# Banzai disaster



## pi.cast (Feb 1, 2022)

I’ve ordered several items from banzai. Took three weeks to ship. At shipment time I’ve been notified that four items were back-ordered.

Finally today I’ve received my order and I’ve found this. I cannot express how frustrated I am, these chips are truly expensive.

Has somebody been sent the wrong parts before? How did it work out for you?


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## fig (Feb 1, 2022)

I've only ordered a couple of times, and I _did_ get a mislabelled bag but the correct part was in it. I'm not a parts distributor (well, for profit anyway) but I know better than to reuse bags without re-labelling!

PS: If you need an MN3005 quickly, I'll send you one.


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## pi.cast (Feb 1, 2022)

fig said:


> I've only ordered a couple of times, and I _did_ get a mislabelled bag but the correct part was in it. I'm not a parts distributor (well, for profit anyway) but I know better than to reuse bags without re-labelling!
> 
> PS: If you need an MN3005 quickly, I'll send you one.



Thanks! Really appreciated. Let me see if I can sort things out with Banzai quickly.


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## SYLV9ST9R (Feb 1, 2022)

I two was a bit disappointed that 2 of the items I had purchased were back-ordered when shipping time came, which forced me to order one of the parts elsewhere. Apart from that, I got all the right parts I ordered.

But they were quick and helpful to combine 2 other items to the same order, and to reimburse the back-order items.


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## pi.cast (Feb 1, 2022)

They replied fairly quickly saying they’re going to send me the right chips.

Finger crossed hoping  it is true.


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## Fuzzonaut (Feb 1, 2022)

Good luck!

As for backorders: Banzai is like that, their homepage is *never* up to date, when it comes to showing stock. Backorders are totally normal, the question is just which and how many items will be backordered. Also, they do not send you backorders, unless you tell them to do it.
Once I asked them to scrap $20 worth of backorders and just send me $30 worth of enclosures - they accepted.

Getting the wrong part happened to me too, but just a few times. They always sent the ordered part right away, no questions asked, ..... if they have it in stock 

I placed an order 10 days ago ... still waiting for shipping (and backorder) notification .....


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## JamieJ (Feb 1, 2022)

pi.cast said:


> They replied fairly quickly saying they’re going to send me the right chips.
> 
> Finger crossed hoping  it is true.


I had the same issue. They sent me only one switch when I ordered three. They responded to the email and sent the package out pretty quickly.


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## fig (Feb 1, 2022)

Sounds more like Bongzai over there.


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## clarisso11 (Feb 1, 2022)

I've had issues with long delivery times with Banzai to the UK, but no missing items yet - although I was sent an extra Switchcraft toggle switch at one point, for some reason.

Can't recommend Retroamplis enough though, they always dispatch quickly and I've never had any issues.


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## Travis (Feb 1, 2022)

I always have problems with banzai, and is way expensive


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## dawson (Feb 1, 2022)

fig said:


> Sounds more like Bongzai over there.



^My vote for PPCB post of the day


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## Elijah-Baley (Feb 2, 2022)

Once I received two bags with three 1w resistors while I ordered two pair of three knobs. And on the label was singed the knobs.
They refund me the cost of the knobs, but I think I never will use those resistors I still have.


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## Popnfreshbass (Feb 2, 2022)

Still waiting on a V3207 from them. I don’t think I’ll ever see that. Also got a fake transistor from there. Buyer beware of Banzai!


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## pcb rookie (Feb 2, 2022)

I was curious to see this post this morning ... I was literally wondering at this exact moment what was going on with an order I placed on Jan 21st that as not shipped yet. I emailed them two days ago and no reply yet. It's sad that they can't keep up to speed as they seem to have a decent component inventory.


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## Ron (Feb 3, 2022)

I personally will never order again at Banzai. Some parts from an order from May 2020 where on backorder. In August 2020 I asked them when I will get the missing part. They wrote an mail in which they telling me that the missing parts are not in stock. That's it. No excuse, no money back, never heard anything from them. And they will never ever hear from me.


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## Markus Kersius (Feb 20, 2022)

Same experiences here.
Order from begin July 2021 shows up end of August 2021.
In-between in mail them, and they say it's in their shipping department, then they mail back it went to a wrong postoffice (?!?).
I should have learned from that, but I ordered a few parts 5th off February 2022, same thing.
You háve to mail them if they already send it (or else they won't it seems) only then will you receive "it's in our packaging department ", then a week later you receive a tracking notification from DHL stating that "notification for pickup received.
Takes a week to finally see it's been handed to dhl.
And today I find it'ssin transit.
But checking dhl track & trace with the shipment number, it says that it's at the distribution center of country of destination, Italy..

But.. I live in the Netherlands and my address and everything is correct on the order conformation I received as well as the copy of the bill they sent via mail.

Good name for the company though..
If they keep this up they will go down burning in flames like a Japanese Zero in ww2..


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## Markus Kersius (Feb 23, 2022)

Markus Kersius said:


> Same experiences here.
> Order from begin July 2021 shows up end of August 2021.
> In-between in mail them, and they say it's in their shipping department, then they mail back it went to a wrong postoffice (?!?).
> I should have learned from that, but I ordered a few parts 5th off February 2022, same thing.
> ...



Update:

Tracking information says it at the postal distribution center in Milan, Italy. 
Ready to be shipped to Germany..


Mail from banzai: something went wrong with the package..

So it travels over 1000km from Berlin to Milan,  to be shipped back over 1000km again to Berlin and then to be shipped agáin over 500 km to me..


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## NickC (Feb 23, 2022)

Banzai 🤦‍♂️ what a mess!


