I hates the waiting for my precious....

[spyderknut]

Probably depends on volume of backlog orders and run sizes.

My lights are Raw SS and Wee Ti, both of which have been in pretty high demand of late. I don't know if having 2 lights on order moves me up

 

[HarveyRich]

Originally posted by Spyderknut:
My lights are Raw SS and Wee Ti, both of which have been in pretty high demand of late. I don't know if having 2 lights on order moves me up

Don't know about that since my order was also for a raw and wee--but only the NS type. I asked for extra batteries. Perhaps that's part of the issue?

Either way, glad you're finally getting them.

 

[athener]

Hello from Athens !

Since long time I follow this thread but this is the first time I wright (because of my miserable English).

Yesterday I received after five months my order from Rob. Raw NS and Wee NS. As promised this time, Rob send the lights in October ! And are wonderful !! Excellent design and work , amazing light output for this size!

Many times in the past I thought that something is wrong because of the enorm delay and I was really not happy . I wrote several emails -some of them not very polite-every time I received a reply , but now I'm sure that all this was only a bad time for Rob and with a little (more) patience he will sent - soon I hope -all the backorders.

Greetings
Pantelis

 

[No really]

Nope, ordered March 9, Wee Ti and RAW pcb. Days gettin' shorter (to say nothing about patience), nights gettin' longer...

OKAY! Received an Email saying my order was dispatched 10/23, seven days ago--though this is cause for concern:

"guardian.co.uk, Friday 23 October 2009 14.40 BST
The crippling effect of the postal strike was revealed today as Royal Mail said 30m letters had been delayed...

The Communication Workers' Union, whose members began the strike yesterday... It confirmed there would be a three-day strike from next Thursday involving more than 120,000 workers..."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/23/postal-strike-delays-30m-letters

Can't win

 

[dyschan]

Still waiting for mine

 

[mejesster]

Rob/Lummi is slow to ship. Always. That said, if you want a Lummi, nothing else will do.

<3 my Wee.

 

[Robocop]

I have 4 incredible Orb products and to this day they are still my favorites as far as customs go. I have to say good luck Rob and I do hope your problems with supply and delays will eventually work out.

I have no lights ordered however do plan to continue adding to my collection shortly as again I really do enjoy your work.

As a casual bystander of the recent issues I am curious if it is simply an issue of batteries and chargers and also the tritium that is giving you such delays. If so maybe it is an option to simply do away with these extras in the future and offer the products (for now) without these options. Personally if it were a known problem with supply I would rather have a light without the trit and batteries than to not have a light at all.

I am just curious if this would be an easier option temporarily as personally I am really cheering for you to continue to offer your incredible products in the future. It does seem as most makers slowly depend on more outside sources and options it often only takes one small link in the chain to cause you problems that are out of your control.

I hope I do not muddy up this thread as it is not at all my intention. I do hope that maybe thinking outside of the box can maybe help you to find a solution. You have many loyal fans ,myself included, that I am sure can find a way to somehow help you out with this situation. Would it be easier in the future to be able to turn out a steady product if you simply sold the light without trit and batteries?

I know personally for me it would be just as easy to find my batteries and chargers from other places if it would mean I could still purchase one of your products. I also really like the trits on my other Orb lights however again if I had to do without I would be ok with that as well. I can always add them later when supply improves.

Good luck again and I do still plan on future orders as I simply can not get enough of your lights. I also hope maybe my suggestions can somehow give you a few ideas. Of course all of this is from someone who knows nothing at all about running a business so it may be more complicated than I can imagine.

 

[orb]

Hello from Athens !

Since long time I follow this thread but this is the first time I wright (because of my miserable English).

Yesterday I received after five months my order from Rob. Raw NS and Wee NS. As promised this time, Rob send the lights in October ! And are wonderful !! Excellent design and work , amazing light output for this size!

