Concerns About Survive! Business and Misleading Lead Time Estimates

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Revolverrodger said:
Look Timi I never said that your complaint is not valid.
Yes survive is slow to deliver their product. Many people have said so in this thread (you many times)... But what else is new ? This has been the case from the start of survive knives.
If you don't like their buisness model sell the knife you have, cancel all orders: there are many other great options out there. I choose to keep my orders because I love ther amazing product + price.

My concern is that with all this negative attitude Survive! will move away from bladeforums (remember they are paying for the subforum) like others have done in the past (ESEE. Bark River).
That would be a shame I think.
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Also, they don't pay for this subforum if I recall correctly.
 
ncrockclimb said:
Today's update:

Current Production:
GSO-4.7: Preorders are on schedule to ship out next week. Presales will be shipping out in the following weeks.

The last of the GSO-2.7 preorders from the SURVIVE! Starter Campaign are also being shipped next week. The remaining preorders and presale orders will be shipping out in regular batches.

GSO-4.1 materials are in the SURVIVE! Workshop and orders will be starting to be built over the next few weeks, as blades are through our finishing steps.

The GSO-7/7 blades will also be starting to work their way through our finishing processes, while we wait for sheaths to be pressed.

Cutting is scheduled to start for the GSO-3.5 in December.
Future Production:
Production is scheduled to continue in the following order:
GSO-12
GSO-6
GSO-4.5 Bushcraft
GSO-10
GSO-8
The following knives will be added to the Production Schedule as soon as we have steel to start cutting them out:
GSO-5.1
Necker and Necker II
SURVIVE! News:

Some of our long time customers will remember a batch of GSO-4.1 Scandi ground knives that Guy wasn't happy with. Those blades have been able to get some work as test samples or paperweights, but we decided it was about time they lost some weight and went out to get themselves a real job. Guy was able to re-tune the design and they are looking great. Those blades just finished at production grinding and will be heading to heat treating shortly.
Be sure to keep an eye on the Limited Edition area of our website in the next few days for more details! There will also be some teaser images @SurviveKnives.
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So, the Survive! revolution started 3 days ago. I couldn't wait to get on here and see all the customers getting their shipping notices. Oh wait, that DIDN'T HAPPEN. Instead I see that in the middle of the horrendous delays and total disregard for customer service, and more empty promises about how this would all turn around in "November", that Survive!Knives is once again going to spend time on an LE model 4.1 Scandi grind and further delay the knives that we're all bitching about.

And please don't tell me to ask for a refund. I don't want a refund. I want the knife I paid for in July that was stated as being ready to ship "in a couple months".

I also noted that the 4.1's are being touted as "being built over the next few weeks" AND "The last of the GSO-2.7 preorders from the SURVIVE! Starter Campaign are also being shipped next week. The remaining preorders and presale orders will be shipping out in regular batches"

Well, according to that, I should be getting my 2.7 shipping notice any day now.

I'm beyond pissed off at this point. I've tried to be patient. I've listened to others here with the voice of reason. I've remained loyal and decided to stick it out.

It's November. A time of reckoning as they say.

WHEN WILL MY 2.7 SHIP?

Big sigh. I'm headed out to the woods for the weekend for some much needed time. Gun season for whitetails opens on Saturday. I have my GSO 4.1 in M390 and my new GSO 4.7 in 20CV along for the ride. I was hoping to put the little 2.7 through her paces around camp this weekend. I should have known better.
Looks like the Boker Field Butcher will see some duty around camp instead.

Pics to follow on one of these threads........
 
Revolverrodger said:
With all the positive attitude around here no winder Guy never posts here
This place used to be a good place to discuss Survive!
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Yep, this used to be where Ellie went to unwind from dealing with the Facebook page.
I miss that, and we used have better access to new information as well.
It seems like the squeaky wheel done used up all the grease... :(
 
Fancier said:
Yep, this used to be where Ellie went to unwind from dealing with the Facebook page.
I miss that, and we used have better access to new information as well.
It seems like the squeaky wheel done used up all the grease... :(
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To tell you the truth I'm pretty sure survive will leave bladeforum eventually and focus on facebook or get their own forum
 
Revolverrodger said:
To tell you the truth I'm pretty sure survive will leave bladeforum eventually and focus on facebook or get their own forum
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Rather than just improve their business practices? Why?!?!

