Speezy101 Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 (edited) Just looked on their website and noticed as of 7/11/18, their is a web notice "due to the US steel Tariffs, the store is closed until further notice". Hopefully it doesn't affect the long term of this company. The owner has been 100% customer service related to his products. Edited July 12, 2018 by Speezy101 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Flesher Posted July 12, 2018 Share Posted July 12, 2018 This is a real shame. FBBC has done a lot for this community. I hope it's able to regroup and return in some form, and that the market for short bending stock can remain somewhat competitive even in FBBC's absence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminBoy Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 There goes my chance to buy a Inch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speezy101 Posted July 13, 2018 Author Share Posted July 13, 2018 I bought the Sahlaney 125 and it was the last one in the shop for that weight without having to wait for the process of making one from the foundry. I don't know if its all of the FBBC products including the inch replicas. I know the inch replicas were a side business with Sahlaney as a piggy back with FBBC I had some shipping issues with the 125 dumbbell with the shipping crate breaking apart from Fed-Ex mid shipment. Lets say the dumbbell came very well "seasoned" after it arrived being dragged and dropped from Fed Ex before it got to my door. It looked like it got thrown out of the truck at 55 mph before it hit my door . FBBC worked with me to have Fed-Ex pick up the slack on the shipping charges for refund. They definitely helped on the process of making things right, even if it wasn't their fault because of the shipping issues. Hope FBBC gets things turned around again to open back up. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 On 7/12/2018 at 9:01 PM, benjaminBoy said: There goes my chance to buy a Inch. Contact @Jedd Johnson for your inch bro. It was very reasonable considering how much they are with shipping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 (edited) On 7/12/2018 at 9:01 PM, benjaminBoy said: There goes my chance to buy a Inch. The inch is iron I believe, could be wrong . Don’t know if that’s part of the tariffs. Edited July 15, 2018 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benjaminBoy Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 9 hours ago, Joseph Sullivan said: Contact @Jedd Johnson for your inch bro. It was very reasonable considering how much they are with shipping 9 hours ago, Joseph Sullivan said: The inch is iron I believe, could be wrong . Don’t know if that’s part of the tariffs. Yeah gonna have to do that, was hopping to get the 125 inch and 150 to go with my 100 inchJR I got from FBBC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 31 minutes ago, benjaminBoy said: Yeah gonna have to do that, was hopping to get the 125 inch and 150 to go with my 100 inchJR I got from FBBC Just get the full size bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KapMan Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 13 hours ago, Joseph Sullivan said: Just get the full size bro. Thats what she said 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 39 minutes ago, KapMan said: Thats what she said Where the heck have you been!? Dan Fleming and I were wondering this weekend at the Canadian comp about where you disappeared to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richcottrell Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Tommy, If you re-read the actual post from FBBC you will see that Andrew had said he is only temporarily closing the shop, and then he gave some real world numbers on the increases he has personally seen in the price of steel. Also please note: Andrew did NOT put blame on politics, Andrew NEVER used the word "demise". Andrew wrote: "I feel most of us are friends here so I’ll share an example. The tube I use to make the ends of the axles 2 years ago was 24$, yesterday the same material was 51$. And that’s not the most extreme example. So until I can figure out how to deal with this I need to close down." I think the point is, even if FBBC's manufacturing costs [Welding, and machining] did not change, the price of the raw materials have at least doubled. This would make the cost of any newly manufactured piece of equipment increase for him. We would all be kidding ourselves if any raw increases in a consumer goods' cost must ultimately be pushed back onto the final consumer. That is just simple economics. For example, before the tariffs, FBBC was selling the 3 inch "Andrew's Axel" for $315. But if the raw steel to make that specialty bar costs FBBC double, then Andrew would not be able to sell them for that original price anymore. If he just increased the price of the axle to cover the increased price of materials, that $315 specialty Axle bar would probably be well over $400. [NOTE: that is just a number I came up with by adding 25%; if you use 50% that specialty bar might cost closer to $475.] If it was a "specialty" bar at that original price of $315, it might become a "luxury" bar at a new price of $400-475. Grip gear is specialty equipment for the most part. Some things are even more niche, like bending. We have all gotten used to spending "specialty" prices for this stuff, but unless your personal income just went up 25% in the past month, then a 25% increase in the price for this things would make these specialized items fall into a different class of personal