Beware: Shenzhen Apple Vista Technology Ltd for Piezo Cylinders

Keeping in line with my recent posts about internet scam, I would like to talk about one more scam. It is not an internet scam but much worse. It is a scam where an importer was duped with low quality goods causing financial loss to importer. Let's call importer as Company A for convenience.

Since I am involved in import and export of various items, Company A decided to approach me and share their story. Kindly note that this article is based on information provided to me by Company A and some investigations me and my friends made in this case. So here it goes.

Company A is involved in import and trading of a product called Piezoelectric Crystal/Cylinder. They decided to import these products from a company called Shenzhen Apple Vista Technology Ltd and also referred as Apple Vista. This company is based out of Shenzhen, China. Here's a link to Apple Vista's own website, basically their page on Alibaba.

Company A requested and got samples from Apple Vista to check for quality and size. Samples sent by were of consistent size in range of 4.92-4.96mm in diameter. Company A was interested 5x10mm Piezoelectric cylinders. Usually there is a variation of 0.1mm in diameter (4.9-5.1mm) and it is acceptable to importers as well as end customers.  In addition to that there is another test for quality that deals with number of sparks generated consistently. Samples performed well in spark tests too. Moreover Apple Vista had confirmed that their products will be in range of 4.9-5.1mm during multiple Skype and phone conversations. Basically Apple Vista was confident about quality of their products.  So all in all samples were of acceptable size and quality.

Invoice issued by Apple Vista for said transaction. Some details have been blanked out for obvious reasons.

Finally order was placed and 100% payment was transferred since it was an urgent order for Company A. They received goods after some time and opened couple of packages to check for size. They were shocked to know that most piezo cylinders they received were in range of 4.84-4.88. It was not even within acceptable limits. When further tests were conducted, it was found that almost 8% of these products didn't generate any sparks at all. Company A immediately contacted concerned person at Apple Vista. Their first reaction was typical and was on lines of "our quality is consistent and goods we sent to you are same as sample". This meaningless banter went on even when Company A shot a video and sent it to Apple Vista. It was clear from the video that piezoelectric cylinders were of sizes smaller than committed. But Apple Vista was not ready to take any responsibility and kept giving lame excuses and fake promises. Ultimately when Company A threatened them with legal action, concerned person - pseudo name Ida - said that it was her mistake and she was responsible for miscommunication. Ida informed Company A that she has been fired from Apple Vista due to this mistake and there is nothing much she can do for Company A. Basically Company A was screwed because their customers were not ready to accept these products and their supplier was giving them truckload of manure all causing a major financial loss. Company A is still trying to figure out their legal options.

Apple Vista company logo and details

Reason for sharing this incident with you all is to warn you about scamsters like Apple Vista and other such suppliers of various items. Before you sign a contract or place an order with any foreign firm, talk to your lawyer and chartered accountant on ways to make your contract watertight and include clauses that would protect you in such a case. Try to do more research about a company before you enter into any financial transaction with them. In case you want to know more about this company or how to protect yourself while importing or exporting goods, drop me a line and I'll be happy to help.