EverythingMoneyAttachments. All the money up front?

[TX Chris]

I like how so many people in here are acting like there's nothing else in life that you have to wait on. I special ordered my F150 and waited 5 weeks for it to be built just like I wanted it.

How long are people waiting on Kubota tractors right now? And a million other things...

 

[MOOTS]

Placed my order yesterday for 60" grapple and 72" WTB. Travis called to confirm and told me 14 weeks on the grapple. Tooth bar should ship in half that or so.

I will gladly wait. Just about too hot to do much anyway.

 

[Nicfin36]

I've been without some implements my whole life!

You and me both brutha!

 

[bird dogger]

You and me both brutha!

Let's not give up hope just yet, though. Somewhere out yonder there must be a couple of ships named "Nicfin36" and "bird dogger" slowly navigating their ways home! When they get here our overabundance of orders will really raise havoc with the delivery schedule!

 

[mcmxi]

I received an email from EA this morning and thought "here we go with the grapple" ... but it was just a request for feedback/review on the EA box blade that I ordered, received and have used.

OK, I'm curious... how is it you guys can afford to be without an implement for 2-3-4 MONTHS ?

I've got four big fir trees down that blew over in a crazy windstorm about 7 months ago. They're not going anywhere so I can wait on the grapple. Once those trees are cut up, split and the branches dealt with I'll be using the grapple for rocks and not much else, unless more trees decide to fall over.

 

[mcmxi]

Did anyone watch the 5/21 EA factory walk when Travis showed the new Wicked 55 grapple design? Due to the problem EA's had obtaining DOM tubing they changed the lid design and now have a folded Hardox C channel in place of a section of DOM tubing. The C channel has serrations with an interesting scallop type geometry. It looks like an upgrade to me and I wouldn't complain if my Wicked 60 shows up that way.

Looking at the screenshot below, they still have two sections of DOM tubing so this modification would allow them to build 1/3 more grapples with the tubing they have on hand.

 

[greg86z28]

Did anyone watch the 5/21 EA factory walk when Travis showed the new Wicked 55 grapple design? Due to the problem EA's had obtaining DOM tubing they changed the lid design and now have a folded Hardox C channel in place of a section of DOM tubing. The C channel has serrations with an interesting scallop type geometry. It looks like an upgrade to me and I wouldn't complain if my Wicked 60 shows up that way.

Looking at the screenshot below, they still have two sections of DOM tubing so this modification would allow them to build 1/3 more grapples with the tubing they have on hand.

View attachment 60629

I did see some postings about the design changing but couldn’t pick up on what was changed. Thanks for posting. I wish EA had done a video walking through the changes and the benefits (if any, maybe it’s a lateral move or downgrade)

 

[MOOTS]

Did anyone watch the 5/21 EA factory walk when Travis showed the new Wicked 55 grapple design? Due to the problem EA's had obtaining DOM tubing they changed the lid design and now have a folded Hardox C channel in place of a section of DOM tubing. The C channel has serrations with an interesting scallop type geometry. It looks like an upgrade to me and I wouldn't complain if my Wicked 60 shows up that way.

Looking at the screenshot below, they still have two sections of DOM tubing so this modification would allow them to build 1/3 more grapples with the tubing they have on hand.

View attachment 60629

I did watch that. Hopefully the new stuff starts shipping like that.

I did see some postings about the design changing but couldn’t pick up on what was changed. Thanks for posting. I wish EA had done a video walking through the changes and the benefits (if any, maybe it’s a lateral move or downgrade)

Travis touched on that in the video, they can't get DOM tubing. They are taking that curve ball and running with it. I think it will be a nice upgrade.

 

[mcmxi]

I did watch that. Hopefully the new stuff starts shipping like that.

I posted a comment and question on EA's YouTube channel re the Wicked 60 and whether or not the same design change is being incorporated into the 60 and other models. Here's their response this morning.

"Thanks so much for the business and awesome words!! #EAcustomersROCK I've only seen this design on the 55 so far, but it may eventually make its way onto the 60 and 66. "

 

[mcmxi]

Just an update for anyone waiting on a grapple. It will have been 16 weeks this coming Wednesday (16th) since I placed the order on 2/24 for a 60" Wicked Root Rake and still no sign of the thing or an email from EA telling me that it's shipped. Shipping takes about a week so even if it ships this coming week I'm still at 17 weeks or so.

2/24 - EA 60" Wicked Root Rake Grapple ETA-60-WRRG > $2,860 shipped to NW MT
3/3 - V2.0 84" Category I/II Severe XTreme Duty Box blade ETA-CATI-II-XDBBV2-84 > $2,101 shipped to NW MT (DELIVERED 5/5)
5/12 - EA 72" Wicked Tooth Bar ETA-WTB-72 > $522.75 shipped to NW MT

 

[B737]

hummm its tempting to swap my order to dual lid precision manufacturing one, 6 weeks.

 

[Andy S]

Hey Tire Biter and RustyDusty, why don’t either of you try to help me understand what the big deal is about paying upfront! EA has an impeccable reputation for quality and customer service! They are presently spending millions of dollars in expanding and equipment purchases. If you called them today and they said yes it will ship tomorrow, your purchase price is gone anyway, so the money is gone regardless! So help me understand! And yes on April 25 I ordered a 60” wicked grapple and paid for it!

