National: Cell Phones, Laptops, Laptop Batteries and RAM wanted - Page 5

Just an update...

I mailed a package to them on the 10th. Fedex delivered on the 12th. I called them on Monday, the 15th, to verify that they had received my shipment and they had. I didn't ask how long it would be before I received my paypal payment, but as of 4pm central (5pm Eastern), I still haven't received my payment. I'll be calling tomorrow (Wednesday) to see what the wait will be. From other posts in this thread, I expected to have received payment by now, but that expectation may have been too high. I'll keep you posted.

Spoke to them this morning. The person who makes payments is out of town this week. Payment should be made on Monday.

Monday has come and gone and still no payment. Called again today and was told that the person who makes payment is still out of the country. I was told to email him, which I have, but have not received a response from that either. The person I talked to told me he was going to call him. I'm feeling uncomfortable about this.

Hey mudd looks like we will be stuck in the mud for about a week. I also sent out 3 boxes to ROK and it seems Randy will be in Jamaica til 10/3 or 10/4. I have dealt with Randy and ROK on numerous occasions and haven't had a problem yet. it does seem that they are having more processing and payment problems as of late.

Funny...i just called today and was told that the boss wouldn't be back until Wed. This is what they've been telling me for two weeks now...just a few more days. Today I actually got a "I don't know why he hasn't paid you, I sent him all of the information last week." So...who knows.

I have sent alot of lots to Randy and havent had any problems getting paid also. Processing all depends on Randy and I know he is going to have to change the way they process lots especially if he is going to be out of the country as much as he thinks.

I agree gorven but unlike the last time he was out of the country, he had posted it. From the email I was sent he stated he has been out for 3 weeks so if you sent them stuff like Mudd and I did at the beginning of the month were left sitting on our hands rather money expected for goods. I can only imagine the back up. Well I hope he has safe and speedy return :-)

I spoke to Randy today. Not to speak for him, but he says he had some very unusual things that happened while we was out of the country. In his words, "The wheels fell off my company while I was gone and now I'm trying to put them back on." I appreciated his time and his talking to me. He has assured me that payment will be made by Sunday evening. I do understand that it will take him a few days to get caught back up.

Thanks for your time today, Randy.

Ken

I received payment today from Randy. Thanks, Randy.

I want to take a few moments to say that I am sorry that processing has not been up to our normal standards recently. Along with a friend, I started a new company in Jamaica. We are donating hundreds of laptops and other items to the schools in Jamaica. As part of it, we are having the schools refurbish laptops and cell phones for us. This gives the students a chance to learn how to fix computers. In addition, we are paying them to fix additional units so that the students can make some money. Currently, the unemployment rate for 18 to 25 year olds is about 40%. The students all want to work. They just need some training and a job. We are working to help with that.

Recently, we sent a container of laptops and cell phones to launch the program. I expected to be there for about 2 weeks setting things up. Unfortunately, the donated items got tied up in customs as the Ministry of Education's Import license had expired. After waiting two weeks, during which all the goods were held up, we ended up having to clear the donated items ourselves, which cost an extra $5,000. When we finally got the container, it was already after I had planned to return to the US. I felt obligated to stay to ensure that things got set up correctly. On Tuesday, I dropped off the first load of donated laptops along with items for them to fix at the first school we are working with. Wednesday morning, they had a bus accident and four students died and ten more ended up in the hospital. Needless to say, everything got put on hold. We thus turned our attention to getting the store set up to sell the student refurbished products. Sunday night, my partner's brother somehow got shot 4 times by a nail gun. One of the nails pierced his left ventricle. It looks like he is going to make it, but for several days, they thought he would not survive. I decided to stay a few extra days in Jamaica so that my partner could stay at the hospital with his brother.

Meanwhile, back in the US, as many of you know, my mother has been battling stage 4 lung cancer for over 4 years. As the norm is less than a one year survival rate, we have been blessed that she is still with us. I am usually her primary care giver. While I was in Jamaica, she took a major downturn and went on oxygen full time, morphine and now needs 24 hour care. My brother, who was going to cover ROK Recycling while I was in Jamaica, ended up having to spend basically 24 hours a day with my Mom will other care could be arranged. Sadly, he did not really have time to cover for me as we had planned.

I finally got home late Wed night. Thursday and Friday all the local buyers came by. This weekend, I have gone through all the paperwork to make sure that everyone who sent things in gets paid. there are a few accounts where I am missing some information (no paypal or other payment info, etc) so I will have to finish them tomorrow.

As I said, I am sorry that we have not given the normal level of service that I feel my suppliers deserve. However, some very unusual things happened to cause the issue. If you are still owed money after today, please contact me letting me know what you sent and when. Some of the loads were not marked.

Thank you.
Randy

Great charitable contribution!! Congrats. Glad you're home. Best to your Mom and you who are caring for her.

Ken

Mike,
The money to fund this is initially coming from my pocket. The first 150 laptops (including hard drives, chargers, etc) were paid for completely by me. They were a donation as was the RAM the school needed to upgrade their desktop computers, etc. I also donated a bunch of other IT stuff for them to fix and start selling. I even had to pay $5,000 to clear the donated material through customs on top of the cost of shipping, etc. I have also paid all the travel expenses for my partners to go down and help set everything up. The cost to set up the store to sell the refurbished equipment was at my expense as well. Finally, I am fronting the cost to train and hire the students to fix the items above and beyond the ones fixed as part of their classroom experience.

Neither the US government, the Jamaican government or anyone else is doing anything. A few members of this forum have helped by making sure that when they send in laptops, they send in the chargers, make sure the caddies are in the laptop, etc. Those things have made things much easier.

The hope is that once we get the program going, between our store and stores set up at the schools, the program will be able to self fund. We are hoping that we can get the program running to the point that the schools will be able to pay about 200 students a year to run the stores and fix the equipment along with money for the teachers who supervise the program. There should also be enough left over to acquire 15,000 laptops a year for the schools. All with no government involvement other than the Ministry of Education allowing us to do it.

Mike there have been some times recently (like when I was sitting in Jamaica waiting for the container to clear while my Mom was going downhill) that I have been more than a little stressed. While I had some things in place to cover me while I was gone, etc, I did not plan for all the things that happened and as a result, ROK Recycling really dropped the ball (OK....I dropped the ball). Just have to hope that forum members forgive me. That is why I took the time to explain some of the personal stuff.

So it's been a while since I've left feedback for Randy and crew. I just want to take a second ands say thanks for providing a unique service that ewaste needs and you offer top dollar. I sent them a shipment of laptops and batteries, I got back more $$ than expected which is always nice.
Thanks again!!

can you please tell me how you classify the amd cpu style laptops in your pricing?

Hi Carhuntr,

ROK doesn't check here very often and he hasn't posted his phone number on here so I won't either. However, if you go to the first page and find his mailing address, you can google that address, find their website and get their phone number off the website. I made contact with them via this forum and I have used them in the past. I will use them again. However, I always call to get current prices and then make the shipment. Best of luck to you.

Prices are not current. This company was sold by Randy and the new owner has dropped prices significantly.