Woodmax Order Concerns/Considerations

[WI_Hedgehog]

NOTE: This topic stems from concerns related to and originally posted in an Everything Attachments thread and is not meant to single out WoodMaxx. Hopefully it helps members better understand what issues to consider and address before purchasing implements in general.

(Please search Title: "Everything Attachments" if you are not familiar with the sudden closure of EA and resulting customer impact.)
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I have an incomplete order with WoodMaxx, they sent everything except the flail mower. I sent them a friendly email saying I've had an occasional issue with other companies and was checking on the order and asked if they had an approximate ship date. Mind you the flail was In Stock when i placed the order May 15. There's been no response to last week's email.

It's a simple email, get to it when you can...but with no response now I have to call and that unfortunately costs both of us time and money. I understand I ordered in Spring instead of Winter or Fall, but come on, they make the US-made units themselves and it was supposedly in stock for three weeks after I ordered.

• BExtreme made a one-off custom Pro tooth bar and shipped it faster.
• Summit Hydraulics sent an email saying one cylinder is back ordered until September...okay, I can plan for that. Maybe after I plumb in the rear remote kit I'll add a second cylinder for the other side to the order...

Hopefully WoodMaxx and I can figure this out. Their USA-made chipper is very high quality and well designed and built. I'd also like to be saying good things about the flail mower I paid for in full...

 

[fried1765]

I have an incomplete order with WoodMaxx, they sent everything except the flail mower. I sent them a friendly email saying I've had an occasional issue with other companies and was checking on the order and asked if they had an approximate ship date. Mind you the flail was In Stock when i placed the order May 15. There's been no response to last week's email.

It's a simple email, get to it when you can...but with no response now I have to call and that unfortunately costs both of us time and money. I understand I ordered in Spring instead of Winter or Fall, but come on, they make the US-made units themselves and it was supposedly in stock for three weeks after i ordered.

BExtreme made a one-off custom Pro tooth bar and shipped it faster.

Summit sent an email saying one cylinder is back ordered until September...okay, I can plan for that. Maybe after I plumb in the rear remote kit I'll add a second cylinder for the other side to the order...

Hopefully WoodMaxx and I can figure this out. Their chipper is very high quality and well designed and built. I'd also like to be saying good things about the flail mower I paid for in full...

Assuming that you used a credit card, you should check with your credit card provider, to be certain that you remain well within their dispute time limits.

 

[ken erickson]

Assuming that you used a credit card, you should check with your credit card provider, to be certain that you remain well within their dispute time limits.

My question is WHEN does the clock start ticking on the dispute time limits?

From the initial charge date for that CC transaction or in the case of EA where they charged your card and gave you a 6 month (or more delivery date) delivery date.

In that case does the clock start ticking from the 6 month and no delivery ?

Or to even complicate the matter more, does the clock start ticking 3 months after the customer finally gives up on the 6 month promised delivery date?

 

[fried1765]

My question is WHEN does the clock start ticking on the dispute time limits?

From the initial charge date for that CC transaction or in the case of EA where they charged your card and gave you a 6 month (or more delivery date) delivery date.

In that case does the clock start ticking from the 6 month and no delivery ?

Or to even complicate the matter more, does the clock start ticking 3 months after the customer finally gives up on the 6 month promised delivery date?

It seems quite obvious that the "clock' would start the day that the charge is posted to the credit card account.
Different CC providers may have different limitations, however.
Quite basic: It would be wise to check with specific CC provider to be aware of dispute limitations, prior to purchase.

