Allstar Magnetic - anyone else getting bad batches?

[WolfeMacleod]

Im Sorry to see problems- I would always contact the vendor first before posting on a forum if thats what happend which i am not sure of.
I get magnets in monthly because I order for the entire year and then its shipped to me on schedule. Quality of magnets has gone up in the last 20 years.
Like anywhere I have ever worked; when parts come in you open and inspect them and count them within a day or two of reciept- thats how its typically done everywhere in my experience and then if you find you were shorted or the parts were out of spec or they sent you the wrong part or the pricing was wrong you contact the supplier first. Simple way to keep a supplier working for you.

Jason, you know me... I sure did try to work it out with them, and wouldn't have posted, had they not pulled this game.

When I ordered, Rob Parr explained that I'd have 14 days to inspect and notify becasue we had similar issues with the last batch, in October. When I notified him and Mike Blow, Mike insisted that they were within spec. Mike refused to issue an RMA on them, and Rob has apparently been too busy with "meetings" to take any calls.

I emailed Rob a few days ago and explained that I was unhappy with how I was being treated. I [think] was pretty polite in my email.

Here it is...

Rob

I just wanted to give you a heads up and say that I'm extremely upset with the treatment I've received lately over this batch of magnets. Not from you, but from Mike Blow.
When I spoke to you about the latest order of bar magnets, I asked to make sure that the angles were cut square 90 degrees. I was assured that that was done. I'm sure by now you've seen the magnets I've returned, and I hope you can see that they're not 90 degrees on the north-south grinds.

Mike refused to give me an RMA, and I'm being charged $140 for a restocking fee. Mike claims they are within a 5 thousandths tolerance. That's fine -- 5 thousandths tolerance for length, width, thickness. You CANNOT put a thousandths tolerance on a 90 degree angle.

Rob, we've been working together for over 10 years now. I've brought you a lot of pickup makers over the years because I've liked dealing with Allstar and the quality you provided during that time. But, charging a $139 restocking fee for unusable parts is unacceptable, in my book.

Any other pickup maker who sees this level of flaw will react the same way I do. They are unusable.

Think about it.

Wolfe

I've received zero response.

[David King]

I can't imagine why you wouldn't deal directly with China from now on. Chinese companies have become super sensitive to bad feedback in recent years and will do anything to avoid it.
You'll get exactly the same magnets for a fraction of the price. Delivery times are usually within 10 days to 3 weeks for a custom order. Get some samples, run some tests and nail down your requirements ahead of time.

[cermag]

looks like the pole faces havent been ground, or ground badly. Agree squareness should be +/-0.5 deg of 90deg but those look out of that. i would say parallelism too is off. Standard specs should be 1/2 x (total axial tolerance)

They should use a shadowgraph to determine if its within tolerance or not

[ReWind]

I had this PAF out today and it reminded of this thread. Maybe those magnets were "vintage accurate" and highly desirable?

[Jim Darr]

Hmmmm??!!