[StealthAuto]

Hello board members!

I wanted to let everyone know doing a run of 100 Black Series pedals and we're about 10 pairs short. Due to such, we've decided to offer everyone a killer discount [below our cost] for the next 4-5 days or so.

The Black Series pedals are usually $199.95 and are only $99.95 with this sale...50% off!! We will be making the pedals with SRT8 engraved, 300C, as well as blank pedals with no engraving. To see the pedals on our website CLICK HERE.

Please find images below and feel free to email me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Aaron Schoenberger
Aaron(@)stealthauto.com


PS... A big thank you to Freebird [Mark] for helping with the images.

 

[fadertoo]

...feel free to email me with any questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Aaron Schoenberger
Aaron(@)stealthauto.com

Aaron, please tell us your website is in error when it says these pedals are expected to ship in October! A number of us have had paid orders since November. If they won't ship for another 9 months, we're entitled to a refund and I will be requesting one.

 

[pimp mobile]

id like an answer too. i paid back in november too. i really want these pedals. i've emailed a couple of times with no response.

 

[DrewBloom]

shpping or refund?

Fadertoo and Pimp Mobile
Did you guys ever recieve the pedals? Were you refunded? I agree that they look good and would look even better on my '06 SRT8 assuming that they are available and shipping in a reasonable ammount of time.

 

[MIDNIGHT451]

As far as I know nobody got their pedals. I've been emailing with no response also. Here's another thread on them: http://www.300cforums.com/forums/in...ries-pedal-special-99-until-november-3rd.html

 

[fadertoo]

No nothing for me, including no response to a pm. I've been remiss in demanding either a satisfactory ETA or a refund. I need to get that done.

 

[fadertoo]

I spoke with Todd by phone this afternoon. He was very open and up front about the problems he's experienced with the Black Series Pedals, as we would expect from his reputation. The bottom line is we may not ever - but may - get the pedals, but if we don't, we most certainly will get refunds.

The problem in a nutshell is not with their production. It's with the volume. He needed to sell somewhere approaching 500 sets to make a couple of bucks at the $100 pre-order price. He had expected to get close enough to that in pre-orders to order the run and have a reasonable supply left on the shelf for regular, website and wholesale orders. So far, he's only gotten about 10 pre-orders, across all forums and any other marketing avenues he's using. He obviously needs to sell fewer sets to make a profit at the $200, site-advertised price, but he didn't say how many, and that wouldn't address the issue for the pre-orders anyway.

His supplier - or actually, the company that would be doing the coating - has demanded the volume, to afford him a cost at which he can break even or make a few bucks at the prices he originally anticipated, depending on the final retail price. He said the company is top tier, and the coating itself is rock hard, making it ideal for smoothing the fairly sharp edges of the pedals as manufactured, and yet still holding up for years of use. They also make the coating for well-known titanium golf drivers, maybe part of why those sell for $500 - $800 each. The coating process is evidently very labor-intensive, particularly, he said, to achieve the fading where it's darker around the edges and brighter in the center. That lighter/darker scheme is what helps any engraving - 300C, or SRT8 - to 'pop'. He did say they could do it at a lower volume if the coating were evenly smoked across the pedals, but he didn't think they would look nearly as good.

So, he's gotten stuck between the proverbial rock and the hard place. He can't afford to lay out something approaching $50,000 to order the run of 500 sets when he's only received about $1000 dollars worth of orders. And, he knows he's got to do something about those of us with pre-orders. He said he's even thought about ordering a run for ours, taking the hit, and just being done with them.

He mentioned, and I thought it was a good idea, that he might come to us, via e-mail and/or forum postings, and ask us what we want him to do. So, I'm not sure what's most fair, either. Personally, I'd probably be satisfied with a refund and a nice discount off a future order for my trouble. Sure, I'd definitely like to have the pedals, but I don't want to feel like I've taken advantage of him and his bad guess on the expected demand, either. He seems like a good guy. Midnight and pimp, and anyone else, what do you guys think?

 

[300MAG]

I spoke with Todd by phone this afternoon. He was very open and up front about the problems he's experienced with the Black Series Pedals, as we would expect from his reputation. The bottom line is we may not ever - but may - get the pedals, but if we don't, we most certainly will get refunds.

The problem in a nutshell is not with their production. It's with the volume. He needed to sell somewhere approaching 500 sets to make a couple of bucks at the $100 pre-order price. He had expected to get close enough to that in pre-orders to order the run and have a reasonable supply left on the shelf for regular, website and wholesale orders. So far, he's only gotten about 10 pre-orders, across all forums and any other marketing avenues he's using. He obviously needs to sell fewer sets to make a profit at the $200, site-advertised price, but he didn't say how many, and that wouldn't address the issue for the pre-orders anyway.

