As a customer what is acceptable to you?

[Jstpssng]

Neraly EVERYTHING in all the auto parts stores comes from China!

It doesn't matter where they come from, there's a difference in quality.

 

[Avenger]

I feel a ton here. I've ordered things, just before this whole 'shortage' went sideways. Big ticket items I was waiting to purchase. Now, I've spent close to life changing amounts of cash on items I dont currently have. Items that are somewhat time sensitive for projects, as in, would like to get before winter, ordered this last spring, and all I get from the supplier is "its on backorder." Yet they still advertise the products and you can still order them with nothing in the descriptions or anywhere about delays. I can be really patient about delays. I do understand about shortages and doing without for a while. But when a supplier takes my hard earned cash, and all I get is nothing, not even a curtesy email with updates, then I get upset.

What this has taught me: I am currently in the market for another high ticket item. No one seems to have them in stock, and some sites state that they are out 10-12 weeks on orders... which means they might have that item this time next year, but that is also unlikely. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice..., I'm not spending my money on hopes that the item will come back before I need it. I'll hold on to my cash and wait until a supplier has stock. I dont want to be put on a list. I dont want to be lied to. I definitely dont want to give someone an interest free loan until they can provide my product. I work hard for my money. If these suppliers are not shipping product, and they are collecting paychecks... who's paying their wages? I'm not anymore. Not going to pay for someone to tell me they cannot ship to me.

The real issue I see is laziness. Oh, I'll get hate for that. But its true. People are using the pandemic as an excuse not to work. I see it here, in my own job. People are "working" from home, collecting a paycheck, not doing work, but telling everyone that "I get more work done because of fill in the blank." I no longer say "because of COVID, I cannot get..." I say "because of the people's response to the pandemic, I cannot get..." Because that's what it is. Now I'll get hate because the pandemic is killing everyone so we need to stay at home and be safe... yet people dont stay at home, the pandemic is over, and wasn't nearly as bad as the governments and media would like you to believe. Yet we have screwed ourselves over and we will feel the consequences of our actions for many years to come.

How will it get fixed? Or go back to the way it was? GET BACK TO WORK! Open back up! Stop listening to the media, stop pretending that if you go to work that your going to kill people, stop being afraid to live a meaningful life.

Ok... rant over.

 

[MoKelly]

I feel your pain.

Paying people to sit at home does nothing but create product shortages and supply chain problems.

It’s the Soviet Union 25 years ago.

Those that do not understand history are doomed to repeat history.

MoKelly

 

[dodge man]

Rather than say “widget” or “high ticket item” tell us what you are really looking for. We might be able to help.

 

[Avenger]

Rather than say “widget” or “high ticket item” tell us what you are really looking for. We might be able to help.

Good point!

I ordered an EA grapple back in March.
I'm currently looking for a very specific stove/oven: Café™ 30" Smart Slide-In, Front-Control, Dual-Fuel Range with Warming Drawer|^|C2S900P2MS1
And a large capacity (2000 gal +) poly elliptical leg tank. See my latest YT video for clarification and reason(s)

Those are the big ones.

 

[dodge man]

I’m not saying your choices are wrong but they are very specific. You could get something different that would function as well but not be what you want exactly. For example the local farm store always has tanks in stock but not on legs, you’d just have to build something for legs.

 

[Hay Dude]

I didn’t read all the responses to the thread, but I have 2 points.

1. On April 2, 2021 (5 months ago) the rear shock absorber failed on my 2020 RAM. The dealership still has no delivery date of when it will arrive through their parts department. This is always blamed on Covid.
Keep in mind, this is a shock absorber, not a computer module.

2. For those of you looking for things like the OP is (grapples, buckets, tractors, or other “big ticket” items), I would suggest looking for clean, used versions. Look on Craigs List, Equipment Trader, etc. Covid has bankrupted an estimated 30% of the businesses in this country (perhaps purposefully) and there are a lot of items for sale or getting ready to be sold.

 

[Bavarian]

I didn’t read all the responses to the thread, but I have 2 points.

