Boo to Kato USA.

I purchased a new Kato N scale GS4 off of Ebay (an Ebay store) and I got it home and test ran it. It had horrible slow speed performance, so I sent to off the Kato to get it fixed (after I had talked to a tech person).

All I asked for was to fix the mech so it has the slow speed performance that I was looking for (it had a very high start speed).

I got the bill in the mail today; 29 dollars. Well, Kato, this thing is NEW. I spent MONEY shipping it to you, now you want me to pay for your work on an item that was NEW? Not only that, you took it upon yourself to replace some parts and BILL ME FOR THEM even though I was very specific to what I wanted? And I have to pay for return shipping?

Boo, Kato, Boo. You should stand behind your products, not use them as a cash cow.

Boo, Kato, Boo.

David B

BOO to David. A comment from the entitlement mentality.

If Kato repaired your SECOND-HAND locomotive, and you got away paying only $29, you should consider yourself one lucky dude. If it still runs crappy, it probably cost Kato a bit more than that just to handle your request.

I think they were generous.

jrc

Questions…

Did you purchase the engine through an authorized reseller?

Did you include a copy of the sale’s receipt with the loco when you submitted it for repair to Kato USA?

Have you had any conversation with Kato USA about the loco’s warranty?

Hi David…

The best policy probably would have been to return your GS-4 to the store or individual you purchased it from on Ebay. If the seller did not offer a return period or policy, then buyers should avoid such transactions for this very reason. Did you check with the seller to verify the return policy?

KatoUSA is well within their rights as a manufacturer, to charge a minimum ‘bench fee’ to resolve a problem with one of their products - if you cannot prove the date of purchase or from where you bought the item. Since you just bought it recently(I assume), you probably did not have time to register the warranty, if they still require it, and thus- the charge.

In order to get the model running again properly, and by your own admission, you paid to send it back to them for service and/or repair. It wouldn’t do you,Kato or the model any good,if the problem wasn’t corrected and then returned without being fixed, would you agree?

At any rate, any business can charge a service fee on any unverified warranty service. This is why on new items, if there is a problem found, it should always be returned to the seller - let them deal with the distributor or manufacturer and return it as defective merchandise.

This way, you’re in the clear, can get a replacement with no charge to you and everyone is happier, including KatoUSA- they prefer to handle warranty issues through their dealer network.

I’m sorry that you had this issue with the Kato GS-4 as it enjoys a very high reputation for smooth operation, which is why you most likely bought it to begin with.

KATOUSA is a fine company and has a solid reputation of standing behind their products - you’re lucky to be able to enjoy all their new products as we, in HO scale, envy you N scalers over all the new models they are bringing out - models HO’ers are wi

And that is why I would not buy anything off of Ebay.

That’s an ignorant comment. I’ve got over 200 transactions on ebay and have been very satisfied.

David, I’m with Kato on this one.

Boo hoo hoo to you. [B)]

I too have had over 300 ebay transactions and not ONE negative among any of them. The people who complain about ebay do not know what to look for in an ebay seller/auction and is why they end up getting burned. They then complain about how bad ebay is and how nobody should use it when in fact, it is their own incompetence which steered them wrong in the first place. To the OP, get a grip man. I bet you still paid less overall for the GS4 with the repair bill included rather than buying it off a reputable hobby store, whether it be online/offline. Instead of sucking it up, you come here to tarnish Kato’s name and reputation for no other reason than you feel you don’t need to spend the money to fix a locomotive that may or may not have been new. Sure the seller said it was new, but how do you really know. I think your claim is unjustified and you should be dealing with this issue through the ebay seller or through Kato direct. Good grief, Dan

Here’s their warranty.

Being in the Business I’d assume David knows what he’s talking about

KATO U.S.A., INC. warrants that this product will be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of sixty (60) days from the date of original purchase. If this product fails during the warranty period, carefully pack the assembled item in the original carton, together with the dated sales receipt, and return to: KATO U.S.A., INC. 100 Remington Road, Schaumburg, IL 60173. Defects due to misuse, improper maintenance and/or abuse are not covered by this warranty. Items that have been modified by the modeler or anyone other than an authorized KATO repair person are not covered by the warranty. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state

How in the heck is it Ebays fault the Kato shipped a faulty loco?

