[chiranjitp]

This is the story & experience of a fellow petrol-head, who also happens to be a very good friend & someone who is like a younger brother to me & this is the ordeal he had to face due to his simple wish of wanting to accessorize his cars with simple things that we use in our day to day life. He prefers to remain anonymous & I will be acting as a messenger on his behalf & deliver his story to the forum so that the good members here can take a few notes from this ordeal.

From here onward, the incident will be divided into two major parts. Both the incidents shared here are written words of my friend with adequate proof of WhatsApp screenshots (that I also translated to English for better understanding), transaction screenshots and so on.

Rakha Car Accessories

On June 12, 2019 I was looking to buy a Pioneer 5290BT head unit to fit in my Baleno. After scouting the local markets of Guwahati, I came to realize that the prices were around 4k higher than Delhi. So I began searching the Delhi market, what better than watching YouTube videos. I came across a seller named Rakha, many different Youtubers had made videos on him. He seemed like a decent guy, answered all my queries. He also offered the lowest price, even lower than the dealer I usually buy products from in Delhi. I immediately transferred the amount on that very evening, everything was fine till then. He acknowledged that he received the amount & said will ship the parcel ASAP.

2 days later he informed me that he had shipped the parcel & I asked for the courier tracking receipt. Few days passed & he still hadn't send me the courier tracking number, which got me a bit worried for the first time. But I kept my calm assuming that he has many customers to adhere to. Every other day I would call him, he'll say the parcel is in transit with confidence but could never give the supporting tracking ID. Days passed, then weeks & finally I realized that I have been made a fool. Almost a month later I couldn't keep my calm & bashed upon him, after which he told me that the parcel has been wrongly delivered to some other place. I didn't believe it since he couldn't give me any courier details to support his statement. Helplessly I waited for the courier to be redirected to my place, by this time he completely ignored all my messages & calls.

Around a month & a half later, I gave up & told everything to my father. He had a friend who lives in Delhi, so came to the rescue. My uncle contacted the guy Rakha anonymously, then next day again as an acquaintance of ours. Rakha called him to some sweet shop for the meeting which seemed very suspicious, of course he didn't turn up. Unfortunately for Rakha, his store's address was available on Google map. My uncle directly went to his store, that Rakha guy was tensed after seeing him. Finally he gave the stereo to my uncle. A part of me till then believed that he had actually sent the parcel. Had he sent the parcel, he wouldn't have immediately given another unit to my uncle. What I learnt is that, not everything you see is greener on the other side. For saving 3-4k, I ended up risking 22k. Hadn't I had contacts in Delhi, I would have surely lost that money. I wonder how many people have been through this. The HU & accessories were of good quality, no issue faced with the actual product.

An YouTube video on this store:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8N4HnQbgAQ

Whatsapp conversation between me & rakha. It is unfortunately in Hindi, so I am translating the conversation to English:



Me: How much for Pioneer 5290?
Rakha: Rs. 20500.
Me: Will be needing courier delivery for Baleno
Rakha: Will you be needing frame and coupler or only the stereo?
Me: Yes I will need it. Please tell me the total with shipping and add a little discount too.



Rakha: Stereo 20500
Frame 600
Main coupler 200
Antenna coupler 200
Stereo coupler 200
GPS + Mic 400
Courier 300
22400 all total
Me: I don't think mic will be needed in Zeta model. Please round off the sum and make it 22000.
Rakha: 22200





Me: Bit busy now, will transfer the amount in evening. Will be sending the amount by 7PM.
Rakha: Ok
Me: Transfer done, please check & let me know.
Me: When will the parcel be dispatched? When will it reach Guwahati?
Rakha: Will be dispatched in this week.
Me: What about delivery?
Rakha: Will be delivered next week.



Me: Send the parcel as early as possible. Also share the tracking ID with me.
Rakha: Ok.
Me: Is it dispatched yet?
(no reply, so I decided to ask about something else the next day)
Me: Will the steering mounted buttons work with this HU?
Rakha: Yes.
Me: Has the parcel been dispatched yet?
Rakha: Yes.



Me: By when will it be delivered? Please share with me the tracking ID.
Rakha: Will share the tracking ID with you by evening.
Me: Ok.
Me: Tracking ID?
(no reply)
Me: Tracking ID?
(no reply)
Few days later i.e on 27.06.2020.
Me: What happened? You were supposed to call me.
Rakha: I am really sorry, was busy today.



