Kinektdesign Reviews 70

I had previously left a review for Kinekt Designs from 2017 when the company excelled at design and customer service. This is no longer the case.
It seems that entity has disolved and the other designers jumped shipped leaving Glen at the helm and he seems to believe he is at the helm of a pirate ship. Bullying people, stealing money, offering cheap knock off designs nothing like the high quality products i purchased in 2017.
I placed an order over 3 months ago and ihave emailed the company over 9 times and keep recieving reply emails that the product is in production yet no where on the site does it state items will have to be made AFTER order and take up to 6 months to deliver. This company then sends out short vague emails never stating when or if items will be shipped. Looking through reviews , this seems common practice now. And now the company asks for a tip!!! So yes, i tipped . Now my order never made it for birthday present so i was going ro gift it for Christmas. I sent 8 emails requesting if it would arrive in time. I was sent yet again a final email stating it was "in production" and i need not continue emailing them. Really??? So , no it didnt come in time for christmas and i have not heard back. I am glad i purchased through a 3rd party to secure my refund because i have requested a refund 5 times to kinekt and it is ignored.

I got a gear necklace in 2014. I had the chain replaced previously with no issues but recently their customer service has become horrible. I leave messages to get information on trying to buy a new chain with no reply. I have attempted to get a reply at least 5 times so far with no luck even though their chat box says “Thanks for your message. We’ll be with you as soon as we can. If you prefer not to wait, we’ll follow up via the contact information you provided.” No response either way.

Besides the fact dude is a Trump supporting, election denying, the sky is falling weirdo, the products are over priced pieces of garbage. Terrible quality, customer service is non existent. Yet his marketing is incessant and unnecessary.

The number of emails sent by this company are excessive. I have received marketing emails on: 7 October, 10 October, 11 October, 12 October, 13 October, 14 October, 16 October, 19 October, 20 October and 21 October.

I tried to unsubscribe using the link in the emails and it didn't work so I contacted the company directly. The owner responded to my request to have my email removed from their mailing list with the following:

"I will not be able to help you with this. You will have to figure out the mysteries of the universe on your own.
You already have everything you need to be great. Good luck! :)"

I have requested twice more to have my email removed from their mailing list but continue to receive their emails.

I have now started making spam act breach complaints to the relevant authorities in the USA and Australia.

The owner is clearly insane. I am not trying to 'solve the mysteries of the universe', I just want to be removed from the mailing list so I can stop receiving their spam.

I advised Glen of his failure to abide by FCC regulations that impose a 16k per u solicited email. While he will pay the price of the FCC complaint as well, I feel it important to inform the public at risk of doing business with this man of his blatant disregard for common courtesy and his customer service. He refuses to stop emailing me, and he is a severe chore to deal with when it comes to service on his products. I’d recommend you seriously consider an alternative - there are plenty of other designs similar to his to be found around the web. Enjoy the reap of your sow, Glen. As you arrogantly like to sign your ignoring of my requests to be removed from your fraudulent email program, "With love and Respect".

Alan Palomo - World of Hassle ALBUM REVIEW
Design and features

The Rachel is available in sizes 5-9 (including half-sizes). Their website says that it’s made of sandblasted stainless steel, but that doesn’t appear to be true because the ring will not stick to a magnet… I think it’s aluminum. *See update at the bottom.

The construction is interesting because there are two outer rims that spin against the flowers in the center of the band. The weird thing is that I can’t tell what holds the outer rims in place…

See it in action

What I like
Unique design
Fun for fidgeters
What I’d change
Price is expensive
Make it available in other colors like the original gear ring
Final thoughts
The Kinekt Rachel Gear Ring is a fun ring for fidgeters and geeks. The main downside is the price. It’s $165 which is…well… too ouchy. Don’t get me wrong, the Rachel ring is fun and looks cool, but I don’t think it’s $165 worth of cool. At that price, I’d want it to be made of titanium or some other premium material, but as is, it feels a little like something you might find in the bargain bin of a novelty store.

Update 6/1/20
From Kinekt regarding my comment about the ring not being stainless steel:

Our ring is indeed made of stainless steel and it is specifically 316 stainless which if you research, you will find that- “With its higher nickel composition range, 316 is considered the “most nonmagnetic” stainless steel.” and ” 316 stainless steel is a molybdenum-alloyed steel. The fact that it is also negligibly responsive to magnetic fields means that it can be used in applications where a non-magnetic metal is required. It also contains a number of other elements in varying concentrations.” We purposefully carefully selected this stainless due to its machining capabilities, durability and being hypoallergenic.

