KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
Looking at buying from them but they won't accept international credit cards so will have to wire transfer. Has anyone dealt with them before and if so, would you consider them trustworthy? Thanks.
Anyone dealt with Iowa Farm Equipment?
- Thread starter KiwiBro
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Mac88
Addicted to ArboristSite
The Iowa Better Business Bureau didn't give them a good score, but it looks like they've only had 1 unresolved complaint in the last 3 years.
Go here and look them up by name:
BBB Reliability Report on Farm Equipment Businesses
Anyone else?
I used to live just down the road from them. Since then they've moved to a much nicer lot and I've moved a bit further away, but I did some more business with them this spring. I haven't had a bit of problem with them and wouldn't hesitate to do business with them again.
I'm kind of proud of them: they started in the back yard and now have a nice little office, shop and lot. Back when they started they also kept a large herd of dairy goats "to keep the kids busy".
They have an Ebay store...don't know if going through that would be easier for you then the wire? Dave
I'm kind of proud of them: they started in the back yard and now have a nice little office, shop and lot. Back when they started they also kept a large herd of dairy goats "to keep the kids busy".
They have an Ebay store...don't know if going through that would be easier for you then the wire? Dave
Ductape
Addicted to ArboristSite
Never dealt with them, but I have seen comments on a tractor forum where several guys have purchased Wallenstein PTO brush chippers from them and have been very happy. Even after shipping costs, they were still well below local dealers' prices. I have never seen a complaint about them.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
Thanks everyone.
I'm still a bit hesitant. I've asked if they can do paypal but have been told no. This is the 21st century and NZ is not exactly the international financial crime capital of the world and they already do paypal on their ebay auctions so i'm not sure why it couldn't be done.
Just getting a less than positive vibe and having just scraped together the cash (had anticipated a few weeks grace when it was to be on the plastic so have had to scramble the $), I'm a bit leery b/c once it's wired in, I'm relying on trust b/c I can't get it back. Did try to wire it tonight but need a SWIFT code for their bank and they haven't emailed me one. If I had a decent other option for this purchase, I'd probably be taking it about now, to be honest, but it's hard finding people wanting to deal with us on the other side of the world on some purchases.
I'm still a bit hesitant. I've asked if they can do paypal but have been told no. This is the 21st century and NZ is not exactly the international financial crime capital of the world and they already do paypal on their ebay auctions so i'm not sure why it couldn't be done.
Just getting a less than positive vibe and having just scraped together the cash (had anticipated a few weeks grace when it was to be on the plastic so have had to scramble the $), I'm a bit leery b/c once it's wired in, I'm relying on trust b/c I can't get it back. Did try to wire it tonight but need a SWIFT code for their bank and they haven't emailed me one. If I had a decent other option for this purchase, I'd probably be taking it about now, to be honest, but it's hard finding people wanting to deal with us on the other side of the world on some purchases.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
A quick update on this.
Funds were confirmed as received on the 19th and I'd previously been advised they needed 2 days to get the order in and about 5-7 days to get it to LA. Cutting it a bit fine given this time of year but worth a shot. It's now the 4th here and my freight guys advise they have not received the forks in LA but are now holding other gear I've bought and sent there to meet a cut-off date of the 28th and will soon be charging me storage fees for this equipment while awaiting the other gear for consolidation.
Having emailed Iowa Farm Equipment yesterday for an update and having not received a reply I called today to learn their supplier is off for a week for "inventory" and the lady I spoke with (because the guy I originally ordered through who told originally told me they'd need 2 days to get it in, was on another call) could not answer why the hadn't received or despatched the goods yet. I can at this stage only assume they didn't have the time to get the order away despite acknowledging on the 19th receipt of the funds or their supplier has delayed shipment (which I guess can happen during the build-up to the holiday season)
I've left a message for the original sales guy to get back to me with more info so I can tell my freight guys.
This is one of the downsides to ordering product from the other side of the world I guess. Had I had a decent option here I would have taken it. I'm hoping somebody at Iowa Farm Equipment is going to get back to me soon with some concrete info'.
Funds were confirmed as received on the 19th and I'd previously been advised they needed 2 days to get the order in and about 5-7 days to get it to LA. Cutting it a bit fine given this time of year but worth a shot. It's now the 4th here and my freight guys advise they have not received the forks in LA but are now holding other gear I've bought and sent there to meet a cut-off date of the 28th and will soon be charging me storage fees for this equipment while awaiting the other gear for consolidation.
Having emailed Iowa Farm Equipment yesterday for an update and having not received a reply I called today to learn their supplier is off for a week for "inventory" and the lady I spoke with (because the guy I originally ordered through who told originally told me they'd need 2 days to get it in, was on another call) could not answer why the hadn't received or despatched the goods yet. I can at this stage only assume they didn't have the time to get the order away despite acknowledging on the 19th receipt of the funds or their supplier has delayed shipment (which I guess can happen during the build-up to the holiday season)
I've left a message for the original sales guy to get back to me with more info so I can tell my freight guys.