His supplier - or actually, the company that would be doing the coating - has demanded the volume, to afford him a cost at which he can break even or make a few bucks at the prices he originally anticipated, depending on the final retail price. He said the company is top tier, and the coating itself is rock hard, making it ideal for smoothing the fairly sharp edges of the pedals as manufactured, and yet still holding up for years of use. They also make the coating for well-known titanium golf drivers, maybe part of why those sell for $500 - $800 each. The coating process is evidently very labor-intensive, particularly, he said, to achieve the fading where it's darker around the edges and brighter in the center. That lighter/darker scheme is what helps any engraving - 300C, or SRT8 - to 'pop'. He did say they could do it at a lower volume if the coating were evenly smoked across the pedals, but he didn't think they would look nearly as good.

So, he's gotten stuck between the proverbial rock and the hard place. He can't afford to lay out something approaching $50,000 to order the run of 500 sets when he's only received about $1000 dollars worth of orders. And, he knows he's got to do something about those of us with pre-orders. He said he's even thought about ordering a run for ours, taking the hit, and just being done with them.

He mentioned, and I thought it was a good idea, that he might come to us, via e-mail and/or forum postings, and ask us what we want him to do. So, I'm not sure what's most fair, either. Personally, I'd probably be satisfied with a refund and a nice discount off a future order for my trouble. Sure, I'd definitely like to have the pedals, but I don't want to feel like I've taken advantage of him and his bad guess on the expected demand, either. He seems like a good guy. Midnight and pimp, and anyone else, what do you guys think?

I think he should get us the stuff that we ordered and he promised. If he was concerned about selling a certain amount he should have made the contigent upon selling a certain volume. If he only sold 10 sets then take the hit and get us the product, we certainly waited long enough!!!

 

[MIDNIGHT451]

I don't doubt he's a good guy. That's not the issue. His marketing plan was all wrong and he promised something that he can't deliver. I was told the last week of December my order would be delivered.

His other inconsistencies which make me skeptical and think that we should have our orders filled instead of a refund.

According to this post:

http://www.300cforums.com/forums/in...ries-pedal-special-99-until-november-3rd.html

He is 10 pairs short. Nothing about 500 sets or pairs. Maybe I'm reading it wrong but then read this:

Mortimusmaximus posted at: 01-11-2009 at 09:28 AM:
From their site.
Note: the pedals will be in stock and ready to ship in mid-October. Due to a high demand, pre-orders are being accepted up until the January 1, 2009 for the discounted amount of $99.95

If there is such a high demand, what's his issue about not getting enough orders?

There are too many inconsistencies in my opinion. I feel mislead and he should have to follow through with the order. If he was straight from his first post, I wouldn't not feel slighted in any way. If he posted that he needs "X" amount of orders to make this possible, I would be fine with the current out come knowing such information. I could have bought 2 or 3 sets as gifts if I had known a specific amount was required. With the previous posts and keeping us on the ropes for 3 months, he should take responsibility.

He's been cranking out great products which I have purchased in the past. I hope he does the right thing this time and the next. :worried:

 

[bac n black]

Todd at stealth has always been an open and fair vendor on this site, I ordered the pedals and finally decided to wait no longer. Todd was very understanding and the refund was made to my CC in 2 days. There was no trouble on my part...alittle disappointed perhaps because I too wanted the pedals. Todd did the right thing and refunded my money and I expect nothing else from him. I have done buisness in the past with Stealth and will again in the future. Sometimes things just don't work out.

 

[Mortimusmaximus]

Todd at stealth has always been an open and fair vendor on this site, I ordered the pedals and finally decided to wait no longer. Todd was very understanding and the refund was made to my CC in 2 days. There was no trouble on my part...alittle disappointed perhaps because I too wanted the pedals. Todd did the right thing and refunded my money and I expect nothing else from him. I have done buisness in the past with Stealth and will again in the future. Sometimes things just don't work out.

All that may be true BUT.
The lack of communication from a supporting vender is very alarming.He should be in here at least daily updating us on the problem and solutions if any.

 

[MIDNIGHT451]

Yes, why has he abandoned both threads?

 

[Mortimusmaximus]

OK it has been 2 months since the op has posted in his own thread here.
It has been 2 weeks since any post in this thread http://www.300cforums.com/forums/st...utos-preferred-members-club-save-up-30-a.html

Exactly what level of participation does a vendor need to stay in good standing?He has been posting in the forums just not where it matters.

 

[crhemi]

I agree, this is poor business and is unacceptable. The volume issue is not the customers issue (unless it was disclosed up front)

There seems to be a lot of this going on in our world today!

 

[fadertoo]

For anyone that hasn't received or seen this, here's the latest from Todd on these pedals. Some of the numbers are different from what I posted above, but the essence is the same. I probably misunderstood. The bottom line is he's asking for one more week to work out the details.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Todd Staples <[email protected]>
To: Todd Staples <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, February 2, 2009 11:55:42 AM
Subject: STEALTH AUTO - Black Series Pedal update.