Me: I trusted you a lot but you are giving lame excuses, one after another.
Rakha: So sorry.
Me: I have bought other things from Delhi as well, all those reached me within 3-4 days.
Rakha: Was busy today, couldn't attend your calls.
Me: I want the parcel to be delivered by tomorrow, otherwise refund the amount.
Rakha: I will tell you tomorrow why the parcel is getting delayed.
Me: Please do. I have made the full payment on 14th, today is 28th.



Me: I am a college student & my college will start from next week. I had planned to fit the HU before leaving for college.
Rakha: I have shipped the parcel, I promise. Will let you know tomorrow why's the delay.



Me: Did you check?
Rakha: Your parcel has reached Bhopal due to some mistake.
Me: Then cancel it.
Rakha: I will make sure that the parcel is redirected to your place.



Rakha: Courier stores are closed on weekends. The courier will be redirected on Monday, should reach you by Tuesday/Wednesday.
Me: I will be back home after 6 months, I don't want the parcel, please cancel it & refund my money.
Rakha: If I were to cancel the courier, it would take 40 days for it to be cancelled. Don't do like this, the HU will safely reach your home.
Me: It's not my mistake, I had transferred the amount 2 weeks back.



Me: Please take back the parcel & refund my money.
Rakha: Please don't do like this.
Me: You should have responded properly, you could have at least send me the tracking number.
Rakha: I ship many parcels each day, so it's difficult to keep track of each tracking receipt.
Me: I have in the past ordered from other car accessories store like Balaji, OM. They shared the tracking number with me.
Rakha: I ship more couriers than them.



Rakha: Parcel will reach Guwahati by Tuesday/Wednesday.
Me: Can you guarantee it?
Rakha: Yes.
Me: I want it latest by Tuesday, otherwise refund my money.
Rakha: Ok.



Me: Is it shipped yet?
(no reply)
Then on Tuesday i.e July 1, 2019.
Me: The courier delivery guy hasn't called me yet, the parcel hasn't come yet.
Rakha: Where is Namati?
Me: Namati or Noonmati (Noonmati is a place in Guwahati).
Rakha: Namati.
Me: Where is that? Are you talking about Guwahati, Assam?



Rakha: Yes.
Me: Namati (actually it's Namti) is in Sivasagar district, which is 300 km from Guwahati.
Rakha: Parcel has reached that place.
Me: What kind of rubbish is this?
Rakha: They could only get service to only that place from Bhopal, so booked it.
Me: What will you do now?
Rakha: Wait!



Me: I had given you my address properly. I have had things shipped from Delhi to this address without any issue.
Rakha: I am aware that parcel comes to your address from Delhi.
Me: Please tell me the exact location where the parcel is currently at.
Rakha: Will let you know after reaching the store.



Me: What's the update?
(no reply)
Me: Will the parcel reach on Friday?
Rakha: Yes it will reach you on Friday. Send me your address again.
Me: Why it will take so long to reach Guwahati, that place is only 300km from Guwahati.



Me: Any update? It's almost a month since I ordered.
(no reply)
Me: Please call me & give me an update.
(no reply)

Payment slip:



Pioneer 5290 HU:

[chiranjitp]

Krishna Car Shringar (Suraj)

Yet again Delhi got me. Despite having learnt a lesson from Rakha, I became victim of another guy named Suraj. I again went this road as this guy was highly recommended by the YouTuber Musafir aka Joshi. Now, this Musafir guy is one of the biggest YouTubers of India when it comes to car accessories & this Suraj guy appeared in many videos of his. So, I took a leap of faith & went ahead. My dad's 2012 Duster had worn off seat covers which needed replacement ASAP. Since this Suraj guy claims to be the "God" of seat-covers, I inquired about the price range & he was swift with his replies. My dad decided for beige shade, so ordered the seat-covers in Mangolian Leather trim which costed Rs. 6900 (6500 + 400 shipping) on 6th December 2019.

