Price increase without notice

[LeonW]

My recollection is that ETI has sometimes had to raise prices, but has also lowered prices when the cost of the their materials declined. Sometimes they were announced and sometimes not. When we purchased our first Escape, the Canadian dollar was worth about $1.02 - $1.05 US dollars. When we ordered the second trailer the Canadian dollar was only worth about .90 US Dollars. The recent small price increase is probably offset by recent currency fluctuations.

In short, I think price fluctuations are just part of the game when we buy from a small manufacturer in a foreign country.

[Mike & Donna]

Prices change all the time. If you go to the store or call and inquire about a product and it's price and return a week later, you shouldn't expect to be able to buy the item at last week's price just because you "saw" or "called" about the product. If you had signed some kind of commitment then I could understand your point.

I hope you call Escape and express your concerns and maybe you can work out something that would be agreeable to both sides. Good luck in your search for a trailer.

[Kountrykamper]

They are trying to project their cost on a product that will probably be manufactured in late 2017 or 2018. That's tough in today's world.

The price will probably go up again before you get your trailer so look at it as an investment.

[Jim Bennett]

Not sure if it is across the board, but the 5.0 TA is up $1,200 too. None of the options have changed price, at least for the time being.

There is absolutely no commitment by a seller to commit to a previous quoted price, unless it is written down, and a contract in place. I am sure many people saw the previous quoted price, but that alone is not reason for Escape to commit to giving everyone who saw it that price.

I do realize that even that small of an increase is disheartening, but in the scheme of life, and if an Escape trailer was that high on the priority list, it would not dissuade me. Heck, they raised the price on me by $4k for the new model, and though I would rather not pay it, it offered what I wanted, and was willing to pay the price.

Seeing the post from the OP was the first and only one to date. It would seem that he only joined and posted to grumble. I certainly hope he takes the time to listen to others here and comes back, after realizing that Reace and Tammy are folks with lots of integrity, and run a very respectable business.

[mscharpf]

Thanks to those that recommended I talk with Tammy directly. I did, my concerns were satisfactorily addressed and I submitted my order! Tammy indicated that price increases for some options are under consideration as well.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by mscharpf

Thanks to those that recommended I talk with Tammy directly. I did, my concerns were satisfactorily addressed and I submitted my order! Tammy indicated that price increases for some options are under consideration as well.

Great to hear, and congrats on your order. You are going to love your trailer, and make lots of fun memories with it.

Is there much for camping right near Westfield. I am not at all used to the road system around there, and when I was there last June, it took my full attention just to figure out where to go, where to merge/diverge etc. Lots of interesting stuff, but boy is it busy compared to Calgary and area. I do ask, as sometime I would love to venture down the eastern seaboard, sticking as close to the ocean as possible, but with trips in (or out) too.

[Mike & Donna]

Originally Posted by mscharpf

Thanks to those that recommended I talk with Tammy directly. I did, my concerns were satisfactorily addressed and I submitted my order! Tammy indicated that price increases for some options are under consideration as well.

Good for you. Glad you got it worked and and now you can join the rest of us as we wait for our turn to post pics of our trailer as it goes through the construction phase. Welcome to the Escape forum.

[float5]

Originally Posted by mscharpf

Thanks to those that recommended I talk with Tammy directly. I did, my concerns were satisfactorily addressed and I submitted my order! Tammy indicated that price increases for some options are under consideration as well.

Congrats on your order and I know you will love your 21'.

Back in 2011 when our first Escape was bought by someone else (they sold it to us eight months later), they had to pay more than the Canadian dollar price. By the time we ordered our Escape three years later, the saving for Americans was several thousand dollars if the total was, say, $36000 Canadian. Now it is even much better. Escape is doing well and Americans are doing well on this. The bad news is for Canadian buyers unfortunately.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by mscharpf

Thanks to those that recommended I talk with Tammy directly. I did, my concerns were satisfactorily addressed and I submitted my order! Tammy indicated that price increases for some options are under consideration as well.

