Has anyone placed an order with NFC in the last month? I purchased 2 blanks about 5 weeks ago, and haven’t heard (or received) anything. I tried calling them with my order # and all I get is their voicemail. I tried emailing them on 3 different occasions, but no reply. Is this normal?!?!?

This is par for the course when ordering from NFC/Edge. Sometimes your blank will come in a couple weeks, other times it could be months.

Ray Raff Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> This is par for the course when ordering from
> NFC/Edge. Sometimes your blank will come in a
> couple weeks, other times it could be months.


Months?!?!?!? How can anyone run a business like this???

They might take a while but can’t beat the value.

Andrew Ogilvie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Ray Raff Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > This is par for the course when ordering from
> > NFC/Edge. Sometimes your blank will come in a
> > couple weeks, other times it could be months.
>
>
> Months?!?!?!? How can anyone run a business like
> this???

They consider themselves a wholesaler, not a retailer. Their prices (when on sale) reflect that. I’ve been happier since I’ve grown accustomed to waiting 2 months for any order. They’ve only exceeded that maybe once or twice for me. The pattern I’ve seen is, the bigger the sale, the longer the wait… and they have a really big sale going on right now. One word of warning, if you have any that need to be returned for replacement, the wait starts all over again. If you want one of THEIR blanks, this is what you have to go through. Plan/purchase accordingly.

I placed an order on September 9 for a rod blank, carbon fiber grips and Fuji guides. I received the rod blank, most of the guides and grips on September 23- I'm still waiting for the butt grips and one guide.

Andrew Ogilvie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Months?!?!?!? How can anyone run a business like
> this???

I agree with you and don't build many of their blanks as a result. Batson/Rainshadow is close by and I can get anything in their catalog through Utmost in 2 days at a reasonable price.

What's the price for a comparable blank made in China or elsewhere from Rainshadow? Is there really even such a thing at Rainshadow or elsewhere? Last I looked their high end blanks and components were pretty steep. If tariffs go through, it's going to get really interesting out here.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2024 03:43PM by Spencer Phipps.

Spencer Phipps Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> What's the price for a comparable blank made in
> China or elsewhere from Rainshadow? Is there
> really even such a thing at Rainshadow or
> elsewhere? Last I looked their high end blanks and
> components were pretty steep. If tariffs go
> through, it's going to get really interesting out
> here.

Bringing up tariffs is a great point and perhaps worth a whole new thread. It will impact pretty much all companies except for basically the Woodland Cos and a couple others. Especially rodgeeks mexico and mhx china blanks. Rainshadow gets blanks from both South Korea and China. South Korea would have a 10-20% tariff vs 60-100% from Mexico or China.

Comparing the prices (on sale right now) of X-Ray blanks to RX10, NFC ends up costing me a few dollars more because of the additional $10 excise tax but they are basically the same. If there isn't a sale, Rainshadow is cheaper. Both companies have great blanks that I love to fish. I just find myself buying rainshadow more because of shipping time, customer service, warranty, and a very bad past experience i won't go into.

All blanks, whether made here or imported, carry the 10% Sportfishing Excise Tax. Some companies bury it in the price and others show it on the invoice.

...........

Ray: I’m not sure where you’re getting that the NFC X-rays are more than the Rainshadow RX10’s. The X-rays, currently, are on sale for $60 + $10 excise. Even on sale (40%off), I’ve ever gotten a RX10 for less than $120’sh. All the places I can order Rainshadows also charge me sales tax (another 7%). Maybe, if I go through the trouble of setting up my account as a wholesale account, I might be able to get the sales tax off but I haven’t gone through that yet. I assume NFC treats everyone as a wholesale account, so that may be why they don’t charge sales tax (could also be because of the state they are based in). I like and use RX10’s, but, personally, I don’t think it’s close, I feel the X-rays are better - mainly lighter and more sensitive (across the board, comparing similar ERN’s and lengths). C6O2 is another league above that, I only wished they had more options.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/2024 10:49PM by John Santos.

John Santos Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Andrew Ogilvie Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Ray Raff Wrote:
> >
> --------------------------------------------------
>
> > -----
> > > This is par for the course when ordering from
> > > NFC/Edge. Sometimes your blank will come in a
> > > couple weeks, other times it could be months.
> >
> >
> > Months?!?!?!? How can anyone run a business
> like
> > this???
>
> They consider themselves a wholesaler, not a
> retailer. Their prices (when on sale) reflect
> that. I’ve been happier since I’ve grown
> accustomed to waiting 2 months for any order.
> They’ve only exceeded that maybe once or twice
> for me. The pattern I’ve seen is, the bigger
> the sale, the longer the wait… and they have a
> really big sale going on right now. One word of
> warning, if you have any that need to be returned
> for replacement, the wait starts all over again.
> If you want one of THEIR blanks, this is what you
> have to go through. Plan/purchase accordingly.


Ok… I get that part…they’re slammed with orders due to a big sale. However, I can’t get anyone to respond to emails or voicemails. I’ve sent *multiple* messages, but all I get is radio silence. Regardless if you’re a wholesaler or retailer, how does someone stay in business with this kind of customer service?!?! At this point, I don’t care how great these blanks are, I just have to ask if this is worth it-? I want to support a local (American) business, but Rainshadow is starting to look like a pretty good alternative.

John: I was a bit confused with pricing because NFC labels their C6O2 as X-ray and I didn't realize there is a difference between "plain" x-ray ($60) and C6O2 x-ray ($95). Within the last month I bought a comparable C6O2 and RX10 (from Get Bit) blanks with the RX10 coming out slightly cheaper out the door. The difference in price after excise tax, sales tax, and shipping was immaterial which is why I responded to Spencer.