Again, this is one thread of complaining in an ocean of threads primarily comprised of doe-eyed admiration. I fail to see how this thread is so bloody burdensome.
 
timichango said:
Rather than just improve their business practices? Why?!?!

Again, this is one thread of complaining in an ocean of threads primarily comprised of doe-eyed admiration. I fail to see how this thread is so bloody burdensome.
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LOL how do you propose they improve their buisness practice in the short term ?
Their big mistake was taking too many pre-orders at once. Now we must wait until they complete them all. In the future they will certainly never take so many pre orders at once.

I hope you are good at waiting timi... it's going to be a long ride
:D
 
Revolverrodger said:
LOL how do you propose they improve their buisness practice in the short term ?
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I've made plenty of suggestions on that score already. I shan't repeat myself further on it, since I'm tired of getting scolded for repeating myself. Go look through my back-posts if you're truly interested.

Revolverrodger said:
Their big mistake was taking too many pre-orders at once. Now we must wait until they complete them all. In the future they will certainly never take so many pre orders at once.
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Or remedy their bottlenecks by adding staff. Or get better at forecasting their throughput. Or not make 15 day commitments they know in advance they're not going to meet. Or myriad other mistakes that could be remedied to great positive effect on customer satisfaction. It's not just that they blew the original preorder. That was probably a singular honest mistake. It's that they gaffe-up every subsequent opportunity to not make knock-on mistakes and make the situation worse by compromising their credibility.

Revolverrodger said:
I hope you are good at waiting timi... it's going to be a long ride
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I'm fortunately not waiting for a darned thing at this point. If they pull out of the nosedive, and get some product on shelves one day, I'll happily buy a GSO 10. It's the only other knife I'm interested in from their lineup, frankly. Until then, I mostly hope they smarten up and manage to stop stepping on their own appendages. For their own sake, and for that of everyone else who still have orders in with S!K.
 
Revolverrodger said:
LOL how do you propose they improve their buisness practice in the short term ?
Their big mistake was taking too many pre-orders at once. Now we must wait until they complete them all. In the future they will certainly never take so many pre orders at once.

I hope you are good at waiting timi... it's going to be a long ride
:D
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Survive! announced we should be seeing some big changes in the fall. Fall is upon us. Today the update was-
SURVIVE! News:
Some of our long time customers will remember a batch of GSO-4.1 Scandi ground knives that Guy wasn't happy with. Those blades have been able to get some work as test samples or paperweights, but we decided it was about time they lost some weight and went out to get themselves a real job. Guy was able to re-tune the design and they are looking great. Those blades just finished at production grinding and will be heading to heat treating shortly.8
Be sure to keep an eye on the Limited Edition area of our website in the next few days for more details!
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Doesn't mention any changes in production of existing orders but working on side projects and limited editions. Cool to hear about side projects, but I Hope to see some other news regarding production this month. I have a knife that is overdue and admit I get anxious when I hear they are overloaded but then see the only change in Friday's update mentioning new projects and limited editions. Still got my fingers crossed.

 
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My guess is they needed some cash from the old Scandi blades. The pre-order gig is up so they have to find ways to bring in some cash to cover operations. That's the only logical explanation for spending time on additional projects when you have a pile of existing orders to get out.
All in all, nothing really new in this months production update.
 
Just a question for those of you that have gotten deliveries, monday orders, etc recently. Does SK! normally send you out a notice once it has shipped out? Or does it just show up unexpected one day? I don't want to get my panties in a bunch if perhaps my knife has already shipped out and I just didn't get a shipping notice.
 
mlmcasual said:
Just a question for those of you that have gotten deliveries, monday orders, etc recently. Does SK! normally send you out a notice once it has shipped out? Or does it just show up unexpected one day? I don't want to get my panties in a bunch if perhaps my knife has already shipped out and I just didn't get a shipping notice.
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There has always been a shipping notification email for me.
 
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Ugh.. now I am getting confused, I thought I understood this stuff..

