Ping Battery horrible shipping delays.

Has anyone else had problems with Ping Battery's shipping?

I was told on 9/6/12 when I ordered a 48V 15Ah battery from Ping, that it would be 7 days to build and test, and 10 days shipping.
On 9/17/12 he tells me that it is on the way to Hong Kong, and that I will get a tracking number once Express Mailed to me.
On 9/20/12 he tells me that DHL Hong Kong has temporarily stopped shipping unexpectedly.
On 9/26/12 he tells me that Fedex will accept batteries "later this week"
On 10/1/12 he tells me that Fedex will accept batteries, but my battery must be returned to Shenzhen, then shipped back to HK, and will be processed by Fedex on 10/4 or 10/5.
On 10/7/12 he tells me that DHL will resume battery shipments 'later this week' (no mention of Fedex!)
On 10/13/12 he asks me if I'll accept sea shipping at 6-8 weeks. I say no.
On 10/14/12 he tells me that an agent company of TNT gives him hope, and maybe he'll ship through them.

Should I worry? I'm starting to think he's stonewalling me for some reason. Or have all the international shippers suddenly changed their battery policies?

I'm considering a PayPal dispute to get my money back. I have about 4 days to do so. I did this successfully with BMSBattery when they kept telling me my motor wasn't in stock (for more than a month after taking my order!)

It is getting to be very frustrating dealing with Chinese vendors. :x The only one I've had luck with is Cell_Man, who was prompt and communicative. Ugh.

For any of you that have bought Ping Batteries, was this your shipping experience?

This isn't a Ping related problem, it's a general problem with shipping lithium out of China. Gradually the major carriers are clamping down on carrying lithium batteries by air. Fedex China have, I believe, recently stopped all carriage of lithium from China, DHL maybe doing the same, and there are issues with couriers like EMS having to redirect lithium packages through tortuous routes to avoid the air carriage restrictions (for example, Hobby King now have to ship lithium batteries to here via Switzerland, as that's, apparently, the only way to get around the carriage restrictions).

Ping has a really good reputation for being honest and helpful, so I'd guess that he's been caught up in some carriage problems (plus China was closed down for a week a while ago for one of their regular public holidays).

Dang, it was bound to start affecting Ping sooner or later. They aren't buying it that those dense packages are "toys" valued at $20 anymore are they? I remember getting quite a look from my postman when he delivered my last ping, and a few of the heavier HK boxes too.

Time for Ping to set up a USA warehouse like HK has. Then stuff can ground ship a bit easier.

Dogman slip him a PM you can be the USA rep.

This is driving me nuts. I have my cell_man MAC front hub all setup and ready to go! Are there any good alternatives to Ping for LiFePO4?

Headway is more powerful and heavier. Probably lasts some more on an ebike where most Ping packs are run on the edge. But buying them from China, you run into the same problems, if not worse. Rather find a local seller if you decide to give up on Ping. But honestly, give him a chance, he's a good guy.

gurshark said:

This is driving me nuts. I have my cell_man MAC front hub all setup and ready to go! Are there any good alternatives to Ping for LiFePO4?

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The problem isn't Ping, as I said above, it's with the clampdown on shipping lithium batteries by air. Gradually the air freight companies have been restricting the carriage of lithium batteries, making it harder and harder to get them shipped by air. It's been illegal to transport them by air in many Western countries for some time now, but some Chinese vendors have been disguising the contents of their packages to get around the restrictions. Ping traditionally marks his packages as "toys", as dogman mentioned above, and this has fooled the air freight companies for a while, but it seems as if he, like pretty much all the others, has been caught out.

I'd suggest sticking with Ping and seeing if he can come up with a work around. Sea freight is the logical solution, as currently there aren't the same tough restrictions of the carriage of lithium batteries by sea that apply to air freight. Alternatively, you could try and find a supplier in whatever country you're from, and hope that they can ship by road/rail to you within whatever restrictions may apply there (some countries are starting to heavily restrict the carriage of lithium batteries via their internal postal service).

