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Please read
the following news
before you continue your
visit
(March 5, 2010)
High end uniforms are available! See more HERE
NEWS MENU
* Caps no longer available *
* Website hacked * -
* Website update * - *
Shipments * - * Status of company * -
* About Paypal *
* Emails *
- Field caps and side
caps: no longer available -
We're sorry
to announce that side caps and field caps of all types are
no longer being produced by our supplier for the
REGULAR line
of products. We
will therefore discard the caps from all our package
deals.
We have no
responsibility in that decision as we're being told that:
"these
items are not included because the factory will no longer be making
them on an individual basis. As you can imagine it is too time
consuming to make just one cap. In the future there will be a
minimum order required for caps of 10 pieces (per model per
size)..."
We might stock a few models in popular sizes (57-58)
in the future but there is no immediate plan to do so at the moment.
We will let you know as soon as we find an
alternative
NB: Those
items are available from our
High end line
of uniforms
upon demand. Please inquire.
-
Website hacked -
After
two hacking incidents
(Febr.6 to 12 and Febr. 17 to 19) I have regained control over the
access to this website. Each time, the hacker simply “locked” the
content by changing the password to the server but never changed or
deleted any part of it: the result is that I have been unable
to either change or update anything on Der Stahladler's website. The
incidents are under investigation.
- Update
finally on its way -
I am now working on a
major update which will change the following things:
Changes should be
completed by the first week of March.
-
Shipments -
Products ordered
between Nov. 20th and Dec. 31st are being
shipped right now. Please email me if your products are either not
arrived OR not listed as “shipped” on Paypal within the next 10 days.
IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT -
IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT - IMPORTANT
- Status
of the company following the Jan.1 2010 changes -
Following the official
association between our original Asian partner and a U.S. based dealer,
I now get my uniforms through a 3rd party. Since there
was no other way to continue offering that line of product, I was forced
to review my prices accordingly (due to an important increase of
prices at the source). I however have decided to maintain the best
prices possible, even if it meant minimal profits. You will especially
appreciate the prices to come on the packages.
My understanding of the
new situation was that the products, from now on, would be stocked
and ordered from the U.S.
However, it seems that products are not stocked in sufficient quantities
in North America and that every order is placed with the maker
once every 4-6 weeks, then shipped to the U.S. on a boat
(containers), THEN shipped to Canada, THEN I can ship to
my customers. As a result, not only the waiting time has not
shrunk, but “au contraire”, it increased.
Another fact is that I
used to pay all my suppliers through Paypal, making every order a matter
of seconds. Our supplier’s new terms of business are now
excluding Paypal as a way of payment. Consequently, all orders are
shipped every two weeks, using bank transfers or Money orders, which
affects the speed of the whole process.
Of course, I still
believe that, since we’re talking about “specialty” products, one should
be willing to wait for such a product. This is not a “Wal-Mart” type of
market and people must learn to live with it. It would be wonderful “if”
things were otherwise, but that is sadly not the case.
Am I happy with such a
situation? Of course I am not. Do I have any choice?
No. Do customers have a choice? Yes. We live in a free world,
and anybody can buy from me, or from the U.S. based vendor. However, the
problem will be the same. I think that we will all go through some
period of adjustment and then things might change for the best, or
evolve another way.
So PLEASE, when
purchasing an item from Der Stahladler, please be aware that it
CAN TAKE APPROXIMATELY 10-12 WEEKS
before you receive your product. “Special” orders (such as rarer
waffenfarbe/piping) might even take longer.
You WILL receive what you have paid for, but do NOT place an
order if you are on a “tight schedule” with an event in mind.
That simply puts too much pressure on everybody involved.
- ABOUT
PAYPAL -
As you might know, the
people who
own PAYPAL are the same guys who run
EBay… They are anything but sympathetic to anybody who
specializes in German WW2 products. When somebody purchases an item
using Paypal, and that they “open a dispute” for “non received purchases”
after 3 weeks, they are simply slowly killing this business. First, they
do not pay attention to the conditions surrounding such a transaction:
THERE IS NO WAY one can purchase a uniform/item and receive it within
2-3 weeks UNLESS it is advertised as “ready to ship”.
So I suspect that
some people do
open such disputes INTENTIONALLY to
shut us down (especially when, within 6 weeks, the website has been
hacked twice, the Facebook page has also been hacked and I’ve received
one “anonymous” threatening/insulting email). I’ve experienced an
occasion where 1000$ USD have been locked in my Paypal account for 6
months, simply because 2 stupid customers (sorry, but there are some,
out there…) had decided that they could expect a pink piped waffenrock,
with insignias, collar and cuff tress etc (the work!) within 20 days…
Paypal do not offer any protection to the seller, and their “robotized”
email system won’t allow me to justify my position: I’ve lost money,
Paypal access, and a LOT of precious time.
- EMAILS
-
As strange as it may seem,
the flow of emails increased within the last two months to reach a
peak of 183 uniform related emails/day on Febr. 8, with an average of
120/140 daily. It is no secret that I am the only person reading/replying
to all that correspondence and that, considering the fact that I traveled/worked
during most of that period, it has become nearly impossible to keep up
with all those messages.
How can YOU help?
1st.
If you’re expecting a product, PLEASE make sure it’s been
over 10-12 weeks before sending me 5 messages a day requiring
information on the status of your order. That type of message is simply
inflating the volume of my regular emails to the point it affects the
overall experience of reading/writing messages.
2nd
If you do not know what you are looking for, please read
accordingly before sending a continuous stream of emails. I do
not want to sound rude and I will gladly help you fine tune any setup,
but I cannot go beyond that level anymore. If you do not
see a product, simply send a one liner and do not be offended if
you receive the same type of message as an answer: YOU will
benefit from such a method since YOU will get a “to the point” reply and
allow all the others to get the information they require.
3rd I
won’t be able to document /research a “one of a kind” uniform for you,
unless it is for a movie/theatrical production OR unless you come up
with a “personality uniform” (i.e. Rommel, Heydrich, Mueller, Goering,
Skorzeny etc.) Please start threads on the top quality forums out there:
many guys will be more than happy to help you put all the details
together, so you know what you can ask for when time comes to pre-order.
4th I
ALWAYS enjoy and appreciate words of support,
positive/constructive criticism or simple “salutes” and you’re all
welcome to do this if you want to help/support. However, please try to
keep it all simple and do not expect a 3 pages long reply. I wish
I COULD do that, but I can’t anymore. Hope you guys understand.
5th
FINALLY, if the website says “re-stocking” or “back-order”
or anything similar for a specific product, PLEASE do not email asking
about the “how” and “when”… I’m a business owner, and it is obvious that
I will advertise a product as soon as it is available again
and that I can actually make a few dollars with it.
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