Overseas waiting lists, Poor business practise.

[Ent]

Hi

Given the flexibility of smaller cottage industries to respond to design and material changes having to wait is a small price to pay. Trouble with big companies is they have to aim for the bulk of the market to get the volume so are slow to investigate new materials and designs. Maybe with a few exceptions.

More than happy to wait for a quality product tailored for my "needs" rather than a one size fits all approach.

Cottage industries by selling direct can bypass the massive cost of distributors that plague the Australian wholesale/retail market. This means that their manufacturing cost can be higher but their product still cheaper to the consumer.

Biggest danger to a business is rapid expansion as you add costs before the revenue so happy to see slow and steady growth. Sure I want it all and I want it now as a consumer but I want the manufacturer to be in business long term so see delays in supply a good sign.

Cheers

[wayno]

the point about new materials is debateable. the big companies only tend to use new materials from their established suppliers, they can be quick to use the new materials put out by the suppliers, examples of suppliers are pertex and polartec.
but uptake of materials that arent peddaled by the big suppliers can and do get overlooked for some time or completely by the big companies, the likes of cuben and dynema are examples. dynema sems to be percolating through to some larger companies but not all. cuben is still mainly made by small companies

[Orion]

Thanks for the view inside.

"produced en masse.."
One of the most successful Cuben shelter manufacturers is Z Packs.
Started by Joe Valesko and his wife only a few years ago, operating from their garage, it has recently moved to here :

employing several full time workers.
They make shelters/backpacks quilts and other bits all from that floor space.
Hardly the factory floor of an Asian manufacturer that pumps out 300-500 tents a day....

Another example is that you need to wait for the owner of another company to finish her hiking season to get a Cuben tent from her because she is the one making them...
Mind you many large brands such as Sierra Designs,Black Diamond and MSR originated from a similar set up however it took years, takeovers and overseas production to get where they are now .

[wildernesswanderer]

That's pretty good time for a custom made product, the wedding album company I use is 12 weeks+ and heck lets not look into the custom bass guitar world, a Sadowsky bass is 7 months a Fondera anywhere from 12 to 18.....................months

[madmacca]

I've been following Joe at zpacks for a while, and the long waiting lists in the northern summer is a pretty regular feature. Come September and the wait list starts to decrease, and by November and it is down to 1-2 weeks.

[DannyS]

I wanted to post this as I just completed a sizeable order with Joe at Zpacks, I have a 4 week thru hike planned for the 13th of September and asked Joe if they could have the order delivered by the 10th to allow a little time to get a feel for it, I received a response back immediately saying he will schedule a delivery for the 6th to give me more time. That's just 2 and a bit weeks!
That whole transaction was very impressive, really makes me appreciate these cottage manufacturers.

[Strider]

if they are producing en masse, then why the waiting lists? are they only doing occasional factory runs when they have enough orders/funds?

Regardless of size of production, demand is still obviously higher than supply. Otherwise they would be shipped same-day.

"produced en masse.."
One of the most successful Cuben shelter manufacturers is Z Packs.
Started by Joe Valesko and his wife only a few years ago, operating from their garage, it has recently moved to here

Thanks for backing up my comment with some more substantial information Franco. So they are operating at a fair scale of production - its not like Joe is sewing them in the lounge room while watching TV in the evenings.

[Strider]

Franco - aren't Tarptent products made in a factory? And, if so, does this still count as "cottage industry"?

[wayno]

So they are operating at a fair scale of production - its not like Joe is sewing them in the lounge room while watching TV in the evenings.

he's probably doing that too....

http://hikinginfinland.com/interviews/
some of the interviews show other companies workroom, aarn which does juset look like one man at a work table and mountain laurel designs

[perfectlydark]

I take such terms like that and "family owned" with a grain of salt to be honest, just more marketting terms. If the product and service is good thats all that matters

[Strider]

I take such terms like that and "family owned" with a grain of salt to be honest, just more marketting terms. If the product and service is good thats all that matters

"Family owned" is just another way of saying "we will do what we want, when we want, and we don't care what you think".

[photohiker]

aarn which does juset look like one man at a work table

aarn are contract manufactured, in Vietnam I think. I've been to aarn's place a couple of years ago, it was just a couple of small sheds out the back.

[perfectlydark]

I take such terms like that and "family owned" with a grain of salt to be honest, just more marketting terms. If the product and service is good thats all that matters

"Family owned" is just another way of saying "we will do what we want, when we want, and we don't care what you think".

true. There are quite a few very big family owned companies out there, the only differnece being who owns the shares. As a customer it doesnt make a difference at all

[DannyS]

I take such terms like that and "family owned" with a grain of salt to be honest, just more marketting terms. If the product and service is good thats all that matters

"Family owned" is just another way of saying "we will do what we want, when we want, and we don't care what you think".

I don't think that's a fair statement, all businesses are reliant on the public for their welfare, I couldn't imagine a business lasting long with that kind of attitude?

[perfectlydark]

Lol danny I can think of several actually! Where theres a monopoly anything is possible!

[DannyS]

I guess I'm being naive huh? But ultimately all things play themselves out, you can only get away with that sort of attitude for so long!

[perfectlydark]

True. Monopoly also means opportunity. Kind of a glass half full thing eh?

[Strider]

I take such terms like that and "family owned" with a grain of salt to be honest, just more marketting terms. If the product and service is good thats all that matters

"Family owned" is just another way of saying "we will do what we want, when we want, and we don't care what you think".

I don't think that's a fair statement, all businesses are reliant on the public for their welfare, I couldn't imagine a business lasting long with that kind of attitude?

You would be surprised..