I'm sorry if this question isn't supposed to be here, but I didn't know where to turn else. A month ago I ordered and payed for a ready assembled Arduino and a motor kit at PCB Europe. Unfortunately I never received it, mails to PCB aren't responded, nor can I get in contact by telephone (disconnected tone). Obviously I'm starting to get a bit worried now, and I just want to get started with the kits. Has anybody had similar experiences ?
Hello
PCB europe does exist and they operate, it's a two person company so they might be a bit delayed in responding to emails but
a month is a bit long 
it's really strange
if you email me at m.banzi (at) arduino (dot) cc i can check with them what happened to your order and put you in contact...
In your email, can you please specify what email address and phone number you were using?
massimo
Thanks for the swift response Massimo!
I sent you a mail containing the invoice I received.
Hello sacha
the phone number you have is the mobile number of gianluca martino who is the head of the company
that runs pcb-europe.net... it works... i speak to him every day on that phone... so I don't see why it
wouldnt work.
BTW how did you get it?
i've emailed you and them so everything should be resolved very soon
massimo
Cool, great to hear! I'll be looking forward to it
With regard to the telephone number: What Is Visual Programming and How Does It Work? | AppMaster, bottom of the page.
Cheers
I'm having the same type of problems...
I ordered 3 Arduino NG boards one month ago, still haven't received anything, and the italian post site can't find any trace of my shipping (maybe I typed it in the wrong form).
TBoy
pcb-europe reports that all emails to your account have been bouncing back....
is bulk@(yourdomain).nl the correct address ?
can you write to them from another address please?
massimo
Indeed the adress is correct.
This is the first time I heard of this bounceback prob. I'll send them an alternative.
Thanks.
It's even weirder now I come to think of it: my order and account subscription were replied without any probs, but I guess that's more of a thing to mention to the guys at PCB and not to bother you with
Hi massimo
Sorry to bother you, I know you have a lot to do, but I ordered 3 Arduino NG boards on march 7th 2007, and i still haven't received it.
I tried to know where is my package, daniela from pcbEurope sent me a tracking number, but the italian post website can't find trace of it.
Now, I don't have any answer from pcbEurope, so I'm worried...
I already received my 200 leds and various sensors I ordered on ebay, I'm just missing the board to start coding ^^
If you could check with them what's happening, that would be great!
Thanks
melka
Let me say that I dont do support for PCB Europe...
There is even their mobile number on the website... more direct than this I can't imagine...
Shipping via post office anywhere in the world is risky and by trying to save a few euros you end up losing more money..
I ordered some stuff from holland and , like in italy, their tracking number is valid only until the package is in the country... after that you're on your own... 150 EUR of stuff is now gone and the seller told me that they are sorry for me but they cant do anything...
PCB europe does answer emails... i just got one from daniela with an invoice that I have to pay.... sometimes I wish I wouldnt get emails from them
massimo
Melka, after Massimo mailed I got a response by PCB Europe. After their reply I still haven't received a mail stating that they sent my order: It seems as though the 'problem' lies with the amount of employees as Massimo sort of mentioned.
What I'm trying to explain is that I think you need not worry but just have to be quite patient, and packages sent by mail don't get lost that easy
Yeah, thanks!
I just hope i'll receive it soon, I have hundreds of leds and a dozen multiplexer.
I also have some code ready... I'm just hungry for wiring ^^
(PS : sorry massimo for bothering you, I just can't phone them from France. Thanks again for all your work)
melka
Melka, have you heard anything of Smartprojects yet? I mailed them today regarding my order hoping to receive a response within reasonable time and also mentioning I will take legal actions as this is becoming somewhat rediculous...
FYI:
Smartprojects/PCB europe is a GREAT and fantastic little company that is actually one of the main reasons that Arduino exists. They have made and distributed over 10,000 Arduino boards, all at a very high quality and a very low cost!!!
I have never heard of people having such problems with them. I am sure it will be resolved soon. In the meantime, remember that out of the many thousands of boards they have produced, there are very very very few problems. I myself have had my university purchase over $6,000 USD worth of Arduino from PCB Europe, without any problem whatsoever. Give them a call and see what's happening. I don't know what they cost in your country, but in my country lawyers charge about 10 Arduino's an hour.
Daniel
"Give them a call and see what's happening."
I already gave that a try, but I might just give another seeing you're so enthusiastic
"I don't know what they cost in your country, but in my country lawyers charge about 10 Arduino's an hour."
Well thank god I live in the Netherlands
Today my money was refunded, unfortunately without any explanation whatsoever, which is a shame really. At least I now was able to order my Arduino elsewhere.
Sorry to those who feel somewhat offended but I just have to get started with the Arduino for projects.
Cheers to those who responded.
Tboy
I too have been waiting desperately for an answer from pcb-europe: I made an order on the 22nd of February, I've been patient for a while, my order had a 'pending' status on their website.
A month after I placed my order the status hadn't changed so I sent them several emails but none of them has been answered.
They might be a 'great and fantastic little company' when you order $6,000 worth of boards, but it seems to be different when you order just one board.
Ben
Ben, that's exactly the idea that came to my mind; the more you order the sooner you get it.
I must say, they were really fast in refunding, so that's a possibility, though for certain parts such as the motor kit I ordered you have no alternative unfortunately but to turn to PCB.
A real shame 
I wish you good luck and keep me/us posted if your order in fact does arrive, as I might give it another try to order the motor kit.
Regards,
Tboy
Ciao to Everybody.
First of all I'd like to recover everyone's confidence: Smart Projects exists!
We manage Arduino production and selling. We made more than 1000 invoices last year and we are at about 600 until now, the website counter is marking 1445 customers. We manage at least 5 customers a day and we are trying to make the best of we can for each one of You, not depending on the total of the order.
I would like to explain the biggest obstacles are slowing our job:
1- The website is in beta version, It doesn't manage well the VAT charge (and some customer don't help us, writing wrong numbers or leaving it empty).
2-my web provider mail manager cuts a lot of incoming mail.
3-some orders was registered in Paypal but not in the website.
With all this 'minor issues' i think we can solve your missing orders, sorry this happened.
Benoit, I found your transaction. You didn't provide a VAT number. Are You buying as individual or as a company?
In the first case You have to pay the Italian VAT (I'll send You the Paypal request), otherwise please provide us the VAT number, We will check it is allowed to intraEU transaction and We can ship the goods.
I wait for news from your side
Ciao
Gianluca
A note, people having problem to contact us, tried to write to our alternative address (smartprojects[at]tiscali [dot]it) or made a phone call