how you should be treated


What does that have to do with JEBO and Odyssea equipment?
Aquatraders.com is a reseller of these products not the manufacturer. I think you are confusing the issue a bit.

D.

dhnguyen
09/12/2005, 11:52 AM
Originally posted by wangster
I wonder if they are in California? since there used to be a 99cent fish in San Mateo??

They ARE in San Mateo.


D.

GroYurOwn
09/12/2005, 11:53 AM
yeah, the unfortunate thing is that aquatraders is one of very few resellers of jebo products, and they have the cheapest prices, but to me its not worth dealing with them...

GroYurOwn
09/12/2005, 12:00 PM
they are 99cent fish / 123 fish! they have packed up and moved and changed names at least twice, and each time the business is listed under a different persons name!

dhnguyen
09/12/2005, 12:02 PM
Sorry to hear about your experience wtih Aquatraders GroYurOwn :(

Mine wasn't too bad other than trying to get a hold of someone live so I could get a UPS tracking number.

I did visit their store in San Mateo prior to ordering my MH unit though and wasn't too impressed with the store itself. Basically just a warehouse space with lots of overcrowded tanks, insufficient ventialtion(the whole place reeked of fish). But they do have cheap prices on hardware though. Only thing that irked me was that I wanted to buy the MH unit then to save on the shipping but they said that the price would be more if I bought it at the store versus ordering it online.


D.

GroYurOwn
09/12/2005, 12:04 PM
btw, if you want to spend a little mora, and buy from a reputable dealer www.innovativelights.com has a 48" "shimmer light" two 175w-400w mh mogul 2 96w pc 414$ plus shipping...i might just go with that ...

dhnguyen
09/12/2005, 12:12 PM
Originally posted by GroYurOwn
btw, if you want to spend a little mora, and buy from a reputable dealer www.innovativelights.com has a 48" "shimmer light" two 175w-400w mh mogul 2 96w pc 414$ plus shipping...i might just go with that ...


Dude... That light fixture doesn't come with any MH ballast(s)
$414 for a fixture without ballasts isn't exactly cheap IMO.

Why not just build one yourself then?

D.

GroYurOwn
09/12/2005, 01:00 PM
oh...didnt notice that! i decided to go with the outer orbit anyway, gonna wind up paying about 655, but i think its worth it not deal with any more a**holes.... i cant seem to find the thread today, but about a week ago i found a rather long thread that describes the history of aquatraders in some detail, from people in the area...lots of bad stories about dead fish, and even a citation from Fish and Wildlife... BTW i filed a complaint about them with the BBB...and i did finally get my money credited back, but not because they helped at all...

GroYurOwn
09/12/2005, 01:03 PM
in fact dh....i believe you were involved in the thread i was talking about...it also said something about sixth street, and a couple of asian RC members were a little upset that people were kind of equating (from what i understood of the thread) asian business owners with livestock health... i am pretty sure you said something on the thread, cause i figured you were upset by it since you are vietnamese... maybe it was another nguyen though, that name is pretty common....

GroYurOwn
09/12/2005, 01:03 PM
i meant poor livestock health above...

dhnguyen
09/12/2005, 01:54 PM
Nah it wasn't me LOL

Never been to 6th Avenue nor do I want to after all the horror stories I heard about it.

On the flip side of "asian business owners with poor livestock health" though, there is an excellent LFS in the SF Bay Area (Milpitas) that IS owned by a Vietnamese optometrist Dr. Bao Le. His shop is considered one of the best in the area.
http://www.aquatic-gallery.com/

D.

dhnguyen
09/12/2005, 01:58 PM
Correction... Dr. Bao Le is a chiropractor LOL


D.

HighSpeedHybrid
09/15/2005, 08:59 PM
Just wanted to say that I ordered several lights from Aquatraders and everything arrived perfectly. I did have about a 2.5 week wait though, thats the only thing I have bad to say about them...

