KentuckyColonel

Yesterday, I ordered my second set of LADO retracts.  The first, I received in about one month from date of order.  I order, going into it expecting it to take awhile.  Do I want my retracts yesterday?  YES!  But that ain't going to happen.  I hope this experience with Doug will be as good as my first order experience.  If not, well then shame on me for ordering, even though I read all these complaints beforehand.  I still think they are the best retracts I have ever had on a warbird!

Michael211

My Feedback: (1)

Dick, are you comparing apples to apples or apples to oranges here?Doug makes several different designs of retracts for different types of models... it is possible he has all the needed components to produce the ones being shipped "today"but not all the components for another style you may have had on order for months already. He has suppliers also and you and I have no idea what they're telling Doug as far as the estimated time of delivery of the components he needs to produce these things.

Just saying....

The product is great, and it took less than 30 days from order to delivery for a pair of LADO's for my H9 60 sized Mustang I ordered from Doug in early March. I was very pleased with the service and think the product is worth far more than he's charging for them!It's a shame to have to bury these things inside of the wing where nobody can really see and appreciate the craftmanship that went into them.

Regards and have a great Memorial Day Weekend ya'll!

- Michael

Dick T.

My Feedback: (243)

Apples and oranges don't make one wit of difference,

I agree there may be an outsidesupplier issue, But that does not excuse a lack of feedback or response to a customer whose paid order is many months old and shows no prospect of shipment any time soon.

It isinexcusable to disregard or ignorea paid customer for any reason as it appears to have occured with some posters here.

Those folks inpaid but waitingshoes can either call for a refund, if they can ever get a response, or just sit quietly and be treatedpoorlyfor paying their money and getting nothing in return.

They may be producing a good product but obviously flakey to do business with.

Dick T.

My Feedback: (243)

And I take exception to folks who keep ordering from, praising and enabling these flakes. I attempted to order from them on numerous occasions, telephoniing and leaving messages during business, sending a number of emails requesting in stock status. Guess what, not one response, period.

That is enough "facts" to not do business with them and all this was long before the product became a topic of discussion. The problems specified in this thread confirmed my suspicions completely.

It is misguided thinkingif educating folks on the risks of doing business with them is "piling on"

adwb

Whoa guys, it was not my intention to start a huge debate over the non delivery of my order. I ordered and paid for a set of rotating retracts with the full knowledge that there was a 1-2- month delay due to motor components from China. However 8th of Feb till now is I feel pushing mfg delay abit far. From the info on the Ladoweb site [copied below] this is clearly wrong.
I also under stand that the non rotating models were built first and have I assume by now all been delivered and this is why some have orded and recived these models quickly. However it would appear that order sequence by date or order number now seem to be being ignored and it is wrong that perople are now being supplied who placed orders after others like my self.
It is the total lack of communication which is annoying me, despite the statement on the Lado website that email is the prefered communication there is never ever any reply to emails.
I also ordered the electronic delay unit which was in stock but now is not, and I bet non were kept back to compltete orders once the retracts were built.
I have again this morning left amessage on the Lado answer machine specifically asking again for a orderdelivery date and informing them that i will report them to the credit card companies if i do not receive some closure shortly.
ADWB
Alistair barclay
Bristol England
Order ID: 835
Customer Details:
Alistair Douglas Barclay
12 Richmond Terrace
Avonmouth, Bristol
BS11 9EW
England
Email: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Phone: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Shipping Method: Priority Mail International

Additional Information:
The only way I have to reserve a set is to place an order. This would charge your credit card the same day you place the order. This way your in the system and as soon as I have them available they will ship out to you. If this is okay and your also okay with a 5 to 6 week wait go ahead and order.
I added one 60-2 to the web site. I don’t want it up there for long, so please order tonight if you’re going to. I will add the 60-100 later for free since there is a long lead time.
I used to try and keep a list and contact guys once we had stock, but as busy as we are it just been too much of a hassle. Anyway I did add one to the site, so you can order off the site.
Thanks,
Doug

March 5, 2009

We have received our motors that we have been waiting on. We have a ton of parts made up and we are now working on assembling them and getting the last few back orders out. So if you have a pending order we will get them out to you in the next week to two depending on what you ordered. We are going to build 60-1 / 60-6 first then 60-2 / 60-2Ts. Thanks for your patients, it’s really appreciated.

