New Inventory page and process updates

[BigSwede]

Originally Posted by TahoeJoe

I'm partial to online stuff, where I live I have great internet but no cell service and no land line!

Can't you operate your cell phone via wifi? That's what I do at home.

[TahoeJoe]

Post production options have been released:
https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/h...%20Options.pdf

[Steve S.]

I don't know why the lift kit is $600. Isn't it just a bolt-on?

[WillyB]

Maybe I'm not understanding.

If ETI currently has a production lead time of about 1 year how are they going to find time to build "production" units?

Seems to me that if they have time for "production" units then they actually have a much shorter lead time than they are claiming.

I'll keep my eye on this one as the 5.0 I would want is not a option loaded unit.

[camp4528]

Today’s (Tue Mar 1) inventory trailer sold in about a minute again. It was interesting to see a minimal spec.

[Jon Mayer]

Many issues with this thread. 1) Karl has explained that these inventory units are being done so they can ramp up production. Not having to deal with customization means if their ramp up hits some snags they are not keeping someone waiting if they need to temporarily slow down the ramp up for whatever reason. It also means these trailers will be more efficiently dealt with because of no back and forth with the customer. When you read what some people want as customizations it’s getting a bit ridiculous.
2) post production options are more since they often come with added labour. You want the foot flush toilet? They need to remove the original toilet first. Same with high lift. Yes it’s bolt on but they need to disassemble the suspension/axle from the trailer before bolting it on. The buyer will pay for that labour, not Karl.
3) there is no one absolutely fair method of selling these inventory units. Keep in mind that first and foremost this is a business. At some point they need to simplify the process so employees are doing their normal jobs instead of managing an ever changing delivery list.
4) heavily optioned trailers are absolutely to increase profit margin. That’s their right. Some people will accept options they don’t want to get the trailer faster, others will wait and get only what they want. Your choice.
5) people need to remember these trailer offer many options and some customization but they are not truly custom. If they were you could make any change/design. Some changes are just not worth the time and effort on behalf of escape.

[Oldtimer]

Just throwing this out there. It seems they making the inventory units to take care people that want a unit now and not wait. They will also make a tidy profit on the post production options. So sad but that my opinion, profit is profit just scalping new customers .

David

[WillyB]

Originally Posted by Jon Mayer

Many issues with this thread. 1) Karl has explained that these inventory units are being done so they can ramp up production. Not having to deal with customization means if their ramp up hits some snags they are not keeping someone waiting if they need to temporarily slow down the ramp up for whatever reason. It also means these trailers will be more efficiently dealt with because of no back and forth with the customer. When you read what some people want as customizations it’s getting a bit ridiculous.
2) post production options are more since they often come with added labour. You want the foot flush toilet? They need to remove the original toilet first. Same with high lift. Yes it’s bolt on but they need to disassemble the suspension/axle from the trailer before bolting it on. The buyer will pay for that labour, not Karl.
3) there is no one absolutely fair method of selling these inventory units. Keep in mind that first and foremost this is a business. At some point they need to simplify the process so employees are doing their normal jobs instead of managing an ever changing delivery list.
4) heavily optioned trailers are absolutely to increase profit margin. That’s their right. Some people will accept options they don’t want to get the trailer faster, others will wait and get only what they want. Your choice.
5) people need to remember these trailer offer many options and some customization but they are not truly custom. If they were you could make any change/design. Some changes are just not worth the time and effort on behalf of escape.

Escape built their business and their reputation on unique custom personalization. That's what drove me to them.

Hopefully Karl remembers that.

Then again, who am I to say. I'm just one little potential customer who is willing to pay for hand built unique personalization. If I want production I''ll just click on www.forestriver.com or the many many others and buy something for half the price.

They all have the same refrigerators, air conditioners, stoves, ovens, power tongues, outside showers etc...etc......anyway.

I'll keep my eye on this one for sure. As you can see i'm a little concerned on the direction.

[NEWYORKHILLBILLY]

A 19 and 21 NE for sale this week. good luck to those looking

[sherminator]

Originally Posted by WillyB

Escape built their business and their reputation on unique custom personalization. That's what drove me to them.

Hopefully Karl remembers that.

