WoodMaxx Order Concerns/Considerations

[TheOldHokie]

I will offer this little horror story as a comparative measure.

Back in early February I ordered a commercial gas range from a well established online supplier. The website said the range was instock and ready to ship. The next day sales called to inform me the optional backguard I had ordered was not in stock and was backordered. I was offered the choice of canceling the order or a partial shipment of the range with back guard to follow as soon as they received it. Expected in a " couple months". Since the range was on sale and canceling would cost me several thousand dollars I agreed to accept partial shipment which arrived in a matter of days.

A month passes and no sign of the back guard so I call for a status update. Sales is very cooperative and calls supplier to check. Supplier says they are in the process of moving their production faciilty and it will be several more months before they have anything to ship.

Several more months pass and I call seller who once again calls supplier. Now supplier says they wont even have an ETA on the backordered item until after move is complete and production resumes which they now expect to be early NEXT YEAR.

Woodmax is looking very good in comparison.

I dont blame anybody for my kitchen SNAFU but I am in possession of a range that I cannot install as planned because it is goes against a combustible wall and the high back guard is required for fire protection. After mulling the situation over I have decided to cancel the back guard order and give the kitchen wall a fancy new full height stone backsplash.....
..
Dan

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

I contacted WoodMaxx about a concern unrelated to the unexpected shipping delay of the flail mower so I don't want to side-track this thread and will simply say although it took a bit of back-and-forth they provided good customer service throughout, addressed my concern, and went beyond what was necessary. As far as I can tell WoodMaxx has consistently been a reputable company to deal with which sells high-quality products at reasonable prices. I think they could have done a better job up front of saying the flail mower was a pre-order and what the expected shipping date was, but beyond that one thing I'm happy with the company.

I noticed that WoodMaxx and other implement vendors with the practice of Pay-And-Wait have become a concern since EA's closing, but other non-implement vendors doing the same thing is not concerning. Just for example and not to pick on them, the first post in this thread mentions Summit Hydraulics expected ship date of two months later than WoodMaxx's expected ship date and that didn't register with members as a concern despite the amount of money paid and length of order delay--and that's really the point, EA's business practices (both good and bad) and their unexpected building situation resulted in their unfortunate closure; for other companies it is business as usual. (Thank you Summit for the prompt backorder notification and expected ship date.)

So if you are concerned about order delays, hopefully this thread provides you with questions to ask before making a purchase so you can make decisions you are comfortable with from companies you trust.

 

[DustyRusty]

It is an interesting business model, but I personally don't like it. A friend ordered a Kubota RTV1140C and was told that they have no idea when it would arrive. The dealer was offered a deposit and they said there was no reason to leave a deposit, and that they would call when the unit arrived. It too about 13 months before they got the call, and the prices on the machine had risen considerably, but the dealer honored the quoted price and delivered the machine. To me, this is the way that business is done by dealers that have enough capital to do business without asking for the customer to pay in advance for the item. I can understand asking for a deposit on an item that might not be a quick sale to the next customer that might want it, but asking for payment in advance tell me that they are operating from hand to mouth.

 

[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.

UPDATE: 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.)

I'm trying to schedule the rest of my work for this month (the latter half of July) and in the rush to get things done while getting interrupted by phone calls and walk-in customers I jumped the gun by two days and e-mailed WoodMaxx for shipment status, so, my mistake there. In my defense I did expect the flail mower to come in two months ago, but on the other hand there's no real need for the mower until Fall when the ticks and mosquitoes are less inclined to kill me and drag off the body.

In reality I do need to schedule trailer space, set up the flail mower and test it out, but I'm also waiting for missing hydraulic system upgrade parts from Kubota and a Catawba prototype that could share the ride so there's no real issue in waiting a bit longer. And I want to design/build some bucket forks, so until I get my current work done...

So a few hours later I e-mailed them I messed up and there's no real rush. People needing to mow fields need a mower more than I....

