Escape 2020 Update

[cpaharley2008]

AFAIK, after submitting your deposit, which is refundable other than $500. nothing is carved in stone until your build sheet is signed. I switched from a 5.0 to a E19 back in 2016 when they came out with the 2ndG models. No problem with switching. On my 2019E21, we had the tariff issues and the window issues, all of which pushed my completion back 6 months. I lost the sale discount but still got my free front box.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by daviddesjardins

Pricing for 2020
The base pricing we display on the website and in brochures moving forward will be in US funds. Canadian prices will be displayed as well, and for Canadian customers your build sheets will still be in Canadian funds. The reason why we are switching is to improve our pricing competitiveness in the US market. More than 70% of our business is US based. Customers can pay in either USD or CAD.

David, could we get some clarification on this?

If a Canadian places an order, is the price in CAD whatever is displayed on the website, or is it the current conversion from USD? Is the price for them fixed in CAD, or are they subject to changes due to exchange rate fluctuations?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by daviddesjardins

• "making the process less friendly by having us sign up" - This was a hotly debated change to the process of ordering a trailer, which we continue to review based on your feedback. Last year we implemented software to help us manage the sales process, and improve the speed in which we communicate with customers, and ultimately predict the sales volume for planning. We agree that keeping it simple is the way to go, and we're reviewing how to best implement that.

The first step would be to recognize that what is convenient for the CRM tool or even sales staff is much less important than what works for customers. Of course contact information is needed with an order, or a request for future updates, but no customer would ever choose to be required to provide contact information to see a standard options and price list. Almost every auto manufacturer realizes that and their complete build-and-configure tools are available anonymously.

It's astounding that this was a debate; who would argue in favour of making it difficult for the potential customer?

David, I do appreciate your sharing these updates and listening to feedback. I hope you appreciate that much of it is not going to be easy to hear, but that's the feedback which will help you.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by daviddesjardins

• "posting on Facebook or the forums" - any announcements moving forward will be duplicated on both the forums and FB for both audiences.

Good, but they should be in the website news feed as well; maybe that was implied, but in the past it hasn't been the case. Most people don't have Facebook accounts, and even then many of us with them don't want to connect with a retailer in social media. Although the forums are popular, most owners are not active members, and few prospective customers are.

[cpaharley2008]

Brian,
In the past and it may well still be, the conversion rate differential was daily. When you make a payment, you received credit on the date Escape deposits and credits to your account. That amount paid credit remains fixed until all payments are paid and their subsequent conversions applied. The build sheet shows both US payments received as well as credits in Canadian dollars, at each date of receipt.

[MikeS]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

AFAIK, after submitting your deposit, which is refundable other than $500. nothing is carved in stone until your build sheet is signed. I switched from a 5.0 to a E19 back in 2016 when they came out with the 2ndG models. No problem with switching. On my 2019E21, we had the tariff issues and the window issues, all of which pushed my completion back 6 months. I lost the sale discount but still got my free front box.

Do you have a completion date for the new 23'? Notice how for your 5th Escape a 23 = 2+ 3=5?

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Brian,
In the past and it may well still be, the conversion rate differential was daily. When you make a payment, you received credit on the date Escape deposits and credits to your account. That amount paid credit remains fixed until all payments are paid and their subsequent conversions applied. The build sheet shows both US payments received as well as credits in Canadian dollars, at each date of receipt.

That was with the price defined in CAD and only in CAD, and USD amounts shown only for the customer's convenience. Escape is changing to a "base price in USD" but presented in both currencies, which is why I am asking about the implications.

[daviddesjardins]

We hope to make the formal announcement of the release dates by the end of this year. The key element to being able to provide a date is a completed mold for the exterior, requiring several months lead time.

[daviddesjardins]

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

That was with the price defined in CAD and only in CAD, and USD amounts shown only for the customer's convenience. Escape is changing to a "base price in USD" but presented in both currencies, which is why I am asking about the implications.

While we quote specifically for each customer, the exchange rate is locked in at the time of the quote. We purchase materials well in advance of orders, and the exchange rates reflect when that purchase was made. The components of the trailer are sourced from both the US and Canada, meaning the final price is an aggregate of the component costs, exchange rates and duties, and the labour needed to build the unit. It one of the ways we keep Escape Trailer competitively priced.

If you want to take advantage of the exchange rates at your bank, we will accept payment in either currency.

[EdColorado]

Canadian vs US customers.

Besides the hot-button currency issue under discussion, there are other differences depending on the buyers country of residence.
The pickup/delivery procedure.
Provincial taxes due from Canadian buyers.
Provincial licensing differences.

A lot of websites that cater to international users, Quebec being an example, ask up front the site visitors preferred language then they are directed accordingly.

