Ram Controls Yoke - The circle is complete!

[Daviea]

Just as an FYI, I finally did receive an email from WareWolF.  I'm not sure how many tries were involved, but we seem to be communicating directly now.  Praise the internet gh0ds!!  LOL

Havok, thanks for all of those quotes.  Do you guys think I can actually USE those?  I mean.....they're kind of manufactured, right?  If I can get enough of you to concur that they're acceptable for use, I'll go for it.  :-)

LOL @ "now we're REALLY shipping sale".  You're not too far off target - Keep watching, I'll have another BYOAC/KLOV sale shortly.  But, I'm trying to think of a way to make it fun....fun for the entire community.  I'm still mulling over the idea. 

I can confirm that ALL 36 yokes have been delivered (at least, according to UPS tracking on each of them).  I have not received a confirmation from approximately 80% of those individuals, but I'm pestering each of them until I hear those magic words "I got it and it's PERFECT!"  haha

I'll have the next allotment out late next week, possibly early the following week.  I'm trying not to back myself into a corner here, but I think I can manage this.  If not, I will be right back here to inform everyone of any delays which might exist.  I think that's what all of you have been asking for, right?  Or....I could just say, I'll ship them when I ship them....gaRRRRR  LOL  Let's go with the first one. :-)

Enjoy those yokes.

Dave

[TPB]

Havok, thanks for all of those quotes.  Do you guys think I can actually USE those?  I mean.....they're kind of manufactured, right?  If I can get enough of you to concur that they're acceptable for use, I'll go for it.  :-)

It's fine to use them, as long as you attribute the same source to all of the quotes (Havok).

But it would look strange having a whole heap of quotes from the one customer.  Maybe just select a couple of Havok's quotes for publication.


Havok isn't your only source for quotes.  How about Breaker ? ...

I have just opened the box and examined the unit and I have to say that it is, in a word, beautiful!

The finish is flawless, the movement is silky-smooth and the level of detail, stunning. It is rock solid!

... it's a thing of beauty and the arcade community has a new standard for quality!

[jimkirk]

I don't have any investment in this project but I would like to make 1 suggestion to Daviea.
Instead of saying something is going to be shipped on a specific day,when that might change,why not just say I expect to ship on such and such day instead.
That would eliminate a lot of problems.
A follow up post then saying what the delay in shipping was caused by and when you expect to ship.
This would eliminate guys like Frizz calling you a liar and such.

[Havok]

I put a bunch of quotes up there to choose one or none - plus definitely pick some from the other recipients. One that isn't manufactured from me would be "Finally I can play Star Wars the way it was meant to be, thanks for making such a quality controller!"

[MameMaster!]

It's pretty neat to see something like this resurrected from the past....seeing these all brand new and shiny is cool.

As soon as those USB gadgets are ready---- **fingers poised over buy button** 

[daywane]

It's pretty neat to see something like this resurrected from the past....seeing these all brand new and shiny is cool.

As soon as those USB gadgets are ready---- **fingers poised over buy button** 

+1
I will get some fun out of all this  over time I am forsed to do!

[Daviea]

As promised, the USB interface project has been completed, just over 100 boards have been assembled and tested and the project is now shipping!!

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=101145.0

Enjoy!!

Dave

[Havok]

Nice!

[MameMaster!]

OK Havok-- I've been a skeptic-- but I just forked over the cash for a yoke and USB interface. I know you, longer than any of us has been a faithful.....so now that I know you're happy....I gave it a shot to get one too.

Dave-- you have my faith (and money) in your hands now.  

 

[TPB]

This would eliminate guys like Frizz calling you a liar and such.

The yokes are shipping, and that's all that matters now.

If you must mention Frizz, then it's only fair to recall what happended.  Dave did give the impression of lying at the time.

Telling Havok that his yoke was "on its way right now" back at Christmas time, certainly had the appearance of a lie.  How could you say something was on its way, when you hadn't shipped it ?  Many people would call that a lie.  After having been told that, Havok said he emailed Dave on three separate occasions asking for a tracking number, without receiving any reply.  He was disappointed when his yoke was a no-show.

Finally, on February 10, Havok received his yoke.  Now he's a happy chappy.  And he's Dave's biggest fan once more, because the yoke is such a quality piece of merchandise.  That's all that matters now ... Dave's finally delivering the goods.

Congratulations Dave, on coming through in the end !

[MameMaster!]

I didn't get home yet, but Dave just contacted me that my yoke should be waiting for me on my doorstep.

Just so everyone knows-- it only took about 2 days from order to delivery...and he's been all over keeping me in the loop from order acknowledgement to final delivery.

Fingers crossed it's on the stoop! 

[fatfingers]

I didn't get home yet, but Dave just contacted me that my yoke should be waiting for me on my doorstep.