Price: $165.00
Where to buy: Kinekt Design

Source: The sample for this review was provided by Kinekt Design.

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About The Author

Julie Strietelmeier
I created The Gadgeteer in 1997 as a fun way to share my passion for gadgets which began when I was a little kid. Some of my other interests include ukulele, photography, productivity hacks, and minimalism. Learn more about me and my favorite gear.
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6 thoughts on “Kinekt Rachel gear ring review”

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ADAM
JUNE 2, 2020 AT 3:59 AM
Has it been said before? 😀 I also think it’s too expensive.

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RONDA
JUNE 2, 2020 AT 2:15 PM
They certainly aren’t going to make their fortune on volume.

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MARC
OCTOBER 2, 2023 AT 7:27 AM
I have ordered a few of his product over the years.so that being said .he sent me a promotion of 25 dollor for a gear ring .so i said for 25 bucks a ring why not.so i ordered 2 rings .he only sent me 1 ring and when e mail him he wanted to sell me a other ring but didnt replace the missing ring .and then he says that i was getting such a good deal on the ring .that i could pay again .what a fringing idiot .but lesson learned dont buy crap from the idiot that has no morals for his business

The customer service experience was incredibly horrid. Glen displayed an absolute lack of competence. I received a ring that raised concerns about its quality and appeared to be a returned item, despite having paid the full price for a supposedly brand new one. To make matters worse, the ring was shipped to me in a simple plastic baggie, rather than a proper box which comes with the warranty card that explicitly states that rings will be replaced in case of issues under normal use.

It appears that the company no longer honors this policy, even though I spent $200 on a stainless steel ring. When I brought this up with Glen, he not only refused to address the issue but also proposed that he would send the proper packaging if I paid an additional $500 after first saying they've never sent out boxes, but this changed when i showed him a review of a person with a box and warranty card from a couple years ago, to which he said he reserves the right to change packaging, what? how do u make things worse and not give out warranty cards

I did not purchase a second-hand product and sought to return it. Shockingly, Glen flatly declined my request. In response, I mentioned that I would contact my bank to dispute the charges. He audaciously suggested that he would inform his bank that I owed him $1000 for wasting his time.

I'm genuinely uncertain how this individual manages to sustain a business. It's crucial that we collaborate to put an end to these deceptive practices so that other hardworking customers do not fall victim. Whether this individual is experiencing a mental breakdown or merely being rude, the fact remains that customers are being misled. I sincerely regret not reading these reviews before making my purchase. If this company ever had a positive reputation, it is certainly a thing of the past. It no longer lives up to its former standards.

The owner should not be in control of anything especially a company he lets his temper get the best of him we had an issue about a coupon I was using mind you I was purchasing my a longer chain for the forth item I had purchased from them anyway even after the problem I thought he was a clever man and great designer until I realized the mini hart I bought doesn’t even stay on all three gears only two

Please don't buy from this clown of a scammer
If you like the jewelry he makes, please just buy a knock-off. Do not give this guy any money under any circumstances!
I bought a gear ring from him back in 2016. I ordered a size 10 and got a size 13. He refused to exchange or refund it at all. Period.
I recently try to buy one for a friend, but quickly regretted my actions and instantly messaged him to cancel the order. I was initially very nice and wrote to him kindly, and he replied to me instantly standoff-ish and rude. So I wrote back to him like he wrote me, and he threw a hissy fit like a playground bully that can dish it out but can't take anything back. After threatening chargebacks on my credit card, he finally gave me a partial refund, scamming me out of $5 because of the way I talked to him, and he threatened me to falsely report me as a scammer to the bank. Absolute trash of a human.
I've also heard he doesn't honor his "Lifetime warranty guarantee!" which is a scam marketing tactic to reassure you to buy.
Please don't give this low life any business, he'll get your order wrong, blame you, refuse a refund/exchange, talk to you rudely, and act like a victim if you talk to him like he talks to you. He doesn't deserve any business from anyone with the way he treats his customers. DON'T GIVE THIS CLOWN ANY MONEY EVER!