This is one of the downsides to ordering product from the other side of the world I guess. Had I had a decent option here I would have taken it. I'm hoping somebody at Iowa Farm Equipment is going to get back to me soon with some concrete info'.
Not surprising that Christmas and New Years holiday would mess up freight. The majority of schools were out of session until today, and lots of people take time off to stay home with the kids. Plus even the minor freight carriers are overloaded with the Christmas rush until well into January. I would try not to get too upset until the end of next week.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
It sure is a rotten time of the year to be relying on orders and freight moving without hold-ups. A perfect opportunity for Murphy to strike.
Steve NW WI
Unwanted Riff Raff.
Kiwi, you might put a post up in the IA GTG thread, think there are one or more Iowegians that are local to there and might be able to help if needed, but might not read this section often.
http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/193402-31.htm
http://www.arboristsite.com/chainsaw/193402-31.htm
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
Well, I've recently been emailed they can't supply it. Supply runs out, stock is discontinued, etc. It happens.
What I find utterly atrocious is the scant communication from these guys and the delays while I banged my head against this information vacuum.
I've got other gear that was sent to the warehouse in Carson to consolidate with these forks and it's been sitting there stranded for weeks and the agents are getting pissed about it and charges will flow as a result. That gear on it's own is not big or valuable enough to just ship down by itself, so WTF do I do with that stuff now? Anyone want a few rolls of Stihl chain?
I could have planned this so much better if only Iowa Farm Equipment had bothered to communicate with me in a timely manner. They had my $ on Dec the 18th their time, more than enough time pre-holidays to check stock levels and chase it up with their suppliers but I got nothing from them...for weeks. No advice, nothing. I had to chase them every step of the way until I finally get an email saying they can't supply it? I just find that seriously disrespectful to mess someone around like this, not keep them in the loop, not get on the phone and get answers and give those to me in a reasonable time frame. We aren't talking a few days here, we are talking week after week after bloody week! How long does a phone call or two getting to the bottom of it all and or chasing it along and then calling me actually take, even over holiday periods?
Why did they not get answers before Xmas? Or check, even before I actually paid them? Why did they not chase it along and sort it? Why did I have to chase them hard every time I needed an answer I wasn't getting and still haven't had on these things? That's not customer service. That's a bloody shambles and utterly disrespectful.
The only good thing I can find about these guys so far, is that with the latest email they offered a discount on an upgrade to a larger model (but from the same supplier I note) to replace the one I paid for all those weeks ago. So, if I want to throw another $500 their way.... That's about all I can see where they have followed even the basics of customer service 101. But do you think they had enough initiative to actually confirm this more expensive alternative model they offered was in stock or the time frames for expedited shipping or offer the faster method of credit card payment (you know, the one I was offered right at the outset but was revoked along with an insistence they needed a wire transfer instead - leading to delays and which will delay this even further if that's the only option), especially in light of these delays? Nup.
Yes, it seems like Alo / Quickie North America has hung them and by extension me, out to dry. But Iowa Farm Equipment's handling of this has been despicable. Their communication deplorable.
This year I'll be spending about $30k-ish on gear Iowa Farm Equipment sell - I need a small tractor for Dad, another mower attachment and other tractor gear. If there is a silver lining in this fiasco it's that at least I get to see how Iowa Farm Equipment measure up when things don't go according to plan. Perhaps there is some truth in the old saying 'forewarned is forearmed'.
The way this has gone down, who knows how long a "full refund" would take to get back into my account if what they have currently offered is the best they can do under the circumstances. Who knows how long it will take to get the next communication from them, but I suspect I'll have to chase them again on Monday USA time with another phone call and make a decision then.
I need this at this time of the year like a hole in the head.
What I find utterly atrocious is the scant communication from these guys and the delays while I banged my head against this information vacuum.
I've got other gear that was sent to the warehouse in Carson to consolidate with these forks and it's been sitting there stranded for weeks and the agents are getting pissed about it and charges will flow as a result. That gear on it's own is not big or valuable enough to just ship down by itself, so WTF do I do with that stuff now? Anyone want a few rolls of Stihl chain?
I could have planned this so much better if only Iowa Farm Equipment had bothered to communicate with me in a timely manner. They had my $ on Dec the 18th their time, more than enough time pre-holidays to check stock levels and chase it up with their suppliers but I got nothing from them...for weeks. No advice, nothing. I had to chase them every step of the way until I finally get an email saying they can't supply it? I just find that seriously disrespectful to mess someone around like this, not keep them in the loop, not get on the phone and get answers and give those to me in a reasonable time frame. We aren't talking a few days here, we are talking week after week after bloody week! How long does a phone call or two getting to the bottom of it all and or chasing it along and then calling me actually take, even over holiday periods?
