martinb8
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Ben
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2022
- Threads
- 4
- Messages
- 93
- Reaction score
- 116
- Location
- Columbus, Ohio
- Vehicles
- Tesla Model Y
@kizamybute' , I think this biggest issue here is just the pure lack of communication. Yes, thank god I'm on this forum, or I'd be in a blackhole of communication, but most people probably aren't. Add to that, preorders were charged entirely upfront so for some of the earliest preorders, they've now been out upwards of $1,000 or more for something they still don't have after 4 months as opposed to being charged maybe $100 and then the rest upon shipment. Unless you've reached out to the company yourself, they've provided (I think) one mass email update to all preorders and even then that went to spam it sounds like for many people. One would think they could start to provide more precise shipment dates for anyone who preordered by sending them emails and not relying on those customers to reach out. Simply put, communication is key when you're dealing with shifting timelines and holding on to people's money. Being proactive in communication is always far better than being reactive.Surprised to see so many complaints from the Rivian crowd over timing. Most of us waited YEARS to get the truck. A few months for parts should be nothing to you.
Naturally, they want to sell as many as they can and as quickly as they can. That's how they make money. But, it takes time. Assuming they don't have a 1,000,000 square foot production wharehouse producing a million units a week, it takes a little longer for niche markets like Rivian.
Many companies won't take on building products for Rivian because the market is so small. If 1% of the Rivian owners respond to a particular product, that means investing a fortune in creating a product to appeal to 250 customers. Ford sells 1,000,000 trucks per year. Companies are happy to mass produce items for those. For Rivian, we need smaller companies like TSportline to step up, which they have.
Naturally, we all want what we want and we want it now. But giving them a hard time about timing isn't going to speed up how long it takes to produce items. We need to be happy that they are at least producing them and with a little patience, everyone will get theirs in a reasonable period of time. A few months really isn't all that long in the grand scheme of things.
I'm appreciative that they offered the running boards at a very reasonable price. I don't believe, to date, anyone else has sold and delivered such a product. If not for EV1, I'd still have no running boards, nor would anyone else. You might be in line for ones that cost twice as much, but I'm thankful that they are delivering them and they will come soon.
Because the market is so small, most companies charge a lot more to build products for a niche market. Tsportline is doing so at prices competitive with similar items for mass market trucks.
So, thank you guys for doing all you can do. Look forward to seeing what's next.
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