0 stars if able. Glen is a scammer and gets away with it. I was dumb enough to fall for it and once again losing faith in honest people. In January 2023 I agreed to a deal for $500 for the Time Machine clock with 5 payments of $100 per month and would be delivered as soon as payments were completed in May so I could surprise my husband for our wedding anniversary. Well the payments were completed, June came and went, nothing for my husband on our wedding anniversary. It was awful. I contacted Glen 2x and then the conversations got ugly. All I asked was for a refund on a product never delivered.
Here was the first response I got on June 5.
Gabrielle,
I'm trying my best, but the world does not operate on my timeline.
It'll ship when it's ready.
- KD

Gabrielle,
I offered the clock to you for $500 (which is way too low).
The current price is $1250.
It will be delivered when it's ready. If you are unable to be patient then I'm going to request that you pay for the rest ($750) and I'll ship when you do.
I'm starting to regret my decision. I should have charged you the full price. Thank you.
- KD

Gabrielle,
This is unfortunate. I do not appreciate using your situation to try and guilt me into giving you a discount.
You should be appreciative.. not bitter and resentful. It's unfortunate that this did not work out as I was
more than willing. I'm disappointed in you.
- KD

Gabrielle,
No. I offered you an incredible discount ($750!). I spent energy and time making your unit for you and because it's not on your timeline you want the money back?
That's very selfish of you and totally unfair to me. The answer is no.
- KD

Gabrielle,
The materials have been paid for and went towards the building of your clock. The best I can do is give you a partial refund.
Please accept and I'll send it. And then I hope not to hear from you again. Deal?
- KD

Gabrielle,
The world is at war, the economy is shot, and no one wants to work. The clock is a very complex and expensive design to realize (and this without taking these very important things into consideration).
I'm not asking for more money, but it's not fair to me to push the time on me as it's simply not possible. I agreed (reluctantly) to $500. This should be a nice enough gesture for you to understand that's it not on your timeline.
Instead of being appreciative and giving me the benefit of the doubt, you're demanding and pushy which is unacceptable to me. I don't want to do business with you.
Legal action does not solve problems and it will cost you more money and time, so my suggestion is to accept that you will have to meet me half way to come to an amicable resolution.
I will agree to the partial refund once you agree. When you do, I will issue the refund and you can take your business elsewhere.
- KD

Gabrielle,
Partial refund or no refund?
- Glen
Designing inventor + founding owner
Kinekt Design / kinektdesign.com

Gabrielle,
Since you're not interested in finding middle ground to resolve the issue, I'm going to deny you service.
Take care and good luck.
- Glen
Designing inventor + founding owner
Kinekt Design / kinektdesign.com

Gabrielle,
Excuse me? You tried to take advantage of me, disregarded the fact that I put in the time and effort, and then demanded a refund because you're not getting exactly what you want when you want it.
I did my very best to get the unit to you at the price you wanted and within your time, but there are things that are outside of my control. In other words, the world does not operate according to my timeline. Your expectations (especially given the circumstances) are unfair and unrealistic. You wasted my time and you're going to pay for it. Do you understand?
- Glen
Designing inventor + founding owner
Kinekt Design / kinektdesign.com

Gabrielle,
Calling me names is entirely unacceptable. The partial refund is off the table.
Take care now.
- Glen
Designing inventor + founding owner
Kinekt Design / kinektdesign.com

That was our last communication. He wanted more $, who knows when the clock would have arrived and I am out the $$$. Stay away from this man/company!!! All I wanted was my $540 back.

Bought 2 gear rings many years ago... They had weight. Felt good. Wore it to do everything, even work on cars or ride my motorcycle ...then It was stolen... 8 months ago, I began getting berated to my email about a sale.. So I bought 6 of them, since they now had colors.. Took forever(probably Glenn and his sister Rachel knowing their "new" design sucks, and needing to get outside the credit card dispute window). Finally recieved them for the current advertised price of 50.00... Even though I was being sent offers for 25.00(again, trying to get rid of trash product).. First thing I notice is they weigh nothing.. Super thin materials... Nothing as the one I had. Come to find out that they changed design(got super cheap material).. First 2 hours Wearing one, sweeping shop, one of the gears breaks off into my hand... Takes 20 min to find "screw" which isn't actually a screw.. I write them. Ask how to get it fixed. Response "all sales final, no warranty" when prior ring had lifetime.. Then new rings were supposed to have 1 year... Now, I Supposedly i got some sale price(when there's nothing on website now about "50.00" being some sale.. It's their normal price..) so no warranty.. Glen and Rachel have just become sheat people. I hope China steals all their clients (as glen was complaining about copies being sold by China.) when you make a crap product, you deserve to go away, glen and Rachel. Avoid these white trash clowns from new jersey. Now it makes sense why they no longer have a Facebook or even a Google maps location.. With so many bad reviews, they want no one to know the crap they're peddling..

