Exoto - Tony Keusseyan & Co.

I have 21 Exotos with one more on the way. They are superbly crafted and extraordinarily well-built, but because many of their most desirable models are out-of-production they cost far more than one should probably pay for them so comparison shopping is essential. And don't trust the Exoto website's prices for older models as they are jacked up beyond belief - many, if not most, of the older releases still available from Exoto.com can be found for far less elsewhere if you do your research.

The newer models, however, start at mind-boggling prices so it's up to you and your wallet whether you feel they are worth paying for. Many would say "no", but there are always those with deep pockets who don't mind. The important thing is, as so many have already said in this thread, only buy in-stock models - do NOT pre-order unless you think you can afford to lose the money! I have lived by this rule when ordering direct from them and have had almost no problems and I've taken davantage of their frequent sales and have never paid list price for any of my Exotos.

They seem to think up new ways of angering their customers each time, though. The latest I've encountered is ordering an older model from them and finding out when they took too long to process it that they were waiting for its arrival. From where? There was no indication anywhere that it wasn't in stock and, as usual, they didn't bother letting me know of any reason for the delay.

So if you can accept terrible customer service, questionable or downright unethical business practices (such as charging immediately for pre-orders of models that hadn't and ultimately never were produced) and fluctuating prices (usually upward) to get some quality diecasts, Exoto is the way to go .

Good luck!

After reading countless threads on Exoto, pre-ordering seems to be a MAJOR no no with these guys.. this is most certainly something i would not do myself.

I agree with Red that their customer service truly sucks ( emails don't get any answer ), But they do answer the phone straight away, and in my experience, they where very helpful, this is my experience, not everyone else's.

I have only discovered them over the last couple of months to be very honest. I have since ordered from them twice now from the $98 sales.
I myself do not have the deepest of pockets as mentioned by Red. This is why i chose to buy from them in the sales. And i have not encountered any problems personally.
When i got my 1st model from them, i was quite frankly blown away by the build and craftsmanship.

So much so that i decided to buy a few more of them on Ebay, and these are stunning models. When my latest addition arrives, it will be my 5th Exoto. These are models that i will happily buy again. Even if it means saving up "MY" hard earned pennies.

We all know the risks when we look at the Exoto site, I for one would happily buy from them again. albeit in their $98 sales.



Dave.

I don't know how old that link is, iamfat, since it's been October for two weeks-plus, but there are no Williams test cars available at sales prices on Exoto.com at the moment. I just checked and it's back up to $498. You should just do like many of us and check the site regularly; judging by the limited number of limited-appeal models in the current "three-day" sale, they are scraping the bottom of the barrel for issues to sell at bargain-basement prices.

But they seem to get new inventory of old models every so often, so watch your email inbox and hope they get more. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you ...

I ordered an Exoto Typo 246 from the factory. Summary: this story is a disaster. And forgive me for my tenses, my English is quite weak.

In the webshop the model was 'in stock' so it took 'only' 7 weeks to give it to USPS, and other 3 weeks to arrive to Hungary where I live ( at first they sent me a UPS package code but later it turned out that it was false, they didn't send me the model when tey said ).

Mildly the model wasn't brand new. It was dusty with lots of fingertips, but it was the least important problem.

• front-right steering rod and joint were fallen apart, minor parts were missing;
• the dial and hand of the speedometer was missing;
• the headrest was missing;
• the tool for the propeller shaft cover attachment was missing;
• the seat was damaged because it was not locked to the base plate and was freely wobbling in the inner box;
• I couldn't place the fuel cap and filter to it's best position, it was around 2mm (cca. 1/8 inch) upper than it sould be;

I immediatelly sent an email with my complaints and photos to them. They said I had to go to the post office because it was their fault, but the post box was absolutely intact with original Exoto adhesive stripes. Later they said it was done by the Customs but again: the box was factory closed so everything that was missing it was lost before they put the model into that box. I hate conspirancy theories but I think they dare to send it to me to Hungary because they know we are so farm from the USA in every meaning of the words.

They promised me everything but done nothing. I'v got two emails from Mr. Keusseyan himself with his apologies and promises and other 6-10 from the customer support guy. The last useful info came in August when they promised they would send me replacement parts in beginning of November. It's end of January and of course I still haven't received that package. In December I sent a summary with all the messages to the Exoto support through the website and Tony Keusseyan forwarded it to the customer care ignorance guy who did nothing for me before. Very clever... Since then they completely ignore me and don't answer my emails.

The quality assurance and customer support at Exoto are complete disasters. I don't believe that Tony Keusseyan even know how things go under his name and company.

Please kick me in my ass if I would ever plan to buy anything from Exoto. Never, never, no way...

RossoMugello said:

The quality assurance and customer support at Exoto are complete disasters. I don't believe that Tony Keusseyan even know how things go under his name and company.

Please kick me in my ass if I would ever plan to buy anything from Exoto. Never, never, no way...

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Oh, trust me, good ol' Tony knows what goes on there. He's called me twice in person to apologize on behalf of his company's corrupt tactics. It took them nearly a year to refund me for an "Out of Stock" item. Actually, they never willingly refunded me. I had to force their hand via my bank. They will tell you that "a new model is on the way," or that "your refund check is in the mail," or that "someone will call you back tomorrow." The bottom line is that none of those things are ever going to happen. Exoto hopes that you will forget or that your ability to retrieve your money expires. They only respond if you threaten to turn them over to the BBB or bank/credit card company. Then, you'll get the personal phone call from the Big K himself. He will then offer you some sort of sweet sounding deal. For me, he offered to send me two models of my choice. However, I was advised by a good member here not to fall for that gimmick. Again, this will just be another one of Exoto's stall tactics, so don't fall for it.

Do not play their games, friend. Just get your money refunded by your bank or credit card company, and be sure to tell Mr. K. that you're reporting him to the Better Business Bureau. The BBB will make sure that you get your money back as well - the BBB already has a very thick file on those shysters. Also, you can read a lot of complaints regarding Exoto's business practices both here at DX and on other websites. They're crooks, and Tony is the ringleader.

Simply put, get your money back and avoid them at all costs. Their models are amazing, but your money is more valuable than any of their overpriced paperweights. As for kicking you in the ass, that won't be necessary. Because when you finally get this problem resolved, you'll never buy from them again - you'll be completely cured of an Exoto cravings for life! Guaranteed!

Good luck!