1. On April 2, 2021 (5 months ago) the rear shock absorber failed on my 2020 RAM. The dealership still has no delivery date of when it will arrive through their parts department. This is always blamed on Covid.
Keep in mind, this is a shock absorber, not a computer module.

2. For those of you looking for things like the OP is (grapples, buckets, tractors, or other “big ticket” items), I would suggest looking for clean, used versions. Look on Craigs List, Equipment Trader, etc. Covid has bankrupted an estimated 30% of the businesses in this country (perhaps purposefully) and there are a lot of items for sale or getting ready to be sold.

As sad as it is, you're right.

The used market is crazy expensive too.

A JD 4200 popped up on a used trade side. That tractor's sales price is listed at $14000 in 19999 by tractordata. Add a loader.
Now, 23 years and about 2500 hours later, the seller is asking $17000 CAN.

 

[Hay Dude]

Also, production has slowed or in some cases ceased altogether. You can barely get a new trailer or several other pieces of equipment. People are being paid to stay home and that is eating the supply chains lunch.
Everyone knows a healthy work environment is better than staying home, yet look whats happened in the last year

 

[bearthebruce]

@Hay Dude and others, you also have to keep in mind that products being manufactured outside the US are getting hung at the ports. I had a huge shipment coming in from the far east back in April. The ship was re-routed to 3 western US/Canada ports 5 times while it sat off the coast for 6 weeks trying to get a berth. US ports are backed up, suffering from labor shortages, suffering from Customs labor shortages and so on.

The shock for the RAM probably is sitting on a ship somewhere..

Now I can't get chips to make our product. I'm running in circles trying to get the parts we need to keep our business chugging and shipments to our customers within our one business day promises... So far we have managed but it is getting really difficult.

Sorry that all are having such troubles. Know that most businesses are trying. They don't want to disappoint their customers. I do agree that if they can't predict deliveries, they need to tell their customer that they cannot make a promise.

In our business, we do not take money in advance. We think that to be wrong business. On the day we ship, that is the day we take the money. Mind, our products sell for far less than the tractor products discussed here. I can see manufacturers wanting to hold a customer to their order... That said, the manufacture must be transparent and release any customer who cannot wait for the machine they previously ordered if the delivery keeps being pushed out. Customer has work to do... Customer should not be held hostage..

 

[Avenger]

I completely agree. Especially about the ships being hung up at the docks. Thats why I said "get back to work." Its not just the small business I lay the blame on. I lay the blame on everyone in the supply chain, all the way from the government officials who make the decisions to stay at home instead of working, to the delivery drivers who bring the products to my door. If your not working, you're wrong (if you're apart of that chain.)

 

[Avenger]

I just had a very positive experience with one of these companies. I needed to order the water tank I was mentioning. The backorder time is was quoted by the manufacture at 10-12 weeks. I asked about payment and he said "We will take your credit card info now to get the tank ordered, but we wont charge it until the tank arrives and you're notified."

Perfect.

 

[VoyagernOK]

Amazon prime delivering virtually anything to me in two days has spoiled me. I have ordered things less than $5 and things over 10k and bam they are on my porch in two days with no shipping charge. Covid has caused a lot of chaos in the supply chain and while things are out of peoples control in some cases I still find it unacceptable. For example I ordered a widget and paid in full up front for it. I was told I would have it in 12 weeks. It is now 16 weeks, I don't have my widget, the manufacturer says it is beyond their control, they don't know when I will get it, and they are doing the best they can. They literally have no clue if I will get my item next week or 30 years from now.

What are your thoughts on this? They are still selling this widget on their website with no mention on there that if you pay for and order one it might five months before you get it. Seems like a shady business practice to me. They want their orders to keep piling in because once they have your money they got you. At this point I don't know what to do. I wasn't happy about a 12 week wait but figured I could live with it. Now that they haven't lived up to that timeline I am angry and feel deceived. I can assure you that once I get my item no matter how good it is I will never do business with this company again.