Like you say, NFC is definitely lighter on comparable ERNs. I just ordered an MB725 because, for a bass rod, it has the best ERN:Blank Weight ratio in the CCS database and its not even close. The next best is Point Blank at a higher price point.

That being said, I fish 60+ days a year and CBA waiting months on NFC. God forbid you have to call/email them. I've contacted Batson for blank recommendations and got detailed responses from Bill, Mike, or Karry. 2 days later I have everything I need to build the rod. For me the customer experience far out weighs the quarter ounce saved on a blank.

Ray: No question the service from Batson is impeccable! I have recently tried steering customers to their blanks, one, because I can get them sooner, and two, they replace broken blanks for $35 (for any reason). I feel much better warrantying their rods. These tournament guys I cater to though, they want he "best" and "almost as good" isn't good enough most of the time. They frown on wait times, but it is what it is. For the hard core and abusive guys, I sometimes stock a couple of extra blanks for future breakage, and charge accordingly. For the really abusive, I tell them to order the blank directly or get a couple extra themselves and hold on to them for "insurance". When those guys that come and say they want something that beats "NRX+ level", I can only significantly do that with either a NFC or Phenix K2. The RX10 won't quite get there. Weight is the first thing they notice when they first handle the rod. I wish others would follow the Batson QC model though. EVERY RX10 I have ever gotten was flawless and ready to be built - never had to return any out of the gate, and I'm sure if I ever have to in the future, it will be handled promptly. I had a recent broken blank (non warranty breakage) handpicked and delivered to me within DAYS, with multiple phone calls and emails from them to make sure I was satisfied. I almost feel guilty that I didn't keep corresponding with them after the transaction. LOL.

I have also had one or two product inquiry emails that have gone unanswered (NFC), but I also never followed up (granted, a customer shouldn't have to). All of my warranty issues have been answered by email within a day though and they have never disputed me on a true warranty issue.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/2024 12:48PM by John Santos.

I certainly can't argue with those speaking to the customer service deficiencies with NFC. I've had experiences with them that are on both ends of the spectrum. At times I've gotten no response at all, yet at other times I've gotten very quick responses. I've even gotten e mails from Alex Maslov, in response to some of my inquiries. From my experience, e mailing through the info@northforkcomposites.com address, is well ..... it's pretty much a waste of time. I've been mailing Kelsey at kelsey@northforkcomposites.com. She's the blank production manager, and she has been on top of her game, all but one time. And that particular time was because an e mail I sent, somehow didn't get through to her.

Otherwise, she's been great, and on more than one occasion, has went above and beyond what I expected from her. When I've had quality issues with blanks I've received, I've been put in contact with Kim, through the warranty@edgerods.com e mail address. Kim is outstanding as well. And like Kelsey, has gone above and beyond what I expected from her.

Yes, I've had product take longer to receive than what they say I should expect. And yes I have had to contact someone to get an update on an order that's taking more than a bit longer than expected. But once I made the inquiry, I've usually received a response pretty quickly. While certainly not an excuse for some customer service issues, I think we need to realize that we're ordering directly from a factory. A factory with issues other than making sure they have product in stock and available to ship, like a distributor needs to do.

And just a comment on what I am seeing in the comparison of RX10 blanks, to NFC X ray and NRX blanks. I've only built on one RX 10 blank, and IMO it is every bit as good, or even slightly better, than any of the standard NFC X ray blanks I've built on. Which is more than a few. So if the NFC blanks needed to beat the NRX+ level, are the standard X ray blanks, I feel the RX 10 blank I've built on is right there as well.

If the NFC blank you need to be on the NRX+ level is one of NFC's C6O2 blanks, then no, the RX 10s are not on that level.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2024 01:44PM by David Baylor.

I've found the weight of the RX10 is what keeps it from "beating" the NRX+ (something a person will notice as soon as they hold the rod), and also lack the of blank options. The sensitivity part may be a bit more subjective, all of them are good enough to justify rod prices in the NRX category though.

Slammed with orders due to big sale????? Their blanks are on sale 90% of the time per the spam I get from NFC. I too have been waiting over 3 months for them to complete my order of carbon grips - got 2 out of 3 within a month and have since been waiting for the third. When I only got a partial shipment with no explanation of the missing part I reached out and was told it would be 2 more weeks, its now been 9 weeks. This is nothing new, my first order 5 years ago took 4 months to complete. I don't know of a single other Company that lets you order items that aren't immediately available or won't be available for months without letting you know upfront. Their catalog, inventory control and scheduling relationship is nonexistent. Personally, the frustration of not getting my orders within a reasonable amount of time or being given an honest estimate of when the order will be fulfilled has finally caught up and I won't do any more business with them. Like others have said, their are plenty of other brands that are just as good and deliver/respond in a reasonable amount of time.

John Santos Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I sometimes stock a couple of extra blanks for future breakage, and charge accordingly.

NFC's strategy must be to keep lead times so high that builders are forced to buy even more of their blanks!

Jokes aside, if you are running a business keeping extra stock of the most popular blanks for your clients is smart. I just build for myself and the occasional friend.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/16/2024 06:01PM by Ray Raff.

Ordering from NFC is like a getting a surprise because by the time it shows up, I forget what I had ordered ;). Just ordered another large surprise in waiting.

When I need something fast, I pray to the Voodoo that they stock it :)

Worth the wait. Not a single complaint from anyone I have built out an NFC blank for. Most want more and are willing to wait if needed.