He said it will be dispatched within 2 days. After 2 days he said he's a bit busy, so will dispatch the seat-covers after the weekend. I inquired the following Monday & he said he had dispatched the parcel. I asked for the tracking number & he said he will send in a minute. To my surprise the reply never came. I kept on asking every other day & he said the same thing. I got flashbacks of Rakha, & in shame couldn't tell my father of what was going to happen again. Weeks passed, same reply from him. Finally he blocked my number & didn't reply my texts. I called from my father's cellphone & upon recognizing my voice he blocked that too.

Lastly we had to resort to my uncle again. With shame, my dad explained him the situation. Soon after a week, my uncle visited the shop. To his surprise no seat covers were made or shipped. Suraj's face was a sight to see, he asked for forgiveness & asked for 2 days time. My uncle later collected them after checking the quality which he found alright. My uncle got busy with some work & was out of Delhi for months. It was March 2020 by this time, since my college had 4 days vacation I decided to visit Delhi myself. I would ship the seat-covers to Guwahati & also was an excuse to meet my friends. I flew to Delhi, collected the parcel & shipped it to Guwahati (which costed Rs. 1600). In the meantime I even tried contacting the YouTuber, Musafir, but to no avail, he didn't reply to any of my mails. Finally last month, I fitted the seat-covers from a local accessories guy (delayed due to the global pandemic). The seat-cover quality thankfully is good, even fit is perfect.

Some videos on Krishna Car Shringar by Youtuber Musafir:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEuL-KmATC4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM7_XktaiOY

Whatsapp conversation between me & Suraj:

Me: Can I get seatcovers for old model Duster?
(Suraj sends some sample photos)
Me: I want the exact same one.



Suraj: I can courier it to your place.
Me: How much for this one? I want the exact same design.
Suraj: 6500.
Me: Do you use Google pay or do I need to do account transfer?
Suraj: Yes.
Me: What material is this seatcover?
Suraj: Mangolian.
Me: Tell me the final rate, will transfer the amount.



Suraj: 6500, only for you.
Me: Make sure the quality is good.
Suraj: It will be good.
Me: Tell me the shipping cost?
Suraj: It will be 400. Transfer the amount to me via PayTM.



Me: Will transfer 6900 by tonight.
Suraj: Ok.
(Transfer done & screenshot sent)
Me: I have transferred 6900.
Suraj: Received.
Me: Send a photos of the seatcovers before dispatching.



Me: Are the seatcovers ready?
Suraj: Will be ready by today, dispatch by tomorrow.
Me: Send me a photo after they are ready.
Suraj: Ok.
Me: Is it ready?
(no reply)
Me: Any update? 4 days have passed since I made the payment.



Me: Any update? If you have shipped, please send me the tracking ID.
Me: Give some update or else cancel the order, I will find seat-covers here in Guwahati.
(many days pased)
Me: At-least pick up my calls, have some decency.

Payment slip:




The seat-cover:

[chiranjitp]

A positive note on the people in this business

So the instinct to trust accessory shops didn't just grew on me. I was made to believe, by the extremely good people of Kerala, and also two shops in Delhi as well. It all began in 2017, when I finally decided to get 17" alloys for my Baleno. Being a member of Team Baleno, Kerala, it opened me to a lot of like minded people. There I met, Asif. He runs a custom shop named SpotRX Customs, he used to regularly post the new alloy wheel designs which came to his shop. Also the brotherhood among the club members was itself a testimony of the trust. Finalizing on a design, he offered a good price and the cheapest shipping rate. Hearing all positive things from other members of the group, I transferred him the money and within 8-10 days, the wheels were at my doorstep. At that time, such fancy wheels weren't available at my own hometown, and even if the dealers made it available, they will themselves order from Kerala and will sell after adding their own commission.

Built on the trust, I was searching for a Remus endcan in 2018, where upon browsing Instagram, I found a guy named Renju, with a shop named Performance33, Kerala. He offered it at the best rate at that time and honestly I had so much trust with Kerala, I blindly went with him. Transferred the money, and without me messaging first, he immediately sent the tracking ID details. Within 7 days, I got my exhaust. Within this time frame, posts of a person in Delhi made appearance in Team Baleno group. He made Baleno Alpha headlights that fit in lower variants. His name is Mohit, and runs a shop named Om Car Accessories. Upon talking with him, he guided me very well. Along with headlights, I even bought the Suzuki OEM skirting kit from him. Later I bought aftermarket tail lights and even parts for my friends. He is like my elder brother now and have a different bond. But however he doesn't cater to audio parts. This is where I met Dimple, from Balaji Car Accessories. I saw a video of him in YouTube. I bought innumerous audio parts from him, namely Pioneer stereos, Infinity speakers, DD audio speakers and projector fog-lamps. These people built a leap of faith within me, untill I met Rakha and Suraj.