 

[Toyman]

Another Update:
My experience ended well. I contacted customer service last week to let them know that I was not going to be available due to vacation just in case my chipper didn't ship in time. The CS rep replied back quickly and appreciated the information. The next day or two I got a call from Old Dominion to schedule delivery. Couldn't pick my time, but they said they would call around an hour before. Got the call and the driver was on time My driveway is around 150' long and my B7100 wasn't going to move the chipper at 900#, so I was concerned how to get it to (and in) my garage. I was his last delivery and he told me a few delivery stories as he got it to the lift gate. I asked if it was possible that we could roll it down the driveway and he let me know thats what he intended, as long as I pushed. I told him I would take it myself! Anyway, got it down the driveway and into the garage (in the rain) and I couldn't be happier. Old Dominion (driver) was excellent and did me a solid. I started to unbox the chipper and very impressed with the packaging, especially since I have some new steel angle for future projects. I'm having a steel building put up at my farm, which hasn't been scheduled yet, but the chipper isn't going out until I have storage, so now it's back to waiting. Looking forward to cleaning up the many brush piles I've created in the past 2 years.

WI HH - Good luck with the flail mower and glad the wait isn't causing issues!

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

UPDATE: WoodMaxx reached out saying the shipment is in the U.S. on a rail car headed to Buffalo, New York, and would start shipping 08/05/2024. If they take two weeks to ship it and it takes two weeks to get here that's 09/05/2024, so order to delivery time is somewhere in the range of 3.5 to 4 months, though still in time for Fall cleanup.

No worries regarding the flail mower delay, the missing part for the Kubota Top&Tilt valve kit came in so that should be wrapped up this weekend, though Summit won't have the T&T cylinders until at least September.

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

UPDATE: WoodMaxx Flail Mower Arrived

05/15/2024: Order for a bunch of stuff placed.

05/31: A bunch of stuff delivered, excepting the flail mower. For the record, the shipping documentation they sent me after the order was placed states only: "All machines will leave our facility within 10-15 business days." Nothing was said about a back-order, pre-order, or any reason the flail mower was not included in the shipment.

<a bunch of conversations with WoodMaxx followed, see this thread>

08/05 AM: WoodMaxx sent a message the mower was set to ship that day and arrive 2 days later.

08/07 AM: The delivery company called to set up delivery, they were hoping late afternoon or early evening (our docks would likely be closed and myself long gone).

08/08 AM: Flail mower successfully delivered. And yes, that crate is incredible.

In the end, all good; I needed it to arrive before September and it did. At this point it will take a couple weeks to get enough time to drag it to the middle of nowhere and whack stuff with it.

 

[Speed25]

Man, I'm gonna have to up my crate game!

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Man, I'm gonna have to up my crate game!

Your's could double-stack, easily.

I wonder how Catawba will rate....no update from them yet...

 

[Bearcatrp]

That is one hell of a crate. Wonder how much that crate alone added to the total cost.

 

[Jsjac]

The crate is so they can stack them in the shipping container

 

[mikester]

UPDATE: WoodMaxx Flail Mower Arrived

05/15/2024: Order for a bunch of stuff placed.

05/31: A bunch of stuff delivered, excepting the flail mower. For the record, the shipping documentation they sent me after the order was placed states only: "All machines will leave our facility within 10-15 business days." Nothing was said about a back-order, pre-order, or any reason the flail mower was not included in the shipment.

<a bunch of conversations with WoodMaxx followed, see this thread>

08/05 AM: WoodMaxx sent a message the mower was set to ship that day and arrive 2 days later.

08/07 AM: The delivery company called to set up delivery, they were hoping late afternoon or early evening (our docks would likely be closed and myself long gone).

08/08 AM: Flail mower successfully delivered. And yes, that crate is incredible.

In the end, all good; I needed it to arrive before September and it did. At this point it will take a couple weeks to get enough time to drag it to the middle of nowhere and whack stuff with it.

View attachment 134518

View attachment 134519

Post pics and your review after you've used it a few times!

 

[WI_Hedgehog]

Post pics and your review after you've used it a few times!

It's a beast!

Review on OTT: https://www.orangetractortalks.com/...flail-mower-thoughts.67845/page-2#post-745118

Update from Summit on cylinder shipping: November. (seriously)
No update from Catawba.