Why did they not get answers before Xmas? Or check, even before I actually paid them? Why did they not chase it along and sort it? Why did I have to chase them hard every time I needed an answer I wasn't getting and still haven't had on these things? That's not customer service. That's a bloody shambles and utterly disrespectful.
The only good thing I can find about these guys so far, is that with the latest email they offered a discount on an upgrade to a larger model (but from the same supplier I note) to replace the one I paid for all those weeks ago. So, if I want to throw another $500 their way.... That's about all I can see where they have followed even the basics of customer service 101. But do you think they had enough initiative to actually confirm this more expensive alternative model they offered was in stock or the time frames for expedited shipping or offer the faster method of credit card payment (you know, the one I was offered right at the outset but was revoked along with an insistence they needed a wire transfer instead - leading to delays and which will delay this even further if that's the only option), especially in light of these delays? Nup.
Yes, it seems like Alo / Quickie North America has hung them and by extension me, out to dry. But Iowa Farm Equipment's handling of this has been despicable. Their communication deplorable.
This year I'll be spending about $30k-ish on gear Iowa Farm Equipment sell - I need a small tractor for Dad, another mower attachment and other tractor gear. If there is a silver lining in this fiasco it's that at least I get to see how Iowa Farm Equipment measure up when things don't go according to plan. Perhaps there is some truth in the old saying 'forewarned is forearmed'.
The way this has gone down, who knows how long a "full refund" would take to get back into my account if what they have currently offered is the best they can do under the circumstances. Who knows how long it will take to get the next communication from them, but I suspect I'll have to chase them again on Monday USA time with another phone call and make a decision then.
I need this at this time of the year like a hole in the head.
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Steve NW WI
Unwanted Riff Raff.
Kiwi, that's a bum deal. I'll sure keep this info filed away when I'm looking for farm machinery in the future.
I do have a little bit of a lead for you though. ALO/Quicke loaders are rebranded and sold as CaseIH "factory" loaders, at least here in US. I see the pallet/grapple on the CIH site, I could try giving a local dealer a ring for you tomorrow and see if there are any to be had through their system.
Are you looking at the 3500 or 5500# forks? What attachment system?
I do have a little bit of a lead for you though. ALO/Quicke loaders are rebranded and sold as CaseIH "factory" loaders, at least here in US. I see the pallet/grapple on the CIH site, I could try giving a local dealer a ring for you tomorrow and see if there are any to be had through their system.
Are you looking at the 3500 or 5500# forks? What attachment system?
Would this work for you?View attachment 273420View attachment 273421
Let me know, we are finishing 10 right now. It is differant, but we could probably make one with the fork lift attachment instead pretty easy.
Let me know, we are finishing 10 right now. It is differant, but we could probably make one with the fork lift attachment instead pretty easy.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
Thanks but not quite what I had in mind. It would work better for brush than the forks+grab combo I'm trying to buy but not so good for lifting pallets.
KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
The 3500# forks or there was a lighter strength set too, about 2200#, although I think I'd be safer with the 3500# ones...if I can afford them.
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KiwiBro
Mill 'em, nails be damned.
I had to ask multiple times before Iowa Farm Equipment finally admitted even the upgraded model they offered...for the extra $500...would take another 4 weeks and not guaranteed. You'd think after all this stuffing around they would have advised that info when they made the original offer to upgrade, but I had to repeatedly ask that question before I got an answer. Info' the cynic in me is beginning to think they deliberately withheld pending my extra $500. It makes me wonder how difficult it's going to be getting my $ back out of these guys. Time will tell.
I've also asked for the contact details of the owners so I can fill them in on the way I've been treated but that info has not been forthcoming. It may be I have already been dealing with the owner but who'd know?
Further, the guy I was dealing with is away for a week or so.
The only way this could get worse is if they either don't refund the $ or (and yes, I'm being cynical again) stuff up, perhaps deliberately, and the $ ends up being refunded into the wrong account. Would any upstanding AS members based in Iowa be willing to pay these guys a visit and get the $ from them directly if it came to that please? I promise there'd be beer $ in it for the helpful person. It might be a safer option at this stage, especially if I can find another USA dealer that $ could go to.
I've also asked for the contact details of the owners so I can fill them in on the way I've been treated but that info has not been forthcoming. It may be I have already been dealing with the owner but who'd know?
Further, the guy I was dealing with is away for a week or so.
The only way this could get worse is if they either don't refund the $ or (and yes, I'm being cynical again) stuff up, perhaps deliberately, and the $ ends up being refunded into the wrong account. Would any upstanding AS members based in Iowa be willing to pay these guys a visit and get the $ from them directly if it came to that please? I promise there'd be beer $ in it for the helpful person. It might be a safer option at this stage, especially if I can find another USA dealer that $ could go to.
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