We are going to start taking orders again. Please note the 2 to 3 week lead time and remember these are custom built in house by us so it takes some time. I am antisapating a large flood of orders, so lead time will depend on what you order and when you order it. But we do have a ton of parts and electronics already ready so things should move quickly.

You will also note that we have increased our prices by approximately 5% on all products. Our costs have gone up on most everything and we must increase our prices. BUT….. For the rest of the month we are giving a 7.5% discount on all orders as I know many of you have been waiting to order. So for this month you will still get the old price, actually a bit better than the old price.

To receive this discount enter the following coupon code while checking out; LADODISC

This will give you 7.5% off your order, you can use it as much as you like until the end of the month. Please note lead times when ordering, these are custom build and all orders are pre-paid.

tblackstone

My Feedback: (1)

Good Morning Guys:

I talked to Doug on Friday, May 29th. My order is #885, placed on March 9, 2009, for the retro fit kit for the robart tricycle set.

Doug told me that he thought those had shipped, but had to "go home" to check the internet from his house as their wireless internet connection at the shopwas horrible. Later that evening, he called back again and said they did not ship, and it would be another two weeks.

Doug also mentioned they were setting up another shop to handling some of the tooling, and possibility a move to a different location. I told Doug he needs to update his website, and he needs to keep his customers informed on the status of their orders.

I tell you this just to document the event. Whether I believe him or not is hard to say. I guess we'll see in two weeks what will happen.

Tom

rodneygt

subscribe

waiting on 60-2s since 3/5 and hope to see them soon . . .

NoFlaps

My Feedback: (131)

I talked to Doug yesterday and he took care of my retract problem right away.
It's a great product, but It seems that they are experiencing growing pains as business is good,but often/sometimes slow as they are on a learning curve and not as big as CJM, Robart, Sierra and the like.
I've always found that simply calling him does the trick.

nevermore73

I too have ordered a set of 60-6's. I have not been waiting as long as the others in this thread but when you look at that site it said 1-2 week lead time. Ok, no problem 1-2 weeks fine and dandy. It has been a month for myself. I have emailed...no response. I have called no response. Updates on the website would be nice to at least know if the business is still operating. Oh and the other thing that personally drives me nuts is the use of USPS. At least offer the option of UPS or Fedex.

I am sure this product is probably great given the backing of the members who have recieved theirs. I just don't know how long I am willing to wait for them. I have been trying to contact Lado for a refund. I will look into these possibly later when they can be produced and in stock. Now I wonder if I can get my cash back.

Update:

Talked to Doug told me he will ship mine out on Monday they are completed. Also sounds like there will be there will be no more backorder type situations in the future as they will be building them and then selling them instead of the way it is now. Which is a great idea. So I will currently not be looking for a refund if what he says pans out. Also he said there will no longer be any custom ordering either.

ampeater

My Feedback: (1)

Well, I'm at a crossroads.  I ordered the Robart retrofit back in November and haven't been able to make contact.  I expected to wait a couple months, but now it's 7 months later and I'm at the point in my build where I need to move on.  I'm building a bearcat from scratch and the plan was to have one or two bulkhead connectors for all the servos, lights, and Lados to make it real easy to mount the wing.  Now I have to decide whether to keep waiting without any word of whether it will take another week or another year, or do I just give up and build it with air.

The plan was to put a smoke tank where the air tank woulda been.  Do I give up on smoke, buy the air tank, valve, servo, etc and change my whole planned layout?  Or do I cross my fingers and keep waiting wihtout word?  Or do I do the air installation in a way that makes for easy tearout when the Lados get here? Then I'll be paying for both the air and the Lado.

Of course, option 3 could be to design my own retrofit using a high-torque servo.  I already have a bunch of more complicated mechanisms in orbit.  But then, do I really want to use my new bearcat as a test bed?

You can't get much more patient than I am, I'm definitely not the squeaky-wheel type.  But at some point you have to crp or get off the pot.

GaGeeBees

My Feedback: (23)

ampeater - Sorry about your wait. I thought just over five month was bad, but you've got me beat. The only thing I've found to work is to be the "squeaky wheel" type. Call and call again and keep calling until you get whatever it is that will satisfy you, be that refund or product. It works.

mike early

All these crazy horror stories just keep coming.

"How many times must a RC man look up
Before he can see the sky?