I agree with Driline on your comment.

As far as I’m concerned, the less buyers there are the less I have to compete against.

Thanks for not participating.

I guess the question here is… is the ebay seller an authorized reseller for Kato? If it was an individual, then Kato can charge for repairs.

That’s why I buy from LHS. I don’t know how many times I’ve returned defective stuff back to Caboose, but it’s alot and no questions asked.

I am not saying it is Ebays fault… You have to go on the faith of what the seller is saying is so. I have not bought any railroad items on Ebay and I am sure there is quality sellers out there but I have been burned in the past and would rather not risk it anymore. I am with Motley, if I am buying an engine I want to make sure it works and if it does not, I want to go back to LHS and get it resolved right away… Just last week I bought an Atlas Gold engine, ran it the LHS to see (and hear) all the bells and whistles of a sound equipped train and I went ahead and bought it, with in about 30 minutes of getting it home it started sputtering and then finally stopped… After trying everything in the manual to reset it I took it back the LHS to get some guidance and the clerk in the train dept could not get it work either, so I left it overnight for their DCC guru to look it over and the next day I go back and they say the board is toast and they would either refund me the money or I can get another train… Not only did I get another train but it was about $20 more and they just traded straight across for my troubles.

Kind of makes Bachmann look petty good. When I had a shay problem I had a replacement with no questions asked. Their tech was the friendliest I’ve ever dealt with.

That’s all they do is fix their cheap chicom locomotives. Of course they look good [:)]

Aren’t most current loco’s Chicom? My Bachmann’s MTH, Atlas and Athearns are.

Edit: Oops and my BLI’s

I think that a few posters, David included don’t realize that anything you buy off of Ebay is second hand. Even if it’s a new item. Kato, Intermountain, etc do not sell to people to resell on Ebay. Yes a lot of hobby shops sell on Ebay but you need to go after them, not the manufacturer when you buy anything off of Ebay that has a problem and should be under warranty. That’s just the way it is.

I’d be interested in knowing how long the OP did a break-in run with his new engine?? I find 15 minutes at about 3/4 full throttle forwards, then 15 minutes backwards, results in an engine running much better than straight out of the box.

First TA462 not everything bought on ebay is second hand. Much of it is from a legitimate hobby shop.

wjstix, please take the time to read some of Dave’s posts. I think he knows how to break in an engine. He talked to tech support and they took the loco and did something to it. This means something was wrong with it.

What makes it “second hand” if a brick and mortar hobby shop sets up an Ebay store and sells stuff? That is ridiculous. Under current fair trade laws, manufacturers and distributors must sell to anyone who meets the credit and retail sales licence requirements and they cannot control “how” that person resells or retails the product, or at what price.

David said it was a Ebay store, not just some guy selling off stuff. It had to come from somewhere and its unlikely someone bought it at retail to just to lose money selling it on Ebay. So likely the guy has some sort of ligitimate industry connection to buy thre stuff.

What is Kato’s policy on “authorized dealers”? Who are their authorized wholesalers? Anyone those wholesalers sells to is likely by legal default an authorized dealer. Just ask a lawyer.

As a few others have commented, makes Bachmann look pretty good.

Until facts to the contrary are proven, I’m with David. It was new, they should fix it.

I don’t buy much on Ebay, but the little I have has been trouble free.

Sheldon

I’ve got 30+ of those “cheap chicom locomotives” from Bachmann. They all run great and only three had to be replaced - they were duds from minute one - but the replacements just fine.

And about 50 of those “cheap chicom locomotives” from Proto2000, and they all run great too.

Sheldon

Firstly, how can a new item bought from a Hobbyshop via Ebay be second hand?

And secondly, how can a great country like the US have such poor consumer warranties?

In the EU, there is a 1-2 year warranty on most consumer products.

I´ll agree with David, there is bad PR to charge full service price on new items.