Author Topic: Cannon-Mania, Cannon Mania (Read 17955 times)

CaptTHighbiter · « **Reply #60 on:** April 12, 2006, 02:28:34 AM »

I dunno folks. I have dealt with Cannon Mania a few times , the goods arrived in 3-4 weeks and were exactly as purported.

Not covering for poor communication, but I have had the same kind of what appears to be bad business practices with bike parts too. What I found is that the items we are dealing with, whether trunnion caps or intake manifolds: No one tools up to make one set of truniion caps or custom bike parts, like pipes etc. The manf waits til he has a build quantity and then makes them. I waited almost a year for a catalog item from a famous bike builder, but it did come and it is NICE!

Hey I bear impatience as poorly as the next guy, but don't hang the guy.
Heck he's 1-1/2 hours away from me, a good sat morning ride. If all the concerned forum members give me a list, i would take them up there to the store.

Double D · « **Reply #61 on:** April 12, 2006, 03:45:38 AM »

There you go guys Capt.THighbiter is willing help you out. He is willing to make a trip over to Stratford and check things out for you. Hope it helps.

All please keep us advised.

Rickk · « **Reply #62 on:** April 12, 2006, 05:41:39 AM »

I just checked cannon-mania's web site. It was updated 4/12 (today), which I assume means that cannon-mania Dave is alive and healthy enough to encourage new orders thru his web site.

The particular mold that I wanted (2.25") is still listed as in stock (other molds do indicate that he is out of stock, but that mold has appeared to be in stock thru several web site updates.

I called again, within his web-site-suggested time window of 10-11:30 AM, and got his answering machine. The machine picked up right away, typical of an answering machine that already has unanswered messages on it. I once again left a message telling him who I was, that I placed an order in January for a mold, and left him my cell phone number.

I am going to follow this up tonight when I get home with an e-mail, and Saturday I will send him a return-receipt letter to his post office box (he does not list any physical address on his web site)

I'll update you all if anything changes.

Rickk · « **Reply #63 on:** April 12, 2006, 04:30:33 PM »

I sent a fairly serious e-mail to Cannon-Mania at 7:30 this evening, and got a reply at 9 PM. Here is the text of the reply:

~~~e-mail begins here~~~~
Rick

I've sent emails to customers explaining that some of the molds we received were not pouring lead balls correctly. It appears you didn't receive that email. A new batch is again forthcoming. I expect (and hope) to have them in stock in about 2 weeks. If you would like a refund I will gladly issue one. For the time being, molds have been removed from the site.

The cannon business does not contain any high volume items, and margins for the most part are small. I try to compensate by offering a large variety of cannons and related items. Most suppliers are not full time cannon or parts makers and I am at their mercy. As part of growing the business over the past 10 years, several vendors have been weeded out and new ones sought. I am always looking for qualified suppliers and many customers have been helpful. Any problem with a supplier has major effect, as an example one manufacturer in Spain had a big fire last year, several of their patterns burned up. Now many of their products have been dropped. They also lost a lot of their inventory which made shipments run months behind. Phone calls are limited so I can spend more uninterrupted time in the shop and also to run errands, but I try to get back to everyone by email or phone. At times I put in nearly 80 hours a week and something's simply fall through the cracks. For a while I was dealing with the voice mail filling up because someone was calling at all times of the day and just playing music. Frustrating to me and to customers. I also had a computer crash caused by a virus early this year that was devastating. It took weeks to get everything
back and operational. This year I've elected not to open the seasonal store on the boardwalk, inorder to spend more time in the shop and building the larger cannons.

Also, this year I am (and have been) making substantial investments in
Cannon-Mania to improve and add products, service and marketing. These are some of the changes you are seeing on the website. I appreciate your concerns and can only say I am doing what I can to improve the business.

David

~~~end of e-mail~~~~~~

I checked, and he did remove the molds from his web site altogether. The urgency for me is no longer there since I already know I have a mold coming from once of the reguars here, and I already have in my possesion a slightly undersize but usable 2# sinker mold. At this point I just wanna see if he is real or not. If the cannon-mania mold actually does show up I will have quite an assortment of ball variations to mess with.

I also let him know that I am not the only one that fell thru the cracks. Assuming that his e-mail system actually is working at this very moment, this would be a good time for anyone else who is in the dark about an outstanding order to try contacting him again.

So, I will update everyone in two more weeks.

EL Caz 66 · « **Reply #64 on:** April 12, 2006, 06:55:32 PM »

Heres a copy David Ross response after My not so pleasent email i sent out to him this afternoon .

Ed

I just got back in. I called the manufacturer to see what was holding my order up, and was informed it was shipped last week, so I should have it any day. Your kit will ship as soon as I receive them. I normally have these in stock, but after the rush this past Christmas it's been difficult to get them stocked up.