Summing up with a few reasons as to why this encounter took place in a negative note

1) The distance: There is a distance difference between Guwahati and Delhi by at least 2000 kilometres. The sellers knew that there is no way one could go from Guwahati all the way to Delhi to acquire the parts himself in case something goes wrong (which it did).

2) Going in blind: Another lesson worth noting is that when one is dealing with such a dealer, one should always buy accessories from only those dealers that one's close acquaintances or friends have personally purchased from. A review from a friend about a particular place or dealer is the most trustworthy one, something in which one can always rely upon.

3) A fair amount of research: Everything and everyone seen on YouTube or any other online platform may not always be genuine. A thorough research upon the person selling the item should be done, specially when the money involved in the equation is a huge amount.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing . Your thread will go to our homepage today.

There are many reputable car accessory providers running solid operations on Amazon, AutoFurnish, Elegant Auto, Roger Motors and so on. Better to properly buy online on stores with a good reputation and with your credit card.

[vigsom]

Youtubers earn money by posting their videos on line. Take their reviews with a pinch of salt.

Did Speedy or Musafir come to your friend's rescue because you went by their recommendation? No. It was your friend's uncle who stepped in.

In 2010, I ordered a Toyota Corolla stereo dash kit, a Toyota wiring harness from a very reputed installer in Bangalore after reading through several reviews on this very forum. Those days, dash kits for such cars weren't available in smaller cities.

What I got was a low quality wiring harness and the Soosche (not Scosche) dash kit for an Innova. I didn't pursue the return of goods since it wasn't worth the effort and money and eventually went for the right kit from a distributor in my own city then.

In 2018, I ordered a Metra original dash fill kit and Metra stereo harness for the Grand Vitara via amazon US; the stuff was of top quality.

I am extremely wary of on line transactions unless it is through marketplaces of repute like Amazon; I have purchased two Autofurnish car body covers via amazon India and had no complaints. With headunits, speakers and steering controls, it is better to get off - the - shelf even if it means spending a little more. You get what you see.

[paragsachania]

Extremely risky to place orders from such dealers when you have eCommerce giants like Amazon and others who offer better, reliable and a trustworthy service.

The only time I have ordered accessories from such sites was when I wanted to buy wipers (Autotrends) and Number plates (Utsav, Movell, Orbiz).

The biggest problem I see when you order from such "reputed" stores is the accountability. They care less when it comes to that and there are chances that you may get a damaged, wrong or a counterfeit product and still never be able to sort it out and get what you ordered or even a refund.

Only recently, I ordered a pair or component speakers from Amazon, that was delivered next day and upon opening the package I found out that it contained just one oval speaker, totally damaged and broken thermocol inside.



Since the seller was Prime, quickly took photos and asked for a replacement and that was done within week.

In all these years this was my very first experience of such fraud but Amazon ensured all was well in the end by shipping me the right product again without a fuss.

[sagarpadaki]

From my experience on watching these Dilli car modification YouTube channel, most of them are fraud. My colleague had a similar bad experience influenced by a YouTuber who also runs an accessory shop in Kashmiri Gate in Delhi. Paid money for Custom made leather seat covers for his Figo and transferred 20K for pure leather seat covers. He lost the money after a bunch of follow up with the guy over call and whataspp. This was somewhere around the end of last year.


All these larger than life videos are aimed to make fool of those who fall for it. Stick to reputed websites and dealers even if it costs a bit more. The peace of mind you get is better than going through such ordeal.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I ordered a pair or component speakers from Amazon, that was delivered next day and upon opening the package I found out that it contained just one oval speaker, totally damaged and broken thermocol inside.

Absolutely unacceptable for the seller to have shipped you a "khokha" with one speaker inside. This is a deliberate act.

The seller should know what a proper component set looks and weighs like and should ship only after verification.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Absolutely unacceptable for the seller to have shipped you a "khokha" with one speaker inside. This is a deliberate act.

The seller should know what a proper component set looks and weighs like and should ship only after verification.

