Just one of the many reasons why I very rarely buy anything online.

 Mate, ive bought shitloads of gear from the states including outboard parts, electronics, chandlary, fishing gear and never waited more than 2 weeks even with standard shipping. It must have been out of stock and had to come from supplier or something has gone wrong there. Did they give you a reasn? 10 weeks is absoultely ridiculous!!!

 Thats pretty bad! Ive always heard they were good. I bought my sounder from ch marine over east and had it in 2 days!

 Yep, usually 7 - 10 days from the States. Agree with Stevo, must have been out of stock. Pretty poor form not to keep you dialled in though, I'll keep that in mind if I'm thinking of using Koala.

Dam, That don't sound good I ordered a 1Kw transducer for a FCV 585. Dam Dam Dam

I have heard a couple of whines about Koala but nothing too bad.
Bonza Imports are the way to go I reckon. Have you checked them out ?

I had a similar situation with Koloa GPS. Ordered a sounder that turned out wouldn't work here in Australia, so they didn't send it which was good on their behalf, the problem was they didn't let me know and the order status was listed as item posted. After a couple of weeks with out it turning up I called to find out why and the problem was explained, No worries. Changed my order to a cheaper model after a rethink and was told I would be refunded the difference. The new unit ended up taking 2 months to arrive and after 6 months dozens of phone calls and literally over 50 emails I only just received my refund. They would either not respond to my emails, or say they'd look into it or just brush me off with a poor excuse (Scott being the main one). Probably spent more on phone calls than my return was worth. Sorry to hear someone else is struggling with them. I'd recommend avoiding buying from them despite some of their enticing prices.

I do try to buy local when I can but some things are just so much cheaper on line I bought plenty of stuff on line and haven't been burnt yet fingers crossed

 Just bought a Dragonfly from them :/

Service seemed to be really good.. Answered the phone all hours of the day/night. Changed my order quickly without fuss.

Fingers crossed I get it before Christmas!

 I had a very similar experience, but the long and short of it is they are in Canada and despatch from California.

 Classic communication breakdown between supplier/despatcher and guys running the company.  Resolved by lodging a claim

with Pay Pal Police (aka the resolution centre).  Lodged the issue on last day possible and had instant communication from Scott and

585 delivered following week express post.  Problem solved.  Shouldn't have to go there!!!!!

 I tried to do the righty and support the local stores and that has backfired on me!! I ordered and paid for a reel 6 weeks ago and I'm still waiting! Missing two fishing trips now!

I've only had one problem in getting stuff from the USA and Pay Pal resolution centre fixed it in a flash, good company to use for OS purchases

use BOE marine

good prices

stuff gets here within 7 days,BTW wiht the exchhnge rate and the cash backs from furuno AUS

its a toss up at the moment to buy local

I buy quite a bit of gear from the states, really can't justify paying double the prices here for electronics. So far Koala GPS has been the only one that has given me any problems and it was just plain slow no communication even though I paid top tier freight.

However full marks to Bonza imports and to a guy from the hull truth using the the name of semperfifishing (his name is Gil Travers ?) great prices and good service from both blokes they know their stuff and are prepared to help out.

i had lots of dramas with koala gps a couple of years ago.

long story short, they can go and get rooted in my opinion

im glad you bought this up. i too bought a GPS from koala. today is the 76th day and i still have not seen it. i have sent and received emails in which Scott has responded. he seems to be quite empathetic via email and even upgraded me to the next model up because of the inconvenience. then the communication stopped. i called him in direct and he explained that he was in Canada and the supplier in the US had them on back order and blah blah blah.... when he checked his system it said that it was shipped on the 06/07/2013 via US postal service. he gave me a con note and when i checked it out my parcel was delivered into Australia on the 16/07/2013 so i should see it in the next day or two. even though he did upgrade me and was pleasant enough to communicate with waiting 80 odd days to receive a purchase is just not good customer service. looking at his reviews on ebay too.... they are not too flash. i am happy that i will see my GPS but i will never use Koala gps for anything ever again.

Spoke to Scott a few hours ago as I was concerned after reading all the negativity and the speedy delivery of my transducer worried me.
He seemed concerned that there was negative feedback and says he will do his utmost in the future regarding shipments and will look into trying to speed things up for future orders.
We shall See !!!!!

