Have mammothelectronics gone under?

[njkmonty]

I order some goodies from them over a month ago , no parcel , no email response,  does someone know something that i dont???

[dennism]

I don't know that they have gone under, but what you are describing seems to be the standard there.   I ordered once and had to fight to get the things I paid for and have never been back again. 

Plenty of reputable options out there, specifically Small Bear and Tayda.

[Mark Hammer]

Once again, I remind folks that one/two-person operations can create the impression, via websites, that "operators are standing by to take your calls".  Meanwhile, if someone is down with the flu, or has to help an aged parent relocate to a nursing home after a stroke, the "business" can seem to evaporate.

[dschwartz]

Once again, I remind folks that one/two-person operations can create the impression, via websites, that "operators are standing by to take your calls".  Meanwhile, if someone is down with the flu, or has to help an aged parent relocate to a nursing home after a stroke, the "business" can seem to evaporate.

Amen

[Kevin Mitchell]

It's absurd to say someone should comply with lack of followup for what they had paid for. I'd say over a month is long enough to raise concern. Hell... a week should be long enough.

I haven't had any bad experiences with them. I wouldn't say they were good either. IMO they've got nice pictures but I'd rather overpay for parts elsewhere. At least I'd get them sooner.

As a customer it's not my business to know what's holding up the show - may that be professional or personal. But it is my entitlement to know what's going on with my transaction. Cut and dry. Just like their service.

Okay I'm a Tayda & SB fan-boy.

[SpencerPedals]

I placed my first order with them on Sunday.  Zero movement on it.  This isn't good to see.  Guess it's time to make some phone calls...

[njkmonty]

almost 2 months now, no package no email responses??

[SpencerPedals]

Give them a call.  The number rings right through to a human.  I talked to a guy, I think Matt, who looked into my order and said it should have shipped but they're really backlogged.  By his voice it sounded like they bit off way more than they could chew.  I asked if anything on my order was out of stock, so that we could cut that off the order so it would ship; he checked into it and it was ready to go.  He said he would ship it out on Monday (I called on a Friday) and upgrade me to 2nd day shipping for the delay.  Tuesday afternoon I still had no email confirmation on shipping.  I called again, he answered, I recapped, and he said he'd definitely ship it that day.  A couple of hours later I had a shipping confirmation and two days later I had my package.  I read people saying they had been shorted by Mammoth in the past, so I checked every part and I was not shorted, and in fact, it looks like they threw in two extra 3pdt stomp switches for the hassle.

In short, the Glassdoor reviews of the company make it seem pretty terribly put together, as does their inability to fulfill orders and verbal obligations to its customers.  Likewise members saying they were shorted and having to count parts like it's a shady street-corner transaction.  That said, they will make it right eventually.  They're Oklahoma-based, so I had low expectations—and I'm glad I did.

For prices on pots, Bitches Love My Switches are a place I found subsequently that is on-par, and have better shipping costs.  Hopefully that transaction goes more smoothly.

[vigilante397]

For prices on pots, Bitches Love My Switches are a place I found subsequently that is on-par, and have better shipping costs.  Hopefully that transaction goes more smoothly.

I get 99% of my parts from Tayda, Mouser or Smallbear, but I frequently hear good things about BLMS.

[pinkjimiphoton]

lawrence at bitches is a gem. he ships flat rate, no matter how much you buy, and its shipped that day. he offers great prices, and you can request parts from him and he'll begin carrying them.
his pots are good, his enclosures end up costing barely more than buying in bulk from china, his switches are en par with bulk from china as well.
run by a good class act, recently moved from the right coast to the left. i totally endorse mr scaduto!

next fav is tayda. i use them for stocking up caps/resistors/passives etc, and trying weird chips and transistors.

for special items, small bear, always. there's simply no better domestic source for a lot of things. steve's prices are competitive and his customer support is off the hook. a little priceier than i can do for some things.

mammoth is ok, i've had issues with stuff taking forever.

pedal parts plus is ok, but i don't care for their prices.

futurelec takes a long time, their customer support is pretty slow, but they always have delivered the goods. they have some things that no one else does.

if i need support, mouser is THE BEST. good old texas! i can call them up and cut to the chase, and have a tech walk me thru finding the best parts for my application.

twice i've ordered wrong parts and they just have written them off and sent me the right ones. that is quality, putting the customer first.

i haven't tried many of the others out there so can't comment,. but yah, half the time its a 2-3 person operation waiting on stuff from china to arrive. and since all the import tarriff stupidity, its harder/takes longer/costs more.

a lose/lose/lose situation that should have been rectified already, imho

its a global market and has been now for well over 2 decades, some fools would be good to heed that chasing away commerce is no good for anyone.

stick a fork in me.

[njkmonty]

Give them a call.  The number rings right through to a human

i live overseas

[njkmonty]

another week and half , gone , more emails sent , no response.

further updates are more for the benefit of others thinking of making  a purchase through mammoth.

