PSA - Be careful ordering from suppliers offering big discounts

[Jon Hanover]

There seems to be a strong trend here from some recent equipment suppliers in the crossfit scene, and some of the other forums have a lot more details. I'm not sure why nothing has been posted here, so I would like to put some light on this.

WFS 1) https://www.reddit.com/r/weightlifti...nkruptcy_very/
WFS 2) https://www.reddit.com/r/crossfit/co...or_bankruptcy/

Essentially, some suppliers are having "pre-store closing clearance sales". Getting whatever amount of money they can get, before they have to sell gear at a bigger discount because if anything is wrong with it, you purchase it 'as is'.

Raw Equipment and MDUSA/Muscle Driver/Pendlay both ran a lot of sales, ran out of stock on a lot of items, then ran flash sales to sell as much as possible.. and now are gone. It seems like other suppliers are doing the same thing right now.

Why is this bad? A lot of reasons.
1. Certain wholesalers of their equipment in Canada/Aus have been left in the dust, out tens of thousands of dollars. Along with customers who have ordered and the company filed bankruptcy. They were told to wait, things were on back order.. a few months go by, then nothing. They took the money and knew full well that no equipment was en-route to them. Advice has been given on multiple outlets on facebook and whatnot to call up your CC company, but if the company goes belly up, how does a charge-back get any money from an empty/negative account? I don't know.

2. As highlighted in a very articulate post on one of the links(near the bottom). If a crossfit gym is using/abusing the gear at a high rate, and are hoping to warranty some of their items, they are out of luck. They purchased discounted gear, and will end up paying for it in the long run. Want to add on to your rig? Get gear that matches? Not going to happen.

You can read more detailed posts on both threads about people who knew the inner workings of these businesses.

I think this is in a 'gray area' at best, and immoral at worst - screwing over people in what is supposed to be a community. I urge people who are looking to start up a gym or make a larger investment to outfit their home gym to take a look at the threads and make an educated decision. If you have made a purchase and you're not getting the equipment shipped, I would cancel your order and request a refund and talk to you CC company as soon as possible if you don't see the refund. Or, you can be like one of these hundreds of people who had gift cards, store credit, orders waiting, etc. and are out a lot of money, or just bought something for 20% off and pray it doesn't break next month.

I hope this post helps people out there.

[Mike Hollister]

againfaster filed for bankruptcy?

[Jon Hanover]

Originally Posted by Mike Hollister

againfaster filed for bankruptcy?

Did you read the threads I linked to? Has it all pretty explained there with a lot of different perspectives.

[Mike Hollister]

Originally Posted by Jon Hanover

Did you read the threads I linked to? Has it all pretty explained there with a lot of different perspectives.

our filter didn't allow me to read it. Sorry. Hoping for a source that confirms reddit.

[Jon Hanover]

Originally Posted by Mike Hollister

our filter didn't allow me to read it. Sorry. Hoping for a source that confirms reddit.

If you're at work or something, then just wait... there is a ton of information on there from people inside the equipment industry / inside mdusa, etc. giving great perspectives.

Just trying to watch out for fellow CF'ers who are buying stuff and going to be screwed very soon.

[Shawn M Wilson]

Originally Posted by Mike Hollister

againfaster filed for bankruptcy?

Bought a soft plyobox from them when it was on sell a few weeks ago and got it about 5 days later. Not sure what people are saying about ordering and not getting but I have always gotten my stuff from them.

[Patrick A Horsman]

Originally Posted by Shawn M Wilson

Bought a soft plyobox from them when it was on sell a few weeks ago and got it about 5 days later. Not sure what people are saying about ordering and not getting but I have always gotten my stuff from them.

againfaster - Canada is gone and bankrupt. They were an entirely different company from teh again faster you American folks know and love, just liscensing the use of their name to redistribute in Canada.

They still punked a ton of gyms, including knowingly shipping defective equipment.

[Shawn M Wilson]

Originally Posted by Patrick A Horsman

againfaster - Canada is gone and bankrupt. They were an entirely different company from teh again faster you American folks know and love, just liscensing the use of their name to redistribute in Canada.

They still punked a ton of gyms, including knowingly shipping defective equipment.

Wow hate to hear that for all of those folks. Sad when companies do that to people...

[Jon Hanover]

Originally Posted by Shawn M Wilson

Wow hate to hear that for all of those folks. Sad when companies do that to people...

Yeah, it looks like their license/branches in other countries fell. Left people with no refund/no recourse besides trying to call their CC company.

From what those threads said, there is a lot of equipment they ordered headed back to it's destination cause they couldn't pay for it - a very bad sign. It's a tough position to be in.. do you tell people early on and sell a ton of stuff at 50% off, or just run a big sale for a few weeks and make as much as you can before you start having to sell equipment 'as is'. That is why mdusa was running flash sales and selling their comp plates and bars on sale all the time, they were just running out of cash and knew where it was headed. Then finally ran the big as is sales. However, for all the people hoping to possibly use their warranty a year or two down the road. SOL.

What would you guys do?