It is important that you NOT just quit doing business with them but that you give them a BAD review describing what happened to you. Warn others! I read reviews about sellers before purchasing and I pay attention to those reviews. Quite a number of purchase decisions have been reshaped by finding out information just such as this.
MAKE THEIR PRACTICE PUBLIC. Reviews matter.

 

[joea99]

Amazon Prime seems to be a crock to me, nothing I've ordered using it comes any faster and stuff still takes over a month to get. I canceled my Prime for these reasons.

I say Amazon has made a lot of false expectations and the free shipping party can't last forever. Eventually sellers will stop wanting to get raped by Amazon over shipping and push back.

The reality is shipping costs money. If you don't want to see the shipping charges buy local and support your local businesses if you want to see stuff carried in inventory. Stop buying made in China crap and break the supply chain BS. If you choose to buy Amazon and Wallymart you are part of the problem.

I'm not a great Amazon fan, but do buy there. Depends on what you buy. Always check price and expected delivery date. Some stuff is shown as "in stock", or "Prime". Prime usually means 1 or 2 day delivery. Anything else, read closely.

I know some people that always buy on Amazon, thinking they are getting the best deal. Maybe. Always check other sources and search Amazon in different ways. They do tend to lead you to what they want to sell. I've seen some stuff at twice or three times what you can get off the shelf anywhere.

 

[rogue]

Amazon prime delivering virtually anything to me in two days has spoiled me. I have ordered things less than $5 and things over 10k and bam they are on my porch in two days with no shipping charge. Covid has caused a lot of chaos in the supply chain and while things are out of peoples control in some cases I still find it unacceptable. For example I ordered a widget and paid in full up front for it. I was told I would have it in 12 weeks. It is now 16 weeks, I don't have my widget, the manufacturer says it is beyond their control, they don't know when I will get it, and they are doing the best they can. They literally have no clue if I will get my item next week or 30 years from now.

What are your thoughts on this? They are still selling this widget on their website with no mention on there that if you pay for and order one it might five months before you get it. Seems like a shady business practice to me. They want their orders to keep piling in because once they have your money they got you. At this point I don't know what to do. I wasn't happy about a 12 week wait but figured I could live with it. Now that they haven't lived up to that timeline I am angry and feel deceived. I can assure you that once I get my item no matter how good it is I will never do business with this company again.

I fired Amazon Prime over a year ago once they made their political stance known. I choose not to do business with anyone that does not support my beliefs and values if they persist publicly to express theirs. I regret the day I signed up for Amazon Prime back in 2012 and referring others to the service is another huge regret I have.

Any company selling a product should have to give a delivery date of the product that they're selling and if that date is not met then a reasonable discount should be given or the option to cancel the order and receive a full refund.

If you paid via a credit card then you have the option of contacting them and telling them you have been unable to contact anyone with any information pertaining to your delivery of the item you purchased. Tell them you no longer want the product or to do business with such a company because of their bad business practices and you want to immediately put a stop payment on the item. Report it as fraud. After 30 days if you don't receive your product you have rights to the "Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA)". I've attached information that could help you out.

How to Cancel a Credit Card Payment: 13 Steps (with Pictures)

Stopping a credit card payment may be necessary for several reasons. At times, a pre-arranged payment must be delayed when a paycheck does not arrive on time, or some sudden financial emergency means delaying that payment for a short...

www.wikihow.com

 

[VoyagernOK]

REVIEWS and RATINGS!
Please, when you have a good or bad experience, RATE them and write a REVIEW. Others depend upon your experience to make or avoid making purchase decisions.

If they aren't going to charge me until they ship the product -- and I've had a number do this -- let others know.
If their shipping is free, let others know... have you ever gotten to check out and can't see the shipping charge until you are ready to click the ORDER button? I hate that and have cancelled many orders because of excessive shipping charges. Then I go elsewhere to purchase the same item, sometimes from someone whose stated price is slightly higher but offers free shipping. I wish someone had let me know prior to my going through the process and quitting only after they have my information.
Also, I've learned that doing reviews matters to some business owners and if you have had a bad experience, writing a bad review will reach someone who can make a difference.

