Comparison of Vendors (GGG vs Ultimarc)

[Ginsu Victim]

like i said, there is no US based seller that can actually get an order shipped in under a week. Being in US and waiting 8-9 days to ship doesnt help me much

So order direct from Ultimarc and get it in two days.

[milkit]

like i said, there is no US based seller that can actually get an order shipped in under a week. Being in US and waiting 8-9 days to ship doesnt help me much

So order direct from Ultimarc and get it in two days.

i might have to give it a shot. Didnt realize it was that speedy.

[Ginsu Victim]

Yeah, I've never read a single complaint about their shipping. Not one.

[Epyx]

i might have to give it a shot. Didnt realize it was that speedy.

It is...all the vendors are great but Andy has speed in the bag.  I don't jest when I say I have ordered on some mornings in Canada (afternoon in England) and had it arrive the next day.  Mind you that isn't the average (average is about 3 days including your order day) but it has happened.

However, Ill stress again, I have yet to meet a bad vendor and I have ordered from a few on this community (thankfully I wasn't a part of the Slik stick fiasco). I have ordered from Lizard Lick, Ultimarc, GGG, Thorsten in Germany, Arcade Shop (Germany), Haruman (here on boards for DC hacks), Sailorsat (here on boards for cable hack), Starburstcoins (Toronto), Xgaming and all have been EXCELLENT.

[milkit]

i might have to give it a shot. Didnt realize it was that speedy.

It is...all the vendors are great but Andy has speed in the bag.  I don't jest when I say I have ordered on some mornings in Canada (afternoon in England) and had it arrive the next day.  Mind you that isn't the average (average is about 3 days including your order day) but it has happened.

However, Ill stress again, I have yet to meet a bad vendor and I have ordered from a few on this community (thankfully I wasn't a part of the Slik stick fiasco). I have ordered from Lizard Lick, Ultimarc, GGG, Thorsten in Germany, Arcade Shop (Germany), Haruman (here on boards for DC hacks), Sailorsat (here on boards for cable hack), Starburstcoins (Toronto), Xgaming and all have been EXCELLENT.

I order $500+ of parts a week from all over. Only had issues with one that isnt in your list!  Also, mamemarquees/gameongrafix I cant say enough good things about. Always fast, but one time in particular i needed something custom printed ASAP (within 24 hours then overnighted) and I asked nicely if it could be a rush order, sure enough I got it when i needed it!

[Hoopz]

If we're giving kudos to whomever, I'll throw fixumdude out there.  He sells replacement optical boards in B/S/T.  He was easy to work with, had great communication, and cheap prices for a good product.   

[DirtyDachshunds]

I made an order with GGG on 8/9/10 and it is STILL shown in the "processing" stage.  This is extremely slow.  How long does it take to put a trackball in a box and send it to me?  I will be mad if they can't even ship my order by this weekend, especially since I ordered it Monday.   
Hearing that Ultimarc sometimes gets to your door NEXT DAY but usually in 2-3 days will make me use them from here on.

[WhereEaglesDare]

I made an order with GGG on 8/9/10 and it is STILL shown in the "processing" stage.  This is extremely slow.  How long does it take to put a trackball in a box and send it to me?  I will be mad if they can't even ship my order by this weekend, especially since I ordered it Monday.   
Hearing that Ultimarc sometimes gets to your door NEXT DAY but usually in 2-3 days will make me use them from here on.

+1

[Ginsu Victim]

I made an order with GGG on 8/9/10 and it is STILL shown in the "processing" stage.  This is extremely slow.  How long does it take to put a trackball in a box and send it to me?

If it's one Randy makes himself, you have to give him time to make it. Give it another few days or so. You're not dealing with a huge corporation. It's a small company aimed at a specific customer base.

[DirtyDachshunds]

The website said they had 10 in stock at the time of purchase.  Unless  they meant 10 disassembled units.

[Ginsu Victim]

In Stock tends to mean he has the parts on hand to make it.

[RandyT]

How long does it take to put a trackball in a box and send it to me?  