[Mark Hammer]

Give them a call.  The number rings right through to a human

i live overseas

In the mid-'90s, one of the regular columnists in PC Plus magazine relayed his disappointment and frustration at the (then) state of e-commerce.

Seems he was running a side business selling unusual and less "garden variety" garden plants and shrubs, somewhere out of England.  A customer in Sweden ordered something from him and paid the extra money for quicker, and insured, delivery.  The vendor complies, packs everything up real nice, and sends it via the "premium" parcel delivery service.  Several weeks go by and the customer receives nothing.  Both vendor and customer are getting concerned and a little testy.

The vendor does some detective work, and manages to deduce the e-mail address of the CEO of the parcel delivery service.  He corresponds with the CEO, and finds out that, much to his surprise, that Sweden insisted that all parcels be delivered by their national postal service.  The parcel delivery service, meanwhile, has decided that Sweden's postal service is too slow for their tastes, and especially their reputation, and decides, unilaterally, that they will no longer deliver to Sweden.  However, they do not inform clients of this corporate decision.  So, the shrub that the customer in Sweden was anxiously awaiting, made it VERY quickly to a warehouse at the Swedish border, where it sat, for well over a month, dead by the time it was discovered, obstinately NOT being delivered, by a parcel delivery service that didn't wish to be painted with the same brush as another service.  It also took considerable persistence on the part of the vendor and customer to extract the insured value out of the delivery service.  I can't remember if they ever did.

The writer laid this all out to illustrate the oddities of the e-commerce world, and how its success or failure rested on the details.  I'm not saying this is what happened to your order, but clearly the world of e-commerce can have some strange goings on that we might never suspect, and that can inadvertently reflect poorly on the vendor.

[njkmonty]

I also make sure i give people the benefit of the doubt.
In my many emails to them I've always given them an exit strategy, by not implying anything sinister.
Its been two months .
I spent over $100.
I could wait for another month, that is fine.
What I find is not good business practice  is , not responding to multiple emails.
Now prior to purchasing through them, i get quick responses.
Now if there is an illness or some other situation, one would hope to have a..
" its Chinese new year and we cant  process your order"  or due to illness there will be a delay in your order being processed " on there website.?

or a quick facebook notification.
there is none of that, and they are still taking purchases.
If i never see my goods , i can deal with that, however i feel it may have benefit for others to know , in case they may be considering handing over $$$$


Remember  being a customer I have engaged in a transaction and handed over my money, so there business structure etc isn't really my concern, whether its walmart , kfc etc etc.

we will see what happens

[dennism]

If I was in the original poster's situation, I would certainly be getting in contact with Paypal or my credit card company (assuming that's how he paid) and starting the dispute process.   Long term that will get your money back.   Short term, it's more likely to get the attention of the vendor, since email clearly isn't working.

[Ice-9]

Have Mammoth giving you a tracking number ? I often have problems with stuff sent to the UK from USA, usually it gets held up in customs until I sort it out.

[Mark Hammer]

Case study 2.

Jeorge Tripps sends me some Line 6 pedals to beta-test (this is 15 years ago when he was with them).  They come by Fedex.  Fedex will not release them to me because the box is fairly heavy (they were Tone Core pedals, that can be used as for extra weight in your car trunk and better traction on icy days), and the waybill indicates a lower value than the Fedex folks doing the customs-clearing thinks they ought to have.  I have no way at my end to  formally designate them as "samples" with no commercial value.  Meanwhile, Jeorge is doing the trade-show circuit, and meeting with distributors, so I can't reach him to get the info to Fedex.  The pedals sit there for an entire month, after which Fedex simply send them back to Line 6.

Once again, little things that disrupt the process of the many hands that international shipping orders have to pass through.  Sadly, most, if not all, of the hands they have to pass through know next to nothing about the particular contents of your order or the industry that provides them.  They simply know the rules they have to follow.

[njkmonty]

This is the only email i have ever received from them

Thank you for your purchase!

Hi xxxxxx, we have received your order and working on getting it to you as soon as possible. We will again notify you when your order has been shipped.
View your order
or Visit our store
Order summary
   TS-2MD1T1B1M2REDPDT On-OnPCB MountMini Toggle Switch - Default 50+ × 50
Default 50+    

$1.61
   

Subtotal
   $80.50

Shipping
   $22.33

Total
   $102.83 USD
Customer information
Shipping address

xxxxxx
xxxxx

xxxxx
   
Billing address

xxxxx
xxxxxx
xxxxx
Shipping method

First Class Package International
   
Payment method

Paypal — $102.83 USD

[Mark Hammer]

You've indicated that calling them could easily amount to a sizeable cost, given your distance.  Perhaps you might authorize someone here that you trust to make a more local call to Mammoth, and see if they can straighten this matter out.  The anger you understandably feel doesn't do you any good, and doesn't do them any good either.  Maybe this needs a lower-cost "human touch".  I won't volunteer because I too am in another country, and I have no idea what sort of phone plan my wife has us on.

[Al B. Darned]

Email them a link to this thread, making clear it's in their interests to check it out & suggest they straighten things out ASAP with some sort of explanation.