Absolute rip off buyers stay away from this sham company! They sent me a £93 gear ring , totally wrong size so I paid the additional £18 postage to have it returned by royal mail ..who confirmed the y had returned ring to kinekt but then kindly ect went silent and ignored my emails and attempts to contact then. I wish I hadn't been so patient and trusting as now PayPal have said they cannot help with the refund as it is now outside they're time limit ! Stay away at all costs , I would be giving zero stars if that was an option . Thieves .

Unfortunately, a recent attempt to purchase some Gear rings from KD has ended up being a throughly unpleasant and unnecessary pain, thanks entirely to the personality of Glen/Andy/Rachel/whoever is in charge of their customer service these days [2023].

I ordered 4 Gear rings - all of which were supposedly in stock at the time of ordering. Not long after, I was informed that 1 ring had to be back-ordered, and I would have to wait 3-4 weeks for all 4 rings to be shipped because of this.

I didn't think that I was being unreasonable to say that having to wait an unexpected month didn't really suit me. Further, I suggested some alternative paths, like reducing the order to the in-stock rings only, or multi-stage shipping.

It's at this point where things went wrong.

I received a blunt and unhelpful flat-out refusal from KD to even entertain those options. So at that point I tried to cancel the order entirely, a request which was rudely refused.

It all them spiralled into a thoroughly unprofessional and rude volley of emails, ultimately ending with being told that the only way I was going to get a refund from KD was by pursuing a chargeback with my credit card provider, because they weren't going to offer it.

Rest assured, dear reader, I will be doing that. At the time of writing, Kinekt Design currently have $215 of mine which they will not willingly return.

The really disappointing thing about the whole sorry affair is that I already have several KD Gear rings from purchases a decade ago, when the whole experience was a world away from this recent one.

The products are good; both my decade-old Gear rings are still like new. Ironically, the only tarnish they've acquired is now psychological, from discovering that the person behind them is such an unpleasant, amateurish person to deal with.

I hate having to give bad reviews - especially to retailers that I've had a good experience with previously - but I felt I needed to add my voice to the growing chorus of recent experiences shared by other customers of Kinekt.

tl; dr: Think long and hard before ordering from Kinekt Design. And then don't. It's not worth the hassle you'll get when things inevitably go pear-shaped.

I wish I could give it ZERO stars. My wife ordered a replacement necklace and they sent the wrong size. When she asked them to return the wrong one and send the correct size, Glen said my wife was partially to blame and said he would only replace it if she paid for the shipping. My wife sent Glen a copy of the invoice showing she ordered the correct size but his company sent the wrong one. I couldn’t believe Glen’s rude response when she read me his email. He still refused to send the correct sized necklace. I recommend to stay away from this company. I would recommend to shop on Amazon for similar products that have better customer service. It’s not worth the hassle to deal with Glen and his abhorrent customer service skills. I thought maybe he was having a bad day, but after reading everyone else’s reviews, it’s apparent that it’s his awful personality and terrible business practice. I heard his sister worked with him and she was much better to deal with. She must have left the business and that’s a shame.

Unfortunately I have to give this rating in order to give my review . I would prefer to give them nothing!
Dealing with Glen was the worst customer experience I’ve ever had!
In 2018 I purchased a gear ring for my husband for our 30th wedding anniversary. Many others have had really bad experiences with their rings, we did not.
So with this in mind, when we received an email from Glen back in November 2022, telling us about their new Time Machine we were very excited. His email asked for our thoughts with regards to the design and price. We loved the design, however the price was a little steep for us, because of the exchange rates.
Glen offered a payment plan over 12 months and said that he would not charge us delivery, to make it easier for us. We agreed and received our first invoice not long after, charging us for the freight. We emailed Glen back and he agreed that this was a mistake. We were re invoiced, however the payment plan was now 4 months. By March 2023 we had made 3 payments and then we were sent the final invoice to be paid in April. We made the final payment and then our troubles began!. We were then sent an invoice for the freight charges and told these would have to be paid before our Time Machine could be sent. I felt we were being held to ransom!. I sent an email to Glen with all his previous emails attached, stating that the freight would not be charged. His response was extremely rude saying we should pay the charges just like everyone else!
So I asked Glen when would the Time Machine be ready to send. He responded by saying he had all the parts and as he was extremely busy he will assemble in the next few week.
I then contacted PayPal and let them know what was happening as I thought this was a scam. Thank goodness I got all my money back, however the emails I received from Glen after I contacted PayPal was disappointing and frankly disgusting.
I am happy to share these emails for anyone to read, just so that you can make up your own minds.