Many times in the past I thought that something is wrong because of the enorm delay and I was really not happy . I wrote several emails -some of them not very polite-every time I received a reply , but now I'm sure that all this was only a bad time for Rob and with a little (more) patience he will sent - soon I hope -all the backorders.

Greetings
Pantelis

Thank you for taking the time & effort to write your post Pantelis.
All is very much appreciated. :twothumbs :welcome:

 

[No really]

I have 4 incredible Orb products and to this day they are still my favorites as far as customs go. I have to say good luck Rob and I do hope your problems with supply and delays will eventually work out.
I have no lights ordered however do plan to continue adding to my collection shortly as again I really do enjoy your work...

Plus one, big time. I also have several Lummi lights. I am a proud owner. All are flawlessly executed examples of meticulous precision. I see recent events as not unexpected part and parcel of dealing with essentially handcrafted art, "growing pains", if you will.

I too, hope any difficulties he may have are quickly solved. For whatever it may be worth, Rob continues to have my confidence.

If the work coming from the Lummi shop weren't so outstanding, nobody would be expressing concern.

My WEE Ti arrived today, 11/5. Let me say it again, Rob's Lummi products are outstanding, superb products that shine(!) both in utility and as art. Anybody hesitating to order a Lummi light, hesitate no more. You will not be disappointed.

 

[orb]

Noel/Robocop, Thank you for your words of support here. All is really appreciated.
You have a good point & yes it would help not to supply batteries / chargers & even the locators. Two or three items to not hold up dispatch.
I do need to supply the complete package, more so for customers outside of cpf. I do provide the option to ship things like locators later after the lummi has dispatched at no extra cost to the customer.
Currently batteries & chargers are fine & have enough to satisfy outstanding orders.
Many orders dispatched in October as planed & many more will ship in November.
I feel the worst is over & good progress has been made. It would be great to have everything in stock all the time. The trouble is it probably never will be.
Call it the nature of the product/business, to clarify:
This is a small business & can not fund a large stock.
If we did have large stocks then new technology could supersede what is in stock. No thanks.
Over the years I have an idea on the average amount of orders that will come in during a month. Still what actually makes all this tick & stay relativity steady I have no idea!
With that said & the money to fund a decent stock of all product ready for immediate dispatch It would be tricky to say how many Lummi Wee's, Raw's to have available?
Quite an investment required also.

The way thinks work currently is we make batches of 50 - 100 of the metal work. This is good in the respect of keeping up to date & also quality.
What then tends to happen is something like batteries will run out & then have a lead time of a few weeks. In the time we are waiting for batteries orders continue to accumulate as most customer prefer battery to be supplied with torch. Batteries then arrive & I then see something like the Wee Ns's are running out or all gone. I then put the order in for more Wee Ns metal work & find the machine shop cannot make for another few weeks...............
Yes stock even small qty should be managed better, i except this & continue to make improvements. Like I tend not to run out of Mineral glass or the twist lock cases these days.
Sometimes I figure it may be best to treat the Lummi product as made to order & provided with a delivery time. A non refundable deposit perhaps?
Who knows really??? All I do is my best with the facilities I have. It is a real bonus to have so many good customers who are able to wait when necessary. Also fantastic to get great feedback for product I have designed/manufactured & delivered. I do not deny feeling a little low with the negative side of customers waiting & asking for refunds in the last few months.
I have also spent allot less time here on the forum as a direct result. I still need to keep my head down & get up to date.
Orders still outstanding are for Raw NS, Raw Al, Raw Ti & Wee Ns.
Reflectors which are in production this week are the only hold up for the Raw's, these will mostly go out before the 3rd week of this month.
Wee Ns's also in production will go out 2nd to 3rd week of this month.
All orders satisfied for Raw SS & Wee Ti's to date.

I realize I rambled on a bit here, its been a while since I posted..... Back to the bench.
Thank you again for your encouragement guys, exactly the best solution.

