Lee Big Stopper... lucky me but why does it take so long?

[flosseR]

Ok, I have been trying to get a Lee big stopper for months. They are either totally over priced on ebay or virtually non existent in stock ANYWHERE...

I am/was on waiting lists in several countries and stores and today I got an email:
Hi, we just received 1 Big Stopper and the person in the waiting list before you cancelled his place last week. Your order will now be processed and your Credit Card charged. Shipment should arrive within 5 working days.

Yay me!!

Now my question: why on EARTH does Lee not produce more BG (Black Glass) as in Big Stoppers. People seem to be queueing like crazy for them.

//f

 

[gnd]

Why is it taking so long? You must have missed this thread.

 

[mackmgg]

Why is it taking so long? You must have missed this thread.

I was just about to post that same link

The quality that goes into these things is amazing, maybe they'll get more factories soon, to keep up with the queue

 

[gnd]

The quality that goes into these things is amazing, maybe they'll get more factories soon, to keep up with the queue

They don't need more factories, they have enough expensive work force already.
Seriously, they just need to automate their production ... Looks like 1956 in there

 

[TheReef]

They don't need more factories, they have enough expensive work force already.
Seriously, they just need to automate their production ... Looks like 1956 in there

But the thought of getting laid off after 23 years as a professional dunker, that's got to hurt...

 

[gnd]

But the thought of getting laid off after 23 years as a professional dunker, that's got to hurt...

Automation doesn't necessarily mean laying people off, they just wouldn't be dunking 75% of their time ... With increased volume they'll need more people to do other stuff, like wrapping, packaging, shipping, but also quality control, mold preparation; with more automated machines there might be a need for more maintenance personnel, machines still need to be supervised and so on ...

 

[wookiee2cu]

I'm an a few waiting lists as well for the Big Lee Stopper. In speaking with a few of the retailers they all shared a similar story. Lee is a small company to begin with but apparently they also had a fire in their warehouse which destroyed inventory. One retailer said they also had a bad batch go out; not sure if it's true or if it was before/after the fire. So when you add all those up you get long wait periods. I'm considering getting two of them just so I have a back up should I accidentally drop it.

 

[Ruahrc]

Bad supply is a chronic problem at Lee. I really don't think these problems are due to a single event like a warehouse fire, either. This problem goes way back before the Big Stopper, their foundation kit holders, etc. have been hard to get for years. Either they've had extraordinarily bad luck with disasters or some serious business management issues. It's not like they don't have the demand for greater production, after all.

Re: the video, handmade stuff is great and all that but I have to say that from an engineer's perspective: arguably this is one case where automation might actually be a good thing, in terms of greater accuracy/reproducibility on their filters. From the video it seems to imply that the critical "transition area" between the dyed portion and the clear portion on every GND they make is hand-made by sloshing the dye up the filter. It would be interesting to see a series of Lee GNDs side-by-side made at different times, to see how variable they really are.

 

[flosseR]

Wow, this thread has been a while It actually turned out that i was not next in line of that list. but someone made a mistake and mailed it to me. So, I got it while a couple of friends of mine are still waiting like crazy for theirs...

Still VERY happy with this.. though the wallet is kinda empty.

 

[Toasty2012]

Still Waiting

A bit of an old thread but may be useful, I found a company that hires Big Stoppers out: http://www.lenslocker.co.uk.

I'm still waiting for mine, and with several different companies, I really hope they don't all come in at once! With all the nice weather on the way I may resort to a hire!