has anyone had issues ordering? here is my tale..

a. ordered something
b. 2 weeks later, i checked the "my order status" page.. and it says "order cancelled out of stock" (i was never informed about this, had to find out myself)
c. emailed kai and said "i'll wait two weeks, please replace order"
d. that was almost 2 months ago - ive since emailed him 7-10 times over the months saying "whats up with my order?, etc". response from him = ZERO (i've already been charged)

any similar experiences? or is this just random?

update: after an email requesting my $ be refunded, my order was cancelled. how did i find out about this? - not due to a momovelo email, i randomly checked the order status page.

I have only dealt with Kai via ebay - no probs for me. Supportbraviking bought some pedals.clips.straps from Kai and I believe it went off without a hitch.

I had the same problem with Kai at Momovelo. I ordered a few things, received part of the order but not the rest. Checked the order status, which said that everthing had been completed, but that didn't jibe with the shipping invoice which said that some of it was out of stock and cancelled, while the rest of it was just backordered.

It took a half-dozen e-mails to get the whole thing sorted out. In the end, he credited my account for what I didn't receive, but it took a really long time.

At one point, he even referred me to the blurb on the website about Momovelo being a small shop that sells stock from Europe and Japan, which sometimes results in delays. Lame excuses, if you ask me.

He doesn't keep the website up to date with stock, doesn't seem to care one way or another whether orders are properly fulfilled, and his customer service skills totally suck. No follow-up or follow-through.

Sure, the website looks pretty cool and he lists some interesting things. But, you can get just about all of it elsewhere and that's where you should look.

Not only will I never order from Momovelo again, but I'll never even bother visiting the website.

interesting...

I only purchase from small shops; despite higher cost and frequent backorders, I much prefer to help the little guy with a passion for bikes than a faceless corp. which seems to think a catalog is incomplete without 75 saddle options and (yikes) $200 handlebars.
(oh, and of course 'single speeding components', now that thats a trend too).

Anyhoo, I try to 'spread the wealth' by ordering from difft shops. I figured momos time was coming soon next time I need some new bits. If what I read here is representative; I may just stick with some tried and true.

I've order a few parts from there and was treated great. I order the wrong part, e-mailed Kai to ask how to fix the problem and had a response in minutes. Service was fine a and parts arrived w/in 2 weeks from ordering. Perhaps my service was the exception.

I seem to have read something about them going out of the bike business. If that's what i read this makes sense.

i wish the service was better, because if it was, i would buy most of my stuff there. his selection of eccentric parts is amazing, oh well.

I have ordered stuff from momovelo in the past and had a fine experience.
For my last order, an item (the most expensive part of the order) was out
of stock. I received an email from Kai (the next day I think) telling me the
item was out of stock and asking if I wanted to have him still send the rest
of the order. Good service for me...

Brad

A bike collector friend of mine ordered some stuff from them and had a terrible time with them. After many calls and emails he finally got his stuff MONTHS later. He would certainly not deal with them again!

[165]microns does speak the truth. I had a great experience and he even gave me a little bonus goody, a sticker that say "cars 'r'coffins" which I am thinking would appear very ironic on my car and I can't bear the idea of posting such an ironic statement, because as you all know folks, we are now living in a post-ironic state due to 9/11, according to many of the professional broadcasters across the land. But then again, maybe they've changed their minds and now we are not.

Momovelo seems to have larger eyes than hands, as his hands have historically not been able to keep up, from what I have heard through the grapevine. But then again, was the grapevine being ironic? I only wish I knew.

You have to realize that Kai only runs Momovelo on the side of his other day job. He is one of the most friendly people I have ever talked to about bikes and I am quite glad he has taken up shop in Berkeley. I remember reading previous threads on the same issue and I think it has to do with his limited amount of time. I received top notch service when I went into his store when I was home. However, I have read similar things about online ordering and I would also be quite upset if that happened to me.

Many people order from him based on his prices to only save a dollar or two on a Brooks saddle which makes him run out of stock on items quickly sometimes when people can get it the same day for $5 more down the street. You have to remember it is only his 'hobby job' and he has a real dayjob that comes first.

Yo, Stinky. THe shop closed. I was just out there about a week and a half ago. The on line thing may be on the wane, too, as people have continually been blown off. I spoke with another local shop's worker about him/his shop and he gave me the bad news. Bummer, I say.

How's Copenhagen?

ANybody gotten through to Kai lately?

Then he shouldn't phrase or word his copy like it's all he does. If you're running a business and people like that business, then you should be all business. He doesn't need to be defended and not everyone knows his story, which is anything is an excuse. When your order something and pay with your earned money, you expect something, that's how business works and frankly it sounds like Momo does bad business. If he says upfront and center, "Hey, I do this on the side, etc." and gives times or approximations of when he'll actually send stuff out (if at all it would seem) then okay, you can cut him some slack. But don't set up shop if you can't deliver. That's just weak. You build up a bad reputation.

I like Momovelo, like the way he think/writes about bikes. I like the stuff he "sells". Unfortunately, I'd never order anything from him because it seems like he can't do business (and it seems he isn't anymore), even simply or courteously.

On the flipside, I had no problems when I ordered back in April or so. They (clips, pedals, straps) came quickly. I know this doesn't excuse him for other mishaps but there must be a method to his madness, doesn't there?

From the :website

"hours:

please note the new atelier hours. due to the current rate of requests, builds are 2-4 weeks out. hopefully orders will decrease a bit this summer, allowing normal hours to resume.

summer 2004: by appointment only."

i hadn't ever heard of momovelo, but it looks like they've got some pretty interesting and rare stuff. it's too bad that their service doesn't seem to be up to par.

Spread the word!!! DO NOT BUY FROM MOMOVELO!! I ordered a folding bike from them February 2nd, 2004. My confirmation said it would be shipped within 24 hours but it never arrived. I contacted him after a couple weeks and said he would be in in a month so I opted to wait. The production of the bike (Dahon) has continuously been put back to where they are now forecasting January 15th, 2005. I don't blame Momovelo for the production of the bike but they have refused to respond to numerous e-mails about refunding my money or changing the order to something in stock. They don't have a valid phone number and have a history of horrible customer service!!

A good business is not one when the amount of complaints is near equal to the amount of good experiences.

al5
I did some translation research and no where did I find anything stating that the word 'momovelo' means 'crap'...stop picking your nose

I'm having a bad experience with momovelo too. Over three months after I returned two pairs of toeclips (unused, unopened even--wrong size, already bought replacements from momovelo too), I have still received no refund, even though Kai Matsuda e-mailed me to acknowledge that he had received everything intact, and that credit is due. Said he couldn't find my credit card number. After offering to send it, I received no more replies--and no refund either. But he found time to answer a purchase inquiry I made using another e-mail address. I've filed a complaint with BBB Berkeley.

That sucks. That really sucks. Maybe we ought to start taking a lesson from this.

Yep, mirror his site before it goes completely belly up (links to Sigg etc seem to be gone now), start a company called velomomo and sell the same stuff, giving quality service. Given the number of times the company comes up, you might do quite well...