Apparently
@wardharris is a dealer for these now?
I just emailed Toby asking about them for my Troopy and he mentioned that.
So there's the guy to go through.
Group buy?!
Yes, Georg Esterer
@orangefj45 and I are now
focused Scheel-Mann dealers supporting Toby and Scheel-Mann USA. This is part of a new affiliate of Cruiser Brothers dedicated to
tanks, bars and seating from Long Range Automotive, Kaymar and Scheel-Mann respectively. For the first two we are exclusive agents in North America, for the seats we are dealers. Georg is running CB for mechanical kits, parts and accessories while I focus the new firm (named
Long Range America) on the tank/bar/seat business.
They are very different in product, sales process, ordering and logistics and we decided that for purposes of customer service and effective management, we needed two connected but differentiated portals. New website will launch this month.
As with LRA tanks and Kaymar bars, we are stocking Scheel Mann seats as we learn the products and develop an understanding of what our customers want. After 18 months of tank business, we have 30 unsold tanks in inventory or in transit arriving through May 10 +/-. We also have four Kaymar bar kits available on the same basis after six months. It takes time to learn, order, ship, etc. We currently have two seat sets on hand, with more on the way. We will grow on-hand inventory of seats, along with brackets.
We have R&D installs under way, going into GX 470, GX 460, FJ Cruiser, LC 100, LC 79, LC 76 and Dodge Ram, with more to follow. We will not recommend or sell seats that are not confirmed to work along with other elements - both from Scheel-Mann and from other vendors such as Planted. We are also developing some enhancements, along with series-specific instructions, as we support tank and bar product lines.
Toby is great to work with and offers the best product in the industry for our customer's needs. There are also other dealers and shops to help consult, select, purchase and install these fine products. Long Range America ("LRAM" as we call it) seeks to distinguish itself with a consultive approach to product selection across our lines - both at LRAM and at Cruiser Brothers - including tanks, bars, seats, WAT automatic transmission upgrades, Harrop and ARB lockers, specialty gear sets and the other products that Georg offers - WITH VALUE PRICING THAT REFLECTS PLANNED AND WELL EXECUTED BUILD PLANS.
We do not discount single item purchases and we don't do group buys, per se (more on that below), but Georg and I WILL PROVIDE VALUE (reduced) PRICING FOR MULTI-PRODUCT SALES, even when executed over a time period of up to six months. We know that things take time and build budgets require some flexibility. Each case is different and we are here to help get your project built and to earn your business.
As for a group buy, we have bad news and good news. Some group buys work, but most never result in success for the organizer, participants or vendor - at least in our experience. The objective of a group buy (at least in our view as a vendor) is to provide a group of buyers with access to a given item at a reduced price, given efficiencies of scale and single point of contact. Like a shop purchasing 10 Tundra fuel tanks for inventory. One conversation with the shop, one invoice, one production order with LRA and one shipment to a single location with one wire to pay for it all. Easy - do it all the time in one form or another.
Ten Tundra tanks for ten different buyers - 10 sets of questions, 10 invoices, 10 shipment waybills, 10 (or more) follow up calls, installs, etc. That's a very different animal. All the work for only part of the revenue.
Ten different tank models for ten different buyers? Or 10 different Scheel-Mann seat models with options like seat height, 4-way ortho adjustment, seat heat, arm rests and map pocket? Add seat brackets, airbag solutions, etc. and it just gets worse.....then there are the fabric selections. Bottom line - this would not work for us from a business perspective and it likely would not work for the group members, because there would not be enough value realized in terms of service.
We will not do group buys, ever. We WILL work with you to get what you want at the best possible price and terms with service that will make you want to come back. That last part is hard. In our 18 months, I have made more errors and failed more customers than I care to remember. I lose sleep over this stuff - mostly when I screw up an order and a tank or bar takes longer than I thought it would because i ordered the wrong item or forgot to include an item on a production order - or because the factory production schedule got pushed back, or the systems went down for a week, or the airline cargo schedule was full when we needed a piece of a 787, or Customs officers took accumulated leave in December to keep from losing it, or the truckers were busy. We make it right when we can - often with a financial adjustment.
My point here is that we are not selling products, we are selling services that include products and that takes time, effort and investment for both parties in a binary relationship.
For now and the foreseeable future the tank, bar, seat business is me, Georg, my wife and a couple guys in the warehouse. If you call you will talk to an owner, likely me - maybe Georg - someone who will lose sleep if they don't do a good job for you - not a phone rep.
Ask around - people trust/like Georg and mostly put up with me - and most of our customers will come back and those that won't probably have a good reason. We are not perfect, but trying every day. For us it is personal.
Summary - Our approach may not work for everyone, but it works for most folks we are fortunate to serve - and for us.
Here is a customer truck with Scheel-Mann seats and Kaymar bar on board. Waiting for install and on order - "built" A442F with HD Nomad valve body from Cruiser Brothers and Wholesale Automatics, 1 HD-FT from a friend of ours, Long Range Automotive replacement tank and a whole bunch of extra fabric to reupholster the rear seats/surrounds - also thinking about some Harrop elockers and some other gear and goodies (thanks, John!).
I wear 32" inseam pants and weigh, 160#, on a good day so I'll need to figure out from Toby the best seat for me.
