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Sam Arwas
Location: Australia Joined: 02 Dec 2015
Posts: 92
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 Posted: Sat 17 Feb, 2018 7:56 pm Post subject: How long do Albion wait times get? |
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I ordered mine through KoA at the end of May last year and finished paying it off in November. I've heard KoA wait times can be longer but the longest I've heard of is 16 months.
Just wondering if the wait time could extend into 2019.
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Joe Fults
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| Posted: Sat 17 Feb, 2018 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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You should probably ask them but I've had some long waits in the past. Been years, and years, and years since I've been in the line. Partly because I decided I didn't want to deal with an uncertain wait anymore. KOA is probably going to have the best idea of anybody at this point.
"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
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Preben B
Location: Norway Joined: 02 May 2017
Posts: 63
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 4:27 am Post subject: |
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I ordered two Albions from KoA january 2017 and they were ready to ship mid-december 2017.
When I ordered them the wait was 6-8 months on KoA but it changed to may exceed 1 year just a week after I ordered so I don't blame them.
I would expect the estimate to be fairly accurate, and if you get unsure you can always give them a mail once the estimate starts approaching and they will contact Albion for you.
When my 8 month estimate was over I did exactly that to make sure and Mike from Albion told KoA the swords would be done late december or early Jan, and so they were.
I would expect yours to start being done around may this year, would be very weird if it went into 2019.
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Joe Fults
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 8:02 am Post subject: |
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| Preben B wrote: | | I When I ordered them the wait was 6-8 months on KoA but it changed to may exceed 1 year just a week after I ordered so I don't blame them. |
I had this happen once. It was a long, long time ago. I did get very, very, very frustrated with the fact that the times changed right after my order. I also did blame the vendor which might or might not have been fair.
"The goal shouldn’t be to avoid being evil; it should be to actively do good." - Danah Boyd
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Preben B
Location: Norway Joined: 02 May 2017
Posts: 63
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 9:02 am Post subject: |
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| Joe Fults wrote: | | Preben B wrote: | | I When I ordered them the wait was 6-8 months on KoA but it changed to may exceed 1 year just a week after I ordered so I don't blame them. |
I had this happen once. It was a long, long time ago. I did get very, very, very frustrated with the fact that the times changed right after my order. I also did blame the vendor which might or might not have been fair. |
In the case of KoA and Albion I would say it is not their fault, KoA can't be on top of Albions wait times at every moment, my first Albion I bought in 2016 arrived in 6 months (And estimated as such) so there must have been a high rise in demand after that.
But yes it sure can be frustrating, paying in excess of $1000 or more for a product and waiting for over a year is...Taxing..It has given me a good lesson in patience, something I prior to collecting swords did not have.
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Steve Fabert
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 11:04 am Post subject: |
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I think the problem in New Glarus Wisconsin is the lack of local workers who can produce the quality expected by Albion buyers. If they have only one or two guys trying to turn out all of their swords it's no wonder that it takes more than ten months to produce one from the day it's ordered. If they were located in a major urban area with a deeper labor pool they could probably turn them out in far less than half the time.
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Preben B
Location: Norway Joined: 02 May 2017
Posts: 63
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 1:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Steve Fabert wrote: | | I think the problem in New Glarus Wisconsin is the lack of local workers who can produce the quality expected by Albion buyers. If they have only one or two guys trying to turn out all of their swords it's no wonder that it takes more than ten months to produce one from the day it's ordered. If they were located in a major urban area with a deeper labor pool they could probably turn them out in far less than half the time. |
There is apparently an old article from 2007 stating they were 12 crafters at the time producing about 1000 swords a year, that is quite a few swords a year.
A lot of single smith custom makers have well over a years wait, most because of work queue, the quality is worth waiting for, in my opinion.
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Sam Arwas
Location: Australia Joined: 02 Dec 2015
Posts: 92
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 1:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Steve Fabert wrote: | | I think the problem in New Glarus Wisconsin is the lack of local workers who can produce the quality expected by Albion buyers. If they have only one or two guys trying to turn out all of their swords it's no wonder that it takes more than ten months to produce one from the day it's ordered. If they were located in a major urban area with a deeper labor pool they could probably turn them out in far less than half the time. |
In a recent-ish interview with Mike from Albion I think he said they have 15 full-time employees
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Steve Fabert
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 2:10 pm Post subject: |
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I placed two Albion sword orders last month, 29 days apart. According to the invoice numbers they accepted 81 orders during that time period. One of my orders included two swords. If this rate is typical you can see why a small work force would have a hard time keeping up. If you ship out four swords each work day you can produce about a thousand filled orders in a year. I suspect they may be doing even more than this volume of business since the period after Christmas is not likely to be a peak time for orders. I have no complaint knowing that I won't see anything arrive on my doorstep until after Thanksgiving. I'd rather see them doing lots of business rather than running short of work.
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Sam Arwas
Location: Australia Joined: 02 Dec 2015
Posts: 92
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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| Preben B wrote: | I ordered two Albions from KoA january 2017 and they were ready to ship mid-december 2017.
When I ordered them the wait was 6-8 months on KoA but it changed to may exceed 1 year just a week after I ordered so I don't blame them.
I would expect the estimate to be fairly accurate, and if you get unsure you can always give them a mail once the estimate starts approaching and they will contact Albion for you.
When my 8 month estimate was over I did exactly that to make sure and Mike from Albion told KoA the swords would be done late december or early Jan, and so they were.
I would expect yours to start being done around may this year, would be very weird if it went into 2019. |
So the fact that I didn't finish paying it off until November wouldn't affect my place in the queue?
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Preben B
Location: Norway Joined: 02 May 2017
Posts: 63
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| Posted: Sun 18 Feb, 2018 3:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Sam Arwas wrote: | | So the fact that I didn't finish paying it off until November wouldn't affect my place in the queue? |
I'm not sure how it works with KoA, but I know Albions own downpayment system works in a way where they will start making the blade once you make your initial payment, they will just not send it to you if it finishes before you are done paying, and if you don't pay, I believe they are not obliged to give your money back and it's not like they will have a hard time selling a newly made mint albion, when KoA gets a stock albion it rarely lasts a week.
I'd contact them and ask but I am pretty sure they ordered the sword once you started paying, if you get an answer and I am wrong, correct me.
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This is a standard topic