RE: 3DFOAMY.com closing up shop......
Hi guys, Levi here from 3DF…. I suppose everyone wants to know what is going on…. Well, 3DF is my love. I’ve recently gotten negative comments on some of these forums and it’s taken a toll on me personally, as well as my wife. It’s also kept me away from watching my new born girl, Skyla grow up. She’s starting to crawl and eat food, and it just seems yesterday I was at the hospital bringing her home….
I have lived, breathed and dreamed R/C airplanes since I was 5. Building control line planes with dad and spending all my allowance on Cox fuel and airplanes. I got marginal grades in school because I was always dreaming of airplanes…
So I start up my dream business…..and all is great. I give away free plans, make some good kits, and do my best at everything I approach…. Thus 3D Foamy Models was born.
6 months into the game I was watching monthly sales double each month… I quit school to meet demand for the products, my wife cut back on her work and we were having a blast….
Then the problems began…. Mostly with shipping problems. See, we were custom manufacturing kits to order… and people were excited to order, and missed the “please allow 2-3 weeks for delivery” that was on the shopping cart pages. Next thing you know there’s a group of people ranting how we did them wrong.
I can understand complaints. Every company gets them. But with the advent of forums, one unhappy customer suddenly has a audience of thousands, and obviously only one side of the story is told. “3DF took my money and I didn’t get my stuff yet” Course that person never goes back as says that it did arrive and was great. And if anyone has had a complaint with my company, they will also tell that I have bent over backwards to help out, replace, or refund to set it straight.
Anyhow, We completely shut down the order system and shipped out all backorders. Refused to take more orders until we had inventory…. And have just recently opened it back up to allow only items that are in stock to be ordered.
The thing that is really burning me up is the lack of respect that seems to have flourished in the recent months. Instead of a e-mail requesting help on a problem, it’s a threat. “Fix this or I’m going to trash you on RCU or RCGroups, etc…
People take me through the dirt over made up stories, and imagined scenarios of what were doing here at the shop. So I respond to them, fill in the blanks, and just get more flack. So then I ignore the complainers and go on with life…. Then suddenly I have poor support…
The misconception of our size is a result of good website design, superior products, and great support. But people have come to expect Wall Mart support 24-7 and I simply cannot provide it. The expectation is every e-mail answered in hours, orders shipped in hours, and superb product. Well I can do 2 of those 3…
I chose to provide a superb product and ship it quickly… and that commitment has left many unanswered e-mails and some unhappy people…
So when I came home from a 2 week trip to NY and I hear the things my wife had to deal with from some inconsiderate customers… I threw up my hands in frustration and said this is not my Hobby, this is not the love I had. We talked about shutting it down, selling, cutting back, or getting some help from larger companies.
Anyone knows that you don’t mess with a mans family, and I was very frustrated at the way mine has been treated as a result of 3D Foamy business. In frustration, I made that “for sale” page on the website that you are referring to (no hackers or pranks ). I wasn’t planning on publishing that page, but it inadvertently got published when I uploaded the videos from the WRAM show….
Our intentions were to consider selling the business, or designs and equipment to allow us as a family to focus on the “real” issues in life. Like God, Family, Friends…..
After spending the evening in thought, discussion, and prayer, it seems as though my blunder in publishing the for sale page provided the answer of what we need to do with .
When you guys saw the “for sale” I was flooded with phone calls a few hours ago…. All expressing gratitude, offering suggestions, help, and support. When it’s all said and done, I realize that the few problems we have had are not that big of a deal… and that I just need to take a little personality out of the business.
Since this thread has already started, I guess all I can do is shed this light on the situation…. I hope that you’ll kindly share with me your suggestions and comments.
So just to make it clear… 3DF isn’t going anywhere. This is my love, my life, my dedication. So order away, kits are in stock, we’ll be standing by to ship them out and continue supplying the best kits we can come up with.