 

[daz4311]

well im in the process of sorting out my order with rob for my FIRST light and ive got to say even at this early stage he is very helpfull ...looks like ill own a raw ti sometime in january....now im of to e mail him back as the wife has seen what im ordering and she wants one:scowl:

 

[Nyctophiliac]

... the wife has seen what im ordering and she wants one:scowl:

Your wife likes torches? :bow:


Mind you - can't blame her. Rob's torches are very difficult to resist.


Rob - great to hear that you're succeeding in you endeavors.

to anyone still waiting, these are categorically worth waiting for. If they weren't in such demand, there wouldn't be supply problems.

The only problem I have is to resist buying yet another one myself - until after Christmas, that is!

Hmmm...Wee NS with turquoise cree? Red? :tinfoil:

 

[spyderknut]

Mine came yesterday!:twothumbs

RAW SS BB in pocket!

Wee Ti BB keeping Ag company for now.

 

[fyrstormer]

Rob, I think that last post of yours is just about the best "sorry for the delay" post I've read in a long time. It makes it very clear what the hangup is and to what extent you can and can't control delivery times.

 

[GrumpyBugger]

Rob, I think that last post of yours is just about the best "sorry for the delay" post I've read in a long time. It makes it very clear what the hangup is and to what extent you can and can't control delivery times.

It's fair enough that a small operator can't perfectly control supply and hence delivery times, but he could and should control the information that he gives out to people sending him money.

I ordered a Raw at the beginning of September (paying by PayPal on the website), and received an email stating that I should allow 10-15 days for delivery. A month or so later I emailed to find out where it was (I hadn't read this forum so wasn't aware of issues), and was told that there were no chargers. I looked on the website and found that chargers (as individual items) were indeed out of stock. That status changed a good few weeks ago now, but I've still received no torch. If it was just a case of chucking the chargers in with the in-stock torch and sending out, then how long can that take? Judging by the stock explanation above, we're talking about scores of packages here, not thousands.

I don't mind waiting for a high quality product, but I don't like being misled. I've no reason to think that Rob is misleading people deliberately, but doing it by accident or omission is still very poor customer service. I would expect as a minimum, that if an item is out of stock then (a) payment is not taken until it is ready to be delivered, and (b) accurate information about the stock level should be provided. I would much rather have received an email saying "The chargers aren't in stock, I hope to get them soon, but it's outside of my control and my best guess is it'll take yay-long", than one saying that it'll take a couple of weeks to assemble and dispatch, which then turns into a couple of months with no sign of movement.

 

[TRITON]

It's fair enough that a small operator can't perfectly control supply and hence delivery times, but he could and should control the information that he gives out to people sending him money.

I ordered a Raw at the beginning of September (paying by PayPal on the website), and received an email stating that I should allow 10-15 days for delivery. A month or so later I emailed to find out where it was (I hadn't read this forum so wasn't aware of issues), and was told that there were no chargers. I looked on the website and found that chargers (as individual items) were indeed out of stock. That status changed a good few weeks ago now, but I've still received no torch. If it was just a case of chucking the chargers in with the in-stock torch and sending out, then how long can that take? Judging by the stock explanation above, we're talking about scores of packages here, not thousands.

I don't mind waiting for a high quality product, but I don't like being misled. I've no reason to think that Rob is misleading people deliberately, but doing it by accident or omission is still very poor customer service. I would expect as a minimum, that if an item is out of stock then (a) payment is not taken until it is ready to be delivered, and (b) accurate information about the stock level should be provided. I would much rather have received an email saying "The chargers aren't in stock, I hope to get them soon, but it's outside of my control and my best guess is it'll take yay-long", than one saying that it'll take a couple of weeks to assemble and dispatch, which then turns into a couple of months with no sign of movement.

