FourLeafCloverFab
Member
Who said anything about Covid? I certainly didn’t. That being said the supply chain has been milking that one for ages. So small businesses like mine have had to find work arounds to make things happen.
Is anyone else waiting on a trailer from Four Leaf Clover Fab?
- Thread starter B^2
- Start date
Lancan1
New member
A buddy and I ordered two trailers back in August 2020. We both payed 100% up front for each trailer for a discounted price. At the time we were quoted a delivery timeframe of October of 2020. Long story short and after many excuses and many phone calls, texts and emails we finally received our completed trailers one in March the other in April of 2021. Not posting this to sling mud just letting you know that it was not a pleasant experience.
SBSYNCRO
Well-known member
It is encouraging to see the vendor responding to this thread. My (admittedly unsolicited) advice to both shop and waiting customers is full transparency - share the waiting list, explain to each customer where they are, and let them decide if they want to continue waiting based on that knowledge.
Anything less than full transparency in a situation like this is only going to promote distrust and a souring of the relationship.
Some of my best and longest lasting customer relationships have come from pulling through the toughest situations together by being completely honest with each other.
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Anything less than full transparency in a situation like this is only going to promote distrust and a souring of the relationship.
Some of my best and longest lasting customer relationships have come from pulling through the toughest situations together by being completely honest with each other.
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plh
Explorer
Exactly! The OP put in an order in Nov 2020 - 18 months ago and is still wondering what is the status? With something hand built and custom even at a few units a year I'd think the OP would deserve a build number and schedule especially with around 50% +/- paid down. Side hustle or not. I do a few side hustle things, but only take on what I can manage and keep the customers happy. 1 happy customer will tell 4 people, 1 unhappy customer can sink your side hustle.
FourLeafCloverFab
Member
I put an order in on 04/05/21. It was delivered on 4/11/22. Covid was one of many factors. Simon did not have to drive 13 hours to deliver ( I had planned on driving up to pick it up).
Yes he could do a better job of communicating and keeping customers informed. Updates with photos would be most helpful in relieving the frustrations of waiting.
Overall, I am happy with the trailer. I hope Simon can get the orders filled for those still waiting.
Yes he could do a better job of communicating and keeping customers informed. Updates with photos would be most helpful in relieving the frustrations of waiting.
Overall, I am happy with the trailer. I hope Simon can get the orders filled for those still waiting.
FourLeafCloverFab
Member
So is the guy building the trailers. Deposits go towards parts and external services to get these trailers built much of which is not refundable . As well as time spent building them.
eatSleepWoof
Do it for the 'gram
18 months between taking deposit and delivering nothing is not "time spent building" - that's time spent stealing from the customer.
The fact that you're even attempting to justify the issues your customers have expressed speaks volumes about you.
Chasingopenspaces
Active member
Seems a bit harsh. Many of the big manufacturers have year long lead times right now, and like the COVID excuse or not even GM and ford are having major delays in build times so in my mind the major issue here is communication and an entrepreneur becoming overextended. The OP shouldn’t have had to go through all this hassle to get a refund or the scoop on when his build was going to be done but ******* happens
plh
Explorer
Deposit - the beauty of an interest free loan.
vintageracer
To Infinity and Beyond!
Many of these "New" and in some cases "Old" builders want 50% upfront and remainder upon delivery.
Never understood why ANYONE would sign up for that deal?
I could maybe see a small deposit of $500 or less to git in line with 25% or less paid when the production of your specific trailer/vehicle with VIN number is started and payments of 25% as the trailer "meats" agreed upon contractual production goals with the final 25% payment upon delivery. After all the builder has the trailer/vehicle and the title to said trailer/vehicle so they have far more security than any buyer who really has NOTHING other than a paper agreement!
When it comes to a vehicle or your home NEVER pay a large deposit to any contractor/mechanic to start work on your project. Maybe a small amount for parts or materials to start but that's it! Pay em weekly for only the work they COMPLETE. A contractor/mechanic has recourse if you do not pay them by filing a lien on your property/vehicle so why would you want to give them even "Mo Money" upfront?
If vendors do like YOUR TERMS for doing business move on to someone else. Remember you have more control as long as YOU still have "Da Money"!
Never understood why ANYONE would sign up for that deal?
I could maybe see a small deposit of $500 or less to git in line with 25% or less paid when the production of your specific trailer/vehicle with VIN number is started and payments of 25% as the trailer "meats" agreed upon contractual production goals with the final 25% payment upon delivery. After all the builder has the trailer/vehicle and the title to said trailer/vehicle so they have far more security than any buyer who really has NOTHING other than a paper agreement!
When it comes to a vehicle or your home NEVER pay a large deposit to any contractor/mechanic to start work on your project. Maybe a small amount for parts or materials to start but that's it! Pay em weekly for only the work they COMPLETE. A contractor/mechanic has recourse if you do not pay them by filing a lien on your property/vehicle so why would you want to give them even "Mo Money" upfront?
If vendors do like YOUR TERMS for doing business move on to someone else. Remember you have more control as long as YOU still have "Da Money"!
AbleGuy
Officious Intermeddler
The problem with funding parts inventory is a catch 22 for a small business person, especially one who is just starting up a new company.
It’s very difficult to get commercial financing to cover inventory purchases so you have enough parts and materials to start producing the products you’re trying to sell. Therefore, it would be common to try to get a higher deposit from a buyer so you’d start having enough funds to buy the necessary parts to build your product.
At the same time though, if you were buyer and you see that the manufacture is demanding a very high upfront deposit, it can tell you that that company is under capitalized. And if it’s under capitalized, it may be on thin ice financially until it can finally start producing enough units to make a profit and put some money toward maintaining a healthy inventory.
So there’s no real easy solution to a buyer looking to deal with a new company or an under capitalized company. The best thing perhaps is to try to find information, reliable information about the reputation of the people behind the company you’re dealing with. Of course these days with all the BS reviews on yelp, that isn’t that easy either.
We need to try to support the growth of small businesses because in many ways they are the heart of our economy if you read the statistics about this. At the same time though it’s a painful lesson in trust for a buyer to worry about losing his deposit to a company that is spiraling the drain.
One of the benefits of reputable sites like the expo forum is that we members who’ve had positive or negative experiences with vendors can share our opinions and experiences with others. In this case, clearly there has been a teachable moment with the problem shared by the OP.
It’s very difficult to get commercial financing to cover inventory purchases so you have enough parts and materials to start producing the products you’re trying to sell. Therefore, it would be common to try to get a higher deposit from a buyer so you’d start having enough funds to buy the necessary parts to build your product.
At the same time though, if you were buyer and you see that the manufacture is demanding a very high upfront deposit, it can tell you that that company is under capitalized. And if it’s under capitalized, it may be on thin ice financially until it can finally start producing enough units to make a profit and put some money toward maintaining a healthy inventory.
So there’s no real easy solution to a buyer looking to deal with a new company or an under capitalized company. The best thing perhaps is to try to find information, reliable information about the reputation of the people behind the company you’re dealing with. Of course these days with all the BS reviews on yelp, that isn’t that easy either.
We need to try to support the growth of small businesses because in many ways they are the heart of our economy if you read the statistics about this. At the same time though it’s a painful lesson in trust for a buyer to worry about losing his deposit to a company that is spiraling the drain.
One of the benefits of reputable sites like the expo forum is that we members who’ve had positive or negative experiences with vendors can share our opinions and experiences with others. In this case, clearly there has been a teachable moment with the problem shared by the OP.