 

[DustyRusty]

As a merchant, we are required to follow the rules of the issuing card, Visa, Master Card, Discover, and AMEX. If every bank that issued a card on behalf of the brand (i.e. Visa) it would quickly become a tangled mess for merchants that accept that brand of cards. Most banks don't even handle the cards that they issue, and they are handled by one of the various "Merchant Services" that represent the bank. When you call the toll-free number, you are directed to a call center that answers ABC Bank. The next call on a different toll-free number will be answered by XYZ Bank and the person taking the call will be the same. Only the bigger banks like Citi Bank will have their own in-house answering system. For example, Sovereign Bank doesn't handle its own card system, it is handled by a company in Maryland.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

It seems quite obvious that the "clock' would start the day that the charge is posted to the credit card account.
Different CC providers may have different limitations, however.
Quite basic: It would be wise to check with specific CC provider to be aware of dispute limitations, prior to purchase.

In my case the credit card terms are: "Submit your dispute within 60 days of the transaction first appearing on your statement." The order date of (May 15) + (60 days) is July 15th (approximately). Technically that's 13 days from today, with a holiday in the middle. So I figure I have two days to get hold of them and request shipment (due to the holiday), and one week for them to process the order and arrange for shipping, meaning I'd better get on this today in order for them to have the best opportunity to complete the order before I'm forced to submit a claim-.

Remembering it has been a week since my friendly request for a status update was e-mailed to their general e-mail with no response, I called their main number and compared to the rest of the message it's hard to catch that Order Inquiry is Option 1, which I selected at 9:00 AM their time 1 hour after opening, and got voicemail (on which I left a message). Figuring an hour is a reasonable response time and having gotten no response to the first call the second call was placed at 10:00 AM their time, Option 1, hoping to reach a live person who could promptly resolve the situation. Got voicemail.

So, I e-mailed the sales representative who helped explain shipping options to me before I placed the order because I want to give them every opportunity to fulfill the order, preferably with as little overhead as practical.

What started out as a great customer experience with WoodMaxx will hopefully turn out as at least an "okay" customer experience.

 

[DustyRusty]

I would start the dispute now and advise them they will need to answer the dispute claim by advising the CC company of the tracking information. Once they do that, the CC company will advise you that the item has been shipped. The dispute puts the seller on notice that they have to either answer the dispute notice or they will have the money taken back from them. Waiting isn't going to benefit you at all and puts you at risk if they don't ship ever or even 30,60, or 90 days from now. Learn from other's mistakes.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

UPDATE: The WoodMaxx sales representative promptly responded (which is great) saying the flail shipped with the rest of the order and gave me the carrier's phone number (which is not great).

Looking at the order status on the WoodMaxx site the status banner at the top of the page clearly shows the order in their system is "processing" (open/incomplete) which it has since the order was placed.



The carrier's Bill Of Lading shows 1 box (which contained only the chipper) shipped.







I've spoken well about WoodMaxx and want to afford them every opportunity to sort this on their end.

 

[fried1765]

UPDATE: The WoodMaxx sales representative promptly responded (which is great) saying the flail shipped with the rest of the order and gave me the carrier's phone number (which is not great).

Looking at the order status on the WoodMaxx site the status banner at the top of the page clearly shows the order in their system is "processing" (open/incomplete) which it has since the order was placed.

View attachment 131875

The carrier's Bill Of Lading shows 1 box (which contained only the chipper) shipped.

View attachment 131876

View attachment 131878

View attachment 131877

I've spoken well about WoodMaxx and want to afford them every opportunity to sort this on their end.

File a CC dispute NOW,.....and then WoodMaxx can/will work out the no delivery issue!

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

UPDATE: The WoodMaxx sales representative promptly responded (which again is great) saying the FM-54 was a pre-order and will arrive 7/11 and ship out within 2 weeks after that.

I pointed out that nowhere on the web page, order page, or order confirmation does it say that. At the time of order the Orange FM-54 (which I'd have preferred for visibility reasons) with hammer blades was not in stock, Orange with Y-blades or Black with either style blade was in stock, which is why I ordered Black with hammer as there's a note Y-blade units cannot manage hammers and vice-versa.

I'll note the SM26 sawmill does have a banner saying it's a pre-order, and other pages show an Out Of Stock status, so what's really going on here? The flail mower overview page shows they're now out of stock, however that means they also cannot be added to an order and are wait-list only, so....if I ordered it successfully and could still do so for the next three weeks (I checked given it hadn't shipped) it was in stock at the time I ordered it.


