Q9 and TaoTao TBR7

[Loadedpw]

Edit: Q9 handled the process poorly. Pushed back the date 4 times instead of just being upfront that they are unsure when estimated delivery would be. Other people I have spoken too who ordered from them before and after me have gotten their bikes or at least tracking info but I had literally nothing. Seems like other dealers have a month or max 5 week delivery time I will be looking into them. Good luck to everyone who has pre-orders with Q9.

********************************************

So I have recently discovered the China Bike craze and quickly wanted to get one for myself. I rode dirt bikes a ton when I was younger so I have a bit of riding experience but it has been at least 10+ years since I've driven one. Was doing a lot of research and today was the day I pulled the trigger. I pre-ordered a TaoTao TBR7, which the customer service rep from Q9 said would be back in stock in early June.

After pre-ordering, got confirmation email about address verification, my billing/mailing address are different because I recently moved (same state). Working with customer service now about how to verify my address when the DMV is closed/bills are in another person's name at the address I currently live. I emailed customer service, got a response within 5 minutes.

Timeline:

5/16 - order placed/received confirmation email
5/16 - received address verification email, sent in proof of billing/mailing address

5/21 - I contacted customer support because I did not hear anything about them approving my address verification. They said everything was good and TBR7 is "expected" to be ready and shipped in early June. This is different than what i heard before pre-ordering, customer service rep said it WOULD ship early June. Hopefully it was just miscommunication, only time will tell.

6/3 - Contacted customer support just to check on things, they said estimated ship date is now June 11th-25th.

6/16 - Contacted to check status of pre-order. I asked how long it will be and all they could tell me was it was it was going to ship out in a couple weeks. I asked for clarification of that meant 2, 3, or 4 weeks and they said they didn’t know.

6/26 - Painfully waited the almost 3 week range they gave me, no shipping info. Called them to find out what’s going on, they said they have no control over what containers go through customs at the ports, and it’s going to be another 2-3 weeks before I have tracking info. Beginning to look for new seller because I’m tired of this, people who ordered bikes weeks after me already have them.

6/26 - Emailed them I was going away at the beginning of august and if the bike was not going to ship out before then I would have to cancel my order because no one would be here to accept the shipment. They emailed me back that they cancelled my order because it will not ship out in the “timeframe I gave them” without even confirming with me that I really wanted to cancel. Looks like I’m finding a different seller going to look into TX or Killer.

[MY4K]

I've been waiting 7 weeks for mine since ordering fron Q9.
Does anyone else have these?

I'll let you know when they claim mine ships, they are still saying june.

[deadwood83]

Pretty sure they are just waiting for the container to drop from China. I ordered a Hellcat from Q9 on April 17 when they were still available stateside and it was at my door on the 23rd. Called in for MCO on 24th and had it May 3rd.

[Deckard_Cain]

I've been waiting 7 weeks for mine since ordering fron Q9.
Does anyone else have these?

I'll let you know when they claim mine ships, they are still saying june.

Going to another seller/dealer won't help at this point. It's a supply issue from China. The cargo ship should be unloading the cargo containers full of china bikes in the next week or two. Then they need to be sorted and shipped to their respective dealers all over the US.

Of course, Q9 isn't located on a coast.. so theirs will take an extra day or two.

[f15sim]

Fingers crossed that "early June" is more than wishful thinking on Q9's part. Ordered my TBR7 today.


g.

[Deckard_Cain]

Fingers crossed that "early June" is more than wishful thinking on Q9's part. Ordered my TBR7 today.


g.

I called them yesterday about a Hellcat and they said those should be in by end of June. RPS Hawks by mid June.

Not sure if I should pre order a Hellcat now.... Secure my place so to speak... Or just wait til late June and see. But then the 4th of July holiday may slow down processing and shipping too.

[f15sim]

"should be" concerns me. :)


g.

[crabjoe]

I ordered from Q9 back on 5/6. At that time, they told me 2nd half of May was when they would have inventory. It's not the end of May and they still don't have stock. I called them yesterday and they're now telling me they're hoping to get stock in the 1st half of June. They also told me they were the US distributor... which is a lie.

Personally, I think they're just guessing and lying. I say thing because Tao USA should know exactly what's currently inbound. The dealers should also be getting this info from Tao. You really can't run a business if you don't know you're inventory status.