Dear Patient Black Series Pedal Customers-

I'd first like to apologize for our lack of communication on this project. I have been trying my best to resolve the issues we have had and feel that part of the problem is that I keep seeing a solution "right around the corner". Because of this, I keep putting off getting back to all you great customers who have been patiently waiting because I am holding off for good news.

Here is the current situation. I'll try to do my best to explain this and give you an idea of why this has been such a challenge.

When we made our first set of Black Series Pedals, just the coating process for ONE SET cost us almost $500. Of course, this was artificially high due to testing, setup etc, but that is what it cost. The coating we use is the same coating used on high end Titanium Golf Drivers to withstand the abuse your feet are going to give them.

Our coating specialists informed us that this was just because it was a sample run and they expected to get the cost down to about $30/set, IF we could get our numbers up. We delightfully agreed and decided to release the Black Series Pedals to the public for a pre-sale.

Now this next part is honestly where we ran into trouble....

When we released the new pedals and even advertised selling a certain amount BELOW cost (thinking at least this would help get them made), we got FAR less orders than we expected. And I don't mean a few less or a 10 less, but we got about 1/5th the MINIMUM amount of orders we expected to be able to make this a worthwhile project for us (only about 1 dozen sets were ordered).

With determination to hold up our end of the bargain, we pressed forward. We then ran into some issues with the coating and it proved to be very hard to get our cost down.

So now, here we were. STUCK. We met with our coating specialist and decided to once again try to get the cost down to what we needed at lower volumes than we had originally committed to, without sacrificing quality.

Unfortunately it did not work out the way we had planned.

Here are the numbers we came up with for the coating only, THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE THE COST OF THE PEDALS, nor any of the costs we have accrued testing over the past few months:

10 - 19 sets @ $ 150.00 per set

20 - 50 sets @ $ 90.00 per set
51-100 sets @ $ 70.00 per set
101-200 sets @ $ 60.00 per set​

200+ sets @ $ 40.00 per set

****

As you can see, we are in a tough spot. We imagined that we would get 50-100 orders for these pedals and that would allow us to set the price point at $150-$200, like it says on our site, but this was not the case.

You have all been MORE THAN patient, and I cannot express my gratitude enough for this. Unfortunately, the economy is tough right now and I am not going to lie and say I have an extra $10K laying around of my own to put into this. Stealth Auto is made up of a group of dedicated enthusiasts that love providing the parts for people to make their cars truly unique. We are not some mega sized manufacturing company with millions in the bank and this project has already been a huge strain on us.

Here is what I am asking you all to do for me.

Give me one more week to figure this out. I have some ideas up my sleeve and a few people who have expressed interest putting up some money for a LARGE order of these pedals (whom I will be rewarding handsomely). This will help complete the project we have started and most importantly, GET YOU YOUR PEDALS!!!

I hope this works with you and you can all find the strength to hold off for another week, I PROMISE i will update you no later than monday February 9th, 2009.


All the best,

If you have any thoughts on this, please feel free to let me know.

- Todd


Todd Staples
[email protected]

Stealth Auto
P: 877-349-4777
F: 310-312-5553

 

[Mortimusmaximus]

Still goes not have the courtesy to post in HIS OWN THREADS these details to help out the few people who are still interested.

This is extremely poor behavior for a supporting vendor.:thumbsdow

 

[MIDNIGHT451]

Dear Stealth Black Series Pedal Fanatics-

Sorry to get back to you a day late ( I know I promised I'd update you yesterday) but I was working on a few final details yesterday and wasn't able to get an email together to send to you.

Lets get right to it....

First, the bad news:

Try as I may, I was NOT able to get the funds together to move ahead with the size order I was hoping, and therefore my cost per set is quite a bit higher than I had originally expected.

Now, the good news:

I am a man of my word, and I am going to deliver on what I had promised. As I have told you before, we have gotten through the difficult development phase, and am putting 20 sets of pedals into official production this week. You WILL get your pedals, for the price you paid, even though it is quite a bit below what my cost is turning out to be.

I will have more news on this in the next couple days, and should be able to give a firm delivery date to all of you by the end of the week.

Thanks again for your unbelievable patience!

I'll update you as soon as I have more info.

Best,

- Todd

Looks like the lad came through... so far

 

[300MAG]

Yep, all will be good in my book if he comes through. I would have liked them in November but let's face it with the cold weather NY, I would have probably waited for the warm spring weather to get done!

 

[MIDNIGHT451]

Anyone heard anything? I think he meant next month. not next week.

 

[Mortimusmaximus]

"I will have more news on this in the next couple days, and should be able to give a firm delivery date to all of you by the end of the week. "

Okay so he posted this statement on the 10th of last month. This would imply we should have had a firm delivery date by the 17th of last month. Instead we have over two weeks with no more follow-up posts.I may be repeating myself but this is very poor behavior for a supporting vendor.