 You`d have to think that this problem with Koala isn`t a postal thing... I can only assume its the dispatch. Things must also be slow in the States...I won`t be buying through them again, I hope this unit turns up, I won`t risk $$ with a shit show company that is doomed to fail....

Just order direct from the bigger reputable US marine companies.

I've never used a middle man and never had a problem either.

have u got it yet?

 I ordered a Raymarine Dragonfly from KoalaGPS as well about a week before I saw this thread unfortunately. Paid extra for highest level of Express Post and sent a message with the order explaining I needed it in time for an upcoming fishing trip.

About a week later and no update on the order so I sent a message to see if I could get a tracking number. 

Got a reply from Scott saying no problem I'll look into it. They changed the order to payment received and in process, so I figured all good!!

3 weeks later and after seeing this thread still no update or tracking number and now they're ignoring my emails - eventually got a reply saying it was now on Backorder but no date as to when it would be available!

At this stage im thinking why have I paid extra for express postage if they're waiting 3 weeks to even let me know its on back order and they cant even give me a date it's likely to be sent. Still no reply to any emails!

Opened a complaint with Paypal requesting a refund and immediately got approved - says the refund is pending and will have my money back next Thursday apparently.

Not going to deal with KoalaGPS again thats for sure, useless!! Wish I saw this thread before buying.

 Don't order anything with Dick Smith online either guys. Absolute shite service won't go into the nitty gritty but pretty well the same story as here with no feedback after please explain emails.

I've ordered and received bits and pieces from the states, mainly electrical and have saved quite a few dollars, and this is what drives my purchases from there.
However, I cross my fingers every time I send my dollars overseas and hope and pray I don't have to go through a great painful episode to get my goods. I agree with the comments about PayPal they are the only people I send money through they seem to have a good reputation on settling matters when goods don't show up.

catch.fish Pm sendt

I have also had the same situation. Ordered elite 7x sounder, and elite 7 gps/sounder combo. After 4 weeks of constant hassling the items were apparently sent. Long story short 3 months later a parcel arrived only to open it to find it was only the sounder that arrived. Called Scott back, advised him of the situation and my disappointment. Stated that I have been unable to use my boat now for well over 3 months and for this to be prioritised and sent priority mail. Now after a another 2 weeks of no item arriving, all my emails and phone calls they are ignoring me.
Will never purchase from these guys again

 i work for a skiboat/wakeboard boat business and we order cruise control systems (Perfect Pass ) from Canada. We email our orders and they arrive on our doorstep in 3 days via UPS, everytime! Outstanding customer service. Just shows how quickly parts can get here. . . . .

Finally got my refund today, glad I paid with Paypal and thanks for making the thread guys! Got a feeling if I waited and didn't jump on this within the Paypal dispute period I would of had a long and frustrating time trying to get either the Sounder or my money back dealing with Koala direct!!

I think the saying Caveat Emptor covers dealing with Koala GPS. Unless there is a very good reason to deal with this company, don't that's the way I see it

 Thing make it here in good time from the US it's when it gets here is the problem 

 I'm in the same boat (pun intended). Placed my order June 19 and still waiting. My biggest gripe is the website said "in stock" only to be told after 2 months my 1kw transducer was on backorder and the 587 was ex Japan via USA... shipped as one pack! Due to ship this week - if not i'll submit a paypal dispute. Website clearly says "ships within 24 hours".. Not an 'essential' purchase for me so the wait is only my delay of 'play' time.. Went in eyes wide open but getting too long in the tooth, even for me. 

the current exchange rate is there even a price advantage taking the risk of ordering from the US now?

 If i dispute my order, get a refund and buy local it's an extra ~$800... So for me - yes..

If i dispute, i'll still buy ex US - just a different supplier... Given the drop in AUD since i ordered it will burn ~$200, still a good outcome v local.. 

Wish I had checked this site earlier. Ordered a 7X HDI in May 2013. After numerous emails and calls - still nothing. Scott has another guy answering the calls now, who promises action - still nothing. Made a complaint to PayPal, even though past the 45 days (Koala GPS stall you to get past this I reckon). This company is based in Canada so I made a complaint to the Canadian Anti Fraud Centre, so we'll see what happens. I think I have made a donation to the Koala GPS retirement fund.

