Disappointed with Kuretake/Zig

[smriti]

I got a 48 marker set of Zig Clean Color real brush pens for my birthday. When using some of the markers I felt that one marker seemed drier than the other. So I emailed Kuretake/Zig asking them if they would be able to replace the dry markers. They asked me to send a photo of the dry markers and to tell them where I bought the markers. So I tested all the markers and found that there 2 that seemed dry to me. I sent them a photo of the two markers and told them I bought them from Amazon.

In reply the representative told me that they would not be able to replcae the markers since I bought them from Amazon. She asked me to buy them from a reputable distributor next time so that I don't land into this situation. I found the reply somewhat disappointing for the following reasons:


1. These markers are not cheap and when I buy an expensive product I expect the maker of the product to stand by it. Very disappointed in Kuretake for that.
2. Not so high in priority but her suggestion to pick a "reputable" distributor was kind of rude to me.


Has anybody else experienced drier markers (I won't call them dry because it's not that they don't have ink in them, it's just that they don't flow as smoothly as others) with Zig clean color pens?


P.S. Thank you for listening to my long story - had to rant!

[Louisa May]

Contact Amazon. If they handled fulfillment, they will make good on the product, either by sending you a replacement or providing a refund. If they did not handle fulfillment, Amazon will contact the vendor as your advocate. Believe me, none of these vendors wants to be kicked out of Amazon's Marketplace, which Amazon will do. Here's where you have behemoth corporate America on your side for a change. Let Kuratake duke it out with Amazon and see how Kuratake comes out calling Amazon "disreputable."

[Scrapjanny]

People were telling me basically the same thing on this thread: Disappointed with Zig Clean Color Watercolor Markers by Scrapjanny at Splitcoaststampers I think that's a ridiculous answer that Zig gave you. Since when is Amazon not "reputable"? If there is an issue with fraudulent markers, 1.) How are we, as consumers, supposed to know that; and 2.)Why hasn't Zig pursued the matter? Zig has just gone down yet another notch in my opinion of them. And I have yet to get the kind of blending I see others get in videos, and I've used all kinds of cardstock, Bristol, and watercolor paper.

Amazon should stand by their sale. Definitely contact them. Good luck in your pursuit of this.

[beaddict]

Amazon is a reputable company however many of their vendors are not. I think that is probably what Kuretake was referring to.

Take your issue to Amazon, they will do their best to fix the issue.

[cat_woman]

I'm really surprised by their response to you. I had a similar situation with a set of Marvy markers I received as a gift. I couldn't return them because they were purchased in another city in a different province, so they replaced the entire set - there was only 1 dry marker. I have no need to buy any more markers, but if I were in the market, and based on this story, I wouldn't consider Zigs now.

[stampin stacy]

Sorry but I am not surprised that a company (any company) would tell you that. If I have an issue with a product I return it to the place I made the purchase not the manufacturer. There is no way for the company to know how old the product is, how it was stored/shipped or it is real or a knock-off. Only as a last resort do I contact the manufacturer. While amazon can be a great place to make purchases for a good price, bargains from unknown sources are always a risk IMHO.

[Biko8666]

Amazon definitely stands behind their sales. I purchased something on Amazon (from a third party vendor) for a Christmas present this year and the vendor never sent the merchandise. I contacted Amazon and they made good the money I paid.

[smriti]

Thanks everybody! Yes I've always had a good experience with Amazon and they have the best customer service on the planet. I figured since it's only two markers I would probably purchase them separately to replace mine rather than going through more hassle. I did want to share my experience so that others are aware.

[smriti]

Kind of agree with you Stacy. However when I had an issue with my Spectrum Noir markers, I contacted the manufacturer and they never asked me where I bought the markers from.


As a manufacturer they would know from serial number or something when my set was manufactured. It would be fair for them to say that it was manufactured long time back and has been sitting on the shelf of the distributor that's why it's dry.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stampin stacy

Sorry but I am not surprised that a company (any company) would tell you that. If I have an issue with a product I return it to the place I made the purchase not the manufacturer. There is no way for the company to know how old the product is, how it was stored/shipped or it is real or a knock-off. Only as a last resort do I contact the manufacturer. While amazon can be a great place to make purchases for a good price, bargains from unknown sources are always a risk IMHO.

[bjeans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scrapjanny

People were telling me basically the same thing on this thread: Disappointed with Zig Clean Color Watercolor Markers by Scrapjanny at Splitcoaststampers I think that's a ridiculous answer that Zig gave you. Since when is Amazon not "reputable"? If there is an issue with fraudulent markers, 1.) How are we, as consumers, supposed to know that; and 2.)Why hasn't Zig pursued the matter? Zig has just gone down yet another notch in my opinion of them. And I have yet to get the kind of blending I see others get in videos, and I've used all kinds of cardstock, Bristol, and watercolor paper.

Amazon should stand by their sale. Definitely contact them. Good luck in your pursuit of this.

It's not that Amazon isn't reputable; some of their vendors are not, and there are far too many for Amazon to vet every one - but they'll step up when there's a problem.

What they will do if they aren't the direct seller is have you contact the seller, and they'll tell you how. If that doesn't work out, Amazon will step in to help.

The only problem I've ever had is when Amazon reps don't take the time to read what I've written, and so their responses don't make sense. The funny thing is when this has happened, I've ended up with refunds I didn't ask for or other benefits - even after I've re-explained the problem.

I was talking to a skin care product manufacturer's rep who told me about people buying from disreputable sellers and re-sellers on various sites. One person sent them one of their products that smelled bad. It wasn't their product. Jars had been filled with who knows what. There's theft in every industry, so theft of jars isn't hard to imagine.

This company has tried everything to stop resellers on sites - including Amazon. Their model is to only sell to doctors offices and small salons and spas. But these unscrupulous vendors often do business under multiple names. Stop one seller and another pops pop. It's complicated and a huge problem for bona fide retailers and manufacturers, from Apple to Zig.

I love my Zigs; they've all been juicy and easy to blend. I buy them from an LSS and from carpediemmarkers.com

[bjeans]

BTW, if the manufacturer's name is listed as the actual seller on Amazon, that's legit. Or if it says "shipped and sold by Amazon" that makes it easy.

And one thing we can do when spending a good amount of money on Amazon, is to first contact the manufacturer to ask if a company is a legit seller for them. I've only done this a couple of times since I know ultimately Amazon will back me, though it can be process to go through.

The seller's name is up near the top of the page below price. Like this one for Zigs:

Price: $68.90 | FREE One-Day
Note: Available at a lower price from other sellers, potentially without free Prime shipping.
In Stock.
Sold by TOYOTA and Fulfilled by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

You know it's not the car company. It's too bad Kuretake didn't take the time to explain the situation and let you know that Amazon would help since the item was purchased from them, not Kuretake. That would have been better customer service.

[cnsteele]

I bought some of these markers through Amazon and when the packages arrived only half the markers were in the package. And by package, I do not mean the Amazon box it was shipped in. I mean the actual marker package had half of the set missing. That is when I investigated and found that there were Zig knock-offs being sold. Amazon quickly issued me a refund, however, and had me send the product back. I never did buy Zig markers after that, though.