T-Pain Is On A Boat: Re: [Electric Boats] Buyer Beware about RE-E-POWER.com

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Re: [Electric Boats] Buyer Beware about RE-E-POWER.com

Miles,

Well said.

I'd say you chart a good course between commercial and hobbyist messages. We appreciate the effort you put into the moderator's role.

Denny Wolfe

----- Original Message -----
From: Myles Twete
To: electricboats@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 11:05 AM
Subject: RE: [Electric Boats] Buyer Beware about RE-E-POWER.com

Scott-

I also am sorry to hear this.

While I would generally say let's hope this all gets made right for you, it
sounds like you have waited a long time for that outcome.

It certainly isn't right to be sent product AFTER asking for full refund
instead of the product, whether or not it was new.

I've heard almost exactly the same story recently from someone on the EV
Discussion List recently also, regarding a different supplier.

Bottom line for folks is to do your homework and even then, there are no
guarantees as you have seen.

The Re-E-Power founder was on this list a couple years ago when he first
came up with his propulsion pods.

After several self-promotional emails I put him on moderated status and
warned him (as I do others on this list now) not to post to this list
unsubstantiated claims and almost daily performance test trial trips on his
customer's boats. This is not a sounding board or focus group for
manufacturers, dealers, researchers or marketers! Eventually Kevin left
this list and I think started his own.more power to him. He was congenial
throughout. As moderator of this list, the line is crossed when a business
member of this group USES this list for their own gain regularly and
especially when they diss the competition in unfair comparisons and don't
provide publicly reviewable information about their product. This was
somewhat the case with Re-E-Power and I warned Kevin at least a couple of
times about it. I've also done the same most recently with Arby and his
Advanced Marine Electric Propulsion (AMEP) brushless motor/controller. I'm
all for supporting and celebrating good new products. Heck, I posted many
reports noting my satisfaction with the Etek brush motor over the years.
But when someone comes on this list and nearly immediately is promoting
their new product, says it is available at a certain website for months and
it isn't, does apples to oranges sea trial comparisons and raves on this
list about it, then gets their first customers (often with comp'd
hardware---i.e. Free) to file glowing reports to this list forum about it,
it's just not right.

And it can be funny how blatant this can be. One gentleman arrived on this
list merely a couple months ago asking for help repowering his sailboat and
claiming to know nothing about the options or electric. We didn't hear from
him much again until a mere 4-5 weeks later this summer when he posts to
this list the great performance his sailboat is getting with the AMEP motor
and then after the glowing report, begins promoting the motor and signs the
email as the General Manager of AMEP. It's kind of funny.

So let this not just be a lesson for buyers to beware.

But to you dealers, manufacturers, promoters, installers and researchers who
would use this list for your personal gain or self interest---we can be be
your best friends and promoters or your worst nightmare. There are
thousands on this list and very few have their posts moderated. If your
customer isn't satisfied, I might not be able to stop their post to this
forum.

But if I find out that that alleged disgruntled customer wasn't really a
customer, but really a shill for another manufacturer, and trust me, I will
find out---you won't benefit from this strategy.

Again, I'm sorry to hear of this and let's keep this forum useful and
truthful.

-Myles Twete, moderator, Electric Boats

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