It would seem simple to ask a person when they first enter the Escape site to indicate their country of residence and then direct them to the Canadian or US version of the site. The Canadian version addresses the Canadian issues plus in CAD and the US the US.
Right down to the politically corrects tire cover.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by MikeS

..............Notice how for your 5th Escape a 23 = 2+ 3=5?

They're going to name the model "The Fibonacci", but only for those trailers mfd. in sequence. (If you buy just a bare-bones shell, it's called the Nautilus!)


Edit: since the thread is on page 3, I figured it was OK for a small derail.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by EdColorado

A lot of websites that cater to international users, Quebec being an example, ask up front the site visitors preferred language then they are directed accordingly.

It would seem simple to ask a person when they first enter the Escape site to indicate their country of residence and then direct them to the Canadian or US version of the site. The Canadian version addresses the Canadian issues plus in CAD and the US the US.

Yes. This is website (rather than 2020 updates) issue, but the new website demands contact information, then doesn't use it to customize the quote.

[Brian B-P]

Originally Posted by daviddesjardins

While we quote specifically for each customer, the exchange rate is locked in at the time of the quote. We purchase materials well in advance of orders, and the exchange rates reflect when that purchase was made. The components of the trailer are sourced from both the US and Canada, meaning the final price is an aggregate of the component costs, exchange rates and duties, and the labour needed to build the unit. It one of the ways we keep Escape Trailer competitively priced.

That would presumably be a quote for a final order (when a deposit is paid), not the "I wonder what a trailer would cost" preliminary quote. That would be the same as current practice.

Since the base prices and option prices are published in both currencies, and the ratio between them will not match the exchange rate of the day, which one is authoritative? One of those lists is only an approximation, and I suspect that it will be the CAD list... so I wonder why that one is published at all.

I'll take guesses at the answers to the questions which I asked:

Originally Posted by Brian B-P

If a Canadian places an order, is the price in CAD whatever is displayed on the website, or is it the current conversion from USD? Is the price for them fixed in CAD, or are they subject to changes due to exchange rate fluctuations?

The price in the quote will the USD price.
The price is fixed in USD, so Canadian buyers will take the exchange rate risk of any changes from the quote date to the final payment date.

[RonB]

Originally Posted by RonB

Just curious, is a larger fifth wheel with a dry bathroom on the horizon? If not in 2020, perhaps in 2021 or 2022?

David,

Can you provide a yes/no/maybe answer to the above question?

Ron

[Iowa Dave]

Hi Jim
Me too. She must be busy today. Heat from the fire is toasty on my old body.
Iowa Dave

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by dfandrews

They're going to name the model "The Fibonacci", but only for those trailers mfd. in sequence. (If you buy just a bare-bones shell, it's called the Nautilus!)


Edit: since the thread is on page 3, I figured it was OK for a small derail.

I had a faint mental glimmer when I saw Fibonacci. I had to look it up. Then it all came back to me. It was tenth grade, in the spring, Miss Rickey was teaching math, I was looking out the window at a male robin singing in a little red maple tree. My mind might as well have been on Mars. The crappies were biting somewhere and it wasn’t at Jefferson High School.
Thanks for the reminder.
Iowa Dave

[John in Santa Cruz]

I for one prefer the bed in front and the dinette in back. the back usually has the better view, the front is usually looking at the back of my truck. I have the windows around my 21's bed pretty much permanently blacked out with reflectix.

[dfandrews]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

I had a faint mental glimmer when I saw Fibonacci. I had to look it up. Then it all came back to me. It was tenth grade, in the spring, Miss Rickey was teaching math, I was looking out the window at a male robin singing in a little red maple tree. My mind might as well have been on Mars. The crappies were biting somewhere and it wasn’t at Jefferson High School.
Thanks for the reminder.
Iowa Dave

Thanks for saving me, Dave. I was about ready to edit, delete, and just write the word "poutine", or maybe "Look! Squirrel!".

[Hollybee]

Well since we already have an E21 in production, acc to the recent pix, I can say that we are satisfied w the layout.. After all we are moving up from a Casita Indy17, and looking 4wrd to the extra room. AFA 'rear twin bed' concept in the E21, I don't have much input..we had that rear twin in the Casita Independence we sold in July and liked it fine, but the Casita is too narrow, so foot room and kitchen room was lacking. Holly likes the room in the mid-cabin area..no more doing the "shimmy" to get by while anyone is cooking etc. ..and the front dbl bed has foot room at the rear aplenty...and easy "no crawl over" access for the both of us. Personally I like a dinette in the rear.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by RonB

David,

Can you provide a yes/no/maybe answer to the above question?

Ron

You may want to p/m your question for a better response.