Next issue: Who's actually making the mowers? Unlike the chipper page that basically says "Made by us in USA" the mower page has no such statement. I don't doubt the quality will be top-notch, but now I'm questioning if the chipper is the only product line they actually make.

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I don't want to make a big deal of all this which is why I haven't started a thread addressing the issue. The bottom line is when you order, do so from a company you trust because their reputation may be the only guarantee your order arrives.



UPDATE: The response (again sent promptly) is the flails are manufactured in China at a facility they have a long standing relationship with--and I'm okay with that (mostly). At the end of the day I simply want a quality product backed by a supply of readily available replacement parts from a reputable company so I can use it for many years to come, and I believe that's the case in this case.

As to filing a claim with the credit card company, that's a position I don't want either of us to be in. Assuming they fill the order it would at minimum create added overhead on both sides. If enough people filed claims with enough companies it would force them to change their business model, but given people were fine with long delays when dealing with Everything Attachments I don't see that happening.

WoodMaxx patented MX-Series wood chippers are proudly designed, engineered and manufactured in the USA at our Akron, NY facility. With a multi-million-dollar investment in the latest high-tech fabricating equipment to increase production, WoodMaxx MX-Series wood chippers are in high demand.

 

[fried1765]

UPDATE: The WoodMaxx sales representative promptly responded (which again is great) saying the FM-54 was a pre-order and will arrive 7/11 and ship out within 2 weeks after that.

I pointed out that nowhere on the web page, order page, or order confirmation does it say that. At the time of order the Orange FM-54 (which I'd have preferred for visibility reasons) with hammer blades was not in stock, Orange with Y-blades or Black with either style blade was in stock, which is why I ordered Black with hammer as there's a note Y-blade units cannot manage hammers and vice-versa.

I'll note the SM26 sawmill does have a banner saying it's a pre-order, and other pages show an Out Of Stock status, so what's really going on here? The flail mower overview page shows they're now out of stock, however that means they also cannot be added to an order and are wait-list only, so....if I ordered it successfully and could still do so for the next three weeks (I checked given it hadn't shipped) it was in stock at the time I ordered it.
View attachment 131880 View attachment 131881 View attachment 131882

Next issue: Who's actually making the mowers? Unlike the chipper page that basically says "Made by us in USA" the mower page has no such statement. I don't doubt the quality will be top-notch, but now I'm questioning if the chipper is the only product line they actually make.

---
I don't want to make a big deal of all this which is why I haven't started a thread addressing the issue. The bottom line is when you order, do so from a company you trust because their reputation may be the only guarantee your order arrives.



UPDATE: The response (again sent promptly) is the flails are manufactured in China at a facility they have a long standing relationship with--and I'm okay with that (mostly). At the end of the day I simply want a quality product backed by a supply of readily available replacement parts from a reputable company so I can use it for many years to come, and I believe that's the case in this case.

As to filing a claim with the credit card company, that's a position I don't want either of us to be in. Assuming they fill the order it would at minimum create added overhead on both sides. If enough people filed claims with enough companies it would force them to change their business model, but given people were fine with long delays when dealing with Everything Attachments I don't see that happening.

Have you explained to WoodMaxx that in light of the EA fiasco, you do not want to go outside the dispute window with anybody.
You could cancel your WoodMaxx order today, and reorder tomorrow!

 

[Kennyd4110]

I don't want to make a big deal of all this which is why I haven't started a thread addressing the issue.

This is all definitely worthy of a new thread!

Maybe @North Idaho Wolfman can move these posts to a new thread?

 

[WFM]

My woodmaxx chipper said made in China and parts assembled here.
Must be for taxes or tariffs if it's fully assembled or not.
Is it free shipping from them ?
I see the BOL is R&L carriers. I ship with them and limited access charge is $50. , lift gate charge $35. , so freight can add up quickly.