BTW, I recently bought a Chinese scooter. When I order it, I contacted the distributor to see if they had inventory. I was shocked because the guy I spoke with actually put me on hold to go physically check. He came back and said they ad a few of 2019s of the model I was looking for. He also told me if I wanted one, I should order now with any dealer. But if I wasn't in a hurry, I should wait for the 2020 models to arrive because there would be a few minor changes. When I asked as to when he was expecting the 2020 models, he said he didn't know. All he had heard was that it would be 2-4 months, but that wasn't set in stone. He said it might take longer. Oh, I found out later that the guy I spoke with was their dealer sales manager. As in he was in charge of maintaining dealer relations and signing up new dealerships. So if anyone would have know when this distributor was getting new stock to send to their dealer, it would have been him.

[crabjoe]

I do have one question...

How is Harbor Freight able to keep their Chinese made products in stock? How is it that I've been ordering stuff from AliExpress and getting things in as quick as 8 days, when it's coming from China?

Maybe the answer is simple.

These boxes the ATVs ship in are only like 5ft long and the warehouse guys can't figure out how to keep the 6ft mandatory distance to get them loaded for shipping? LOL..

[Loadedpw]

Haven’t heard anything from them yet, probably going to call today or tomorrow just to see what they say.

[Jpman3]

I ordered my tbr7 from q9 back in March, had it in 4 days.

[Deckard_Cain]

I ordered my tbr7 from q9 back in March, had it in 4 days.

End of March when I ordered my Hawk, txpowersports said they had tbr7's in Stock and ready to ship as well. Somehow the tbr7 got missed on the boat to out of stock-ville.

[JerryHawk250]

End of March when I ordered my Hawk, txpowersports said they had tbr7's in Stock and ready to ship as well. Somehow the tbr7 got missed on the boat to out of stock-ville.
I got from a very reliable source that the TBR7's arrived last week and 90% of those were pre-orders. good luck guys.

[f15sim]

Fingers SO crossed right now. ;)


I've got a brand new Mikuni carb sitting on my desk and it's getting very lonely. :D


g.

[Loadedpw]

Just spoke to Q9. They are saying now that the TBRs won’t ship until June 11th-25th. This is sad because the rep on the phone told me that they will be in the first week of June... I am gunna make some more calls to other dealers, if one of them has them in stock I’m gunna cancel my pre-order and go with them.

[JerryHawk250]

Just spoke to Q9. They are saying now that the TBRs won’t ship until June 11th-25th. This is sad because the rep on the phone told me that they will be in the first week of June... I am gunna make some more calls to other dealers, if one of them has them in stock I’m gunna cancel my pre-order and go with them. They probably are sitting in containers here in the US but more than likely have to go through customs first.

[f15sim]

That's pretty much what I expected. It doesn't make my inner 10 year old happy at all, but I figure the little ****er waited 42 years, he can wait a few more weeks. ;)


g.

[crabjoe]

I got from a very reliable source that the TBR7's arrived last week and 90% of those were pre-orders. good luck guys.

Got a scoop on any of the other Chines toys like ATVs and Scoots?

[JerryHawk250]

Got a scoop on any of the other Chines toys like ATVs and Scoots?

Speaking with Don Hopper last night he has some 125cc atv's available and some scooter. https://www.shopapmc.com/ATV_c_1.html

Also KPM200's and Xpects will be back in stock within the next two weeks.

Venom is getting some bikes in but most are pre-sold already. There warehouse is totally empty which worked out perfect for them as the are moving into a larger warehouse so nothing to move. lol I was told by both that shipments are coming for the next few weeks and into next month.

[crabjoe]

Speaking with Don Hopper last night he has some 125cc atv's available and some scooter. https://www.shopapmc.com/ATV_c_1.html

Also KPM200's and Xpects will be back in stock within the next two weeks.

Venom is getting some bikes in but most are pre-sold already. There warehouse is totally empty which worked out perfect for them as the are moving into a larger warehouse so nothing to move. lol I was told by both that shipments are coming for the next few weeks and into next month.

Thanks for the update Jerry..

It's nice to get some info.. other than the standard "We'll have it in the next xx weeks or months" and when that time passes, they say the same thing again. With some detail like you gave, there's hope that stuff is actually still trickling in.

Much appreciated!

[Deckard_Cain]

I got from a very reliable source that the TBR7's arrived last week and 90% of those were pre-orders. good luck guys.

Well I got notification emails this morning (multiple for some reason) from txpowersports that my Hawk 250 shipped last night. Saia freight (never heard of them) picked it up and loaded it around 6pm their time in Texas.

