Status of Everything Attachments

[workinonit]

Ted's a hot mess. He didn't wake up that way a couple of months ago. He's been a hot mess for very likely his whole life. Running a business the way he ran that one results in EXACTLY what happened to him. He had a feast for years and now the Ponzi scheme has caught up to him and it's famine. He will be lucky to stay out of prison and anyone hanging on the notion that they will eventually get a grapple from him is delusional.

 

[nouveauree]

Last email reply I got from Nate at EA was on 01/13/2024, to tell me they were working on getting parts together to start building some 60 inch grapples. Just a coincidence that this was 4 months from the order date and I could have slid under the wire for that 120 day limit for filing a dispute if I hadn't gotten an "encouraging word"?

You do have to wonder how many people at EA knew this was coming and for how long they knew.

And how much money could Ted Corriher have lined his pockets with in order to be unconcerned with potentially getting the reputation as the Bernie Madoff of the tractor world? IMHO.

Still haven't heard anything back from my credit card company.

I got the same email on January 4th from Nate saying it was in the last stage and it would be 2 more weeks. I wonder if Nate knew and this was a ploy to string us a long, or was Nate unaware. He is also silent.

 

[Torvy]

It is amazing to me how so many people, who have never met a person, think they know them and everything about them. I understand those who have money tied up. In my book, anyone piling on with no personal stake or knowledge of the situation is just as bad as however bad they think Ted might be.

Running a rapidly expanding business is hard. Having the fate of your business tied up with a contractor who failed to deliver as promised, a potentially messy divorce and God knows what other issues that have come up, makes it even harder.

Many business owners have historically had trouble separating their personal and business. It used to be pretty common for small business owners to have their employees help out with some of their personal work. Not saying it is a good thing to do, but it is not an uncommon thing. My understanding is EA was not a Corp, but an LLC. This can blur the line between the personal and the business, too.

These guys made an AG product that probably had fewer complaints than almost anyone. (The equipment, not shipping or payment). We all suffer if they don't find a way back (with or without Ted).

 

[ultrarunner]

Which is also for sale, if I remember correctly. Also, isn't she soon to be his ex-wife?
As long as we're speculating, divorce has sent many good businesses down the tubes.

Divorce can be a game changer with far reaching ripples...

You want half my business... ok half of nothing is yours.

Seen with one of dad's friends with a welding/machine shop... good business with 8 full time guys plus the office manager.

When divorce happened he moved to a old $3,000 sailboat at the marina...

 

[Torvy]

The opposite can also be true with divorce (though less common). Business failure on the horizon, get a divorce and ex wife gets lots of the assets. Once the dust settles, get 'back' together. Not strictly legal, nor ethical. Similar to old folks getting divorced when one is really sick.

 

[Oaktree]

Yeah, the prepay requirement and long, imprecise wait time (always 3-4ish months) kept me from buying a grapple from them and purchasing from a different vendor.

I haven't read this entire thread yet, and haven't come to the part about Mr. Corrier's personal problems, but I was very pleased with the set of pallet forks I bought from EA last spring. The product quality was top notch, as was the customer service. I was given a 2 month lead time, actual time from when I ordered until I received them was a tad over 3 weeks. I live a bit outside their free delivery area, but they were able to find a terminal a couple hours' drive away that did qualify.
Someone noted here that their prices were high...that's the opposite of my experience. Their price undercut anyone else, and that included the Chinese ones TS sold, and everyone else charged for shipping.

I didn't even notice whether they charged my CC before shipment or not.

I'm a very satisfied customer, and hope they pull thru this hard time intact.

 

[workinonit]

It is amazing to me how so many people, who have never met a person, think they know them and everything about them. I understand those who have money tied up. In my book, anyone piling on with no personal stake or knowledge of the situation is just as bad as however bad they think Ted might be.

Running a rapidly expanding business is hard. Having the fate of your business tied up with a contractor who failed to deliver as promised, a potentially messy divorce and God knows what other issues that have come up, makes it even harder.

Many business owners have historically had trouble separating their personal and business. It used to be pretty common for small business owners to have their employees help out with some of their personal work. Not saying it is a good thing to do, but it is not an uncommon thing. My understanding is EA was not a Corp, but an LLC. This can blur the line between the personal and the business, too.

These guys made an AG product that probably had fewer complaints than almost anyone. (The equipment, not shipping or payment). We all suffer if they don't find a way back (with or without Ted).

You should go find Ted and move in with him. All anyone needs to know about someone and their business is they require you to pay for the product before the materials are bought to build it AND that when the business is floundering they continue to leave their website open to take orders that they KNOW they can't nor ever will deliver. This thread and many others here and on other platforms were open for the purpose of discussion by anyone interested. You like Ted and his products and think he hasn't done anything wrong so go buy something from him.

 

[mcmxi]

It is amazing to me how so many people, who have never met a person, think they know them and everything about them. I understand those who have money tied up. In my book, anyone piling on with no personal stake or knowledge of the situation is just as bad as however bad they think Ted might be.

Running a rapidly expanding business is hard. Having the fate of your business tied up with a contractor who failed to deliver as promised, a potentially messy divorce and God knows what other issues that have come up, makes it even harder.

Many business owners have historically had trouble separating their personal and business. It used to be pretty common for small business owners to have their employees help out with some of their personal work. Not saying it is a good thing to do, but it is not an uncommon thing. My understanding is EA was not a Corp, but an LLC. This can blur the line between the personal and the business, too.

These guys made an AG product that probably had fewer complaints than almost anyone. (The equipment, not shipping or payment). We all suffer if they don't find a way back (with or without Ted).

I agree with your post in its entirety.

I've made five purchases from EA over the past few years without any issues. I own a Wicked 60 grapple, Wicked box blade, Wicked land leveler, tooth bar and tractor weights, all purchased from Ted. Everything has been outstanding in terms of the design, manufacturing, final build quality and even shipping. I don't live in the 1,000 mile radius from NC so for most things had to pay additional for shipping but given the quality I was ok with that.

I hope that EA survives, that they continue to make excellent products, and that anyone who has paid either gets their money back or the implement they ordered.

 

[RjCorazza]

"Let's wait and see" is about the absolute BEST that can really be said about EA and its leadership.
The mountains of circumstantial evidence is overwhelming, and difficult to simply discount. Everyone loves the underdog, but let's not forget who the underdog actually is here.

 

[deezler]

What an interesting dichotomy in this thread, of EA defenders vs bashers. I hope I'm not perceived in either camp.

Multiple things can be true. EA has existed for a long time with a ton of satisfied customers. And even when their lead time on deliveries grew long, they still delivered a high quality product.

But also, the writing was on the wall. Delivery times went from a week or two to 6+ months over the last few years - even as they posted PR videos and more showing how great their welding/fabricating workflow was. The place has smelled fishy for a while now (this is NOT a condemnation of anyone who placed a recent order they will never get).