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## jeffwhitfield (Feb 23, 2022)

If you’re like me, every time you hear “Banzai” you think about the drunk Miyagi from the Karate Kid. 🤪


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## pcb rookie (Feb 23, 2022)

pcb rookie said:


> I was curious to see this post this morning ... I was literally wondering at this exact moment what was going on with an order I placed on Jan 21st that as not shipped yet. I emailed them two days ago and no reply yet. It's sad that they can't keep up to speed as they seem to have a decent component inventory.


Report - I posted a few weeks back about delays with Banzai. It took about two weeks to ship but it got here in canada in less than a week once it shipped. Every component received were as ordered. I guess i'm just used to expect orders to ship on a faster turn around but at the end of the day I received what I ordered.


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## andare (Feb 24, 2022)

Musikding has the same issues. Something's rotten in Germany and it's not the sauerkraut.


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## Elijah-Baley (Feb 25, 2022)

It's been a while Musikding doesn't have anymore Panasonic electrolytic capacitors and now Nichicon, too.
It's a very difficult for some of us build pedal today. All costs are increased and some components are hard to find!


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## szukalski (Feb 25, 2022)

It's also a tough time in Germany right now, with Covid restrictions impacting everyone, especially if you have family to look after.
If you think about the amount of inventory and manual processes to compile orders, I can definitely see room-for-error when you aren't running a huge factory-optimised process like Mouser and have orders racking up.
Add some bad inventory management systems (looking at Banzai here, MusikDing seems to be on the ball) and cracks will start to show.

I had some issues with Banzai (back-ordered when shown on stock, but the right stuff came through) which turned me off them.

Musikding has had the odd wrong/missed component, and delivery expectations aside (thanks for ruining me Amazon Prime), I have been pretty happy there as an entry point into the building hobby/addiction. I find Musikding good for complete kits, but if you are BYOC then they will be missing a few parts here and there.


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## fig (Feb 25, 2022)

Back to the OP, any updates @pi.cast ?


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## pi.cast (Mar 1, 2022)

fig said:


> Back to the OP, any updates @pi.cast ?



They have shipped the missing chips a while ago.

Unfortunately, the shipping from Germany to Italy took a ton of time, and then it got delivered while I was away.
At the moment I'm trying to find where the parcel is physically sitting for collection, as the tracking says it's in one place, and Italian posts say a different thing 

What a mess


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## andare (Mar 1, 2022)

pi.cast said:


> They have shipped the missing chips a while ago.
> 
> Unfortunately, the shipping from Germany to Italy took a ton of time, and then it got delivered while I was away.
> At the moment I'm trying to find where the parcel is physically sitting for collection, as the tracking says it's in one place, and Italian posts say a different thing
> ...


I never have packages delivered to me anymore. I always hijack DHL to the shop downstairs. But in Poland there's a shop on every street. Not so in Italy and then the DHL collection points are always far away.
In bocca al lupo!


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## Elijah-Baley (Apr 14, 2022)

Unfortunately, not a good service for a pair of reason, at least.
In my order I included some 100uF Panasonic FM, but an e-mail informed me those are in back-order. I asked about timing, but Banzai answered me «our supplier will not have stock for about a year». When I asked for an alternative, they offered me the Roederstein EKA 100uF 50V caps, but I don't think those are low impedance, just the voltage was the same (but 63v would have been a bit cheaper). When I made to them notice about the low impedance difference and I guessed the Panasonic FC series is also not available though it seemed, instead, they told me it was available. Why didn't they suggest it to me before? Low impedance and same brand.

Anyway, they didn't ask me the further cost of these alternative caps.

Some days have passed, and the Panasonic FM 100uF 50v is still available on the website.

OFF TOPIC: Which caps do you use as filter in the power section? For my high quality pedals I like to use Panasonic (FM better than FC), sometime I used Samwah low impedance (Musikding).


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## Chuck D. Bones (Apr 16, 2022)

For filter caps, I use the random aluminum electrolytics that I get from a variety of sources and they all work fine.  No need to obsess over ESR unless they are used in a charge pump, then low ESR is highly desirable.


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## Elijah-Baley (Apr 17, 2022)

I used to buy cheap electrolytic caps from Tayda. I prefer to use low impedance as filter. Just because the theory.
My old Boss PSU since two years, maybe, it's a bit ruined (the cable a bit worn and frayed) and sometime I got whine noise issue with some circuit, often fuzz pedal. I noticed that heavy filtering help: 1n5817 -> 47R, and 100uF or 220uF caps. I noticed Samwah low impedance worked fine in some situation, but Panasonic FM 100uF works better, even better than 220uF cheaper low impedance from Tayda.
I think that's a PSU issue with some circuit I built, and where my Boss had this problem a Mooer PSU of a friend of mine didn't.
Anyway, to use some nice brand caps with a reasonable price give to me some trust. (Just when I have to build some pedals for some friends, all my pedals have Tayda's caps where I don't have any whine noise!)


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## Elijah-Baley (Nov 14, 2022)

Hello
Another order from Banzai and another disaster. *I never lost money, but today this is the risk.*
I included in my order, with other stuff, this items:
- CTS potentiometer with DPDT switch. BUT the description didn't say it was full shaft, and I needed a knurled shaft.
- Cap selector switch. BUT the Ibanez selector I bought was, in picture the web site, without the cap, and there was no clue it was already included.
- Nut for the Ibanez selector. BUT it didn't fit, thought I asked before to order the nut.

I told all this to Banzai and they answered me it was ok to send these items back, replace the CTS pot and make a store credit for the nut, the cap selector and the delivery cost I paid.
All this is going on since 45 days, and until now I got a 10,20 € credit store, when items and delivery to send them back costed to me 17,61 €. And I still miss the potentiometer.
I'm waiting a new answer from Banzai.


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