I too wish I could give negative stars to this clown Glen. I bought the gear ring early on in 2012 or 2013 maybe, I forget exactly when. I paid the original price of $165 for it. Great conversation piece and I’ve had no issues with the ring in the decade that I’ve owned it.

Then I started seeing emails from Kinekt in the last 6mos - a year, pitching other products. Most way too expensive. Then this past February I got an email offering gear rings for $50

I replied to the email “kinda insulting when I paid $165 for mine” and then I facetiously said “Today’s my birthday, you should just gift me one” 🤠 with the little cowboy emoji.

I got back a snarky reply from owner Glen saying, “your email doesn’t make sense. I’ll gift you one for $50.”

So I let it drop.

Then they started the desperate pleas… “buy two for $50 each and get a 3rd one free” or “make an offer” deals. I considered these but still had a bad taste in my mouth about the birthday email exchange.

I see the emails, ignore them, but they keep coming.

Finally I got one today where this guy is up on his philosophical soapbox again and one of the things he said stuck out:

“I love dealing with individuals on a one-to-one basis. Business is not about solving problems. It's about working with people and making them feel good about who they are.”

So I replied back:
Stark contrast with how you responded to me.

He replies “The response you received was in reaction to your negative energy.
Improve the energy and the universe will respond accordingly.”

Then “By the way, I've removed you from the mailing list.”

Me “Good, I wouldn’t give you another nickel”

The exchange continued briefly with me telling him which part of the human anatomy he was, got more snark back, I showed him his negative reviews, etc.

This guy is his own worst enemy. It’s no surprise that his company seems like a one-man operation anymore. He probably can’t get anybody else to work for him.

I highly recommend that you avoid this company.

I wish I could give them 0 stars. I have owned a gear ring from them for many, many years. When I purchased, it came with a lifetime guarantee, which unfortunately has come in handy many times as it’s lost 8 gears during the last 10 years. I have been in contact with them over the last day since once again my ring is broken and let me tell you, they are the rudest, most incompetent company I have EVER dealt with. They were extremely out of line with me, even to go as far as calling me names. I too am a small business owner and I would never dare speak to any of my customers the way I was spoken to. Don’t waste your money, their stuff might look cool but it’s nothing but a piece of crap and their owner is loser.

Please watch this company - they are disgusting scam artists. Purchased 2 gear rings and completed measurements and ordered as per their advice. Rings arrived and were too small. Paid the postage to ship back to America as they agree to replace for next size. Next size came and both rings are miles too big. I emailed them again to Andy who eventually answered and said no problems if I return they will refund. I paid the postage and contacted again on web chat for a phone number and have been speaking to someone who is just disgusting now saying they won’t refund as I purchased in the sale! They were not in the sale! Absolutely disgusting company

no issues with the purchased products so far but the owner is rude, egotistic and no sense of good customer service at all. you'd be surprised how a frigging piece of work he is!

I was gifted a gear ring for Chrismas about 5 years ago. The ring is super cool and I loved it. About a year later, the side came loose and I returned it for repair. All went smoothly. About another year went by and the same problem, along with 2 gears that had fallen off and were lost. I tucked the ring in a drawer and had pretty much forgotten about it because covid was in full swing and I had much bigger problems. I ran across it the other day and emailed to get another return authorization for repair. I got a response from Glen, the designer/founder that I should just buy a new one at a discount. I replied why that was necessary because of the lifetime warranty and here's his response:

Brian,

The lifetime warranty policy was meant to cover manufacturer's defect not everyday use. Some customers were abusing the policy. And then we lost our bench jeweler this past year, so decided it was time to update it to a one year policy which is appropriate considering I know I didn't sell you a defective product.

You've had a Gear Ring and hopefully enjoyed. If you'd like a new one, I'd be happy to sell you a replacement.
If you don't want one, don't buy one. The choice is yours.

- Glen
Designing inventor + founding owner
Kinekt Design / kinektdesign.com

I will not be replacing it, even with a discount. The last line of the email was particularly infuriating from a customer service standpoint. I had been careful with the ring after the first repair and it happened again, so why would I buy another to have it break again? And then be told to just buy another?