Mike, I'm sure that as you go through the process and finally pick up your trailer and meet Tammy and Reace (unless you are opting for delivery) you will understand why so many of us think so highly of them, and you will agree that Escape's concern for customers is second to none. You will also find most of the people on this forum will happily answer any questions you may have.

[Loren & Cathy]

mscharpf, I am so glad to see that you placed your order. I have never seen a company so willing to work with their customers like ETI. In my opinion they have gone above and beyond the call of duty many times and with some of the modifications they are doing for buyers, I am shaking my head in disbelief.

One thing Reace has a big juggling act with is the exchange rate. Since 2014, it has really gotten wild and a lot of their inputs come from the US. We put our money down in Sept. of 2014 and there were no price increases when we picked up in Sept. of 2015. I can't speak highly enough of Reace and Tammy and working with Escape trailers was one of the best buying experiences we have ever had. I sure can't say that with some of the vehicles I have bought. One memorable experience was where I had the finance manager backed into a corner and roared at him that I ought to wring his fat neck. Loren

[Marry]

Originally Posted by mscharpf

Thanks to those that recommended I talk with Tammy directly. I did, my concerns were satisfactorily addressed and I submitted my order! Tammy indicated that price increases for some options are under consideration as well.

Oh my, oh my!! So glad you were willing to contact them!!
Congratulations on your order!
By the time you pick up your trailer, you will understand what we all are blabbing about here on the forum. ETI sure is different from the rest!
I bet you will sleep like a baby tonight. Sweet dreams....

[Viajante]

This thread is another example of how some members who position themselves as defenders of all things Escape, actually have the least amount of faith in the company's ability to listen and respond to its customers.

The original poster knows that prices go up and sometimes down. The concern was about feeling blindsided about the price increase. So, he was more or less told by the core (corps?) to fall in line and quit complaining.

But once again, the company listened, made a change, and a sale. Good for them.

Brings to mind the recent thread on the mini split air conditioner. It sounds like a great mod. Some people are interested in it and wondering if ETI can accommodate such an installation. Here comes the usual group to say no, too difficult, too big a task, etc. I wouldn't be surprised to hear otherwise from the company.

[NW Cat Owner]

Originally Posted by Viajante

This thread is another example of how some members who position themselves as defenders of all things Escape, actually have the least amount of faith in the company's ability to listen and respond to its customers.

The original poster knows that prices go up and sometimes down. The concern was about feeling blindsided about the price increase. So, he was more or less told by the core (corps?) to fall in line and quit complaining.

When we ordered our trailer we had to pay for some price increases in options. I would suggest to ANY buyer that you find out exactly when ETI considers the build sheet to be signed off on. I thought we had and the trailer was paid in full and yet there was another price increase on something (forget now what it was). Turns out the build sheet wasn't signed off from their point of view.

I'm thrilled the OP was able to order the trailer at the price that was quoted when he first talked to ETI. I can well understand your frustration and anger about it. I would have been feeling the same way.

ETI will not always solve things to the customer's satisfaction. I sent them an email over a week ago expressing my feelings on 2 things that I didn't like about the trailer - which I also mentioned/discussed during my orientation - and that is still majorly bugging me more than a week later. Nope, haven't rec'd a reply which rather surprised me. Guess they didn't like the Peel & Stick I put in the kitchen, as I had attached a photo of that.

To the OP - have fun deciding on your options now. This forum can provide tons of information. Just be aware that some of the options owners got in the past ETI is no longer doing. I'm thrilled I got the sink I wanted and had purchased long time ago, after they said they could install it. However, they aren't installing that type any longer. I could not tell you why as I didn't understand the reasoning.

Same with the heat tape we got.

So, yeah, triple check with them that something can be done if you're looking at things such as a different sink, etc.

[War Eagle]

Originally Posted by mscharpf

Thanks to those that recommended I talk with Tammy directly. I did, my concerns were satisfactorily addressed and I submitted my order! Tammy indicated that price increases for some options are under consideration as well.