A more accurate question is "How long does it take to remove 4 long screws, clip the current connector, strip and solder the 2 power leads from one internal optical board to the other, strip and solder the remaining 6 wires to the special OptiWiz (which we make), remove and inspect all rollers and bearings, remove 2 screws holding the low resolution encoders on the rollers, peel the protective paper from the new hi-res encoders (which I had to make at one time as well), re-screw the new encoders into place on the rollers, re-insert rollers, hot melt internal wiring into place and apply hot melt to PCB wiring for strain relief, mark 2 drill holes with a template on the bottom body of the trackball and and drill them, screw the PCB into place, adjust the optics so they work properly with the new hi-res encoders, insert the new ball, test on the computer and redo the last step if necessary, replace the cover and the strain relief, screw the 4 long screws back into place, clean it, solder 3 Nova LED's to the Nova-TB light PCB, cut and strip 4 wires, solder them to the lighting PCB, gather and pack the associated hardware, cable and documentation, put it all in a pink bubble static bag .....and then put it in a box and send it to you.  And do it three times, because two other people ordered them that day as well.

Your order is expected to ship today.

[Ginsu Victim]

The amount of work that went into that post could've been spent building another trackball.

(I'm just messin' with ya. It's nice to have a post to point to when people complain in the future. BTW, got my True4 stick, but haven't had the chance to install it (different hole pattern), but I love what you did with it! It's an awesome stick!)

[piecesof8]

You're not dealing with a huge corporation. It's a small company aimed at a specific customer base.

I agree - I think we need to keep things in perspective. We're not dealing with Amazon, here. These are basically one-man shows, from my understanding. Personally, I'm glad they're both around to offer the products that they do, and I can wait a few days to receive items that are aimed at a very niche market. After all, what's the alternative? Not having vendors that offer these items at all?

[Havok]

GGG makes good stuff. I for one can be a little patient when I order from them. If you're a business I can see where it may be a problem if you have a manufacturing deadline - but that's something that should have been hashed out with Randy prior to ordering. For personal sales, is it really that big of an issue? I know we're the "me me gimme gimme" generation, but it's not like we're talking about waiting for a Star Wars yoke...

(Oh snap - I said it!)

[DirtyDachshunds]

This may be a dumb question.  But why not build the trackballs before they are bought?

All I am noting is the shipping seems slow, I'm sure the quality will be outstanding.

[DirtyDachshunds]

GGG makes good stuff. I for one can be a little patient when I order from them. If you're a business I can see where it may be a problem if you have a manufacturing deadline - but that's something that should have been hashed out with Randy prior to ordering. For personal sales, is it really that big of an issue? I know we're the "me me gimme gimme" generation, but it's not like we're talking about waiting for a Star Wars yoke...

(Oh snap - I said it!)

No, it's not a huge deal.  But this is a comparison thread so I was comparing.  But I don't think it is out of the question to expect an order to ship within 0-4 days of placing the order.  Has ultimarc and amazon spoiled me?

[Ginsu Victim]

Has ultimarc and amazon spoiled me?

Bingo.

[RandyT]

This may be a dumb question.  But why not build the trackballs before they are bought?

Not a dumb question.  It's because we sell a hell of a lot more than Trackballs, and you aren't our only customer  .  In this last week alone, we shipped two large commercial orders for LED-Wiz products that we also had to build.  And while the order volume we have tends to keep us busy, it's not large enough to dedicate a whole staff to.  We would go out of business once we had the shelves stocked, because there wouldn't be enough order volume in this niche market to pay for the inventory or the salaries of those who built all of those parts.  So you are just paying mine and Lisa's, and to be frank, we would like a raise  .

If you lock your product line into a couple of designs for a long period of time, you can farm out the work to east Asian assembly shops and just pull parts from one box and put them in another when the orders come in... and then pick up the pieces when defects end up in the hands of customers.  It's cheaper and faster than doing any of the assembly or quality control on those parts yourself.  We just choose not to do business that way, and I believe it's the reason why we have been growing each year for the last 7 we have been doing this.  It's better to wait a little and get a checked-out "Bentley" than have a broken "Yugo" on your doorstep before you hang the phone up.  At least I think so.

The amount of work that went into that post could've been spent building another trackball.

Tell me about it.  Sometimes posts like that are necessary, though, so add that to what I am required to do.

BTW, got my True4 stick, but haven't had the chance to install it (different hole pattern), but I love what you did with it! It's an awesome stick!)

I was wondering.  Glad to hear that you like it so far.  I think it will fit the bill for a lot of folks looking for a good, inexpensive 4-way.  Oh, and we have to build those too    

RandyT

[Ginsu Victim]

Oh, and we have to build those too    

I was totally aware and didn't mind the wait.