 

[Elliott in GA]

Hey Tire Biter and RustyDusty, why don’t either of you try to help me understand what the big deal is about paying upfront! EA has an impeccable reputation for quality and customer service! They are presently spending millions of dollars in expanding and equipment purchases. If you called them today and they said yes it will ship tomorrow, your purchase price is gone anyway, so the money is gone regardless! So help me understand! And yes on April 25 I ordered a 60” wicked grapple and paid for it!

I guess you could ask yourself why most equipment vendors/manufacturers do not charge you until it ships - like most businesses that are not making a custom product. Why does EA not operate like the others? Does EA's policy benefit the customer? How?

In terms of quality, IMO people are overlooking serious design/engineering issues from EA that they would not tolerate from a national manufacturer. The hydraulic hose routing on their grapples comes to mind. If Kubota/Land Pride did that, there would be no end of complaints.

I am not saying EA products are bad; in fact, I presume they are good. However, I do not understand people championing EA at every turn. I am pretty sure most manufacturers are ramping up production; and yet, they still do not charge until it ships.

 

[Andy S]

I guess you could ask yourself why most equipment vendors/manufacturers do not charge you until it ships - like most businesses that are not making a custom product. Why does EA not operate like the others? Does EA's policy benefit the customer? How?

In terms of quality, IMO people are overlooking serious design/engineering issues from EA that they would not tolerate from a national manufacturer. The hydraulic hose routing on their grapples comes to mind. If Kubota/Land Pride did that, there would be no end of complaints.

I am not saying EA products are bad; in fact, I presume they are good. However, I do not understand people championing EA at every turn. I am pretty sure most manufacturers are ramping up production; and yet, they still do not charge until it ships.

Show me one other equipment manufacturer who will take videos of their equipment being used (abused) the way EA does! You tube is full of videos from manufacturers showing their equipment being used with kids gloves. That alone speaks volumes for the company, and from what others who own their products have stated, if you do break it, customer support is second to none! As for other manufacturers not charging until it ships, very few of them sell direct to the customer. And if the hydraulic hose routing is such an engineering disaster, why haven’t I seen anything about it?

 

[ayak]

Potential quality issues not-withstanding, this for many comes down to the leverage lost in compelling a vendor to do anything (even answer an email) once you’re past the 60 day limit as set in the FCRA. Your credit card company will do nothing for you after this date.
Now if you were the best man at Ted’s wedding, perhaps this isn’t an issue—but it’s just a personal choice here regarding the risk of paying in full before something has shipped.

 

[Elliott in GA]

Show me one other equipment manufacturer who will take videos of their equipment being used (abused) the way EA does! You tube is full of videos from manufacturers showing their equipment being used with kids gloves. That alone speaks volumes for the company, and from what others who own their products have stated, if you do break it, customer support is second to none! As for other manufacturers not charging until it ships, very few of them sell direct to the customer. And if the hydraulic hose routing is such an engineering disaster, why haven’t I seen anything about it?

This is what I am talking about - an almost rabid fan base. EA probably has many YouTube videos because they use it as an important part of their marketing; they do sell direct. It is in their interest to make these videos - nothing wrong or right with that.

As to the hydraulic hose routing, there is a Dave Knows How YouTube discussing it and it has been discussed here. As I noted, it is an "issue" not a disaster. Again, why the hyperbole in defense of EA?

As I noted before, I am sure that EA products are good, and I wish them well. However, on the items I have priced they do not offer a savings, and I have no reason to believe their products are built to a higher standard. In fact, the grapple hose routing and the owner's response (posted on this forum by a member) make me question their products.

Despite the title, Dave has mostly good things to say about the grapple.

 

[B737]

Well, I just noticed the price of the new Precision Manufacturing Mini 322 55" double lid grapple was increased by nearly $500. I guess they are off to a good start if they bumped the price up to $3000. Not sure if shipping is free either, def sticking with my EA order now.

 

[Jchonline]

I agree, go with something you can get in a month or less. Landpride was just fine.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

to: TX C . curious, when you ordered your F150, did you pay 100% of the money up front ?
to: EA clients. curious, if buying a new home( not yet built), would you pay 100% up front. new homes here are $1,000,000+ as a refernece ? usually take 4 months, but with Chinese CV19, 6-7 months now.

 

[ayak]

This is capitalism at its finest and I would run the order-fulfillment side of the business like this myself for as long as it worked.
I managed a small business unit ($15M P&L) of a publicly-held Fortune-500 company for many years and aside from people (18 engineers), my biggest costs were materials. If I can get someone else to hold those materials costs, I’m gonna do it in a heartbeat. My cash flow can instead then be used to expand the business.
The flip side to this though is if I’m a privately-held company and suddenly develop a penchant for the (losing) ponies (or pick any one of a hundred other vices), I’m paying off Bruno and Knuckles with your money and not even thinking twice about it.
I’ve purchased items from EA that I’m very happy with, but at day #55 (without a shipment sent), I will send a respectful email to them requesting a credit and re-bill of my credit card, explaining the situation. If I hear nothing back, I file a dispute with the credit card company while I still have that leverage. This last time, the item shipped out right after having done so.