A McHale demo pack arrived today

Ditto!

Enough.

It was just a joke, Ken. We can't be serious all the time. ;)

And anyways, begging for a thread to die is kind of useless. I don't totally get why everyone's trying so hard to strangle it. It'll go away when people are done being interested in it, like every thread.

Honestly, the behavior of insulting someone, then editing all the posts in a thread to be blank seems really immature and ridiculous. Information control is becoming a trend on BPL, and it's annoying when all I'm looking for is community.

Max, the only person that edited all of their posts to be blank was the OP and he did not insult anyone.

Everyone did it in the last thread. 90% of your posts are edited after the fact to add/remove things because I saw two versions of everything last night when I refreshed the page.

This forum is becoming a mini-facebook and everyone's acting high school. I'm gonna take Ian's route and grab a beer.

I don't think I edited anything in the last thread to hide any insults. If anything I added insults while editing. I edit grammar and add insults, that's the purpose of my editing typically.

"This forum is becoming a mini-facebook and everyone's acting high school."

The "Real Housewives of BPL"

I'm glad you pointed out that you were joking Max. I was starting to wonder about you.

You really should be more positive about editing also . It can bring a new life to your writing. ( I actually stopped in the middle of shaving to make this post. )

I am enjoying this. No need to watch TV.

I am curious about the ecological impact of shaving versus growing a beard.

As an environmental scientist with a beard, I can't answer that question.

"I am enjoying this. No need to watch TV."

I think you'de enjoy "The Real Housewives of XXX" series of TV programs. There's one for Orange County, Beverly Hills, Georgia, Miami, New Jersey… There's one about 20 something year old Jewish women that aren't married. There's a guy in L.A. that remodels houses. etc. etc. etc. They make this thread look like well behaved people.

Never heard of those shows. I like to watch movies. Wish there were reruns of All in the Family, Taxi, Tool Time, and Barney Miller on my TV those were the last sitcoms I watched.

I forgot to put a ": )"

Modern culture is passing you by Nick

ADD moment warning

Barney Miller is the most realistic cop show ever! Any given show they were sitting in front of a typewriter filling out reports. Off to Amazon to see if I can find a box set….. might have to look for WKRP while I'm at it.

Edit: Classic http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1MLwljrXIY

I forgot about WKRP. Loni Anderson — nothing else to say :)

Edited for Max.

I wonder if somebody could do the simple addition on that invoice to affirm that I did not charge Herman more than $75.00 for shipping. What is it – 2nd grade math? I would appreciate it. The minus $78.00 charge at the bottom is simply some shoulder pouches that were on the order by mistake.

Better yet, I will just list the items so they are easy to read and add them up. Thanks.

Dan I already did and you are right, he was only charged $75 for shipping… End of story

Thanks Mike!

The calculations look in order, it looks like it was only $75 total for shipping, so no problems there.

I feel like there needs to be some kind of proper discussion, probably elsewhere because it is off-topic, about the problems that have been hitting the forums lately with regard to cottage manufacturers defending themselves against reports of poor user experiences (eg McHale and SMD threads). I'll outline my view briefly, but maybe it is worth beginning a new thread about it. I for one feel that people have made too much of the responses from vendors in these situations.

The way I see it is that people want to have their cake and eat it too. BPL users often laud the fact that cottage vendors frequent the forums, use the forums to receive feedback on/develop products, answer user questions, clarify issues etc etc. New cottage vendors have even started up with the input and support of this great community.

But I can’t help but feel that there have been some unreasonable expectations of how these vendors should behave. It seems to me that where vendors have attempted to defend themselves against public complaints, they have been unreasonably attacked by the community. There are the usual cries that the vendor should just let it go quietly, that they are doing their business more harm than good, that it isn’t worth it to be defensive in public, that “the customer is always right”. But I think that loses sight of the bigger picture and a growing phenomenon across the web and commerce in general.

The fact of the matter is, word of mouth is a completely different beast than it was a while back and particularly in the age of large forums like this and the amount of trolling that goes on, I think it is perfectly understandable that vendors come on here to offer their side of the story. We love that they are here to discuss their products and philosophy other times, we love that we can put a face to the business, we love that we can support local manufacturing, small business, custom designs with real user input, and so on – so why can’t we handle it when they comment on ugly transactions? I know most big business love to sweep problems under the carpet and send people out their hush money/product, but is that really what we want from our cottage manufacturers? If this community is to continue to be as great a resource as it has always been, vendors should be able to come here and offer their side of the story – it gives us all a better insight into the transaction and the product. And does anyone really blame Dan for giving a bit of lip when he is confronted by unhelpful negative comments ad nauseum?

This thread began with someone excited about the product they received, praising its workmanship and design. It was followed by what was a slightly (but not overly) provocative line of questioning about the packs being worth the cost. I must admit I was surprised at the total cost of the invoice just posted – but I also think that that is the cost of custom work, and actually getting to have input into the design and getting something made bespoke. I don’t expect TJ Maxx prices when I go to a tailor to get a suit made, so I dont really understand the line of questioning about the price. And I think this comes back to the same issue of people expecting to have personal access to cottage manufacturers without all of the consequences that necessarily come with it (eg. higher prices, responses to grievances aired in the forums). C'mon guys, get real.

Edit: I've removed personal references because we really don't need it.

nm

Edit: I've removed personal references because we really don't need it.

Thank You Philip. That post of yours was a good as Saving Private Ryan!

My post, with the exception of a $75 error (peanuts on an $1100 pack), merely mentioned to beware the creep of extras that you want. I asked and received what I wanted and the price crept up on me. Not that Dan was ripping me off, but that all the bells and whistles I wanted added up. And for the OP (who only had a demo, and did not have a new piece of gear) to be wary of that, as he was going to be in the process of building a new pack through Dan. As well that the cost wasn't worth it to me. I don't see that as being negative towards a manufacturer. I think posters have a right to make known to other buyers if the quality, price, experience, customer service, or whole package was not to their liking.