Dear Rob,

If you are unhappy with the Shark, please return it.

I can refund the $120 to Peter's account or offer you a credit on another purchase.

You raised a number of points in your article and I will try to address them here. If I miss something, please let me know and I will elaborate further.

1) You mention one kite is new and one used.

When we present a new kite, we offer an introductory discount. We also discount things periodically on the Factory or the Update when we have overstocks.

The kite sent to Peter was our photo sample. We used it ourself -- for about ten minutes - and that why that one was discounted. We announce this on the site. If Peter was unhappy, I hope he will let me know.

2) The used kite included the carabiners that were attached for the fly and photo test. We do this as an extra service when we sell kites that have been flown. The standard (new) kite does not include the biners which is why you didn't get any.

3) After testing the kite, we determined that the deflation zipper was completely unnecessary. So we eliminated it from subsequent Shark production. You may have received a tag from one of the original printings and if that tag mis-led you about the zipper, I apologize.

4) We do not produce kites in mass, but rather, make them up individually as we receive orders. We regard this as a benefit to customers that allows us to lower prices by not needing to maintain inventories, and also allows custom orders to be completed in a relatively short time - -usually about two weeks. It also allows us to make improvements in a product as we test and get feedback from fliers. But it also means that not all kites are identical.

With the Shark, we tried attaching a wind flap at the mouth to help sustain inflation. This was added after the first samples were received. Peter's blue was a first edition, your gray was a second edition. You got the flap and he did not.

5) The mesh around the mouth is slightly oversize. As you can imagine, sewing mesh is a bit different than sewing normal fabric. Our designers belive we needed a bit of extra overlap to make sure the stitching held. But I agree that up close with the light behind, this doesn't look ideal. We're working on a solution.

6) We changed the eyes to make the kite look less cartoonish.

7) We can't control import taxes. We can't even warn people what they are going to be since every country is different, they are collected on delivery, and we have no way to determine if they will actually be charged or not.

I get lots of complaints about the taxes in different nations. It seems that rather than be pleasantly surprised when they are not charged, people get upset - with me - when they are. Again -- we have no control over this.

I regularly get requests that we falsify invoices to reduce customs charges. This is a curious request and I wonder what people must think of us when they ask us to break the law. If we are caught falsifying documents, there could be serious consequences. And of course, a box marked as $20 for customs cannot be listed as $200 for insurance.

I'm not at all suggesting you have done any of this, but wanted to give you some additional context.

Finally, I should mention that preparing an overseas shipment takes much longer than a domestic one. We are required to complete eight postal forms when we send a package out of the country. All of these issues are why many firms now simply decline to sell outside the USA.


So -- in conclusion, I'm sorry you are not satisfied. Please return the Shark to us and we'll arrange a credit or a refund.

I hope I've answered your questions. Some of these issues suggest the kite still needs some improvement. And some differences were more simple communication matters. I'm glad you asked. But I also wish you would have informed be before publishing your comments. Please feel free to also publish my response.

Thank you!

David Gomberg




At 05:41 AM 12/12/2008, you wrote:

Hi dave and susan .....just got the shark from peter smith(he ordered two one
for me)and I am sorry to report that there are a lot of things i dont like
about it..all my problems with it are written in the kite den here www.
thekiteden.co.uk click on the latest news to read my views on it,it covers all
thats niggling me about the shark......and maybe you can answer some of the
questions there...anyway dont like it and wish to get some sort of deal with
you on something else...it was going to be on a squid(peter lynn mini)but i
dont think you got any left?but read my article and let me know what we can
do...thanks hoping you and susan are in good health and looking forward to the
hols.....

by the way dave this computer is on the blink so if i come offline for a while
thats why...