Club Obi Wan

Any one know what the story is with Wade Egan? On Nov. 12, 2012 I paid him $83 for a strap and no-slip whip holder.
In Dec. 12, 2012 he said he's waiting for materials.
In Jan 2013, he said he's been delayed due to taking a part time job and not getting in the shop much.
Now it's Feb. 2013, he doesn't reply to emails and his phone number is "not in service".
More than 3 months and now No Contace. Not Cool!

Does anybody know the story? Am I just out $83? Not that I want to rip on the guy, in fact I chose to go to him due to the many positive comments his work got here. But, if there is something hinkey, I also don't want to see anyone else getting riped off.

I know that Wade gets VERY busy with other things sometimes. Making gear isn't the only thing he does. I know a few months ago he said he was "closing up shop" bc people were getting too impatient and too demanding. However, he's always been professional and prompt on fulfilling orders from me, so I would just keep contacting him.

Kyle

Wade posted the following on Facebook back on January 21st.

I'm getting back to basics. I have been looking around and seeing everyone with their noses buried in some sort of device or another all the time and it disturbs me. We've transformed into a culture who live lives of quantity instead of quality. I want to get back to the quality and make my time mean more than spending countless hours looking at screens. I've gotten rid of my smart phone and I'm only spending one night per week on the internet. Time to get back to what really matters.

Having been there, I know your frustration.

Gailen

I understand what Wade is saying, I really do, but when you take someone's money, you either deliver what they paid for or refund their hard earned money.

Hope it works out either way for you.

I've bought from Wade as well and his product was top notch. From the sounds of it he may have suffered from burnout. Be patient and continue to try and reach him.

http://www.wadeegan.com/Ordering_Info.html

I gotta be honest, 3 months isn't much to wait for Wade's work...

Now I know, you paid, he said he'd deliver on such and such, but Wade's never been amazingly good to keeping to timetables...I've found...

The first time I ordered with him, he gave me rough date, missed it, and I checked with him and got another date, and he missed that too...

The second time I ordered, I stopped worrying about the date given, because it wasn't important...He does the best leather work I've seen about....And the date he'll do it by isn't important...If I thought about it, I'd have worried, and it wasn't worth it..I knew he'd make something stunning...And again, he did...

The third time was the same...I didn't push for an arrival date, just asked him for what I wanted, and forgot about it until it arrived....And when it did, it was precisely what I wanted...

Wade's work isn't timetable exact...And if you order from him, you need to understand that it'll take as long as it takes, and that's that...But when it arrives, it'll be the best thing you've had delivered in leather ever...

I suggest relaxing and focussing on more important things...The time will pass and it'll be sent out...He's not cheating, he's just not able to work so much that he can keep exactly to time schedules anymore...

Dude is solid...Each and every time...But time keeping ain't on his list of important things...If you ordered from him, then I assume you read the sign on his website where he points that out...So you'd know about it...

Indeed.

I have to say - if there's ANYONE you can trust whole-heartidly, it's Wade. I've never heard him cheat a person and he always delivers. He's the best in the business for leather-work and therefore he receives many orders as a result. He also provides us with gear that really cannot be found anywhere else. For example, he has specially made buckles from a company that would have discontinued them and are the best buckles for Indy belts that you can find (I believe they are Raiders buckles?). He also provides extra services like re-doing Mark VII bags to fix the canvas for the O-rings which bring new, revitalized life back into these old bags and save people lots of money and time rather than having to buy numerous ones for back-ups.

He does a lot for this hobby and I don't think a lot of people (saying this in general, nothing towards you) truly respect or are grateful for all he does.

I wouldn't worry - he always delivers.

Ray,

I've bought from WPG and Todd's, but found this vendor recently, and was very impressed with his work on the straps. I bought a Raiders repro bag strap and included in the purchase was 3 buckles for each of the films, and depending on the one you most want to use. The thickness, color and suppleness of the leather was oustanding for a piece of this kind and reasonably priced. I'll not need another. Also makes holsters as well, so if you need another option, here is one, highly recommended, and my goto vendor in this catagory:

https://sites.google.com/site/makeitjon ... bag-straps" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm about 2 weeks from reaching the 12 month point in a wait for an order from Wade. I know he is a stand up guy and that he will eventually get it to me but it can be horrendous trying to reach him. I've had more luck through this forum than by email as the last time he actually replied to an email from me was sometime last June.