 

[OzarkChris]

Im not talking about amazon? They are one of the few places that still do what they say. The people over promising and underdelivering are more along the lines of what I would call mom and pop shops.

Actually, Amazon for me (where I live) is NOT 2 day prime delivery. We are lucky to get stuff within a week. It isn't the delivery company (USPS, UPS, etc), it's Amazon. I can place an order for something that is in stock at Amazon distribution center today (Friday) and they (Amazon) will wait until next Thursday and ship it overnight so that hopefully it will arrive Friday - but not always. When I first asked Amazon why it wasn't 2 day delivery they said "We only promise 2 day delivery from the day it ships, Not from the day it is ordered!".

Before we moved out here (God's Country out in the back), we could order something and sometimes even get it the next day (or I guess same day, now). So the "real story" behind the 2 day shipping with Amazon really depends on where you live. Great in larger cities, not so much in rural America.

Please don't get me wrong, we use Amazon very frequently, in fact the UPS guy pretty much plans on stopping here almost every day. I too, have had issues with "less than reputable" vendors when it comes to getting widgets, consumables, farm stuff, etc because it looked like I could save a buck, but bottom line, it probably cost me more in follow-ups, time, lack of widget, etc that what I saved. I realize that this whole COVID thing has disrupted supply chains, shipping, etc but my personal feeling is that now vendors are just using this as an excuse - because they can. Granted, some things are in that COVID basket, but not everything. Maybe your widget vendor is hoping for a bunch of orders that they can age so they can make a buck or two in interest off your money - or maybe they've taken the money and bought an island somewhere and will soon go under (it's happened to me!). Who knows, I've seen other shady things like this in my life.

 

[sportscarclinic]

I'm a contractor and here in Portland, we can get a lot of stuff same day. For example, a $20 set of 6 solid carbide burrs for my die grinder, or a $10 set of cobalt drill bits, both in my hands within 2 hours. Over and over this has saved me half a day of driving in traffic across town to find that something I was told they had, is actually out-of-stock. Then I get to listen to a guy tell me he's sorry the computer said we have 3, but he can order it and have it here in 2 days for 5 times as much money. Instead, it takes me 3 minutes on my phone and often less then 10 minutes to walk from the jobsite to an Amazon locker to get some coffee and the stuff I need to finish a job the same day. And this all happens without me ever having to worry about finding another parking space for my 25' long work truck. Nothing short of life changing for me. At this point, I go to Amazon first, and even if I have to wait a day or two, at least I know it will *actually* show-up when they say it will.

 

[EverythingAttachments]

We're working at it as hard as we can, and I do understand frustrations. I'm just as frustrated.

We added 6 welding bays, with guys manned to each, within the past week, to really boost production as much as possible.

Not being able to source material for WEEEKS really extended many lead times further than we could've guessed.

We'll continue to do all we can.

We're here 8-5 m-f, at 828-464-1200, and a real person will answer and assist if you have any questions.
I try to keep up with TBN comments/messages.
I keep up with our YouTube Channel comments, where we frequently post product updates, testing, and factory tours.
I keep up with comments and messages on the EA Page on Facebook.
I keep up with comments and messages in the EA Channel Facebook Group.
I keep up with comments and messages in the Wicked Grapple Group.
Guys send me private messages via my Travis EA facebook profile all day long.

I think we're the most transparent, accessible company in this industry, and beyond.
Again, I understand frustrations, and we're doing what we can to push orders out, without settling for a lesser material, lesser design, or lesser customer service.

Thanks to everyone for your business, and for following along!! You guys are what makes us, and we will treat you like family, even though some of the family doesn't like us very much because of this.
Travis

 

[deezler]

^ Ted and Travis, you guys are doing a great job staying in communication with people about these product delays. Hopefully this period of stress is teaching you how to better estimate shipping times up front, to avoid customer frustration.

I was thinking about ordering a top and tilt kit from Brian at fitrite hydraulics. His web site says MINIMUM 30 WEEKS for delivery. Uh, no thanks. Over half a year? Why bother. Good for him if business is doing that well, I guess (scale up and hire a helper, dude!).