Then again, who am I to say. I'm just one little potential customer who is willing to pay for hand built unique personalization. If I want production I''ll just click on www.forestriver.com or the many many others and buy something for half the price.

They all have the same refrigerators, air conditioners, stoves, ovens, power tongues, outside showers etc...etc......anyway.

I'll keep my eye on this one for sure. As you can see i'm a little concerned on the direction.

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say Escape has ever produced hand built uniquely custom trailers. They offer built to order trailers with a large number of standard options, allow customers to supply some of their own materials, e.g. fabrics, flooring, Formica, and will entertain new suggestions, which sometimes become new standard options. And the great majority of the components they use are exactly the same as are used in every Forest River product.

I believe Karl Kenney is savvy enough to realize that they have a niche that the big boys cannot profitably serve, and that for Escape to pivot towards competing with the big boys by abandoning their niche is a road to ruin. I work for a company whose bread & butter is custom design and build of industrial automation, but we too pursue some standard production work (what we call build to print) to help smooth out our production ups & downs and provide steady revenue. Profit is not bad - if you don't have it, you don't have a company.

[Steve S.]

We’ve revamped the process for customers wanting one of our weekly inventory trailers. We underestimated the demand and having so many people attempting to purchase the trailers at the same time was causing some issues.

Inventory trailer details and form coming Friday, March 19

New Inventory Process

Every Friday we will post a video to YouTube and will add the trailer details on this page. To get on the list, fill out the form at the bottom of this page. You can choose multiple trailers but are only eligible to purchase one.

We will close submissions at 12:00pm PST on Mondays. We will randomly draw from submissions for each trailer and once confirmed we'll announce the winners here and on our Facebook page.

It looks like they are revising the new inventory purchase process.

https://escapetrailer.com/inventory/

[JeffreyG]

Call me Nostradamus, I'm pretty sure I predicted that the internet free-for all going to the quickest clicker / person with fastest internet service was not likely to make anyone happy.


Who doesn't love desperately trying to book a very popular campsite at the exact moment the next block of reservations opens up, right?

[cpaharley2008]

Help me understand the rationale behind participating in a free for all vs ordering and receiving exactly the unit you want?

[JeffreyG]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Help me understand the rationale behind participating in a free for all vs ordering and receiving exactly the unit you want?

6 - 18 months earlier.


Want a trailer this summer? Free-for-all is the only path.

[cpaharley2008]

What ever happened to the "7 P's" doctrine?

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Help me understand the rationale behind participating in a free for all vs ordering and receiving exactly the unit you want?

Yeah, makes no sense to me either, but to each their own. If someone absolutely has to camp now, and desperately, they can always head to CW and grab a Coleman stickie.

[rbryan4]

Originally Posted by JeffreyG

6 - 18 months earlier.


Want a trailer this summer? Free-for-all is the only path.

To be more specific, want a new ESCAPE this summer, free-for-all is the only path.

If someone wants to RV this summer, there are many paths, and most don't involve a free-for-all. Besides, buying some other brand or renting might be an excellent way to find out if RVing is for them.

[JeffreyG]

Keep in mind that the units are pretty loaded. What if you saw a unit that was a 95% match to what you wanted and the remaining 5% was not a big deal? And your current best date is late 2021 or even mid-2022? You'd want that unit.



I'm waiting on a 19, and the only one that showed up so far had a no-go spec problem for me. But if I saw one that ticked all my core boxes and I could camp in it this summer vs. waiting until fall, I'd go for it.

[JeffreyG]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

To be more specific, want a new ESCAPE this summer, free-for-all is the only path.

If someone wants to RV this summer, there are many paths, and most don't involve a free-for-all.

So you don't understand compromising on a few options to get an Escape earlier, but you do suggest buying a completely different RV from what you want in order to get one earlier?


I'm not understanding this.

[camp4528]

Originally Posted by rbryan4

Yeah, makes no sense to me either, but to each their own. If someone absolutely has to camp now, and desperately, they can always head to CW and grab a Coleman stickie.

I like this new approach that takes manual dexterity and internet connectivity out of the equation. I’m content to wait but if a close-enough trailer appears in inventory I will enter the lottery. And if I win, great! And if I don’t win, I’ll eventually get a well-built fiberglass trailer exactly as I chose. A sooner-sticky is not an option for me.