When I do go to install this, I guess I just take the nut off the end and everything will be clear as to how it works? I've never seen anything other than an E-clip before.

[RandyT]

When I do go to install this, I guess I just take the nut off the end and everything will be clear as to how it works? I've never seen anything other than an E-clip before.

Yep.  Unscrew the nut, put the shaft into the base through the top of the panel, and screw it back on.  It's a nylok style nut, so snug should be fine.

[Ginsu Victim]

Thanks.

Yeah, I really dig the design of this stick and it feels WAY better than the Tornado Terry's Ms Pac stick. The switches engage easily (and quietly) and there isn't a large dead zone. The restriction feels good and that shiny balltop looks nice. I'll post more about it once I get to actually play a game with it, but just checking it over straight out of the (very well-packed) box, I think you may have a winner on your hands.

(Speaking of the box, it arrived crushed on all sides, but the packaging inside was so well done, that everything was A-okay when I opened it) 

[Endaar]

For how long it takes most of us to build a cabinet, it amazes me that waiting a week for parts to ship is such a big deal. Order the damn parts in advance of needing them if you're that impatient.

Endaar

[Ginsu Victim]

For how long it takes most of us to build a cabinet, it amazes me that waiting a week for parts to ship is such a big deal. Order the damn parts in advance of needing them if you're that impatient.

Endaar

Fast food society. People are spoiled.

[severdhed]

I think we are all just spoiled.  I complain when it takes a week to get an order, but in all honesty, what does it really matter.  I had no idea that Randy tests all of his components before shipping them out.  I placed my order last wednesday evening about 8pm, my lizardlick order arrived on saturday, my groovygamegear order arrived yesterday (thursday).  And while it is difficult to wait that long, the truth is, i'd much rather get my parts in a week and know they are going to work, than get them quickly and have to wait for replacements to arrive.  Like i said in an earlier post, i received my ultimarc trackball in about 2 days from ordering, but when it didnt work, i had to troubleshoot with Andy via email, and then wait another few days for the replacement parts to arrive, which ended up being about a week until i could actually use it.  

i'm sorry for giving Randy a hard time, i am very impressed with how well my order was packed and though i won't get to actually use this stuff till next week, i'm pretty confident that when i hook up my keywiz, it is going to work.

[Epyx]

For how long it takes most of us to build a cabinet, it amazes me that waiting a week for parts to ship is such a big deal. Order the damn parts in advance of needing them if you're that impatient.

Endaar

For the most part, you are right. I usually don't care but cmon how many of you get into that "must acquire new toy mode" where you just have to have something NOW...I can't be the only one.  Other times it's deadlines.  A part fails or you need it up and running before a certain time...IE my gaming nights are typically on a Saturday night so having something that i think of only a week before arrive before that day is nice.

However, most times I have absolutely no problem waiting but for those "special" circumstances timeliness has its benefits

[WhereEaglesDare]

Well, you know what, they are both excellent vendors and they both are big sponsors the BYOAC, so we should support both of them.

[Ginsu Victim]

Well, you know what, they are both excellent vendors and they both are big sponsors the BYOAC, so we should support both of them.

Totally.

Let's not forget Mike's Arcade either. He's a good guy.

[Havok]

Thanks.

Yeah, I really dig the design of this stick and it feels WAY better than the Tornado Terry's Ms Pac stick. The switches engage easily (and quietly) and there isn't a large dead zone. The restriction feels good and that shiny balltop looks nice.

Hmmmm - I'm not really liking my Ms Pac stick. Might be time to put in an order...

[Ginsu Victim]

Word of warning: You can't drop it straight in as a replacement. The hole pattern is different.

(Just in case you didn't catch me saying this above...)

[RandyT]

Word of warning: You can't drop it straight in as a replacement. The hole pattern is different.

Yes, it has the Seimitsu-style mounting plate, which is narrower.  On the bright side, however, it's a smaller footprint.  I've been thinking about adapter plates, but my laser metal cutting source just went "belly-up"...not enough work to pay for the upkeep on his machine  .  It's not too hard to adapt one for existing holes, though.  If you have carriage bolts, just leave them in place, use the hardware in our joystick mounting kits, and turn the True4 sideways so it fits between the bolts.  You can pretty much do the same for existing under panel mounting methods.

New installations are a little easier though, as there is no existing hardware to consider.

RandyT

[Ginsu Victim]

I was actually planning on doing the exact method you mentioned.

Great minds...