Unfortunately there are vendors out there who we need to be aware of for all the wrong reasons. This topic was suggested by a TeaChat member, dangert, and is intended to notify our members of vendors whose conduct is questionable at best.

I will list the vendors in this original post based on posts in this topic by members. If a vendor wishes to contest the allegations against them, they must follow the same guidelines outlined for all TeaVendors in the TeaVendor Guide, in particular #10.

Members may post in this topic, however Moderators will be closely monitoring this topic. Please remember, we are discussing issues that could have a major impact on the livelihood of vendors. Therefore I expect that there would be attempts to resolve a problem by members prior to posting here. This is not a rant topic. I do not expect to hear that Vendor X sent someone a wrong item and the member did not attempt to seek resolution directly.

This is more for when a vendor does not want to resolve, wants to abuse, is taking money without shipping product, is grossly misrepresenting itself or products, will not communicate, etc.

I have a very negative experience with this vendor (Sampan Tea on Ebay, the name behind it is Eloi Deit). My first small purchase of samples was smooth and quick. Based on my tastings I have ordered teas for a total value of $110, off-Ebay since not all of the teas were in store and in stock. After some time it appeared that teas not in stock will never arrive and I have asked to ship the remaining ones and refund my PayPal account with the difference. From that moment on the communication started to be extremely slow - it took a week or more for the vendor to reply. The teas that he was supposed to send never arrived. I have never seen money on my PayPal account. At some point the vendor claimed that he resent the teas, but failed to present a proof, such as check or slip from the post office. My numerous attempts to make the vendor recover the situation failed and at some point he stopped replying. Unfortunately I was waiting too long and wasn't able to apply for refund to credit card company or PayPal.

I have heard several incidents regarding FunAlliance. I would recommmend NOT conducting business with this seller that appears to be closed but still taking money while not shipping orders. I have also removed their TeaVendor topic from the TeaVendor Guide.

Chip wrote:I have heard several incidents regarding FunAlliance. I would recommmend NOT conducting business with this seller that appears to be closed but still taking money while not shipping orders. I have also removed their TeaVendor topic from the TeaVendor Guide.

Wow, that's good to know. They've got some neat stuff and offer some neat services (I was toying around with getting a stone seal). Oh well...!

Chip wrote:I have heard several incidents regarding FunAlliance. I would recommmend NOT conducting business with this seller that appears to be closed but still taking money while not shipping orders. I have also removed their TeaVendor topic from the TeaVendor Guide.

Wow, that's good to know. They've got some neat stuff and offer some neat services (I was toying around with getting a stone seal). Oh well...!

I will say I have only placed one order from Fun Alliance and I was rather disappointed, as while I got the requested items it was poorly packed and a gaiwan arrived broken (thankfully nothing else), I emailed the vendor letting him know about this, and received no reply.

I have bought several times at China Cha Dao on Ebay (used to be Kung Fu Tea Art Store) and was generally pleased with the service and prices. Unfortunately, the first time there was a real problem things went completely wrong. I have described everything here: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=14106&start=30#p177278, but in two words - an expensive handmade gaiwan arrived broken due to careless packaging and was never replaced, despite numerous attempts from my side. It was off-Ebay, so I could not leave negative feedback.

I broke the lid of my large gaiwan This one I mean, I was heartbroken, I wanted to buy a new one from funalliance, and I checked it out, but for one week there was no answer, I filed him at paypal resolution center, and my claim date was today, and he replied and promised me to send in a few days. I do not know what could have happened to this vendor, a few years ago I ordered tea and teaware from him and he always replied promtly and sent the shipment well packed and on time, and his TGY was very good, and the greens were good too, I cannot imagine what changed this.

Oni wrote:I broke the lid of my large gaiwan This one I mean, I was heartbroken, I wanted to buy a new one from funalliance, and I checked it out, but for one week there was no answer, I filed him at paypal resolution center, and my claim date was today, and he replied and promised me to send in a few days. I do not know what could have happened to this vendor, a few years ago I ordered tea and teaware from him and he always replied promtly and sent the shipment well packed and on time, and his TGY was very good, and the greens were good too, I cannot imagine what changed this.

If he does not send proof of shipping until 20 april I will file a claim at paypal, this will be the first time I will use this service.

Oni wrote:I broke the lid of my large gaiwan [...] This one I mean, I was heartbroken, I wanted to buy a new one from funalliance, and I checked it out, but for one week there was no answer, I filed him at paypal resolution center, and my claim date was today, and he replied and promised me to send in a few days. I do not know what could have happened to this vendor, a few years ago I ordered tea and teaware from him and he always replied promtly and sent the shipment well packed and on time, and his TGY was very good, and the greens were good too, I cannot imagine what changed this.

I think Dragon Tea House carries the same (if not, then a very similar) gaiwan, perhaps you should check there for a replacement.

I too ordered tea and a gaiwan from Fun Alliance in early June. I have ordered from Kam many times in the past and never been disappointed. This time I did not receive the items I ordered; instead I received a yixing tea pot I didn't want. I have contacted the site via email six times over the past three weeks, and never received a reply. This is completely uncharacteristic of this site, so I must assume that I should count myself lucky to receive anything. I only wish I had checked the tea forums before ordering. I surely hope that Kam has not come to harm.Is there any way to report a fraudulent online site so that the information will reach anyone/everyone considering a transaction at that site?