Let the wait begin...

**Mountnormal** · 06-09-2018, 23:47

I ordered the 30* multicam wide Burrow from the "In Stock" page. Should ship Monday, I like the "In Stock" page.

**RushBadger** · 06-10-2018, 08:54

Lol, i’m still waiting for the shipping notification, going on 8 weeks

**snwcmpr** · 06-10-2018, 09:18

Originally Posted by Mountnormal

I ordered the 30* multicam wide Burrow from the "In Stock" page. Should ship Monday, I like the "In Stock" page.

Yeah, so did I. A great feature.
My Econ UQ was here within a week.
I got an "In Stock" item from UGQ also. That took less than a week also.

No need to complain here about any delays.

**SteveE** · 06-11-2018, 20:32

Ordered my Econ UQ on May 7 and it still shows "Awaiting Fulfillment" I'm in no rush but I do check daily!

**arcana73** · 06-12-2018, 23:08

Ordered myself a 40 degree burrow. At the time it was 5-6 weeks. After 6 weeks, I was told they are running 6-7 weeks. It's now week 8 and still no quilt. This is probably the last time I order from these guys until they get their act together.

**cmoulder** · 06-13-2018, 06:29

Originally Posted by arcana73

Ordered myself a 40 degree burrow. At the time it was 5-6 weeks. After 6 weeks, I was told they are running 6-7 weeks. It's now week 8 and still no quilt. This is probably the last time I order from these guys until they get their act together.

Well, this is probably the busiest season, and with the generally improving economy perhaps even more so?

Having bought from quite a few different cottage vendors over the years I have learned it is best to order waaaayyy ahead of the time I'll actually need something, and then just try to forget about it in the meantime.

I don't know all the issues facing smaller operations, but I can imagine they walk a very fine line when it comes to managing the number of skilled employees they can keep on payroll year-'round, space for production facilities, raw material inventory, etc. So in order not to have to lay off people in the slower seasons, there are going to be longer wait times when it's busy. In the past, I ordered a bunch of stuff from Zpacks and the wait times used to be very long—10 weeks for a Duplex tent!—but they offered a huge amount of customization. When they went 'big-time' and streamlined their operation for faster turn-around on product, they got a bigger production facility, totally eliminated custom requests and reduced their product line. And I have only one anecdotal incident to report, which was a poorly sewn Arc Haul purchased by a friend of mine, which indicates that quality might have suffered as well. (And I stress "might"... but I know that years ago such bad sewing would not have made it out the door.)

You have the 20deg Incubator, so you can appreciate the quality product you'll be receiving when it finally does arrive!

I have the 0deg Incubator and it is a stellar piece of gear—well worth the wait, if you ask me!

**RushBadger** · 06-13-2018, 07:53

Here is my update, ordered on April 15, just received notification of shipment! I can’t wait, should arrive on Thursday, leave for a weekend trip on Friday!

**arcana73** · 06-13-2018, 08:47

Originally Posted by cmoulder

Well, this is probably the busiest season, and with the generally improving economy perhaps even more so?

Having bought from quite a few different cottage vendors over the years I have learned it is best to order waaaayyy ahead of the time I'll actually need something, and then just try to forget about it in the meantime.

I don't know all the issues facing smaller operations, but I can imagine they walk a very fine line when it comes to managing the number of skilled employees they can keep on payroll year-'round, space for production facilities, raw material inventory, etc. So in order not to have to lay off people in the slower seasons, there are going to be longer wait times when it's busy. In the past, I ordered a bunch of stuff from Zpacks and the wait times used to be very long—10 weeks for a Duplex tent!—but they offered a huge amount of customization. When they went 'big-time' and streamlined their operation for faster turn-around on product, they got a bigger production facility, totally eliminated custom requests and reduced their product line. And I have only one anecdotal incident to report, which was a poorly sewn Arc Haul purchased by a friend of mine, which indicates that quality might have suffered as well. (And I stress "might"... but I know that years ago such bad sewing would not have made it out the door.)

You have the 20deg Incubator, so you can appreciate the quality product you'll be receiving when it finally does arrive!

I have the 0deg Incubator and it is a stellar piece of gear—well worth the wait, if you ask me!

First, my issue is that at the time I ordered, it was posted 5-6 weeks. I'm already on week 8, going on week 9 and the response I got was they don't know when it'll be ready. It should've been ready 3 weeks ago. If you post something saying how long it'll be, good business practice says you should strive to fulfill it within that time frame.
If they are falling behind due to labor, theres this thing called "seasonal labor". You hire to get you through the busy season and then they leave until the next busy season. It happens all the time. Or they need to stop offering so many custom options. I get that everyone wants their favorite color or add an ounce of overstuff, but these things start to slow assembly down. On top of that, they've been adding new product lines. So they're behind in what they're known for, but now they add new items that will take their seamstresses away to do other products.
I don't doubt their quality, but at the end of the day what seperates cottage vendors from ordering from a retailer is their service, and I'm sorry to say, in my case they dropped the ball. Hopefully I'll get mine before the temps drop.

**snwcmpr** · 06-13-2018, 09:04

I will only comment on one point. The rest is just not worth replying about. There seems to be a lot of bashing these small businesses lately.

I have a friend that has a fabric item based business. He said it is really hard to find someone capable of sewing the things we use. And having them actually work when you need them.

Ken in NC

**cmoulder** · 06-13-2018, 09:25

Originally Posted by snwcmpr

I will only comment on one point. The rest is just not worth replying about. There seems to be a lot of bashing these small businesses lately.

I have a friend that has a fabric item based business. He said it is really hard to find someone capable of sewing the things we use. And having them actually work when you need them.

Ken in NC

Yep, and why I said "skilled employees".... I'm not at all surprised that people who can neatly, consistently and accurately sew Argon 67 don't just walk in off the street, or do it well after having been laid off for months.