Fake Coconaras

[Grim_Puffer]

Hi guys, first post.

 

I have been smoking hookah for a few years but took a break last year when money was tight and I was dealing with some other stuff.

 

I recently placed an online order from a big seller, I do not want to list the site in case that is a violation of forum rules.

 

Well my package arrives today and I load up my hookah and get my coals going. So I am on here lurking, just reading some topics that interested me and saw one about fake coconaras. When I read it I noticed that the description of the coal burning properties sounded a lot like mine.

 

So I got on google and found how to check the box, sure enough mine looked like the fake one. So I called Coco-nara US and spoke to a very nice person who informed me, based on the distributor on the back, that they were indeed fake.

 

So I called the online retailer I bought them from and was placed on hold, then she came back and said yes I received "old" product that it was to be used for a "different" market. Which market were they intending to sell these too?

 

If it is not a violation of rules, and the fact I am new here, can someone tell me of a good online source for hookah products and accessories? I thought the one I was using was big enough and used enough by all that this owuld not be an issue, but I stand corrected. They credited my account for the price of the coals, so I guess I need to use that up but I am done with them after this.

[Chreees]

Hookah-Shisha.com, 5StarHookah.com, and UltimateHookah.com are pretty big sites that should be carrying legit Coconara coals. Also, check out our vendors that pay to be here and see if any of them carry CCNs. You can even ask them first before ordering. :) Sucks you got fakes. I wouldn't have accepted store credit personally. Rather I would have sent the unused portion of the coals back and asked for a refund.

[Grim_Puffer]

Sad part is its one of the sites you listed that sold me fake Coconaras.

[Chreees]

Interesting. Now I'm really intrigued as to what they meant by they were for a "different" market...

[Click]

That's some bullshit.  I have an inclination as to which vendor it is...

Have you used them yet?  I've heard of people getting fakes them smoking just fine.

[Grim_Puffer]

I've used them and they ash red and burn very quick.

Very harsh tasting.

I use 3 Coconaras on my vortex most times with no issue but even with 2 it was too foul tasting.

Didn't even last an hour.

I was very upset to say the least. They issued a refund but its " cash" I have to use on their site.

I too was curious as to which "market" they are for.

I used this site for all my hookah stuff in the past for some time. I even referred my parents, yes they hookah too, and some friends to them. Never had an issue until today.

Like I mentioned I took a break from hookah for a while, this was the first time in almost a year I've ordered from them. Edited May 3, 2013 by Grim_Puffer

[Fouda]

Half you came back and that you joined us. :) biut sucks about the coals. You and stuie can start a club!

[Grim_Puffer]

Well I'm just happy they are getting replaced. I love my CNs.

I wasn't trying to point fingers or call a company out, I just wanted others to know.

I also wanted to know of other reputable places to order.

Sad that my first post was so negative but this experience pushed me to the point of joining just to let others know to be careful.

[king_lunchb0x]

Am I the only one who wants to know the site?? as long as its not on our banned vendor list, I think it would be helpful to let others know until the vendor can straighten things out.

of course this is up to you and/or the mod staff.

[joytron]

Personally, I would like to hear who sold them if they are indeed a reputable vendor on here.

[Grim_Puffer]

I let the MODs know he contacted me.

The company reimbursed me but I'm still not happy that they would sell them to a different market. Maybe that was just a cover excuse but who knows.

If the Admin wants he can post the name but I didn't want to violate forum rules. Because the issue was handled by coconara and the site I just didn't want to rub their name in the mud without just cause.

But like I said, the admin/mod I spoke with mushrat is more than welcome to post who it is if they feel the need.

This being my first post on here I didn't want to look like I'm spamming or trolling.

[Fouda]

I understand why you didn't.

better safe than sorry

but i to am curious as to which site you purchased from

[mushrat]

well...

 

it went something like this:

 

They received some coals, FROM Coconara they claim, that were in boxes not labeled for sale in the US. More Arabic apparently than the usual US market box. They said after receiving numerous complaints, they tested the "Arab" boxs vs the US boxes and found the "Arab" boxes were burning at a lower temp and had a Red Tint to them so they stopped sending out the ones labeled for the "Arab" markets and are now selling only  the US packaged ones here in the US. The vendor maintains they were all still directly from Coconara, but believes they were just a "bad batch."

 

You still have the "bad" box around you can take comparison photo's of?

 

I was also told that if you ever want a refund, you just have to ask, because they prefer, of course, to give store credit. :)

 

That being said, they are actually NOT one of our sponsoring vendors. :)

 

and the site is: Hookah-shisha.com <_<

[Chreees]

Damn, H-S?? That's sad. Now what I'm wondering is, why did they even get boxes "aimed for the Arab region," when they are located in Texas and are obviously not sending coals (at least I don't think they are, or if so, not many) there?

[Twitchy]

Jeeez the fact there are fake coconaras Is retarded I never buy them anymore just incase h-s are idiots I wonder if they sell fakes to people who have no clue

[Grim_Puffer]

Well since its out there I will say that they handled the situation and even called me and left me a voicemail.

As far as I'm concerned I am happy with the reimbursement.

Ill post pics later as I have them on my phone still.

I've always had great customer service with them and this was no different, but ill post more later, but they did handle the situation.

[Grim_Puffer]

Ok so ill post some pics of the fake coals.

 

Here is what essentially happened word for word.

 

First I called coco-nara and spoke with a sales rep.