Mike, Just as an example, we pretty much knew the major options we wanted before we made our down payment on a 2017 21' back in May, We had our custom counter top selected and custom fabric purchased within two weeks of that. Made a few tweaks to the build sheet as ideas on this forum caught our eyes, but then submitted our final signed build sheet ahead of the deadline to make sure we locked everything in and then got it paid in full as soon as we could. We ended up paying just under $29K USD for the camper plus options/accessories that lists at a little over $37K CAD for a final calculated exchange rate (CAD to USD) of 0.7760 (we had budgeted in May hoping for a 0.78 exchange rate, so we actually came out a little under budget in the end). The current exchange rate (fluctuating between .74 and .76) really does make a difference in a budget, but you can get ulcers watching it fluctuate up and down and hoping your payment hits their bank during a valley rather than a peak. There is a whole thread on this forum dealing with hedging against changes in the exchange rate, but after our first attempt at a wire transfer ended up taking 5 days to get from our bank to theirs (plus multiple fees along the way), we ended up just sending payments by personal checks mailed through the U.S. postal service, and we only got burned once when the exchange rate jumped 1.5% over the 7 days our check was in the mail. Again, just our experience, and we are very pleased. I know you will be, too....

[rbryan4]

US buyers, or those just thinking about it, I can't think of a better time to jump. The Dollar just hit its highest level since 2003. To put it in perspective, at least for me, my trailer would be over 2 grand less than what I paid for it in Feb of 2015 at today's exchange rates. I don't know how long this strong dollar can sustain, but it sure is bargain time.

[steve dunham]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

US buyers, or those just thinking about it, I can't think of a better time to jump. The Dollar just hit its highest level since 2003. To put it in perspective, at least for me, my trailer would be over 2 grand less than what I paid for it in Feb of 2015 at today's exchange rates. I don't know how long this strong dollar can sustain, but it sure is bargain time.

I am waiting for it to drop to at least the 2002 levels of
61 .2 cents US equal $1 Canadian. There are those predicting that in 2017 the rate may improve to 59 cents US = $1 Canadian.
It's my only hope.

Happy Holidays

[Kountrykamper]

But most are predicting it to go to .85 next year. I'm happy we upgraded now and got .75 compared to the .95 we got on the first trailer.

[garysd]

I had asked Sarah about the price increase on the 21 and this is her reply:

"The price increase to the base price will only effect customers who have not placed an order yet. The only pricing subject to change which may affect you would be option pricing until your Build Sheet is signed off."

Seems reasonable, and I'm glad to hear that you were able to get the previous price, mscharpf.

For those of you who have yet to submit your Build Sheet in the near future, make sure that Escape signs off on it.

[Mike & Donna]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

US buyers, or those just thinking about it, I can't think of a better time to jump. The Dollar just hit its highest level since 2003. To put it in perspective, at least for me, my trailer would be over 2 grand less than what I paid for it in Feb of 2015 at today's exchange rates. I don't know how long this strong dollar can sustain, but it sure is bargain time.

I agree with Robert, it is certainly a great time to buy an Escape. Exchange rates are highly unpredictable, kind of like guessing where the stock market is heading. You may come out better if you wait a year and you may end up kicking yourself because you waited and now the exchange rate is closer to even. If the price of oil keeps going up then you can expect the CAD to strenghten vs the dollar. At least that's the word from the so called "experts".

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by garysd

I had asked Sarah about the price increase on the 21 and this is her reply:

"The price increase to the base price will only effect customers who have not placed an order yet. The only pricing subject to change which may affect you would be option pricing until your Build Sheet is signed off."

Seems reasonable, and I'm glad to hear that you were able to get the previous price, mscharpf.

For those of you who have yet to submit your Build Sheet in the near future, make sure that Escape signs off on it.

I would like to have gotten the same deal. My base price increased in Jan 2015 after ordering in June of 2014.