Sofirn no longer ships to Norway?

[PaladinNO]

I was about to place an order with Sofirn, just like I have done several times before, but this time "Norway" does not show up on their list of elligible countries.
Does anyone know anything about this, or is there some obvious reason I don't know about?

I've just contacted Sofirn support with the same question.

All prior orders have arrived without a fuss, so I don't understand what the issue is this time. Damn shame too - it was a sizable order, with a couple limited-time bonuses. :/

 

[Monocrom]

Has the company sent you an official response, yet?

Some small companies will stop shipping to certain nations if they get too many complaints of orders not showing up. Or, if they end up spending too much time talking with Customs from that nation. Just a headache they don't want to deal with. Back several years ago, theft was such a huge issue in Greece that it became very common for many international companies to officially refuse to send products to customers living there.

 

[PaladinNO]

No official response yet, but I contacted them at the same time as I wrote here so I don't expect anything from them until tomorrow at the earliest.

Funny thing is, Sofirn has contacted me twice about orders disappearing. Their tracking apparently goes dark around Netherlands, yet my tracking would tell me the parcel is at the local customs or proceeded to the main sorting office. The second time they contacted me, the order had even already arrived to me. Felt like I had to yell at them to make them understand there was no issues at all with the order.

Only time I have had an issue with them was when they sent me the wrong spare batteries for the Q8 Plus. But then they sent me the right ones free of charge. So overall, I've had a 100 % positive experience with Sofirn.

 

[PaladinNO]

Okay, I just heard back from Sofirn, with an answer and equally no answer at all:

Hi.
We are sorry we can not ship the parcel to Norway.
Express delivery to Norway has been suspended
Hope you can understand.
You can purcahse it from Amazon or Aliexpress.
Any questions, please let us know.
Have a nice day!

Guess I'll have to try Aliexpress then. Amazon shipping costs is usually the same as the item cost.

 

[Monocrom]

Sounds like too many issues with customs or too many upset customers claiming they never got their orders. Sorry to hear the company took that route as a way of dealing with the issue.

 

[PaladinNO]

Well, I just did my first order from Aliexpress. Feels like it got more expensive than ordering directly from Sofirn, but I snagged something else too while I was at it.

Here's what I got:
Sofirn SF16
Sofirn BLF LT1 Orange
Sofirn SP40
Sofirn HS41
Wurkkos FC11C Nichia 519A Orange
2x Acebeam Pokelit 2AA

The HS41 and one Pokelit is for a friend of mine.

...Just strange that neither PayPal nor Aliexpress has sent me a order confirmation yet, as the money is already reserved in my bank. PayPal doesn't have the transfer listed either.

And Ali doesn't even have the order listed in my profile overview - if this is the Aliexpress experience, I don't think I will order ever again there.
Even Temu is more transparent than this.

 

[Monocrom]

Even Temu is more transparent than this.

Woah! Okay, yeah; that's not just bad but horrific when TEMU does something better.

 

[PaladinNO]

Woah! Okay, yeah; that's not just bad but horrific when TEMU does something better.

I know. But Temu sends me almost excessive update emails whenever anything happens.

Right now, I got nothing from neither PayPal nor Aliexpress. It feels like the order apparently didn't go through for some reason.
Only thing I got from PayPal right after ordering was "We've made it faster to pay with PayPal" - and that was it.

@Monocrom Have you ordered from Aliexpress before? Is the shopping cart supposed to empty itself after placing an order?
Because mine is still full.

 

[Monocrom]

I know. But Temu sends me almost excessive update emails whenever anything happens.

Right now, I got nothing from neither PayPal nor Aliexpress. It feels like the order apparently didn't go through for some reason.
Only thing I got from PayPal right after ordering was "We've made it faster to pay with PayPal" - and that was it.

You're going to want to follow-up immediately with PayPal.
I buy way too many items and gear every month. Use P.P. almost exclusively. Literally each and every single transaction shows up on my P.P. account almost instantly.

