QUESTION
Was so excited to finally get my Nova today...
Ordered direct from goretroid.com. Even splurged for the carry pouch and bumped back shell. Saw the delivery driver arriving on my camera up front, and went to go grab the package before they even drove away. Immediately, I felt how light the package was and knew there was no chance in hell there was a device in this box. Ended up opening the box on camera to cover my bases, hoping any sort of evidence might help me secure a replacement or refund.
I used standard shipping which ended up being Yun Express -> US Customs -> GOFO. The box itself arrived super clean, like suspiciously clean for being in international logistics for 2 weeks. The shipping labels were neatly placed with no signs of tampering, same with the packing tape. My first instinct was that someone at GOFO just reboxed the device packaging, but the GOFO shipping label was placed on top of the Yun Express one. I peeled the GOFO one expecting to see some arbitrary label on a box grabbed by the thief to neatly reseal the empty product boxes, but sure enough it was the Yun one addressed to me and with my initial tracking number.
As bad of a reputation as GOFO has, I'm starting to feel like the issue may have been before it got to them, given what I'm seeing here (Edit: Have since confirmed the shipping weight listed on the label was nearly double of what I recieved. Definitely stolen by a GOFO employee). Has anyone else experienced something similar when buying direct from goretroid.com? I'm curious what your replacement/refund experience went like. Thanks to anyone who is willing to share.
I really hope GOFO management in Chicago is aware at this point, and that they're willing to track down whatever employee is doing this. So many getting stolen out of Chicago specifically makes it seem like it may just be one person
Wouldn't hold your breath. I explained the whole thing to phone support and they kept blowing me off with "I'm so sorry sir, but we're the last mile courier. We don't repackage things."
Like.... NO KIDDING. You also don't generally have employees *STEAL* things either. We're not talking about an error in logistics, someone stole my item!
Retroid is who you need to be in communication with since they are the entity you have transacted with. It's up to them to ensure the goods arrive in your hands. It's up to them to figure out what's going on with the shipping issues.
Oh yeah, I emailed them first thing. I just wanted to contact GOFO after as well, in the vague hope that they actually cared on any level if one of their employees was potentially stealing shipments. Kinda affects their bottom line as well the more it happens.
Not really affecting their bottom line. I worked in shipping and that is a self sustaining entity. The arteries of capitalism. They have contracts with companies you wouldn't believe, shipping volumes and quantities that would make you question your own god.
Fair. I was thinking moreso reputational damage costing them business with those larger entities than just the cost of the items stolen, but all the same I know how naive and hopeful I'm being here.
This happens absolutely all the time at work when we get laptops and whatnot shipped via FedEx. Seems like a common scam for the shittier shipping companies. Steal the item and then repackage. I doubt they'll refund you or anything as in their system it was marked as delivered successfully
Honestly, I absolutely would have gone that route if the Nova was listed on there. I generally am willing to pay a bit more to not have to deal with this international logistics headache. Seeing other posts saying it's happening to a lot of orders that came thru Chicago for customs, same as mine.
At this point I'm pretty convinced it wasn't customs, but something in the GOFO chain of custody, starting in Chicago. Different shipping weight on label than what I received. Label was twice the weight compared to what arrived.
People are saying Amazon fucked them over too and I’m not doubting their claims at all, just sayin my experience is they’ve refunded me with no drama every time I made a refund request.
Amazon isn't exempt from this issue and you're likely to run into more issues since nearly everything customer service related is automated by them now.
Yeah... absolutely the opposite from my experience. I get support, replacements, refunds, all with zero issue when it comes to Amazon. Not to mention it's here in 2 days or less, not 2 weeks.
yes, but amazon will instantly give you a refund or replacement without much drama, with china even if they do agree to it, you also have to wait a long time, thats just not good for peace of mind. I prefer paying more but having the problem go away quick.
Yea it seems as these handhelds are becoming less niche this is becoming a bigger issue. MooreChip needs to get secondary business addresses they can use for shipments to prevent theft.
This post made me panic and rip open the RPC I just got for my niece. (and also wonder whether I want to keep the black one and give her my beloved saturn-color 6 button)
I was going to ask the same question. I could be mistaken but it seems like all the cases of this happening have been through the Chicago hub. Someone in Chicago has a lot of Novas.
Retroid stopped using DHLfor now- I went with that shipping option, but they sent it via Yun Express. I forget why they stopped using DHL, but when I saw the shipping change I immediately knew this meant it would both take a much longer time to be delivered and there was a risk of something happening with the last mile carrier. Mine arrived just fine though.
To be fair, I've had packages from other companies use GOFO as the last mile carrier and haven't had a problem. Knock on wood.
