OES Tarps

**Rain Man** · 08-25-2011, 13:15

Frankly, I was amazed at how WELL he communicated with me this past Spring, and during his exam time to boot. He answered my nit-picky questions promptly and with patience and grace (not something I always expect from Internet merchants).

And the tarp itself (MacCat Deluxe) is great. I'd recommend him in a heartbeat, just as he was recommended to me. Word of mouth is where it's at!

Rain Man

P.S. If you need a tarp by a certain date, and you fail to inform the merchant and get a commitment for delivery by that time, the fault is yours, not the merchant's.

.

**dippyhippie** · 08-25-2011, 13:16

Originally Posted by ohiocyclist

That being said I wish there would have been some mention of turn around time on his website. I had no idea of turn around times for this sort of thing when I ordered my tarp a month ago. I figured that would be plenty of time before my next trip (which starts tomorrow). No such luck. Had I known it would have been four weeks or more, I would have found an alternative.

I was in the same disappointing boat.

**ohiocyclist** · 08-25-2011, 14:42

Originally Posted by Rain Man

P.S. If you need a tarp by a certain date, and you fail to inform the merchant and get a commitment for delivery by that time, the fault is yours, not the merchant's.

.

Could have easily been solved with an estimated delivery date on the website. Simple, convenient and wouldn't have required back and forth communication and trying to shove my order up in the queue. Plus on the 9th I was told it would ship out 'next week'. Still plenty of time for my trip and I thought why continue to pester someone about my order and take time away from fulfilling that order?

**exup** · 08-25-2011, 20:35

I know it doesn't help much but your tarp will be second to none in the quality department.

I was fortuenate to have great communication and ship time in my experience with Brian. I feel sometimes being as busy as some are, they unintentionally forget the small things, like emails and estimated times and focus on the large job at hand of getting them made and shipped as soon as humanly possible. Of course that's no excuse, but we're all human.

**SpaceCadet** · 08-30-2011, 09:20

When I ordered my MacCat Deluxe it told me the tarp would ship in 2-3 weeks. I got it 2.5 weeks later. I never tried to contact Brian, so I have no complaints about communications. I did get an email that my tarp had just shipped, a week after I already received it. The tarp is top quality, if a little smaller than I expected. But I can't blame that on anyone but myself.

**G.L.P.** · 08-30-2011, 09:25

Originally Posted by Wolverine

Ok,

I'll give Brian everyone's benefit, although I'm somewhat disappointed in the communication process.

brian was never known for getting back to people right away...
but trust me on this His tarps are worth it .
he is a one man operation so for him to stop all the time time to answer e-mails he would never get anything done
his Tarps are the best you can buy there is a reason he sells so many and they hold there value

**Bomber** · 08-30-2011, 10:17

I really like his products, but have given up on getting one from new(directly from OES, tried this 3 times without success

) - To be fair to Brian - i live on the other side of the pond + it was during his exam periods.

But his products a second to none, of what i have seen so far!

**Jsaults** · 08-30-2011, 11:39

Either you love 'em or you hate 'em.
I for one love 'em, and have come to accept the (sometimes long) wait that may precede delivery. Many operations are one or two person shops, often started as hobbies, and some have grown by leaps and bounds. Not all have a business plan that encompasses exponential growth.
I have the luxury of not having many recreational deadlines (AT hike, BWCA trip etc) so I am willing to wait. SUre, it would be nice to receive weekly updates on the status of my order but I realize that the proprietors of these operations are often working late in the night to fill orders.
I salute them for their innovation and dedication.
There is a reason that TNF, Sierra Designs, Montbel and other biggies do not accompdate custom orders. And I am thankful that "our" cottage guys and girls are there to fill the void.
Jim
and a tip 'o my Tilley hat to all you cottage folks. You know who you are!

**koaloha05** · 08-30-2011, 11:57

Originally Posted by Raul Perez

My only problem is I don't get out to use it more!

Ditto

1st gen Spinn Delux tarp. Still my #1 tarp.

**Outback Bill** · 09-01-2011, 20:59

I emailed Brian a couple days ago to see if he had a tarp ready to ship by chance (cancelled order or something). It took a couple days to get back to me but he said he could get a deluxe out the door in time for my little trip next weekend.
I'm hoping to get it in time to use w/ my diy hammock. My hennessy is out on a test drive with a friend who I hope buys it to help finance my hammock addiction.