Not sure if they deliver on weekends or not, if it takes 3-4 days to get to MI, I'll probably have to drive back into town to take delivery.

So they do exist! I imagine since it's brand new shipped in Stock that the bike will be a 2020 model.

Now just to wait for my Hellcat from Q9... That one I'm not expecting til next month sometime.

[Loadedpw]

They probably are sitting in containers here in the US but more than likely have to go through customs first.

I was honestly thinking the same thing, with Covid I’m sure they are taking extra precautions with anything coming from China. Hope these riots don’t delay things too much, my bike is going to have a long ride from Cali to NJ once it finally ships.

[KHnTX]

Well I got notification emails this morning (multiple for some reason) from txpowersports that my Hawk 250 shipped last night. Saia freight (never heard of them) picked it up and loaded it around 6pm their time in Texas.

Not sure if they deliver on weekends or not, if it takes 3-4 days to get to MI, I'll probably have to drive back into town to take delivery.

So they do exist! I imagine since it's brand new shipped in Stock that the bike will be a 2020 model.

Now just to wait for my Hellcat from Q9... That one I'm not expecting til next month sometime.

Saia is usually pretty good with shipments from my experience, use them at work a lot. Or we used to before the world decided to enter the twilight zone.

[crabjoe]

Saia is usually pretty good with shipments from my experience, use them at work a lot. Or we used to before the world decided to enter the twilight zone.

I got a Trailmaster (Znen) scooter delivered from them about 2 weeks ago. It took them a week to get it from TX to MD.

For speed, they're ok.. as for condition of at delivery, I'm surprised my scooter is ok. The metal crate was so bent up, even the local delivery driver, who I had trouble communicating with, was saying he probably wouldn't accept it.

Eventually he let me unpack it on his truck.. and other then a gash in a tire and some scratches, it was ok. I swear, the crate was so banged up, they had it strapped to the wall of the truck to keep it from falling over. It looked like King Kong picked it up and threw at against a corner of a building a few times. When I spoke with a dispatcher from the local delivery company, they said they had in their notes, that they received it crushed from SAIA.

[KHnTX]

I got a Trailmaster (Znen) scooter delivered from them about 2 weeks ago. It took them a week to get it from TX to MD.

For speed, they're ok.. as for condition of at delivery, I'm surprised my scooter is ok. The metal crate was so bent up, even the local delivery driver, who I had trouble communicating with, was saying he probably wouldn't accept it.

Eventually he let me unpack it on his truck.. and other then a gash in a tire and some scratches, it was ok. I swear, the crate was so banged up, they had it strapped to the wall of the truck to keep it from falling over. It looked like King Kong picked it up and threw at against a corner of a building a few times. When I spoke with a dispatcher from the local delivery company, they said they had in their notes, that they received it crushed from SAIA.

If I had to guess SAIA got it like that or some forklift driver at the hub was trying to cut corners and stacked something else on top.

Always someone who doesn't want to do the job the right way. At some point every carrier we have used ignores the "do not stack" cones we put on top and we get the pallet with crushed cones so you know what happened...

[Deckard_Cain]

Saia is usually pretty good with shipments from my experience, use them at work a lot. Or we used to before the world decided to enter the twilight zone.

We shall find out come Tuesday! Would be Monday but I'm having a minor surgery and had them deliver the next day. Did so during a live chat on their website. Their actual website is kinda garbage, especially on mobile... But the chat worked!

[KHnTX]

We shall find out come Tuesday! Would be Monday but I'm having a minor surgery and had them deliver the next day. Did so during a live chat on their website. Their actual website is kinda garbage, especially on mobile... But the chat worked!

So how'd it turn out?

[Deckard_Cain]

So how'd it turn out?

They called me in the morning and said they ran out of room on the liftgate truck (of which they were down to two). So if I had a pickup truck or if my trailer was not up north, I'd have just driven the 20 mins to the terminal and picked it up myself.

Instead, they asked if Thursday was OK to deliver... well, it kinda has to be now, doesn't it? lol.

So tomorrow, sometime between 9am and 7pm EST. lol. Honestly, the out of stock and waiting from txpowersports went fine, we'll see how long it takes to get the bill of sale or whatever paperwork I need to register it, but this crap with the freight company is kinda dumb.

Especially since they arranged for the Tuesday delivery late last week- they should have had a spot for me on that truck.