At BD, we're in survival mode until things hopefully pick up in Spring. It's not just us. The entire Buggy sport is hurting. Amazon and eBay are after pure profits, and are crushing all of us enthusiast-based businesses who actually care about Buggies and who care about you.
You don't have to take my word for it, here's what Tom from KidNMe has to say about the state things from where he stands. The same goes for several other long-standing names of providers in the market who are in the same situation, but haven't spoken publicly. This sport is sinking, and needs a shift in direction right now.
Back here at BD, I also wrote a post explaining to my paying customers why our support is suffering. Why we're not getting some orders out on time, or able to reliably pick up the phone. I don't like talking indirectly, so I decided to give a real reason:
Here's the full article for context.
I've always refused to charge for our technical support, and I rely on the honor system to stay in business.
Charles' comment accurately describes one of the biggest ways that we're bleeding... people using our support to buy elsewhere. I spent 6 months between 6pm and 3am, almost every night, to build the verification system. I put in 11,000 verifications by hand, after measuring and identifying each part for each model. That's a lot of time away from my family, with the understanding with my Wife that it would help support them. After doing the right thing putting in the sweat and the hours to make real support and information available to all, my people and I should NOT be punished by seeing Buggy Depot's site used as a Buyer's Guide for eBay and Amazon. Padding corporate executive's pockets while I'm struggling to pay people to pick up the phone.
What Charles described is support theft that takes food directly off my table, and I'm not willing to put this into kinder terms to spare his feelings. I don't want this getting all twisted up. I'm not calling Charles a thief. But he knew what he was doing, and he knew what he was saying.
Now, I imagine Charles didn't like this because he put me on blast late last night. Not here on BD where he read my post, and not to me directly. Straight to Facebook. Now to be clear: I wasn't looking to make a point of Charles himself or cause him any damage, which is why I blurred out his picture and name in my original post to protect his anonymity and identity.
Charles, you didn't offer me the same courtesy. Rather than contacting me directly, you went straight for where you thought it would do me some damage:
Charles, you're free to come and address me here directly. Hashing out disagreements and reaching a resolution is what this section of the forum is meant for. A lot of people gripe and complain, but it's not often a person is willing to actually have a conversation that helps fix the root problem. In either case, if you've got a bone to pick with something I've said, this is the appropriate place to do it. You're free to speak your mind, there are no filters or censors here.
You don't have to take my word for it, here's what Tom from KidNMe has to say about the state things from where he stands. The same goes for several other long-standing names of providers in the market who are in the same situation, but haven't spoken publicly. This sport is sinking, and needs a shift in direction right now.
Back here at BD, I also wrote a post explaining to my paying customers why our support is suffering. Why we're not getting some orders out on time, or able to reliably pick up the phone. I don't like talking indirectly, so I decided to give a real reason:
Here's the full article for context.
I've always refused to charge for our technical support, and I rely on the honor system to stay in business.
Charles' comment accurately describes one of the biggest ways that we're bleeding... people using our support to buy elsewhere. I spent 6 months between 6pm and 3am, almost every night, to build the verification system. I put in 11,000 verifications by hand, after measuring and identifying each part for each model. That's a lot of time away from my family, with the understanding with my Wife that it would help support them. After doing the right thing putting in the sweat and the hours to make real support and information available to all, my people and I should NOT be punished by seeing Buggy Depot's site used as a Buyer's Guide for eBay and Amazon. Padding corporate executive's pockets while I'm struggling to pay people to pick up the phone.
What Charles described is support theft that takes food directly off my table, and I'm not willing to put this into kinder terms to spare his feelings. I don't want this getting all twisted up. I'm not calling Charles a thief. But he knew what he was doing, and he knew what he was saying.
Now, I imagine Charles didn't like this because he put me on blast late last night. Not here on BD where he read my post, and not to me directly. Straight to Facebook. Now to be clear: I wasn't looking to make a point of Charles himself or cause him any damage, which is why I blurred out his picture and name in my original post to protect his anonymity and identity.
Charles, you didn't offer me the same courtesy. Rather than contacting me directly, you went straight for where you thought it would do me some damage:
Charles, you're free to come and address me here directly. Hashing out disagreements and reaching a resolution is what this section of the forum is meant for. A lot of people gripe and complain, but it's not often a person is willing to actually have a conversation that helps fix the root problem. In either case, if you've got a bone to pick with something I've said, this is the appropriate place to do it. You're free to speak your mind, there are no filters or censors here.
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Travis · Buggy Depot · Enthusiast owned and operated since 2005
Would you recommend Buggy Depot to other buggy owners?
If our work and support helps keeps your machine running, consider leaving us a review to tell others!
People speak up on their own when there is a problem. But who represents the thousands of positive interactions for every one negative? You do! Your opinion helps us keep this level of support going. Share your experience!
Would you recommend Buggy Depot to other buggy owners?
If our work and support helps keeps your machine running, consider leaving us a review to tell others!
People speak up on their own when there is a problem. But who represents the thousands of positive interactions for every one negative? You do! Your opinion helps us keep this level of support going. Share your experience!