T.S. wrote:I'm about 2 weeks from reaching the 12 month point in a wait for an order from Wade. I know he is a stand up guy and that he will eventually get it to me but it can be horrendous trying to reach him. I've had more luck through this forum than by email as the last time he actually replied to an email from me was sometime last June.

"Stand-Up guy" is not an expression I would use for someone with such shoddy business practices. If I had known this, I would have taken my business elsewhere. I surely didn't order my simple yet pricey items expecting that I'll get them some time...oh maybe next year. By the time I get these (if at all) I could have learned the craft and made them myself.

Be careful. The last time I ranted about not getting my item I was chastised for not being more patient and told what a wonderful guy he was. I think it took me about seven month to get my order which was a holster. He has a lot of friends on here who will stand up for him no matter how he operates his business.

Gailen

RayROnline wrote:

T.S. wrote:I'm about 2 weeks from reaching the 12 month point in a wait for an order from Wade. I know he is a stand up guy and that he will eventually get it to me but it can be horrendous trying to reach him. I've had more luck through this forum than by email as the last time he actually replied to an email from me was sometime last June.

"Stand-Up guy" is not an expression I would use for someone with such shoddy business practices. If I had known this, I would have taken my business elsewhere. I surely didn't order my simple yet pricey items expecting that I'll get them some time...oh maybe next year. By the time I get these (if at all) I could have learned the craft and made them myself.

Threads like this are good, it helps prospective buyers learn. I will NOT be buying from this guy. Its sketchy at best. Ive had transactions like this before. Nothing but frustration. I hope it works out for you.

trdaggers wrote:Be careful. The last time I ranted about not getting my item I was chastised for not being more patient and told what a wonderful guy he was. I think it took me about seven month to get my order which was a holster. He has a lot of friends on here who will stand up for him no matter how he operates his business.

Gailen

In all fairness, he has a "lot of friends on here" BECAUSE he's such a decent guy...That's kind of the point..And that's WHY I stand up for him...

He's bad with timing...He wrote that on his site...If time is an issue, go somewhere else, but he's a decent, hardworking, stand up guy ENTIRELY, and that's WHY I defend him...

Because he IS decent...

I suspect that's the same with all the rest of his friends here...

It's not an effort to just make people who complain look bad....Just a reassurance that he's not going to take the money and do nothing....That's all..

I was in a rough spot with wade. He sent me one of his bags, but i never got it. Like people said before, he can be a bit slow. After three months i felt like i was getting burned so i became impatient. We emailed a lot and he's not the fastest guy to respond. I found out he got scammed a lot and wants to quit his business cause it's costing him more than he makes. I felt sorry for the guy cause i really was angry with him. He sent me another bag and that one came trough. Say what you want, but his work is amazing. I payed half of the shipping costs out of my own will extra because he lost so much during our transaction.

For me it took way too long, but he is a man with honor and his craftmanship is amazing so i'd buy again from him, but keep in mind it's gonna take some time before he delivers.

Best,

Robert

RayROnline wrote:

T.S. wrote:I'm about 2 weeks from reaching the 12 month point in a wait for an order from Wade. I know he is a stand up guy and that he will eventually get it to me but it can be horrendous trying to reach him. I've had more luck through this forum than by email as the last time he actually replied to an email from me was sometime last June.

"Stand-Up guy" is not an expression I would use for someone with such shoddy business practices. If I had known this, I would have taken my business elsewhere. I surely didn't order my simple yet pricey items expecting that I'll get them some time...oh maybe next year. By the time I get these (if at all) I could have learned the craft and made them myself.

Given the wait I have had, yes I can see your position. With everything Wade has had happen with his accident and the international buyers scamming him plus making this stuff is not his primary source of income I'm personally in no huge rush as in the end I've ordered a custom product that he has taken his time getting the design of right as its unlike his usual gear and requires a lot of sewing which is something he has openly stated is hard for him ever since his car accident. And in the end, its something I've ordered that relates to my hobbies, its not something I must have right now.

I think this is one of the main reasons why the COW forum was set up, was to allow members to give accurate appraisals of the gear they received, but also to cry fowl if things seem amiss. It's fair to say you support a vendor, just as it is fair to say....hey, I had a bad experience here. And there should be room in the forum and tolerance for both points of view. Checks and balances should be in place.

Several years ago, I decided to support a hat vendor, thinking that lessons had been learned from the past, and could start over, etc., but it turned out to be the wrong decision. You like to give people the benefit of the doubt, but they do not always respond in kind, and if so, then appropriate steps are taken.

Bad things may have hapened in the past, but how and why should that effect a new customer's transaction?