Since Covid pandemic has hit us, all deliveries happen at the apartment gate.

When I went to collect mine few hours after it was delivered, the very first thing I noticed was how light the package felt when I had actually ordered a good set of components where overall weight will be complemented by the tweeters and crossovers.

Second thing I noticed was the content inside the package was sliding each time I moved the package. So it was somehow getting evident that something was amiss. Upon opening the well packed outer cover (box appeared damaged on the corners though)and checking the content in the box, I didn't know if I had to smile for guessing right that I may have been conned before I opened that or feel sad that what I wanted didn't get delivered.

Mostly, this is a case of a fraud by a previous buyer who would have ordered the same pair and asked for a return without a valid reason. While returning he may have neatly taken out of original content and replaced with a damaged speaker and sealed it back (there is a popular movie on this from down south).

For Amazon inventory, this return would have created an extra stock in their list and when I ordered, they simply repackaged it and delivered it to me.

I was less concerned since the seller was Appario Retail and the delivery was Prime.

[swarnava.ch]

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

A positive note on the people in this business

Thanks a lot for sharing your friend's experience with us.
This is very scary and a lesson to learn for us.
Let me honestly tell you I had myself watched a few of the Videos by the person Musafir aka Joshi and the way here promotes Some of the Chinese brands and the shops will give any person confidence to go ahead with the purchase.

Last point would be the key takeaway. I feel after doing enquiry and negotiations with such a shop, it’s better to request any friend / acquaintance to visit the shop personally to pick up the stuff and courier it so that you we are not paying blindly. Your friend was lucky to have a n Uncle in Delhi to be able to track down the shop and get the stuff.

[PrideRed]

When the supplier is not reputed for shipping items, avoid or opt only for COD. I remember carplus.in website which used to offer accessories at good discount. The seller was based in Delhi and appeared quite reputed. However phone numbers kept changing, website kept going bonkers and COD was not an option. Despite the cheap price I did not order purely because of lack of confidence.

[audioholic]

These car accessories video pops up on my YouTube feed too due to obvious reasons, but they are nothing but Chinese c*** being marketed as big time mods. Something like converting a base model creta to top end. Seriously? It is just making a fool out of innocent buyers who feel they have saved a good amount of money. The head units they market are available on Aliexpress and most of the chrome they stick is going to fall of within no time. And these videos cleverly omit what happens with the wiring, fitting etc.

A major fact as Parag and others have mentioned is that with the presence of e-commerce sites, option of COD for the shady sites, I see no reason such transactions over phone or whatsapp is needed. There is no product that is available in Delhi and not available in J C Road, Bangalore. For the remote places there could be lesser availability, I think it can still be managed by contacting some local shops who could arrange. But this business of doing a money transfer based on some recommendation or connection is definitely without any guarantee. There could be trustworthy people out there, but definitely not someone I can trust beyond a few hundreds.

[Balthazar]

One tip I can give you is to use a credit card for online transactions. Any online transaction.

You have the option of charging back the amount. It's an incredible safety net, especially for online transactions. Just dispute the charge, and the bank will handle the rest. If the bank is satisfied, the transaction is reversed. If the bank decides to reverse the amount, there is nothing the seller can do.

Also, use a credit card from a private lender if you can; for risky online transactions, I have seen some public sector banks sitting on the request, but the private players are very prompt.

It is bad idea to use your debit card for online transactions. As the name implies, the money is debited directly from your account. Once it's gone, its mostly gone.
The nature of the transaction is completely different if you use a credit card. It's the banks money that is used for the transaction, and banks go the extra mile to get their own money back. Simple.

[Manoj2268]

My experience with nearly all accessories shops of Karol bagh is negative to say the least. One can count on fingers the number of shops that are genuine.

Sab changa h ji, jugaad kar denge ji, ye maal JBL, pioneer se bhi badhiya hai(referring to crap chinesium speakers) are some of the phrases that I heard across the years. After getting my fingers burnt twice, I ensured to get the product I wanted and get it installed at a trusted place.

After the ecom giants started stocking audio stuff, I never went to Karol Bagh and also advised people from going there.

These youtubers are in cahoots with these guys and often receive monies/kickbacks.

I have first hand horror accounts of people being conned for bullet modifications in Karol Bagh, after they followed the 'recommendations' from YouTubers.

Buyer beware!