No response from Ray Wu

[thestig]

Is anyone else having issues with Ray returning emails? I have been super busy and have been trying to order some flex strips and Extra connectors as well as other miscellaneous stuff from Ray and have sent 4 emails. I have also tried to contact him through his stores contact form and have not received a reply. I am starting to get frustrated and would love to use another seller if I could just guarantee that the flex strips would be the same.

Grant

[JDM1oc]

Is anyone else having issues with Ray returning emails? I have been super busy and have been trying to order some flex strips and Extra connectors as well as other miscellaneous stuff from Ray and have sent 4 emails. I have also tried to contact him through his stores contact form and have not received a reply. I am starting to get frustrated and would love to use another seller if I could just guarantee that the flex strips would be the same.

Grant

I placed a small order with Ray 10 days ago and just received it Friday.  He did not respond to my request for a status update a few days ago.

Josh

[drlucas]

I had a special (not through ali express) order placed (about $700USD worth of flex strings and some some rgb power cable) and took a day to get email back with a formal quote...then I paid through paypal....a few days passed I asked for an update on shipping and he replied again next day...then put the parts in the mail...so it's not same day response, but he's been pretty decent from start to finish on my latest order. All-in-all, i'm still satisfied with him. Looks like my order cleared customs this morning....so start to finish about 2 weeks I guess.

[ahb2ukeith]

It was 3-4 days, before I got a quote back from Ray. But when i ordered it, I got it in about 10 - 12 days. 

[plaberge]

I've generally had super fast response. For example, last night, I emailed him at You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login and asked for a quote over $1400 worth of items, got the response this morning and then placed the order this morning. You could try Skype at "alpha_lighting"

Paul.

[thestig]

Thanks for the replys. I am just going to order directly from his page instead. he obviously dosn't want to give me a quote with everything combined. My order will only total about 250 dollars and I am wondering if he is quicker to reply to the big money orders. Either way I can not wait any longer. Halloween is too close.


Grant

[thestig]

Update: Ray has contacted me and did so about 5 days ago. His email went into my GMAIL spam folder. I apologize to Ray and everything is now taken care of.

Grant

[chrisatpsu]

I usually contact him through the Instant Messaging program. that way, you both can explain what you want, and be on the same page as far as questions about the product.

[Steve Gase]

I've been having problems getting Ray to respond... he will respond once a week, but its been frustrating.  My order is approaching 8 weeks since I paid him the same day of the quote.


Yesterday I learned the reason for the hold-up... we ordered a lot of customized items (TM180x technicolor strings, different lead lengths, different spacing, and DMX-controlled UV floods)


At one point there was no "penalty" for custom orders... that is no longer the case based on my experience.

[tbone321]

I wouldn't call it a penalty, I would say that it's a bad time for that.  This is the time of the year that people are realizing that they are short on strings or are deciding to jump in so the order count is high.  Custom strings cost more and and take more time if he is not charging more for them, then he would probably put them on the back burnner until the higher profit orders are completed and he has more time and I would do the same thing.  After the holiday and during the summer, any work means money and he can afford to do some custom work for no additinal charge but during the rush ......

[therealbigjim]

I placed a 1200.00 order Sept 2nd. and have not heard a thing the charge posted but its not shipped....the escrow date is approaching and I have gotten on answer from ray. I may not update anything this year.........

[frankr]

I am on my second order through Ray this year with everything other than initial contact done through direct e-mail.  I usually wait 7 days after sending payment to ask for an acknowledgment and each time I have had the response within 36 hours.  I had a problem with being shorted 2 flex strips and he corrected it in 48 hours.

My general experience with Ray is always positive (as long as I filter out the memories of countless hours spent slicing and dicing on the first years nodes after that died flaming deaths due to water )

I think it is just a matter of the sheer volume he is dealing with at this time of year.  I can think of about 14 different Christmas lighting forums that throw his name around left and right.  Combine that with the fact that Christmas lights is not his primary reason for operating and all of the commercial people he sells to, in higher volumes, and you have to think he is a little swamped right now.

While this might be frustrating for us it is actually VERY good for us as the level of business will economy of scale and competition. Potentially leading to better and better pricing.

Or at least that's my $.04 (adjusted for inflation)

Frnak

[n1ist]

This is also the time of the year for the Moon festival and National Day holiday, both of which shut down most of China for about a week each.  I got mail from both of the PCB fab shops I use about the shutdowns.
/mike

[taybrynn]

That helps to know, as I haven't heard back from Ray recently either.  I figure he'll contact me when they are back at work.

[taybrynn]

He seems to be swamped.  I just heard back he needs 10 more days on my order ... and I placed it September 25th.