Unfortunately, the cannon business is not for high volume items and those which I don't make I'm at the mercy of the manufacturer. Usually the manufacturers make cannons as a side line and it's not a full time business for them.

A family emergency over the past couple of weeks hasn't helped in my attentiveness and I apologize for this.

David

You make the call it sounds shady to me...

Double D · « **Reply #65 on:** April 12, 2006, 07:35:12 PM »

There are a bunch of these guys around. The supply a niche market. You always get you product usually way later than you expected and it it's every bit as good or better than advertised.

Over on the Martini boards there is a guy like this. He take orders and you don't here from him for months. He doesn't respond to phone calls or email. Then the guy pops up on the board and says my server went doen and my hard drive crashed and my computer got viruse when my answering machine stopped working. He then lays out a list of delivery dates for every thing you order.

When the delivery dates come and go people start complaining on the board. so the board administrator gets involved. He calls the guy and starts acting as an intermediary. What the Admin get right through on the phone?

The Admin Guy post Hey if you wanted it fast you should of went to WalMart.

Eventually after way longer than expected you get you stuff and it is first class merchandise.

I guerss what I am saying is that there is enough history on the Cannon mania and the Martini guy that if you do business with them after reading the history you are on you own. Now you guys may not have known how this guy operated before you ordered. Now you do and you have shared your experience so othere will be fore warned.

Bottom line it sounds like the Cannon Mania guy like the Martini Guy are just crappy business men but do deliver a good product.

In future I hope you look to our sponsors first.

Tropico · « **Reply #66 on:** April 13, 2006, 12:49:09 AM »

I ran out of gas., I had a flat tire.,I dont know I was really drunk at the time?

Rickk · « **Reply #67 on:** April 13, 2006, 02:17:02 AM »

The day my part time leather craft business gets that far behind I will hire some cute 19 year old college cheerleader for minimum wage to deal with customer issues a couple days a week.

That way the customers won't get quite so frutrated, and they might even enjoy calling up to complain about late orders.

reddog · « **Reply #68 on:** April 13, 2006, 04:22:36 AM »

Does anyone know what he meant by " not pouring lead balls correctly"? My mold seems like it could use A vent hole to let the air escape while I'm pouring, without it I have to trickle the lead in very slowly which makes the balls kinda wrinkly.

Rickk · « **Reply #69 on:** April 13, 2006, 05:03:19 AM »

Most molds have vent holes to give the escaping air a place to go. I have at least 50 molds (Lee, RCBS, Lyman, and a few lesser known companies), and I am pretty sure thay all have lines or a crosshatch pattern on the mating surfaces.

Air can sneak thru a pretty small space, so the lines don't have to be deep or wide. They want to be small enough that air can pass, but the the suface tension of the molten lead stops the lead from going up as well.

I guess you could put lines it it pretty easily with a file, but I suppose there is a chance of screwing something up. It woulda been nice if the manufacturer did the experimentation for ya.

Are you talking about one of the cannon-mania molds? Sounds like there is a known issue... maybe you can send it back and get them to fix it in a year or two.

Double D · « **Reply #70 on:** April 13, 2006, 06:02:01 AM »

Quote from: Tropico

I ran out of gas., I had a flat tire.,I don't know I was really drunk at the time?

Ah Tropico, I see you understood perfectly what I wrote! Typos pre first coffee of the morning and all.

Rick you are correct about the lines in the face of mould to release trapped air. They need be nothing more than scratches that lead from the mould cavity to the out side of the mould to vent the air.

reddog · « **Reply #71 on:** April 13, 2006, 10:31:04 AM »

OK, It seems that I got one of the molds that doesn't pour correctly, my first ones came out terrible (no way for the air to get out). A simple fix thou, like you guys said, I grabbed my trusty file, filed A groove across the face of the mold, went outside and poured 12 perfect balls!! ( I did not want to send it back!!) I'm really glad you guys finally got an answer.

Rickk · « **Reply #72 on:** April 14, 2006, 04:39:16 AM »

can you post a picture of your successful groove?

claypipe · « **Reply #73 on:** April 15, 2006, 05:12:15 AM »

I forwarded the URL to this thread to Cannon-Mania. And this is what I received:

Quote

Mania's Email:
We are keenly aware of the text threads on Graybeards forum. You'll see that most of the complaints are about cannon ball molds. Yes, we did (still are) having a problem. They were removed from the website. A second major problem have been some of the larger trunnion caps, which we've been waiting months for ourselves. Many refunds were issued. Unfortunately not every one follows up with the latest. These threads will probably be on the internet for years to come. We have shipped hundreds of orders in the past few months and are expanding our offerings by dozens of new items.

CP

Double D · « **Reply #74 on:** April 15, 2006, 05:22:08 AM »

Yes the thread will be around for a long time, but so will it's happy conclusion...we hope it will be happy.