Drewpy
09/15/2005, 09:08 PM
Originally posted by HighSpeedHybrid
Just wanted to say that I ordered several lights from Aquatraders and everything arrived perfectly. I did have about a 2.5 week wait though, thats the only thing I have bad to say about them...

You are lucky

GroYurOwn
09/15/2005, 09:55 PM
have you delt with them drewpy? if so please share so that everyone can have good info to base decisions on....

Drewpy
09/16/2005, 12:22 PM
For those interested just do a search for aquatraders in the vendors experience forum for the last six months-- you'll pull up plenty...

They have NO (as in worse then bad) customer service what so ever...

ratboy
09/16/2005, 03:35 PM
I pick up dry goods at a local Austin company that is primarily a mail order company and they sell tons of Jebo equipment. Nothing I would put on my 380 but jebo stuff is suitable for nanos IMO...

http://superfishstore.com/waterworld/nfoscomm/catalog/

jugger
09/28/2005, 09:29 AM
Well I tried to order the 36� MH fixture from them and the website told me there was an issue with my shipping address on the credit card…..iv used this same card many times at many other online sites with no problem what so ever so I don’t know what the hell is wrong with them….iv also tried to contact them for the last 2 weeks but surprisingly that hasn’t worked out…..and like you said when you do get a hold of someone they don’t speak English or they just act like it so they don’t have to try and help you out….the temptation of getting a product for nearly 10% of the cost of other items similar is just to great…but after reading this thread and hearing about how the company has closed down moved and reopened in different locations say a lot about how they do business…..

GroYurOwn
09/28/2005, 10:04 AM
well, you'll have fun getting them to release your funda back to your credit card, since they will insist it is YOUR credit card company holding the funds. i bet if you check your balance it will show a charge on your card...hopefully other people will read this before they make the mistake.

jugger
10/07/2005, 08:42 AM
well i took a second chance with buying the 305 watt fixture from them and so far its worked out...GroYurOwn let me know if you want me to go into details or not....i understand if not

GroYurOwn
10/08/2005, 07:40 AM
yeah, if they actually came through for you, why not...

jugger
10/08/2005, 09:54 AM
well i just thought after some of the things i said i might say a few more

you can find my input on this thread http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=5863059#post5863059

gussy
10/08/2005, 08:06 PM
Here is another scoop on Odyssea and Jebo. There is one huge manufacturer in China making those equipment and their main line is JEBO. That company will put any brand name if you can commit to a least one 80 foot container a month. There is another guy who sells JEBO-look alike and that's Louis of International Aquarium. If you contact the manufacturer of JEBO directly about warranty they will refer you to International Aquarium. International Aquarium is ****ed at AquaTraders because (according to him) AquaTraders contracted lower quality equipment but will not warranty what they sell thereby lowering the reputation of everybody who sells JEBO stuff. As an example he showed me his tanks and stand plus the lights attached and asked me to check out the same thing at AquaTraders. I did this and on that specific 90 gallon system the one at AqauTraders is of lower quality.

GroYurOwn
10/08/2005, 10:01 PM
interesting, any further way to contact this other guy? a website?

gussy
10/10/2005, 06:56 PM
Doesn't have a website...but the shop is called Internation Aquarium in Oakland.

dhnguyen
10/10/2005, 07:36 PM
International Aquarium
(510) 261-1688
1353 International Blvd
Oakland, CA 94606

EmergencyDpt
10/11/2005, 02:19 AM
I've been something of a glutton for punishment. I've purchased several lights and a few magnetic cleaners as well as pumps from aquatraders. The lights seem to have an issue with smoke in the wires. After a while the smoke comes out then the lights don't work anymore. The magnet cleaners are supposed to float but after a few weeks in the tank they fill up with water and sink. The pumps rust on the inside or the plastic parts either break or sieze. Seriously... don't bother spending money with them. Two of the the light fixtures started smoking and would have burst into flames if I wasn't home to unplug them.