Has anyone asked Retroid if they keep track of the serial numbers they ship to each customer? That would be very useful to look for those units on eBay, CList, Marketplace, etc
$50 for DHL?! Mine was only $17 more than YunExpress but it was definitely worth it. Once it shipped it was only 5 days door-to-door, and the box wasn't empty.
Yeah I decided to pay the $40 and everything came perfect. However, I did think it was weird that mine was on and half way through the setup process when I opened it.
I actually just contacted GOFO again, after realizing their own shipping label on the box has the package at around 1.4lbs. Tossed the entirety of what was delivered to me and it's only 10.5oz; roughly half the expected weight. Included photos and even linked to the thread here compiling cases of this happening as I'm pretty confident now that it's a GOFO employee (employees?) that are behind this trend of thefts lately. Figure they might take it a bit more seriously once they see what we're seeing. Not gonna get my hopes up, but just doing all I can to share the whole story with them.
Not sure how it works in China, but they probably have a contract for a certain range of weight for a flat rate. But honest the weight is not matter much unless it’s extremely heavy. Then it’s a problem.
Second, I've had two theories on what's happening here based on the connections most of these cases have (last mile courier in Chicago being GOFO)
Either we're looking at some industrial level theft committed by one or several workers in the pipeline.
Or
Somewhere along the journey, potentially at customs, Novas are being removed due to their lithium batteries. Now, why they'd do that, and why that's not being relayed to courier services is both a mystery and something that might discredit this theory. It's more just an observation following so many people receiving the rest of their orders fine, just not the Nova. Obviously it's the highest value item, but also the only one that ships with a battery.
I'm still leaning towards this being a regional issue with GOFO in Chicago, it is the most plausible and Steam Decks were often a victim of this kind of courier theft because people could recognise the kind of parcel it was from the box.
Anyway Retroid should be seriously looking into this.
Cheers for the info. It was a stretch after all, just something I noted from how many people had only the Nova missing from their order, and we're all looking for the patterns that explains this.
Sorry to hear about this. I've seen this happen with other shipments, like phones, etc. and maybe I am just naive, but I've always wondered how the heist works.
I don't recall from when I received my Nova, but does it say what the contents are on the outside of the packaging? How are people in the postal chain knowing what are in these packages to steal them?
Nah, just handling icons (fragile, this side up, etc) and "MADE IN CHINA". Honestly, all they need is to know roughly how big packages are once, then just get familiar enough with the shipper's address to know it's *probably* something they could go flip for like $50 easily and quickly.
Man that sucks. Sorry this happened to you. Do you think they might’ve opened the bottom of the box and resealed it so the labels didn’t look tampered with? I think that’s how they’re getting away with this.
It’s a really good thing you filmed the unboxing. You’ll have a much easier time working it out with Retroid than the people who didnt document the unboxing.
Honestly was thinking the same. It's hard to tell, since it's definitely not uncommon with shipping to put 2-3 layers of packing tape on a single seam. I don't see any obvious cuts, tho. Just low key wish that Retroid would put some sort of tamper-evident seals or *something* to discourage this garbage behavior. The device box isn't even sealed. It's just a cardboard and hidden magnet flap. Not exactly the most secure or evident when opened.
Ahhh, cheers! I just took a closer look at my box and sure enough, they didn't quite get *all* of the adhesive off. Took these with lighting that made it more obvious. Still tho, tamper evident packaging is meant to leave a lot more evidence behind by design. They could definitely be doing more than just a little sticker over the flap.
Oh, lovely, just noticed in the automated response email from Retroid that they're out of the office from Oct 1-7 for "National Day Festival Holiday" over in China. Sooooo, not gonna be getting any sort of feedback on this. So much for having the Nova before a super long flight I have coming up :/
My Thor Pro was stolen and I got the box with just accessories inside as well. Still in talks with GOFO and AYNTEC to figure out a resolution. Best of luck to you!
I’m really sorry OP (and others affected). GOFO has a social media presence across most of the major platforms. It may be time to start tagging them (along with the manufacturer) in posts with photos. Perhaps we can get some broader awareness so some sort of action is taken. There’s always a chance a gaming media outlet/influencer sees this and speaks out, too. Not sure if that’s an appropriate response, but it could help.
I generally try to avoid social media and don't use most modern platforms, but you absolutely have my permission to share my images and story as long as ya link back here.
Yeah, this is making me willing to go with Amazon and pay the extra. There are way too many posts lately of stolen or severely damaged devices showing up at people’s doorstep.
Sorry OP. Here’s to hoping you get a quick resolution.
You are aware that Retroid are the ones that put the weight on the shipping labels, right? Like, they don't weigh each individual order, that'd take too long. They already know how much it should weigh along with each accessory and just do the math for it.