Hello all, Grumpybugger, I agree with you.I just joined up on C.P.F.I am tired of reading all the people telling there stories about getting the run around about there orders and not having my say.I ordered a wee & raw with spare bits and pieces on july 30th.With a few emails going back & forth since then.I have been told similar things that were told to Angrpaul, but I thought since Rob was having problems I would show some faith & patience. I emailed him again the other day asking how my order was going & was told that the wee ns's were all ready to go and he would definitely send them this week and send me a dispatch notice.Well friday came and went with no word. I have lost faith & patience & trust,I wish I had not ordered the torches at all,the exitement has well and truly worn off. I dont care how good these torches are they are not worth the bother or stress. I wish I had seen this forum before I ordered.I would have spent my money on something else.

 

[GrumpyBugger]

Well friday came and went with no word.

After establishing that the original delay was only due to a lack of chargers (the torch was in stock apparently), now I'm told that the chargers are in stock, but he's waiting for reflectors to arrive, and the locators are out of stock (again, in stock when I ordered AND PAID, but now they've all been sold). Last week, I was told that my torch would be sent this week, minus the locator. Imagine my surprise that I have received neither a torch nor an email saying that it's been sent.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it may be illegal to take payment for a mail order item until it is ready to be despatched. It's certainly morally dubious to do so without honestly explaining the situation and offering a refund until the item is in stock. To take payment for something which is partially in stock, then sell the bits that are in stock to somebody else, is in my view effectively the same as stealing. I had paid for that torch and locator, now it's presumably been sent to someone else! I feel like I'm being taken for a mug.

These are not the actions of the little guy having a few supply issues and doing the best that he can. This is, at best: shockingly bad customer service, at worst: dishonest deception.

 

[TRITON]

I felt like being taken for a mug a while back. he seems to be having a good life on other peoples money,if you read the twitter page on his website.Maybe we have not screemed loud enough, like the customers on the other side of the pond to me.I have bought items from other sites in England,America & HongKong & have always been treated well. They send emails to you with out being prompted explaining what is going on with your order, even offering a refund when there is a wait for a week or so on a particular item. I know these other sites are very busy because they are extremely popular.The only reason I ordered what I did is because it said on the website (in stock & ready to go ).Now it seems we have to wonder whats going to happen with the wee s/s, are those all going to be furnished & sent out before I get my order.Very unhappy about this whole affair,but what can I do from thousands of km's away.

 

[Kristo]

I hate that my first post is a ***** but if you got it coming then I guess that's the way it is.

I also ordered a Wee NS with trit. Site said in-stock on all trits and NS's. That was crap.
Paid, received email said they would be dispatched 10-15 days.
That was crap too.
After 2 months sent email wondering where we were on order-saw that lummi site had been updated. Received email, saying they would be sent out by the end of the month(Oct.)
This was a load of crap also.

How dare you take our money claiming items are in stock, then expect us to swallow that you will ship in 10-15 days, knowing you have no intention of shipping in that time-frame. Dont sugar coat it! I order custom knives at least twice a year and I am used to 2-3 year wait. If some makers were still taking orders I would wait 5-7 if I had to.But their Customer Service is great, you know where you are in the process, and that is why I will continue to buy from them- their word. You on the other hand are a different matter.
No matter how "great" the product is- it will always only be as good as the maker.
That is all...to bad I didn't find this place sooner. Would've saved my time and my money.

 

[orb]

Right then, clearly you 3 new guys to the forum have only joined to complain about waiting for your order from Lummi. I do not need to repeat all that has been said, if you are not able to wait then please ask for your money back by email. Please do not come here & just continue to come to your own conclusions & slander me & my business. At times when things are beginning to improve the last thing I need is the damage you type of customers seem hell bent on doing. All you need to do is send me an email & I will accomodate you in a polite manner with the choice to wait or take a refund.

To repeat, non of my customers are being ripped off. Everybody has always got & will get what they pay me for.
Whilst I appreciate your correct reasons for posting in this waiting thread.
Any further wrong accusations will force me to close this thread.