DO NOT BUY FROM KOALA GPS!!!

I was let down big time by Scott the jerkoff. Luckily enough I got full refund through PayPal. Never them again!

 Googled Koala 3rd hit was Fishwrecked! and rightfully so almost everyone is a complaint

I wish i had of read this before! NEVER AGAIN!

bought a new lowrance power cable through these guys on January 30th $20 or something figured if i buy the priority shipping 7-10 days delivery at $24 it still comes out saving a few $ and i can wait a week.

 around the 30th or so get an email saying payment pending.

Took my money on Feb the 2nd.... No response

5 weeks later....I send a long email, whats going on????

automated response: your payment has been processed.

I send back a Piss poor performance email to fix the problem.

pay more than the product is worth in postage for 7 day delivery and the monkeys haven't even put it in the post 5 weeks after taking my money!!!!!!!!!!

No one waste your time with these guys!

Only a small order but piss poor

 Yep had a similar experience with them though I did eventually get the goods wont touch em again , I buy alot of stuff online koala is the worst overseas experience I have had moost dramas are aussie companies , that have no idea about service , 99.9% of my overseas orders are promptly despatched and arrive in good time , order stuff from your own country and it can take an incredible amount of time , customer serviceis non existant in alot of cases.

Koala Marine should be renamed Ripoff Marine it took me 6 months to get my refund through my credit card bank. They promise the earth and give you the atlas! Never Again!! BEWARE OF KOALA MARINE!!!!!!!!!

I came across this post (and others) after a recent conversation with Scott, the owner of KoalaGPS and a personal friend of mine, and wanted to clear the air. First off, KoalaGPS along with the US branded site MapleLeafGPS is permantly out of business and Scott was forced into personal bankruptcy a few months ago. Hopefully anyone left out of pocket was able to file with their payment provider for non-delivery.

It's tempting to villify the man but the reality is that he's really a tremendous human being who simply didn't have the skills to run a business. After 8 years of success, it grew beyond his ability to manage and it spiraled out of control despite his best intentions. Small consolation to folks who ended up inconvenienced but it's what I observed first hand.

I watched him personally sink into a very deep depression over the past couple of years - he took every single complaint to heart and eventually this took a severe toll on his health, family and career, and left him in financial ruin, ending in personal bankruptcy. I'm sure his creditors are none too happy about that but I'm personally glad to see him starting his recovery andslowly putting the pieces of his life back together.

That being said, I do think the business model itself is brilliant (if executed well of course): cutting out the middleman allows you to provide premium customer service at greatly reduced prices. Karl, who I've known for years and introduced to Scott to help with sales and support, has decided to start fresh with a new business doing exactly that. He knows the product, has a passion for personalized service and seems to have found some very nice answers to the things that got Scott into trouble. Since he ended up fielding the brunt of calls from legitimately angry Koala customers, those are mistakes he's not keen to repeat. At any rate I wish him well. 

I didn't want to use this forum to promote Karl's business but I can put you in touch if you're interested.

So I wanted to confirm the rumours that Koala is indeed out of business and also provide the other side of the story, hopefully without sounding like I'm making excuses (because really there aren't any). Scott's a great guy and a solid friend, just a terrible business manager who ultimately failed.

And yes, definitely caveat emptor when buying online. Read reviews and posts like this and if you're still not sure, most payment providers are pretty good at protecting you in case things go wrong, but it doesn't hurt to check. Paypal seems to be pretty good in that respect. I've never had any issues getting a refund from them.

 Think ur preeching to the wrong crowd mate seen many a post on many sites over a fair while now and not one of them have been good. As far as I now if you Oder and pay but don't recive it's called a scam and its not like it was a one off occasion 

 You reap what you sow.

 If he's a good guy but lousy at business then he should have been a janitor or something, not ripping people off with his incompetence.

An outstanding person would have realised his failings early on and quit the business before it turned to ruin.

whats the name of this new bussiness ?

 Interested to know as well so I can steer well clear of it no sympat here.

 quite some time back and received it in good time. Maybe that was before things really went downhill, but I just wanted to put my experience out there.

on the other hand, i guess i would be peed off too if i parted with my hard earned and didnt get the goods ordered.

There are no winners here it seems :(