 

[PaladinNO]

Signing in to PayPal now, there is no trace of the order there either.

EDIT:
And now the reservation disappered from my bank too, but no money has been sent yet.
Ugh, I hate this crap - it has happened once before when I tried to do an online order.

 

[Monocrom]

Honestly, I've never had to contact a P.P. representative.
Yeah, you're going to want to email them.

 

[Monocrom]

Didn't see your Edit until just now.
Ask a P.P. rep. why it didn't go through.
I've ordered from AliExpress a handful of times.
Again, each transaction with them showed up on my P.P. account.

 

[PaladinNO]

I'm trying to pay for the order one more time, but this time leaving PayPal out of it.

EDIT:
Now it worked like a charm. The order has been registered with Aliexpress.
And a new / replacement reservation has been registered in my bank.

Still not receiving an order confirmation though.

 

[Monocrom]

Alright, you're probably good. But check on that reservation in a couple of hours. Just to be sure it doesn't get cancelled.

 

[PaladinNO]

Just to be sure it doesn't get cancelled.

Will do. Thanks for the instant assistance!

Still curious about the absence of any order confirmation though. I was expecting at least one email from Aliexpress - so far, I got nothing from them.

 

[Monocrom]

Happy to help out.

 

[PaladinNO]

First part of the order is on the way.
Sofirn SF16
Sofirn BLF LT1 Orange
Sofirn SP40

Still not received any order confirmation from Aliexpress, which is disappointing. Just the first tracking on part of the total order today.

I did receive a message from Wurkkos though, asking if I was really sure I wanted to order a light without a battery.
Hope Wurkkos doesn't use any weird 18650 stardard (the FC11C is my first light from them - and this will be my first experience with the Nichia 519A emiter).

I have plenty of both protected and unprotected 18650 button tops, and a single spare unprotected Molicel M35A for an earlier purchased Emisar DW4. But more M35A's are readily available for purchase if the FC11C accepts them.

Still not pleased with the Aliexpress experience. Payment was confusing, pricing varies often wildly between the listing and what I am expected to pay during checkout with their "Choice" and "Plus" nonsense, the name of the actual seller or storefront feels almost deliberately hidden, and the follow up with order confirmations and payment verifications is completely absent. And I read numerous threads on local forums regarding having to pay double customs fees when ordering from Aliexpress - one up front, and another later on, arriving a while after taking delivery.

The overall experience is still much better with Temu.

 

[Monocrom]

Yeah, Aliexpress is a bit shady. Always has been. But that's one of those things everyone knows about. Though usually Ali comes through for buyers.

When I ordered my Wurrkos TD03 several months back, decided to get it with a battery. Their 18650 is not a proprietary one. So, no worries there.

 

[aznsx]

if this is the Aliexpress experience, I don't think I will order ever again there.
Even Temu is more transparent than this.

First, I must say I'm sorry to hear of your ordeal just trying to purchase a product, and I hope the story at least ends well. I've never ordered from either one, but based on my impression from what I've read, that's about like comparing dirt with mud; either way, you're probably going to get dirty and need a shower after it's over.

Still not pleased with the Aliexpress experience. Payment was confusing, pricing varies often wildly between the listing and what I am expected to pay during checkout with their "Choice" and "Plus" nonsense, the name of the actual seller or storefront feels almost deliberately hidden, and the follow up with order confirmations and payment verifications is completely absent. And I read numerous threads on local forums regarding having to pay double customs fees when ordering from Aliexpress - one up front, and another later on, arriving a while after taking delivery.

...and yes, there's gambling going on at the casino too;-)

Then there's this shipping 'Bermuda Triangle' thing you're dealing with.

People shouldn't have to endure all this to buy something. I truly wish you the best of luck with this. You'll deserve some kind of medal if you actually receive what you wanted!

 

[PaladinNO]

I'll post some pics once...whatever arrives comes. But from the shipping notifications, everything is underway now.