Yes, 'n' how many ears must Lado have
Before he can hear people cry?"

adwb

Larry3215

My Feedback: (2)

Last year if you got on the forums and complained, it got you moved to the top of the list. Thats the only thing that worked for me and several others.

Even that doesnt seem to be working now.

Does Doug not care about his reputation? Its gonna kill him eventually.

CorsairJock

My Feedback: (90)

"The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind"

Hey, you must be as old as I am.

I understand all the anguish and contempt: I went thru the same thing with Sierra a couple of years ago.
BUT, I also have to comment on how GREATmy Lados have improved the ground handling on my Hangar 9 Corsair. Now, even my not so perfect landings look pretty darned good, and it never even hints that it wants to nose over like it used to so frequently.
I must also remind you tho, that I have 5/32" titanium strut wires (with spring loops) and RoboStruts installed on mine. About a $250 investment altogether, but man: what a difference they make.

tahustvedt

My P-40 has needed new retracts for almost a year, but I'm still  on the fence due to the feedback here. I won't order yet, at least until the website reflects reality with regard to the lead time.

adwb

nevermore73

I can now say Lado Retracts exist.  They were shipped and arrived yesterday tested and working.  And they do work great.  I am sorry for those that haven't received theirs yet.  Once he stops this back order nonsense I would order again.

A question out of curiosity though.  Has anyone ordered something that deviated from the norm off the site like specially drilled strut mounts or things of that nature?

Larry3215

My Feedback: (2)

When did you order?

adwb

My order has also been shipped or at least it it is on the fedex web site,as being in transit.
my order # was 835 for 60-2 units
more once received
Alistair

nevermore73

Larry,

I ordered May 4th.

adwb,

If you have a tracking number then they are on the way.

rodneygt

I ordered on March 5, 2009. My order number is 854. My order is for 60-2s. My order status still just says "order received" and I have received no communications from lado. I know of at least TWO people that have received their order (or shipping conf) with an order number higher than mine. That's just pure bull.

adwb

the last timeI phoned and as usual communicated with a answer machine, I stated that not only had a previous promis to ship been broken but that people with number higher than mine had quoted delivery andI gave theose order #'s the next dayI got confirmation of shipping.
Alistair

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

just got my Hangar-9 rotators in the mail yesterday I am happy
obviously some are not, but it seems that some of the delays are about machining the cases,and parts, for the different types of gear, if you have ever cracked one of the cases open, I did for a little bit of trimming work I needed to do to fit my 7/16 struts for my H-9 Mustang, the machine work is quite detailed and real clean.

this requires alot of set up time for the machining process which LADO obviously hasn't worked out the kinks on, to speed up there production for there demand still,
if there doing a run of rotators for the H-9 sets, then there not going to drop that and do another run just for a couple of orders this may upset some but its a reality of this product at this stage in there buisness.
I do alot of service work in my employment, and get paid after the work is done, but I have yet to order anything from a RC retailer without paying up front,I will be the first to admit I have sent at least one less than flattering email about my order, but I did know that eventually I would get it, and I did.
 
as pointed out several times repeatedly in this and other threads, this is a mom and pop outfit and have been a bit overwhelmed with orders, they invested in a new machine to increase there production and have been getting alot of buisness from it this isn't Robart were talking about here.

I would suggest as I have been doing on several posts if you cant afford to wait it out, get a refund and move on with your life,if you can then you will eventually get what you want, I have no doubt.

did I mention I got mine yesterday

nevermore73

Tim,

I agree with you. At first i started reading this thread and freaked out a bit which prompted my first post here. However after speaking with Doug he did sound sincere about what he is trying to do. It also sounded like he was the one building all the retracts himself. I can only imagine getting flooded with orders. How could I possibly fill all of them would be my thought. I say if you have been waiting for these longer than months and you haven't been satisfied with what has been emailed/phoned back to your questions or even not responded to then it is time to get that refund. I know I would. This would not be the first mail order vendor that filched me out of cash which I always get returned in the end.

The other thing I want to comment on is the actual store/website. It looks like it is running through paypal as ALL updates including "order recieved" and "order shipped" status is being run through paypal. It is just a thought that paypal just plain sucks like I always knew it did. That might be an issue there.

I am happy with mine and would order again as long as there is actual product stocked and ready to ship. Which he stated is trying to do now. In order for him to do that he needs to finish his outstanding orders and not take new orders. Honestly I hope he stays open for business as I do want another set for a larger plane if he starts making those.

Kevin