*runs over, steals yoke, sneaks away*

[RobotronNut]

it only took about 2 days from order to delivery...and he's been all over keeping me in the loop from order acknowledgement to final delivery.

hmm...

it's 80 days since my credit card was charged and still counting.
no replies to the email i sent in jan or the email i sent in feb.

how is it that you're getting all the love?

[Daviea]

BTW,

I've had one of these yokes set aside for MameMaster since the first lot went out.

The remaining lot is going out shortly.  I'll have pictures to show approximately 100 yokes sitting side-by-side to share with everyone. :-)

RobotronNut, PM me here on BYOAC.  I don't see any emails from you regarding the yoke--at least nothing I can ID as coming from you.  I've responded to hundreds upon hundreds of emails regarding the yoke, so I know I've been responding to SOMEONE. :-)

Dave

[MameMaster!]

Well the short and sweet is I got the yoke, and man did it truly exceed my expectations.

I haven't seen a mint yoke, perhaps ever, and it's superior to my 20+ year old one in every way.

You know I can truly say it's a thing of beauty and what is obviously rock solid engineering.

More to come.......(and photos of course).

Dave-- since I ordered this originally --- I had a baby, moved into a new home, started a new job, we saw the economy tank and more. It's been a long ride, but man did you make an amazing repro here. 

[RobotronNut]

PM sent.

[RayB]

Out of curiosity, any Canadians get their yokes yet? I'm waiting to find out how much of a butt-raping UPS is gonna do on these. Or did you remember to use USPS for the Canucks, Dave?

[Daviea]

Ask Breaker, he got his:

http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=100162.msg1068526#msg1068526

As a side note, I won't EVER be using USPS to ship anything ever again.  After they've REPEATEDLY made me look bad, I've given up on them.  Any argument to their credit will be futile because my rep has already taken too much of a beating to put up with anymore of the "he said my package was lost" posts caused directly by USPS.  I have to be quite blunt about this one because it's a damned if I do, damned if I don't situation and I've got to choose the better of the two.  Trying to ease my rep out of the forum dog-house seems more appropriate given my extreme investment into reproduction parts. So, no more USPS.  No more.  Nope. LOL

For now, I'm planning on sticking with UPS.  Yes, while they do have their problems, they have *real* tracking and a higher caliber of staff working for them.  However, when I do ship outside of the good ol' USA, I've been selecting the "reverse fees to shipper" option so I can take the brunt of the cost involved.  I'm curious to know what charges, if any, might be making their way to the customer.

??

Dave

Out of curiosity, any Canadians get their yokes yet? I'm waiting to find out how much of a butt-raping UPS is gonna do on these. Or did you remember to use USPS for the Canucks, Dave?

[Breaker]

Hi all,

Yep, got my yoke last week and only had to pay approximately $12.00 of GST.
UPS can be a little slow getting their duty invoices out, but if Dave is reversing fees I suspect it's a done deal.

Breaker.

[RandyT]

As a side note, I won't EVER be using USPS to ship anything ever again.  After they've REPEATEDLY made me look bad, I've given up on them.  Any argument to their credit will be futile because my rep has already taken too much of a beating to put up with anymore of the "he said my package was lost" posts caused directly by USPS.  I have to be quite blunt about this one because it's a damned if I do, damned if I don't situation and I've got to choose the better of the two.  Trying to ease my rep out of the forum dog-house seems more appropriate given my extreme investment into reproduction parts. So, no more USPS.  No more.  Nope. LOL

Uhhh.....I have literally shipped about 10,000 packages via USPS to every corner of the world.  Know how many got lost?  About 4, and 3 of those were customer error.

And, the USPS does have numbers a customer can use to follow the delivery process.  The delivery confirmation numbers will show that the package was indeed shipped, most times its progress along the way, as well as if it was returned to sender for some reason.  You only need to provide that number to your customer for them to see that you are telling the truth.  If you are not doing that, or not using the free delivery confirmation service you get when purchasing the postage on-line, then I don't know what to say.

Maybe they just have it out for you for some reason

RandyT

[FrizzleFried]

>couHORSEPUCKYgh<

[CheffoJeffo]

I would be interested to hear about what happens with UPS and reversing the brokerage charge. If it is just a reversal, should result in a $30 increase in upfront shipping costs, which would be insane. If it works like DigiKey's UPS shipping, then I am all for it.

I strongly prefer USPS (when selected with all of the bells and whistles) and their tracking works fine for me (you have to remember to switch to the Canada Post website for tracking once the package crosses the border). Last month I had a package come via UPS and the estimated delivery date was out by a day ... on a next business day delivery.

Having said that, lots of vendors seem to be pulling away from USPS for shipping to Canada and I have to wonder why -- they have exactly the same concerns as sellers that I have as a buyer, except that I have the additional concern of being bent over the sink by UPS.