Now I see the Monday Sales are now Called "Wednesday Sales" ???
And I also see the Wednesday Sales are listed as,


It may take us a few weeks to get orders built and shipped, depending on the current workload.
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http://surviveknives.com/how-to-buy/

Well, I am sorry but that just is not true. I recently checked with SK and they are running well over a month on "monday" orders. MY recent monday order is taking months, and that has not changed. Seeing how this page was recently updated what gives? Why does the UPDATED page say "a few weeks?" I could see if it hadn't been update it, but this was updated to say a "FEW WEEKS" RIGHT around when I called and was told me they were running several months on Monday sales.
 
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The official inconsistencies and bull around timelines just never seems to stop - and just seems to get worse, don't it?
 
Delivery guesstimates definitely aren't doing them any favors at this point, right? Changing wording on the site and in communications to reflect reality shouldn't cost them anything... right?
 
like several others in this post, I was very frustrated in the long wait time for my Survive Knife. I was involved in the starter program last year. Although no concrete delivery date was promised, the website lead you to believe that it would take 3 to 4 months or so to have all materials needed to produce the model after production started. I didn't expect it to take close to a year to receive my knife after production began. This caused extra frustration on my part because I had paid up front which I don't do. The GSO 5.1 that I finally received was superb in every way. It is unmatched in its execution from the knife, sheath, and also the box. I now own a GSO 5.1 and I certainly understand what all the fuss is about. However, I probably wont go through the hassle again. After waiting so long for the knife it seems like a collector knife instead of a user. I wish Guy and Ellie all the luck in the world in their business because they make an incredible product here in the states. Unfortunately there is a lot of competition in the knife industry. If ESEE and TOPS start making knives with CPM 3V it would be tough. Cold Steel already makes knives in 3V but not entirely in the USA. Hopefully SURVIVE can get the business model straightened out. It seems as if the problems aren't any better than they were last year.
 
The knife Whisperer said:
like several others in this post, I was very frustrated in the long wait time for my Survive Knife. I was involved in the starter program last year. Although no concrete delivery date was promised, the website lead you to believe that it would take 3 to 4 months or so to have all materials needed to produce the model after production started. I didn't expect it to take close to a year to receive my knife after production began. This caused extra frustration on my part because I had paid up front which I don't do. The GSO 5.1 that I finally received was superb in every way. It is unmatched in its execution from the knife, sheath, and also the box. I now own a GSO 5.1 and I certainly understand what all the fuss is about. However, I probably wont go through the hassle again. After waiting so long for the knife it seems like a collector knife instead of a user. I wish Guy and Ellie all the luck in the world in their business because they make an incredible product here in the states. Unfortunately there is a lot of competition in the knife industry. If ESEE and TOPS start making knives with CPM 3V it would be tough. Cold Steel already makes knives in 3V but not entirely in the USA. Hopefully SURVIVE can get the business model straightened out. It seems as if the problems aren't any better than they were last year.
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My bolded area. The Great Pumpkin drowns one of Santa's Elves in a barrel of disgusting 'Fall-seasonal pumpkin spiced' beer every time a S!K is put in a safe and left there. You'll appreciate it much more when you start to beat on it IMO, especially if you have a 3V model. I hate big choils, but my 5.1 would be my favorite knife I have if I didn't have a 4.7. I think ESEE is happy where they are(their Camp Lore stuff is fantastic, love the handles, can't wait for the ESEE-6HM), TOPS is also probably doing just fine as long as they don't run out of ink to write their logos all over their blades, and Cold Steel.. well... the day Survive! starts worrying about competing with Cold Steel is not likely to ever happen, again IMO. If it does happen I might drown one of Santa's little helpers myself.
 
Silver Needle said:
Delivery guesstimates definitely aren't doing them any favors at this point, right? Changing wording on the site and in communications to reflect reality shouldn't cost them anything... right?
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Other than sales? ;) I suspect if people knew how long it was going to take a lot fewer would have opted for the pre-sale/pre-work/pre-production/pre-we-have-anything-to-build-these-knives-with program that they ultimately ordered from. Under promise, over deliver is good. The opposite? Not so much.
 
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