I suspect we're all going to have to face problems like this before too long, as the "cheating" that's been going on to circumvent the restrictions on carriage of lithium batteries was bound to get found out eventually.

it took me 4 months to get a tube battery from amped bikes while being led along like a dog the whole time.

maybe get some cheap sla bricks local to tide you over ? It's what I did back then.

I have ordered a BMS from ping 2 weeks ago and it got to me within 5 days. he's always been u and up with me so at least
you should feel he's being honest.

Thanks for the replies. I'll just wait it out. I'm just impatient because I am excited about my first ebike, and the incremental delays are getting frustrating. Also, I live in Portland, OR, and the 9 month rainy season just started, and I was hoping to have at least a few weeks of dry weather to test out the ebike. Oh well...

Maybe shipping by boat to start might have been just as fast if shipped that way to start. And cheaper. My Ping was shipped to S.F. first then got lost at the local P.O. for 12 days a big 25lb. box all yellow from China and they can;t find but seen it ?

The problem isn't Ping, as I said above, it's with the clampdown on shipping lithium batteries by air. Gradually the air freight companies have been restricting the carriage of lithium batteries, making it harder and harder to get them shipped by air.

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No wonder it took forever for HK usa to get their higher powered lipos back in stock in the US store. Even though I don't need them I ordered some from the USA store.

gurshark said:

Has anyone else had problems with Ping Battery's shipping?

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Very recent order from Victpower which was significantly delayed. I don't think its the vendors but getting shipments out of Hong Kong on the common carriers (DHL for Vict).

There are alternatives to buying batteries from China.. just sayin

Jeremy Harris I totally agree with your assessment

DHL was one of the few companies moving lithium batteries but Apple needed a whole lotta new i-stuff ishipped into western markets before Xmas.......guess who losing out.

Souce of my information...

Wow that's crazy

FYI to all looking to buy lithium batteries in the near future from hong kong
I have been waiting for replacement lithium cells from ping for almost month and1/2. Ping just informed me the shipping company they use (DHL) is not shipping lithium batteries at this time. Ping is saying it is because the IPhone 5 market flood and or drugs found in packets that were supposed to have lithium pouches in them. Either way, They do not know how long it will be before shipping will resume and they are looking into other ways to ship. How ever it gets
shipped, it is still the best game in town for this product. It is worth the wait. He sells a great product and offers awesome service to back it up. I originally did not post this under the heading horrible shipping delays. It was moved here by the powers of the elders. Sorry if it shed a negative light on his product.
I only posted it so that others could be aware of the shipping delays. He deserves alot of respect for the effort he puts forth to provide a great product with trustworthy service to back it.

Shucks

Did you see this thread ?

http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=44723

See here: http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=44723

Sorry I did not see the other thread. Kill this one and go to the ones listed above. All together it paints the picture none of us want to see.

Do also bear in mind that China is having a three week holiday as a result of National Day. Many Chinese work 6 and 7 day weeks, but take their holidays in lieu during these periods. I've been waiting two weeks for my Turnigy cells to arrive and I paid the higher shipping rate thinking it would get here sooner...

I would suggest to go and file a complaint with paypal IF

ping hasn't provided proof of shipping
AND he refuses to give you a refund

Because once your period for complaining is over you won't be able to get the money back. AnD I don't really trust people with my money all the way around the world.

i trust ping like my neighbor. i have always gifted him the cash to avoid the paypal fees i trust him so much. the man is righteous to a fault.

Looks like US based warehouses may be the only avenue in the future I ordered 4 zippy 5s8ah packs from HK USA on Sunday night and got them on Wednesday (today).

dnmun

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i trust ping like my neighbor. i have always gifted him the cash to avoid the paypal fees i trust him so much. the man is righteous to a fault.

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I'm with dnmun, Ping has been straight to this forum.
I don't think you will find too many over there that this forum trust, BUT Ping is one of them.

If you can't wait, go loal USA/CANADA and pay the price.

Dan