spending. They become luxury items. <<<BTW>>> That 25% increase could be spent by the company [FBBC in this case] to cover the steel tariffs, or the extra 25% could be used to buy american steel instead. Either way the price goes up by 25%, and the consumer will be the one paying for that price increase. Either way, FBBC could still continue to buy the steel needed to make these bars, but when that "specialty bar" becomes a "luxury bar"; and because our personal incomes have not changed; what do you think happens to the company trying to sell these items? They loose their place in the market due to their price point in the marketplace. I have never heard anyone complain on the forum about gear that was not 100% American made, so I would think price is the main variable people must look at in buying anything Grip related. In this case, FBBC basically said, till prices stabilize, they need to close down. [on a personal note, I will publicly admit to hiding any grip costs from my wife as even at the old "specialty prices", she would kill me if she know how much some of this grip stuff has cost me over the years] rich 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucasraymond Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 On 7/12/2018 at 9:01 PM, benjaminBoy said: There goes my chance to buy a Inch. Contact Jedd as he gets them from Steve Slater Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 2 minutes ago, Lucasraymond said: Contact Jedd as he gets them from Steve Slater I already pointed him there last week big Daddy! Always on the lookout! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucasraymond Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 I can verify that steel prices have gone up significantly (~50% increase) but not to the point where I would close my doors, instead A few of the bigger items i increase the cost by what it costs me to make them with usually isnt a ton. Not aure how much steel he has used but ive purchased over $4000 worth of steel myself just this year alone and mine is profitable bc I do ALL of the work myself so I have minimal overhead. It’s his busines and he can do as he pleases. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucasraymond Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Tommy J. said: “Its his business and he can do as he pleases” is a lot like saying “its my party i can cry if i want to.” Lmao You act like i give a damn what he does or doesnt do. He could set all his products on fire for all i care. Im pointing out the elephant in the room that everyone is trying to deny. FBBC is going tits up because nobody spends money there. Period. Not because of tariffs. oh and btw, your comment actually just proved my point, Luke. Lol! you just admitted that the tariffs had no effect on your profits. I admitted both sides; the prices are higher but i believe he outsources a lot so his profits are smaller than mine; therefore not making it worth his time. I also make 50+ items catering to both grip and armwrestling which makes my business a little different. The fact that you comment means there is some sort of “care” or else you would be indifferent and scroll past without wasting your time to write anything Edited July 19, 2018 by Lucasraymond 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucasraymond Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Tommy J. said: your saying that your taking a bigger hit than FBBC via the tariffs due to his likely out sourcing, yet you still remain profitable. Why do you think that is? Its because of the lack of people spending money with FBBC. and my first sentence in this thread was what? It is sad to see it shut down. The guy tried to save a dying business to begin with and it didnt work out. I give him kudos for trying. But tax tariffs werent the culprit. He is taking a bigger hit not me; it barely effects me. I wasnt disagreeing with you just stating the cost of material has gone up but most of my profit comes from my time bc the material is a small portion of the cost...if i were him i would just keep no inventory and make it as people order which I do that way there is little wasted overhead. But if he is outsourcing some of it then he may have to do bigger orders on his end to keep the cost lower. There is shit we dont know but we both agree if its not making money and not worth time then whats the purpose unless you really enjoy it and its a hobby not a business Edited July 19, 2018 by Lucasraymond Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speezy101 Posted August 28, 2018 Author Share Posted August 28, 2018 FBBC store is back open as of 8/28/18 But as some have mentioned of steel tariffs etc I wouldn't think they carry that much steel stock in inventory to have that much of a $ hit. Especially if most of the products are outsourced due to welding items together to make certain parts. But i may not know all the aspects of that as well.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubgeezer Posted August 29, 2018 Share Posted August 29, 2018 On 8/28/2018 at 3:17 PM, Speezy101 said: FBBC store is back open as of 8/28/18 But as some have mentioned of steel tariffs etc I wouldn't think they carry that much steel stock in inventory to have that much of a $ hit. Especially if most of the products are outsourced due to welding items together to make certain parts. But i may not know all the aspects of that as well.. I received something from them last week or the week before. It's definitely open. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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