Oberkisstillalive Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Hi guys! Back in July of 2014 I ordered an armor kit and cummerbund from Mon Cal a.k.a. Far Away Creations and was given a quote time of 28 to 32 weeks for the kit to be completed. On march 5th (32 weeks later) I emailed them asking about how far my kit was coming along and they messaged back saying that I was #32. I averaged that they were producing around 8 kits a month at that time and recently I have averaged that they are making them at half that rate at around 4 kits per month. When they told me 28 to 32 weeks I thought 32 weeks would be the longest it would take for them to make it but BOY was I wrong... I am growing impatient and frustrated with them. At this rate if they keep producing 4 kits per month than I will not get mine until December almost a year and a half after I ordered the kit. I understand that in the costuming world things can take a long time but a year and a half? If anyone reading this is currently waiting for their MC armor kit or has ordered it in the past and had the issue of the quote time entirely inaccurate PLEASE post it on this page. This is unacceptable to make people wait that long after they give you their hard earned money all in advance. I just want to see how many people this is affecting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SulacoBoy Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Moncal wait time sometimes takes 8months to a year for a full kit. If you're lucky less. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netslave Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I've had a snowy on order for over a year (with the same 28-32 week wait time). I originally wanted it for Celebration, but I guess I'm lucky that I had to cancel my plans to go. I assume I'll be getting it sometime in mid-July now, which will have been about 60 weeks. Had I known it took that long, I would have ordered from TM. But I'm still looking forward to my MC when it finally arrives. I would recommend an SC kit if you're in a hurry. I ordered a TB from him last year and got it within 2-3 weeks. It was VERY fast. I'm not sure if he's always that fast, but I was impressed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxelVBG Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I ordered a full TB armor kit from MonCal about a year ago (2014-05-25), and they also told me that the wait time would be 28-32 week, but I have not recieved mine yet. Last time I checked with them(3 weeks ago), about where I was in the queue at the moment, I was #9 in the queue. Even though the wait time is ridiculously long, I'm still looking forward to my MonCal kit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Voorhees Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I think they just need to up their wait time estimates because they always take 10 months to about a year. They have been on that time frame for a couple of years now. When i ordered mine in 2009 they were closer to the estimates they are still giving (28-32 weeks). But for the last couple of years, its been about a year for pretty much everyone i know of ordering from them. They do several costumes so they are just very busy, along with their regular business actually working with films and commercials and such. Alot of things factor in to how long it takes. Machines can break down, bad pulls can happen...etc. Try not to get frustrated, as this is very common in this hobby, and as long as they keep communications open i think they are doing fine. Ive never heard of anyone not getting their stuff from MC, and it is always excellent quality and worth the wait. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinxx44 Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 I ordered a bucket and belt the other month and they said I should be looking at 16-20 weeks... Hope my order doesn't turn into a year wait! I want to wait for my new belt and bucket before submitting for 501st! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberkisstillalive Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 I've had a snowy on order for over a year (with the same 28-32 week wait time). I originally wanted it for Celebration, but I guess I'm lucky that I had to cancel my plans to go. I assume I'll be getting it sometime in mid-July now, which will have been about 60 weeks. Had I known it took that long, I would have ordered from TM. But I'm still looking forward to my MC when it finally arrives. I would recommend an SC kit if you're in a hurry. I ordered a TB from him last year and got it within 2-3 weeks. It was VERY fast. I'm not sure if he's always that fast, but I was impressed. I'm with you on that one Brian, if I had known it was going to take that long I too would have ordered from a different vendor such as SC. I do look forward to getting my MC kit and all of my negative feelings will vanish once I receive that shiny beautiful armor but for now I am in costuming purgatory lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberkisstillalive Posted June 9, 2015 Author Share Posted June 9, 2015 I think they just need to up their wait time estimates because they always take 10 months to about a year. They have been on that time frame for a couple of years now. When i ordered mine in 2009 they were closer to the estimates they are still giving (28-32 weeks). But for the last couple of years, its been about a year for pretty much everyone i know of ordering from them. They do several costumes so they are just very busy, along with their regular business actually working with films and commercials and such. Alot of things factor in to how long it takes. Machines can break down, bad pulls can happen...etc. Try not to get frustrated, as this is very common in this hobby, and as long as they keep communications open i think they are doing fine. Ive never heard of anyone not getting their stuff from MC, and it is always excellent quality and worth the wait. Thank you for your insight Lou, I did not know that they did all of those other jobs. after reflecting more on this I realize that my situation could be a lot worse. They have been very good about answering emails and have been very polite, which I forgot to mention on the thread. This is my first costume so my expectations were probably unrealistic as I have no experience of having really nice quality costumes like you guys. I'll admit when I first ordered my costume I was so anxious to get it that if I had enough imperial credits I would have hired Boba Fett to freeze me in carbonite until my armor and helmet arrived at my doorstep so I didn't have to wait lol. I just need more patience... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffin-X Posted June 9, 2015 Share Posted June 9, 2015 Yep, much patience will serve you well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chef Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Am I one of the only people in the world that think it's 'not cricket' to make someone pay all their cash up front and then make then wait over a year to get their items?? What else is there that you can purchase that such a situation is the norm?? Deposit yes... Full payment??? And likewise, if you are going to make them pay, then you should make sure you keep to your own set deadline. If you can't keep to that deadline, change it and make sure your customers know. It's not for them to keep chasing you about it. They've paid top dollar... They should get top dollar service. Being busy, working on other things, personal drama.... It doesn't matter. A Customer is only interested in one product... Theirs! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evil-Inc Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Whilst I was really happy with my Mon Cal kit, it took close to 8 months to get to me a couple of years ago.... As Lou has said, Cal has never ripped anyone off & everyone eventually receives their items. It's just the LONG wait that is the killer... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiel814 Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 Totally agree with Chef. The same rules apply in every industry. It is not that difficult to keep your clients happy. Even if there are delays during production, all you have to do is let them know as soon as possible. They will eventually find out and get angrier. Just update a web page with order number, status and estimated delivery date. Is it really that hard? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netslave Posted June 10, 2015 Share Posted June 10, 2015 I guess they just don't want to get a bad reputation for not meeting estimated delivery dates. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberkisstillalive Posted June 11, 2015 Author Share Posted June 11, 2015 Am I one of the only people in the world that think it's 'not cricket' to make someone pay all their cash up front and then make then wait over a year to get their items?? What else is there that you can purchase that such a situation is the norm?? Deposit yes... Full payment??? And likewise, if you are going to make them pay, then you should make sure you keep to your own set deadline. If you can't keep to that deadline, change it and make sure your customers know. It's not for them to keep chasing you about it. They've paid top dollar... They should get top dollar service. Being busy, working on other things, personal drama.... It doesn't matter. A Customer is only interested in one product... Theirs! I think this about hits the nail on the head. I agree 100% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southscout Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I also fully agree with Chef. I have during my two years here heard more about people paying everything up front and then waiting for months, than people paying a deposit for material costs and then full payment at delivery. IMHO this should be the criteria for everything sold on the 501st boards with that has a delivery time of more than a month or so. That being said, I can however say that MC will deliver your stuff. But when, only the maker knows... Skickat från min LG-D802 via Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinxx44 Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 This may seem like a stupid question, but has anyone asked about a deposit payment system? Pretty much everyone I've talked to has been more than willing do a deposit payment and the rest prior to shipping. Sometimes you just have to be the one to ask. This does include MC by the way. When I asked about it for my order, they said normally they will but since they personally don't have the MLC helmet and have to get it, they couldn't. (All I really ordered was the helmet) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bugdozer Posted June 11, 2015 Share Posted June 11, 2015 I'm also in full agreement with Chef. My armour supplier (not MC) gave me a very reasonable time estimate (weeks, not months) and when it turned out that there had been a communication difficulty which had delayed work on my order, they turned it round in a very short time from that point. And I did not need to pay until the order was ready to ship out. Furthermore, I can't fault the quality of kit I received. If I'd had to wait upwards of a year, I'd have been demanding a refund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unrealvictim Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 Yeah payment up front, took thirteen months to come but it is a really nice piece of kit, his instructional disc that comes with it is really helpful for building the kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netslave Posted June 12, 2015 Share Posted June 12, 2015 This thread inspired me to email MC again and check on my status in the Queue. The last time I checked, on April 13th, I was #14 in the queue. I assume I'm about #5 now, but I haven't heard back yet. It's been three days. I'm still assuming it'll be mid July when I get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netslave Posted June 13, 2015 Share Posted June 13, 2015 I heard back today and found out I was #10 in the queue. Meaning they've only progressed 4 orders in 10 weeks. at that rate, it would still be 25 weeks before I saw my armor (an 80 week overall wait time). I've requested a refund. That's just ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oberkisstillalive Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 I heard back today and found out I was #10 in the queue. Meaning they've only progressed 4 orders in 10 weeks. at that rate, it would still be 25 weeks before I saw my armor (an 80 week overall wait time). I've requested a refund. That's just ridiculous. That is absurd... I think it is time for me to pull out as well. Such a shame... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flykiller Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 I'm waiting for an answer myself. I'll let you know what he told me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netslave Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 After some back and forth for a few days, I've been told that my order is just waiting on some screws to be delivered. Once they are, it'll be boxed, and shipped. I asked if they can just ship minus the screws. I'll update when I hear more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flykiller Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Can you please tell me when you placed your order Netslave ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
netslave Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 May 19th, 2014. But I ordered a snowy. Not sure if the snowies and scouts use the same queue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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