Nice to hear such good things about the yokes! 

[Xiaou2]

 
 Well, I ordered a 37" LCD tv from California, shipped to Ny.   UPS Lost It!

 If I recall correctly, Tracking said it made it to Buffalo... than it never moved from
that location.
 
 Think about this...  The box for a 37" TV was like 5' long,  1' Deep,  3.5 ' high.
Its Monstrous!  (and pretty heavy)

 Of course, I imagine this kind of thing happens to all the shipping places.
Corruption abound.

 Not to mention... that most shippers like UPS will leave a package on a doorstep
if you are not home.  Its not the drivers fault so much as the policy.  I cant believe
the days that Ive come home to find an expensive packing just sitting against the door.
I would guess that many small packages lost are probably due to doorstep theft.
 
 I believe there is an option however, that Makes UPS get a signature from the customer.
I suspect that it might work similarly for fedex and others too.

[CheffoJeffo]

Not to mention... that most shippers like UPS will leave a package on a doorstep
if you are not home.  Its not the drivers fault so much as the policy.  I cant believe
the days that Ive come home to find an expensive packing just sitting against the door.
I would guess that many small packages lost are probably due to doorstep theft.

I guess that is one advantage to UPS and their habit of raping people for brokerage fees -- they aren't leaving the package until they get their pound of flesh.

In my experience, every shipping method that involves tracking has an option to require a customer signature (and in some cases it is mandatory).

[Daviea]

All I'm saying is that I've had better luck with UPS than USPS and I've decided to ship only via UPS. :-)

To those in other countries, I'm trying to lessen the hit to your wallet which is why I charge a flat rate of only $10 shipping (anywhere in the world) and absorb as much of the additional fees as I can.  I'm not sure how it's working out, but I always select the reverse charges to shipper check box when shipping outside of the U.S.  I hope it's making a difference for everyone.

Say, is anyone who received one of my reproduction yokes planning on writing up a full review?  If so, I can't wait to see it.

Thanks guys.

Dave

[RayB]

Well Dave it's great that you are doing that. It probably takes UPS 30 days or more to get their invoice to you. You can expect to see a minimum of about $30 in broker fees (PER SHIPMENT), unless they give you some sort of bulk or business discount. I think they also scale up the cost based on the declared value of the item (as if that makes any sense).

You're also allowed to use your own broker.

[Hoopz]

I ship fairly regularly (only within the US though) and have found UPS to be the best for my company.   USPS's tracking system is worthless from what I have found.  Yes, it shows when something has shipped.  But that's it.  I very rarely see updates until after it's delivered.  I don't see the value in it.

For the comments about shipping companies leaving expensive packages on the door step, that's at the driver's discretion based on the quality of the neighborhood and frequency or infrequency of delivery problems in the area.  The shipper can also specify whether to require someone to be home or to not leave it on the doorstep.  Both personally and professionally, I have had to sign a delivery ticket authorizing the package to be left the next day without anyone being home.  Also, the driver generally doesn't know the value of the package so that isn't factored in very often.  They may see how much something is insured for up to but that doesn't equate to value.

[RandyT]

I ship fairly regularly (only within the US though) and have found UPS to be the best for my company.   USPS's tracking system is worthless from what I have found.  Yes, it shows when something has shipped.  But that's it.  I very rarely see updates until after it's delivered.

In the context of this discussion, those were the two most important aspects.  As long as it is shipped and delivered, does it really matter if you can see when it passes through Duluth?

[Loafmeister]

That's a pity you won't ship via USPS as because of brokerage fees, I've vowed never to buy anything that ships via UPS.  It's cool that you'll accept that reverse charge thing but if it's what I expect it to be, I suspect you'll be changing your policy.

I get that bad experiences will entice you to do as you have, I don't blame you.  Also on the brokerage fees, the large amount is not what bothers me, it's the inconsistency of it that does.  I've had large fees for a small item (a free replacement item might I add) and almost zero fee on a larger item. I don't get it, but I suspect they have a giant wheel with various lables/fees on it and however has your package in his/her hands just gives the wheel a spin and wherever it lands is what you get.

And yeah, leaving MY UPS package on the doorstep is a nono in my book but they have done so all the time.  I heard it's because I authorized it once and that policy applies to future packages. I don't remember doing so but I guess it's always possible. Thankfully, I do live in a cool neighborhood so I'm not too worrried about it.

BTW, I'm also waiting on various reviews, including the USB adapter.  Those comments from a Mame end will I'm sure entice many more to buy.

[TPB]

I don't get it, but I suspect they have a giant wheel with various lables/fees on it and however has your package in his/her hands just gives the wheel a spin and wherever it lands is what you get.