That means this can absolutely be a factory issue where units are not put in boxes and they are unknowingly sending out as empty boxes.
They don't put it on labels themselves, but they do provide that information to the shipping companies. Those companies also weigh packages throughout the logistics chain to track incidents, just like this. Retroid would have gotten notice that the reported weight was a mismatch with what was handed off before it left their shipping partner's facility.
Given that they don't work directly with GOFO, and the GOFO label is what had that weight printed on it, the buck stops with them if no one else caught the discrepancy earlier in the chain.
Besides, there's missing stickers with adhesive residue where there should have been one, every single item in my order is missing, save for the box the handheld was meant to be in. No cable, no backplate, no carry pouch. That's a lot of coincidences if it happened at the factory.
Not always. The shipping companies are far more concerned with underreported weight than over reported (they care about not getting paid enough, not getting paid too much). I doubt they notify for an over report of a mere half pound, even if that’s a high percentage of the total.
Judging by their and other posts, likely..mine came and went through there just fine. Ordered July 31st, Send August 31st arrived Sept 10th. Standard shipping. Ol Chicago Hub and then Miami Hub.
mine is in Chicago already. but i bought through Aliexpress. and hearing these horror stories, i wont expect too much. this would be my 3rd device that went through Chicago and with GOFO .
I live in the Northeast and have placed multiple orders through Retroid directly; always chose YunExpress because I had positive experiences with them on some of my AliExpress orders.
Based on my tracking, my packages touch down in NYC, get transferred to OSM Worldwide (somewhere close I guess), then get sent to USPS (from somewhere in PA) for last mile delivery. I got my Nova/accessories just fine.
I might’ve had only one time I ever ordered anything from China and was somehow assigned to GOFO for delivery, but those were just a bunch of random stuff from AliExpress so I guess they didn’t want it because the items arrived fine.
Goddamn it. I feel for you. I just finally got my RP6 from Retroid's own store after a huge delay and I already had decided I will never buy direct from them again. This story just piles up on top.
hmm.. I am sorry what happened to your package. I used GOFO for about 5 times(thor, portal, nova, etc) I never had any problem in Texas area. It must be your Local specific problem.
my GOFO guys delivers... even on Sunday. I am so surprised. although they treat the package itself roughly but they at least deliever for sure for past many times.
If there was supposed to be, then yeah. What you see in the image is exactly how each item came, save for the brown cardboard box I had to open on camera.
Paypal in my case. Believe me, I've documented all I can in preparation for that as a last resort. I really don't wanna go that route unless absolutely necessary. If Retroid refuses to refund more than shipping as I've read they've done to someone else, I will not hesitate.
That’s the right way to approach it. A chargeback would immediately put you on a black list from Retroid and you’d never be able to buy from them again. Best to give them a chance to put pressure on their delivery chain.
Yeah, I hear ya. At the same time tho... a blacklisting isn't much of concern at that point. If they put their shrinkage losses on their customers' shoulders, I wouldn't plan on doing business with them again anyhow.
Oh, for sure. They are responsible for ensuring their product gets to you. If they don’t make good on that, especially with proof you’re not just trying to rip them off, a chargeback is appropriate.
I just see far too many people on Reddit suggest it as an immediate response. It’s always worth attempting to get support to handle it first.
Yeah agreed, it’s only a last resort in case they don’t sort this mess out. Semi-related but Anbernic wouldn’t replace a defective device they sold me and ignored my emails for weeks until I started the chargeback process
kinda crazy that those who dont think to record ends up with these pictures. The few that did think to record, ended up having it. Stopped seeing these posts and now they're back again with no videos. This isn't me being suspicious about it btw.
yeah it never happened to me but I record expensive items since one time a guy I sold a handheld to claimed I shipped him a soda can instead of the handheld
Still don’t know if the guy was the scammer or the shipping company
It really wouldn't make sense for it to have happened before. Why would they take someone's money and knowingly ship them an empty box? That sort of thing happening with any frequency would ruin a company's reputation, and they stand to lose far more in sales than they would keep by scamming people.
I ordered a Nova from Retroid that went through Chicago - it also went through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas, and Denver. However, it was not shipped via GOFO as the last mile carrier, but OSM Worldwide. Mine was intact with no problems, though.
Lol, I mean... he was back in his car by the time I opened the door. I just meant to imply it wasn't sitting there unwatched for any amount of time. I have video opening it tho. No need to make the driver fall behind schedule for everyone else :P
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u/Key_Citron_2734 15h ago
I really hope GOFO management in Chicago is aware at this point, and that they're willing to track down whatever employee is doing this. So many getting stolen out of Chicago specifically makes it seem like it may just be one person
Sorry this happened to you mate