Now heres a place you might want to avoid! I placed an order with this place on Feb. 29th and then went about my business thinking all good thoughts. Just kinda waiting for my parts to show up in the mail and on about the 10th I started to wonder where my parts were... So I decided to check on my order, It said my order status was pending. This seemed weird because didn't receive any emails saying their would be any delays, So I emailed the guy at bestkites.com and got no response. So I tried to call them with the two phone numbers they had on the site, no response with either one just voice mail. So now I'm getting a little nervous. The next day (11th) was the same deal. nothing on the voice mail indicated that he was out of town for any specific reason! I mean all I really wanted to know was why my order was pending and when I could expect to receive so I could go out buggying!! So on the third day of no response to either email or phone calls I started checking out stuff and found out that the better business bureau had 5 complaints against him, 4 had been resolved and one that they were getting no response from bestkites. That one was still open... So i went right to pay pal ( the way I payed ) and opened a dispute against bestkites.com. Within an hour he issued me a refund with pay pal, the money is still pending for some reason but I think it's funny that he was so quick to answer their emails and not mine. on my last phone call i had mentioned the better business bureau and I think if I had escalated my dispute to a claim with pay pal it might have locked up his account until it was settled. So i give props to pay pal I also suggest you look elsewhere to find your parts and use this place as a last resort... I just don't know why he wouldn't talk to me?

Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks , we all need to pass on info about shady dealings.I can't stand it when they get your money but not your e-mails.way to go bro!

Just so everyone is clear WHO is HE? Are you refering to http://www.bestkites.com the manufacturer or someone that is selling their products? Your posts refer to an individual more specific a male. Sorry for the english lesson. By the way what exactly were you ordering?

Craz Z wrote:Just so everyone is clear WHO is HE? Are you refering to http://www.bestkites.com the manufacturer or someone that is selling their products? Your posts refer to an individual more specific a male. Sorry for the english lesson. By the way what exactly were you ordering?

Yep, that's the link to his website, and his name was Tony Maninha... And I Ordered a Flexifoil buggy seat and three Flexifoil standard tires, For a total of 187.50... I had payed him instantly with paypal so there was no confusion there. I didn't even bother him for ten days and he didn't try to contact me either, You know to let me know if their was a problem like backorder or something. Bottom line I'm getting my money back, but I'm just putting it out there. You see I used paypal but what if I had sent a money order or used my credit card.That wouldn't mean he'd have the right to screw me or anything, but it might have been a lot harder to get my money back!! It's just a good thing that paypal had my back They do a good job of protecting their customers

Thats too bad this site isn't a business to take care of their customers. I was actually confused until i went to the site. It sounded like best the manufacturer but its not its an individual business that sells lots of stuff related to kiting. Looking at the site i've traveled to a few of these types of sites and wondered how they fair to the public as if its a good place to grab some parts or whatever. One thing i've noticed since starting my kiting lifestyle is that everyone is eager to sell you a complete unit. Parts are like an evil nightmare to get sometimes and when they're offered with a pic and price you just wanna get the deal done and move on. Sorry for the bad experience and just so everyone knows and hopefully this tony guy is listening word of mouth can make you or break you. It is the single most powerful advertising there is. Get your money and give it someone that doesn't treat you like that which it sounds like you've done.

Man, I was gonna get some of those extra wide tires soon , Guess I won't be sending them my cash! Thank you.

Well there you have it... I am the new victim of Tony J Maninha owner of Bestkites. No bar, no chicken loop and of course no contact.

Filed with the BBB and contacted my bank, anything else? I hope you are reading this Tony and everyone else who may google bestkites. Hopefully it will slow down futher people that may fall victim to thieving ways.


You sir are a thief. How pathetic is that? Oh, and when I talked to you let's set something straight... I'm not your buddy nor pal, I am a paying costumer who should have received there items as promised by YOU!

Keep the freebie and offer it to the next person.

It's really a bummer to see our small sport invaded by people who do this kind of stuff. I guess that's just another reason to support local shops. If you're interested in something it's often a good idea to tell a dealer you know. In the ski industry a dealer or shop can often call up a company direct and magically pull strings, even if they don't sell that product.

Ok; I'm over my shameless plug for local business.

I too am having problems with bestkites.com. I ordered a buggy 4 weeks ago. At first I got no responce from them on my order, when I threatened to cancel the order they were much better at getting back to me. They said the buggy was stuck in customs, now they tell me it should arrive in 2 weeks. We'll see.