This is a good point guys what you write here will be around for a long long time. So be sure of what you write.

reddog · « **Reply #75 on:** April 15, 2006, 06:28:40 AM »

Your right DD, the point been made, lets let this one go. I didn't think it would go this far, All issues resolved. I would order from them again. Can I ask that this thread be deleted, I don't want it to be around for A long time. Thank you.

Rickk · « **Reply #76 on:** April 15, 2006, 06:52:29 AM »

There are unresolved issues mantioned this thread...too soon to delete it.

I for one, only have an excuse for why I don't have what I paid for in January, not what I ordered.

The day it shows up I will announce that. There will be a party with champaigne (I don't drink the stuff... I have good beer on tap as well) at my house that weekend, and all are invited.

Double D · « **Reply #77 on:** April 15, 2006, 07:33:34 AM »

If you have completely resolved all issues you had when you made the first post you should make a closing post stating how the issue was resolved satisfactorily. A complaint that was adequately resolved can be a compliment and tribute to good customer service and endorsement of a good supplier.

Unfortunately others chimed in on your post and added their complaints and compliments. So the post is a mixed bag.

You can go to your posts and delete each one by clicking on the X in the upper right corner of each one. Don't be surprised if you are unable to delete the very first post.

What good does does deleting the post do. First it makes it appear that there never was a issue with this supplier. The next time a guy comes along who has a problem with the supplier he will not understand why.

What happens if you don't delete? Well this post will just hang around and slide down the que and be more or less forgotten. If someone queries the supplier they might find it they might not. If someone finds it, they will be forwarned that this guy does have issues with his supplier, but he does deliver and delivers a good product.

Perhaps we as moderators should have contacted the supplier to give him a chance to respond...I'm not sure that is the right thing to do either.

We did have a bit of an off line set to with one of the suppliers listed on the cannon list. He took great exception to us pointing out that he sold seamed liners and did not offer seamless. The result was that he now offers seamless on his website. I need to check and see if he still does.

That same supplier sold a guy a barrel with a crooked liner, then wouldn't help the guy, so the guy posted his complaint here on our board and let the supplier know. As a result the supplier replaced the cannon no charge. The supplier came across a standup guy!

The point is that there was a problem with Cannon Mania not delivering product timely or responding to inquiry. We now know why. Would we know that he had problems other wise.

I have also contacted Cannon Mania in the past and, made them aware of this board, I even tried one time get them to be a board sponsor. He never responded.

May be as the result of this post one of our sponsors will see Cannon Mania as a potential customer and jump in offer to supply the product they need. Thats good for us also.

Here is my suggestion:

Go to your very first post in this thread, click on edit and make the post a poll. The poll question: Should this thread be deleted? The first option would be: Yes.

Click on add option and make the second option: No

Then select a time period you want the poll to run.

At the end of the time period review the results and comments, and you tell us then if you still think the thread should be deleted.

What ever you decide Tim or I will do.

I am not inclined to delete this thread without some feed back from the contributors to it. But the final decision is your!

Rickk · « **Reply #78 on:** April 15, 2006, 09:16:34 AM »

if it is deleted the final outcome of several stories will never be told.

John N · « **Reply #79 on:** April 15, 2006, 09:59:33 AM »

I vote we keep this thread on the board.

Ive purchased 5 cannons and two mortars from Cannon-Mania, not to mention fuse and other small items. Three items were in stock and I received them within a week. The other larger items clearly stated wait times of 3-6 weeks or more. David either gets these cannons and mortars from other suppliers, and in the case of my 1/3rd scale cannon he built the carriage himself. Two of those items were shipped within the advertised wait period. In one case David had problems with his supplier in Canada (customs, of course), and that 1/4th scale naval cannon took nearly twice as long as advertised to receive. In the other case, David was in the process of opening and closing his storefronts and building a new machine shop/ woodshop. That resulted in a 4 month wait. David was often hard to reach by phone but did reply to most of my e-mails.

As far as quality of merchandise, everything has been first rate. I think nearly all if not all of the functional barrels he offers are machined steel or brass.

Of course I may be a little partial to Cannon-Mania. I sent David a picture of my 1/3rd scale cannon in action (also my avatar), and he prominently displayed it on his website.

EL Caz 66 · « **Reply #80 on:** April 15, 2006, 04:27:52 PM »

No one here is questioning the quality of the items that david gets from his venders . Its all about his customer service I think he needs to hire someone on a partime bases just to answer handle orders , Email and phone calls . So people can know when or if thier going to be shipping problems . Oh by the way I finally recieved my order after two months of being in limbo . :?

CrufflerSteve · « **Reply #81 on:** April 19, 2006, 08:41:09 AM »

I think this thread should stay here as a warning about cannon-mania.