 

I told her my concerns and where I bought them and she said ok well I can help you figure this out.

 

She told me to look on the back, which you will see the distributor, Mega Deals, and when I told her that she said per word,"Yes, those are fake."

 

So then she said they would send me real coals as a replacement.

 

When I called Hookah-Shisha a spoke with a nice girl who asked me what the issue was and I told her, "I just got through talking to coco-nara US and told them I suspected my coals were fakes and they confirmed it." She asked if I would hold and I did for about 3-5 minutes. She then came back and said," I am sorry about that. You received an old shipment that was intended for a different market and we have credited you account in points for that amount." And that was it. Now today I received a voicemail from them and the gentleman said that he saw where I put on the shipping instructions that I was not happy that I still have to pay for shipping after receiving counterfeit goods. He took off the shipping charge and offered to speak with me if I so desired.

 

So my question is, who was in the wrong here? They are saying coconara shipped them directly, but coconara is saying the distributor label is from a distributor of fake coals. SO that is where I am confused.

 

Here are the pics of the fake coals I received. Keep in mind, these are not real coconaras according to coconara US, although HS is saying they received them directly from them.?

 

 

Like I said earlier, I do not know who is at fault in this debacle but I got my product of real coconaras and HS refunded my purchase and refunded my shipping. I have always enjoyed their customer service department and never had an issue until this. But the grey area surrounding who is at fault is what really puzzles me.

[mushrat]

anyone got a real box we can compare them to?

[Chreees]

Yeah, I do. Give me a few minutes and I'll upload some pics. So far all the coals out of the box have been excellent. I got them locally in a shop in Nashville before I moved.

 

EDIT: Here are the pics:

 

[attachment=6293:image_1.jpeg]

 

[attachment=6294:image_2.jpeg]

 

[attachment=6295:image_3.jpeg]

 

[attachment=6296:image_4.jpeg]

 

[attachment=6297:image.jpeg]

 

Notice the thicker cardboard...

 

 

[Hookah-Shisha]

On behalf of Hookah-Shisha.com, I would like to apologize to anyone that received inferior quality Coco Nara coals.  A loyal and concerned customer enlightened us that subpar coals had infiltrated our inventory and we investigated the issue immediately.  We only buy from reputable vendors, however in this case some inferior quality coals did make it into our warehouse disguised as legitimate Coco Nara.  As soon as we became aware of the problem, we quarantined the lesser quality coals to make sure no more would leave our warehouse.  We are now shipping only 100% authentic, top-quality Coco Naras.  We take our reputation for product quality seriously, and would never want to sell customers products that don’t live up to expectations. We never have, and never would knowingly sell counterfeit coals to our customers.  The good news is that this was caught quickly and we were able to identify the lower quality coals before very many boxes even left our warehouse.  To be completely clear, Coco Nara boxes distributed by Master Sales are the high-quality coals you've come to know and love, those distributed by Mega Deals are the lower quality coals.  The distributor name should be clearly stamped on the box if you have any question or concern about the coals you've purchased.

So, what now? Any customers who received lower quality coals are more than welcome to contact us for replacement, credit, or refund of those coals. As always, we want our customers to be 100% satisfied with their purchase and will work with each customer to find a good solution. We apologize for the situation and you can count on Hookah-Shisha to make it right. If you have any other questions, I will do my best to answer them to your satisfaction.

[Grim_Puffer]

Thanks for responding hookah-shisha.

Please don't think this is any attempt to dirty a company's name.

I just thought I necessary for other customers to be aware. As I stated you all have handled my situation to satisfaction though I wish no one would have to suffer inferior product.

[Hookah-Shisha]

We couldn't agree more... we don't want people to suffer inferior product, either. That's why we are no longer shipping out those "MegaDeals" Coco Nara coals, and never would have had we been aware of their inferior quality. We are hookah smokers first and foremost, so we know that quality is important to our customers.

[mushrat]

Good of you to join us and thank you for following the vendor rules. Your support is appreciated. Contact me if you would like to have an official vendor thread in the vendor area to post deals, specials, and announcements. Comes with the Vendor status.

 

I have a question though, what was the deal about the whole "other market" thing? Are both companies legitimate distributors under contract to cocnara?

[Hookah-Shisha]

Well... ultimately yes. Apparently both the "MegaDeals" and "Master Sales" coals are legitimate Coco Nara coals, it is just a question of where they are manufactured and who they are manufactured by. The Master Sales coals are the higher quality coals produced for sale through Coco-Nara.us - the MegaDeals coals are produced by a different manufacturer and typically sold outside of the US through other authorized agents. It turns out that the Mega Deals coals that we received were not of the same quality that we are used to from Coco Nara. I don't know if it was just the ones that we received that are inferior quality, or if that is the case for all the MegaDeals coals... I can only speak to our experience. I think the reason that Coco-Nara.us was calling the MegaDeals coals "counterfeit" was because they are the only authorized US distributor, so any coals that don't have their name on them would be considered by them to be counterfeit, since they don't come from the same place.

 

We only became aware of the details of all of this situation this morning, but we pulled the inferior quality coals as soon as we became aware of the problems. It was actually because of the drastic difference in quality that we looked into the situation further and discovered that there was more to the story. I hope my answer is sufficient, and I'll let our marketing guys know that we should get with you about a vendor thread.

[Chreees]

Glad to see you here and that the issue is resolved, H-S. would love to have you guys stick around and become an official vendor. :)