pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Mar 13, 2015 15:52:30 GMT
I received this email from KoA.
“Hello,
Windlass is no longer selling their products to distributors. So even though we still have some stock left of their items we have taken them out of our Manufacturers list because we will not be getting further orders from them. You can still search Windlass in the search box and their items come up.
Thank you
Ashley,
ashley@kultofathena.com”
|
|
|
|
Post by LG Martial Arts on Mar 13, 2015 16:31:39 GMT
|
|
pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Mar 13, 2015 16:52:38 GMT
I missed that one.
|
|
|
|
Post by Gunnar Wolfgard on Mar 13, 2015 16:55:07 GMT
Yep, said the same thing myself too. A blind man could see that one coming. Watch DSA and see if they don't do the same thing. Time will tell if this was a good move or not.
|
|
Uhlan
Member
Posts: 3,121
|
Post by Uhlan on Mar 13, 2015 16:55:52 GMT
I wonder how this will affect European sellers. Irongate only has Windlass.
|
|
|
|
Post by MOK on Mar 13, 2015 17:49:15 GMT
For one thing, in the short term I foresee an abrupt plunge in sales simply due to dramatically decreased exposure and accessibility. Whether it will be worth it in the long run, who knows.
|
|
|
|
Post by LG Martial Arts on Mar 13, 2015 18:08:09 GMT
I see this as a blunder on Windlass' part... semi-ok for the short term, but their sales will plummet in the long term, and might even drive themselves out of business altogether.
|
|
|
|
Post by Vincent Dolan on Mar 13, 2015 18:47:10 GMT
I was wondering why Windlass stopped showing up under the Manufacturer's list a few days ago; guess we know why now. Guess that means there's going to be quite a few Windlass products I'll never buy. Oh, well, if they want to shoot themselves in the foot, that's their problem, not mine.
As an aside, an easier way to find Windlass' stuff on KoA (at least for the time being) is to just type /windlass.asp in the url bar after the main KoA address; that'll take you to their manufacturer page, which isn't quite gone just yet.
|
|
|
|
Post by William Swiger on Mar 13, 2015 19:04:02 GMT
Windlass has several decent swords (medieval/Sabers) and I think most people who have been around awhile has already bought them as those models seem to have been in production for a long time.
The only Windlass sword I don't have and will buy is the new Scottish Sword that just came out and it never made it to KOA anyway.
The MRL site prices are not outlandish by any means but sellers like KOA and a few others were great for buying discounted Windlass products.
Will have to wait and see if this hurts Windlass in the long run.
|
|
pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Mar 13, 2015 19:21:43 GMT
“The MRL site prices are not outlandish by any means but sellers like KOA and a few others were great for buying discounted Windlass products.“
While MRL’s prices are somewhat higher than KoA’s the difference for me is multiplied several times because of sales tax, import tax, import sales tax, customs' fees, etc. Some of those prices include tax on tax that I had been previously charged. In other words I am taxed on the tax. In addition KoA gives much a better description of the item, something that I value.
|
|
|
|
Post by William Swiger on Mar 13, 2015 20:57:43 GMT
Other than reading a review, KOA is one of the better vendors in regards to pictures and item descriptions.
|
|
|
|
Post by Suho on Mar 13, 2015 21:00:01 GMT
I was just going to post that I couldn't find most Windlass swords, nor their listing in the manufacturers section of the KOA site. But I'm glad I checked first.
|
|
|
|
Post by MOK on Mar 13, 2015 22:32:02 GMT
Other than reading a review, KOA is one of the better vendors in regards to pictures and item descriptions. Absolutely. They're over the ocean from here so I've only ordered stuff from them once (five stars, would buy again!) but I've developed a habit of going to their site just to look for more informative photos. |
|
|
|
Post by RicWilly on Mar 13, 2015 22:40:33 GMT
KOA's service is what attracts me as much as the price. There return policy is most useful when buying off the web (at least in the US) if I don't like it when I get it in hand, I can just send it back.
I'm thinking this might hurt KOA as I would think they sell a lot of Windlass, but they have a good sized inventory overall.
I remember a while back Hanwei pulled a similar move.
|
|
|
|
Post by Afoo on Mar 13, 2015 22:45:52 GMT
How did that turn out for Hanwei? And agreed - KoA is great for the technical information, images etc. However, their old product descriptions are still available - you can google search "Hanwei side sword, kult" for example and you will find their old product page for it. Thus, in a way, all the valuable images and information will still be available (if its any comfort)
|
|
pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Mar 13, 2015 23:42:27 GMT
How did that turn out for Hanwei? And agreed - KoA is great for the technical information, images etc. However, their old product descriptions are still available - you can google search "Hanwei side sword, kult" for example and you will find their old product page for it. Thus, in a way, all the valuable images and information will still be available (if its any comfort) That is good for the near future, but it is highly unlikely that any new items will be posted. |
|
|
|
Post by RicWilly on Mar 14, 2015 1:59:21 GMT
How did that turn out for Hanwei? And agreed - KoA is great for the technical information, images etc. However, their old product descriptions are still available - you can google search "Hanwei side sword, kult" for example and you will find their old product page for it. Thus, in a way, all the valuable images and information will still be available (if its any comfort) Not much that I noticed but I haven't been in a sword buying binge in a while. If there was a Windlass I wanted bad and KOA had it I'd get it now. But I don't think Windlass is going to disappear anytime soon. Just might have to go to MRL. |
|
|
|
Post by Afoo on Mar 14, 2015 2:33:20 GMT
They might lose a lot of sales to Hanwei - particularly in the medieval swords market, where they both have similar products at what used to be similar price points.
|
|
|
|
Post by Dave Kelly on Mar 14, 2015 13:37:44 GMT
Ahhh...Windlass hasn't gone away. MRL/AtlantaCutlery is their American subsidiary and Reliks in Canada may still be pitching. Whether this will play out for Windlass i the long run will be hard to tell.
|
|
pgandy
Moderator
Senior Forumite
Posts: 10,296
|
Post by pgandy on Mar 14, 2015 14:46:10 GMT
Dark Knight Armoury also sells Windlass along with other manufacturers. Their specification information is lacking and prices are not as good as KoA. However, it is a source and located in the US.
|
|