To me they are marginally competent and less than honest. I've bought stuff from them over the years and had the fortune to order items in stock.

Back in the fall I ordered some of machined trunnion caps. I got a notice that it would take 4 weeks. After a couple of months I emailed asking and got no reply. At 3 months I called and emailed again with no reply. At 4 months I called & emailed again with no reply. Finally I sent an email that I was opening a credit dispute and would check with his local Attorney General to report his fraudulent practices. I demanded an immediate refund or blanks of the trunnion caps with a refund for the machining cost.

Amazingly I got an prompt reply saying the machinist had been sick and some snide comments that he wished I had contacted him. He said I'd be getting the blanks immediately with a refund check for the difference. I got the blanks fairly quickly ond of course - no check. I emailed for an explanation but got no answer. If cannon-mania was giving out free cannon I'd pass.

Steve

Blaster · « **Reply #82 on:** April 20, 2006, 02:35:26 PM »

I have ordered and received stuff from David but I'll have to say that his communication skills are severely lacking. He really needs an assistant to help at least with the communications with his customers. It is very helpful to be told what the current status is with our orders especially when we make a concerted effort to communicate with Cannon - Mania. IMHO.
Blaster (Bob in So. CO)

MaxSmoke · « **Reply #83 on:** April 24, 2006, 05:05:28 PM »

I have to agree with Steve. I'm in research mode here. I'd much rather spend my money with one of the good folks here then waste my time and energy with someone who doesn't have the courtesy to return my calls and email.

As my Drill Sergeant once told me, I dont know is an acceptable answer. Standing there like a dumb a** is not.

John N · « **Reply #84 on:** April 25, 2006, 02:54:34 AM »

Looks like Cannon-Mania is ranging further afield from simply providing cannons, mortars and related supplies. Their 4/23 update says they are now in the business of arranging Human Cannonball and Motorcycle dare devil events. I'd rather see increased focus on customer service. The site did say they won't be operating a retail store this summer, so maybe that will allow for better response to e-mails and phone calls.

reddog · « **Reply #85 on:** April 25, 2006, 11:42:51 AM »

It's A darn shame that A company that advertises such nice stuff is so hard to deal with!! I'll be looking for my second cannon soon and I myself would give them A second chance, IF, I say IF, I could get A confirmation of availability before making A purchase.

EL Caz 66 · « **Reply #86 on:** April 25, 2006, 12:00:59 PM »

Same here I've have a blued steel barrel 12"x2" on the way .If david at cannon-mania was straight with his words I would order a garrison carriage from him . But with having two bad expericence with my orders over the last few months I rather take a chance with someone else . anyone on out there interest building me carriage for this barrel.

Rickk · « **Reply #87 on:** May 12, 2006, 01:16:44 PM »

my promised two weeks (as of April 12) has turned into 4 weeks.... no mold from cannon-mania yet. No e-mail telling me that he is still alive and that all is well either.

I see no point in trying to contact him any more. I suspect that if his supplier sent him the mold he would send it to me.

I just checked... he still has the mold page removed from his web site, so at least he isn't trying to sell more non-existant molds.

But, it seemed like it was time to kick the cannon-mania thread back up to the top again.

Is anyone else still waiting for stuff from him?

Rickk · « **Reply #88 on:** May 19, 2006, 01:19:52 PM »

one more week, come and gone.
nothin.

Tropico · « **Reply #89 on:** May 20, 2006, 06:45:15 AM »

Mania's Email:

Quote

We are keenly aware of the text threads on Graybeards forum. You'll see that most of the complaints are about cannon ball molds. Yes, we did (still are) having a problem. They were removed from the website. A second major problem have been some of the larger trunnion caps, which we've been waiting months for ourselves. Many refunds were issued. Unfortunately not every one follows up with the latest. These threads will probably be on the internet for years to come. We have shipped hundreds of orders in the past few months and are expanding our offerings by dozens of new items.

Nowhere in this email from Cannon-Mania does it address or admit too., any reasoning as to "Why" he cannot send an email to a customer or reply to a phone call., when its over and over and over. . The no contact is a fault to the rude. There is absolutely NO reason a person can leave many many messages on your machine after now a building expense....., and absolutety No reason a business cannot leave an email in return.

That kind of behavior would have me liking to ring his neck.
How many of you are likely to really put up with rude behavior in person?
Probably not to many of you is my guess.

If someone would like to help wash this out., or let it go (Delete the thread) .,thats up too the board., however I believe its unjust to let this man screw people with his "Come get some web site...., and then Rip-off mannerism" The book is not out on this.,like all is well because a few people got something...., anyone that got thier item from this man., still was not able to really communicate., and was pretty much in the dark until ...,luckily for him., the parts came in.

Sorry I think he needs black balled from every thing he could be. Right down to his business license. Its crappy and everyone knows it., I am just sayin it.