 

[JimmyJazz]

It'll be interesting to hear if ANYONE who lost their money, ACTUALLY tries to buy from EA a 2nd time.
Though it's been seen, time and time again that PTB was right.

I suspect the CC companies, will 'write off' their EA accounts as losses as there's no way EA gave the money back.

To state that that "there is no way EA gave the money back" infers either inside knowledge or stupidity.

 

[Kennyd4110]

My woodmaxx chipper said made in China and parts assembled here.

Only the MX series is made here, I have the MX9900.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Have you explained to WoodMaxx that in light of the EA fiasco, you do not want to go outside the dispute window with anybody.
You could cancel your WoodMaxx order today, and reorder tomorrow!

Though not at the previous sale price, and there would be a $250 shipping charge for a total of $515 additional. I'm pretty sure they would be not at all concerned by my credit card terms.

This is all definitely worthy of a new thread!

Perhaps, though:

• A generic thread discussing current shipping times from multiple vendors would quickly become hard to navigate.
• A WoodMaxx thread might single them out, and that's not my intention.
• If there were enough interest there could be a sub-forum with threads by vendor discussing shipping times, but is there really that much interest?
• WoodMaxx shipped the chipper & extra blades and extra hammers "reasonably quickly" since they were in stock, so at the current time this might be okay as an educational thread on how vendors in general operate--it has been an educational experience for me...

My woodmaxx chipper said made in China and parts assembled here.
Must be for taxes or tariffs if it's fully assembled or not.
Is it free shipping from them ?
I see the BOL is R&L carriers. I ship with them and limited access charge is $50. , lift gate charge $35. , so freight can add up quickly.

Which model chipper? I have the MX-8600 which could be made from Asian parts, and if so it appears they did a great job though I haven't had much time with the machine (about 3 hours run time). So far it seems to be great quality and construction, and it is powerful. I inspected the blades and they're still razor sharp despite: a.) having fed it a bunch of crap wood and b.) pushing it hard with good wood at a high feed rate. So far it has surpassed my expectations.

It's my understanding "parts" are taxed at a lower rate than completed products, and also require less shipping volume. Shipping is never free, someone always pays for it.

 

[WFM]

Mine appears to be the WM-8H

 

[Toyman]

Sorry to hear of your troubles but it comes at a good time for me. I tried to order a WM-8H during the 'Father's Day Sale' - discounted price and free shipping. I added to cart, put my address in and it said it didn't recognize my address, but didn't give me another option. It would only let me buy with in-store pickup. I contacted them 2 or 3 times thru the contact info on their website and didn't get a response prior to the sale expiring. 3 days after the sale was over, I did get an email from a sales rep saying to call and they would honor the sale price & free shipping. (but no contact info?) Got another email the next day with contact info. I called and worked my way thru the web of their phone system and left a message along with following up with an email back to the sales rep with my cell number. Haven't heard back yet, but reading thru this thread gives a little concern. For those that have experience with Woodmaxx, was your experience good?? Thanks and OP, hope your flail mower arrives soon. If I were you I would definitely contact your credit card company before the appropriate timeframe expires. Protect yourself, the vendor will get paid if they hold up their end of the transaction.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

UPDATES:
This information is now in its own thread, no longer part of an Everything Attachments thread.

WoodMaxx returned my phone call (voicemail) and left a message stating the flail mower was a pre-order, they expect the shipment July 11th and my order to ship out sometime in July. (This matches what previously came out of the e-mails with WoodMaxx.)
Takeaway: The call to WoodMaxx was returned within 24 hours.

 

[Toyman]

UPDATE:

Got a return call & email from WoodMaxx and the sales rep took care of the ordering process and honored the Father's Day Sales price and free shipping. Entire order with the complete maintenance kit and lift gate was $500 less than the current price. Positive experience with CS! So far so good, hopefully shipping/delivery works out well along with the chipper. Looks like we're going to be on a similar timeframe for receipt!