Eastwood getting on my nerves

[chris71]

well, i think they are still a good company but man, they stopped going to shows (Carlisle), i waited over a month for a set of hammers, then just yesterday my can of rust encapsulator showed up, dented all to hell, surprised it didnt rupture, and the box it came in doesnt really look like it went through hell either.

[robin58]

And imagine how much cheaper they could sell stuff if they didn't keep sending monthly catalogs to everybody who ever ordered something from them. Maybe then they could have packed your stuff better

[chris71]

yeah it could have been pacakged better i agree, it was a spray can and quart of paint with only a few of those air pocket things thrown in there. but it looked like it was damaged before it was even shipped, since the box was in good shape, thats what ruffled my feathers, i can understand shiping damage, but this was weird.

[special-K]

I didn`t realize they stopped going to shows.Carlisle is local for them.You`d think they`d keep doing that.
That`s wierd the can was dented and sent on.Must be a sign of tight money.But,they always had excellent service and that`s what they need to survive.

[FRENCHBLUE72]

You guys must not be signed up to there e mail newsletter cause everyday I get and e mail from them with this or that on sale... there were great at first but man they get old quick espically when they send multiples....

[robin58]

You're getting duplicate emails because apparently they maintain 2 websites: eastwood.com and eastwoodco.com - and no one isn't a rip off although they are on completely different servers (eastwood.com is at their Pottstown address whereas eastwoodco is in NC somewhere).

I created a "dummy account" on the eastwoodco.com site and then used the lost password option. The resulting email came from eastwood.com but the same login doesn't work there. Yet within hours I got emails with the newsletter for both sites.

The other annoying thing is that special offers in their catalog apparently aren't transferred to their online ordering even when their catalog says it is.

[robin58]

Update: they seem to have fixed the multiple websites or have simple forwarding set up at last. I'd guess Eastwood is going through some changes that I would guess are to try and stay profitable in what I am sure are leaner times for retailers like them.

[chris71]

Originally Posted by special-K

I didn`t realize they stopped going to shows.Carlisle is local for them.You`d think they`d keep doing that.
That`s wierd the can was dented and sent on.Must be a sign of tight money.But,they always had excellent service and that`s what they need to survive.

Here is an email that i got from eastwood a few weeks ago concerning this, i finally found it:

Eastwood has been doing car shows and flea markets since 1980 and it has been a great source of reaching out to our customers. I personally enjoy the shows and like finding parts for my projects.
Over the past few years, we have seen changes at these shows. Attendance continues to drop as online sources have replaced traditional car shows. The expense of attending these shows has risen substantially to the point where it has become too costly to attend.

This recent downturn forced us to make the tough choice to stop attending these shows. I understand that we will miss a lot of you, our loyal customers, who only saw us at shows. I hope you have enough trust in Eastwood to buy our products over the phone or online. You should know that if for any reason it does not meet your expectations, we will take it back...no questions asked. We have been proudly serving car enthusiasts like you since 1978.

The money saved by not attending shows will help us bring you more exciting and innovative products now and in the future. We have more new products planned in the next 12 months than any time in our history…stay tuned! Since many of our customers buy at car shows to save on shipping, we are offering free shipping on orders over $50, now through April 27.

And, as always, if you have any questions, we have dedicated tech service reps who know our products and can answer your questions regarding anything we sell.

Even though we're not at Carlisle this weekend, we're still here. If you are ever in the Pottstown area, please stop by our retail store (click here for directions). It's set up similar to our car show booth only better.

Sincerely,

Curt Strohacker
Owner/Founder

[special-K]

Bah!! It`s talk like that that will hurt a show.The internet will never take the place of a swap meet.If I could go to a swap meet whenever I wanted I`d never use the internet for parts.Heck,I don`t use it now,except this parts board.It`s about a hobby anyway.You still see Hemmings Motor News coming out.They better or there ain`t no hobby.I think Eastwood is just numbers crunching.I hope they aren`t that bad off.Maybe they should just scale down how they went about shows.Put less out with more in the truck and have less people.I`m sure if they could cut costs they`d make enough to justify setting up.It`s about promotion,too.

[MOJO1963GMC]

There prices are a little high too....

[oldschooler]

I bought a gallon of rust encapsulator from their e-bay store. It was 30.00 cheaper than there home site. When I got it the can was dented. I figured they just sold there damaged cans on e-bay. It was the same way, box in perfect condition, but can dented. It looks like everybody gets the damaged stuff. I must say though it didnt effect the inside product any. Later, Rich