Eclipse Bikes Bafang BBS02 48v 750w mysteriously disappears

[Fordulike]

Have been waiting for Eclipse Bikes to get some more 48v frame batteries in, which they said are coming in this month sometime.
I put off buying their Bafang BBS02 48v 750w kit, as I wanted to order both the kit and battery at the same time.

Now the 750w kit has mysteriously disappeared from their website, even though the 36v 250w and 350w kits are still showing, but both with zero stock. When I looked a few days ago, the 750w kit was still on showing 5 units in stock.

I fired a couple of e-mails off to them at the start of the week, asking if they had a definitive date on the arrival of the new batteries, but as yet have not received any reply. They normally reply the same day

I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories, but I wonder if they are in trouble?

Anyone else had contact with them recently?

 

[mfj197]

I ordered a pair of hydraulic brake sensors only last week and they arrived safe and sound. I bought their last 250W BBS01 before Christmas.

Michael

 

[Fordulike]

I ordered a pair of hydraulic brake sensors only last week and they arrived safe and sound. I bought their last 250W BBS01 before Christmas.

Michael

OK, that's good news then. Just seemed a bit weird that the product disappeared completely, rather than show zero stock like the other two kits.

 

[Fordulike]

Would you Adam and Eve it. Guess what arrived in my inbox a few minutes ago

'' It took slightly longer than expected for our suppliers to prepare our new
order so we are expecting it to arrive in the UK on 1st March and should
arrive with us on 10th March (give or take a day or two) ''

Was getting worried that I'd have to order from China, which is not what I wanted to do.

 

[jonathan75]

Excellent i'm waiting for a battery too, it'll be in time for the good weather.

 

[Roadster605]

In there ad it says full email support but my mate has tried many times & they don't answer so we both bought motors from Woosh bikes! I emailed eclipse yesterday but no reply yet! why have they not got a phone?

 

[Fordulike]

In there ad it says full email support but my mate has tried many times & they don't answer so we both bought motors from Woosh bikes! I emailed eclipse yesterday but no reply yet! why have they not got a phone?

Yes, same here, more e-mails unanswered than answered.

Maybe they're are mega busy with the new stock, who knows, but still very unprofessional in my eyes. A simple 'we will get back to you' can be better than nothing at all.
My success rate with them has now dropped to around 25%

On the other hand, Electric Bike Conversions have answered all of my questions, usually same day, or early the next day, but ALWAYS answered.
Their website isn't quite polished yet and some of the info is vague, but they are really willing to fill in the gaps via e-mail, and I should imagine by phone too.

Come on Eclipse, crank drive kits aren't exactly cheap, and without the option to try before you buy, customers sometimes want many questions answered promptly.... I'll rephrase that... they want their questions answered

 

[trex]

may be they are pulling out of BBS02 kits. You can always post your questions here, quite a few members have the BBS01/BBS02 kits and they are not much different besides power.
Woosh have BBS02 18A 48V 500W + 48V 10AH battery for £370 + £320.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit

 

[Fordulike]

may be they are pulling out of BBS02 kits. You can always post your questions here, quite a few members have the BBS01/BBS02 kits and they are not much different besides power.

Maybe so, but that doesn't excuse poor customer communication.
They've been selling Cyclone kits for donkey's years and they've got loads of other bits and bobs on the website.

Social media is a powerful thing these days and word gets around very quickly.

As I say, even a big ' f**k you ' is better than nothing at all.

 

[jonathan75]

I gather they had two issues recently, firstly their supplier sent motors via sea, programmed with a key setting missing, so when they arrived March 11, they had to order a cable via express post and reprogram the entire batch themselves, and secondly, that they had a huge number of orders to get through sending. I think they're extremely perfectionist - the batteries I've had from them have been packed personally by them as though they were works of art. To my mind they seem to be attempting something ambitious which is offer quality goods, at much lower prices than their competitors. I think they're young and and new to this kind of thing. Speaking as someone who suffers from social anxiety I can see how some people find communication less easy than others, even if they're really decent people doing a decent job.

But yes I do fear they're going to **** people off, which would be a shame, as they've potential to do good business.

 

[trex]

...
To my mind they seem to be attempting something ambitious
...

There is nothing ambitious about selling the BBS01 and BBS02 kits. They are the easiest, most trouble free products on the market besides light bulbs (compared to hub kits or e-bikes). Why did they have to reprogram the kits? because their supplier messed up the batch? are we talking about the same Bafang factory here?

 

[Fordulike]

may be they are pulling out of BBS02 kits. You can always post your questions here, quite a few members have the BBS01/BBS02 kits and they are not much different besides power.
Woosh have BBS02 18A 48V 500W + 48V 10AH battery for £370 + £320.
http://wooshbikes.co.uk/?cdkit

A potential customer shouldn't have to trawl web forums just to gather information about a product. Not just the Bafang kits, but any product.

I wouldn't expect to go into a Mercedes showroom and enquire about one of their models, for the salesman to stare at me blankly, without at least some relevant information on the car.

The missus and I went into an Alfa Romeo showroom many years ago, to have a good look around the Brera. I had a high spec car to trade in for one and was more than interested.
Unfortunately, the salesman was less than helpful with just about everything.
Needless to say, Alfa Romeo lost a customer, probably for life!

In my eyes, online retailers should be no different. It's the fact that they are not face to face with the customer, that takes away that urgency in supplying information.

I'm not arguing with you trex, just don't think it's professional to run a business in a sloppy fashion. It'll without doubt lose you sales.

 

[jonathan75]

There is nothing ambitious about selling the BBS01 and BBS02 kits. They are the easiest, most trouble free products on the market besides light bulbs (compared to hub kits or e-bikes). Why did they have to reprogram the kits? because their supplier messed up the batch? are we talking about the same Bafang factory here?

Even if you're selling chewing gum and Coca-Cola, if you're trying to sell it for 12.5% less than your nearest UK competitor, as Eclipse does with the 14.5ah Samsung bottle batteries including identical charger and delivery, then I think that's ambitious.

Even if you're matching your competitor's prices, I don't see why that's unambitious. It's ambitious in itself to go into business.

I can't remember the explanation for the kits, it may be that those with the Chinese setting were sent in lieu of those with the UK/EU setting. That wouldn't be a factory error, but instead a supplier error, because afaik Bafang don't sell to small UK retailers who buy in batches of 20 or so. They sell to huge wholesalers who then sell things onwards.

I'm a bit taken aback at your prickliness here. Is this what I should expect from you every time I try to say something good about a company which sells excellent goods for the same or a much cheaper price than does Woosh? I like the things you write frequently but when it comes to this Woosh competitor you just turn into a different person.

 

[trex]

keep your hair on. I like Eclipse as much as I like woosh, if you check my posts over the last 3 years, I have never until now criticised them. Anyone willing to work hard for little money deserves my respect.
What I am saying is, the BBS01 and BBS02 are good kits, they should not take much effort to sell. Anyway, reprogramming the kit does not take long although you don't want anyone to tamper with your kit since it leaves the factory.
Your point about Eclipse selling batteries cheaper than woosh, I am all for it.

 

[Fordulike]

keep your hair on. I like Eclipse as much as I like woosh. Anyone willing to work hard for little money deserves my respect.
What I am saying is, the BBS01 and BBS02 are good kits, they should not take much effort to sell. Anyway, reprogramming the kit does not take long although you don't want anyone to tamper with your kit since it leaves the factory.

Hee hee, nothing like a bit of heated discussion

The trouble is, this forum might be Eclipse's saving grace, for me anyway.

If I was after buying a Bafang BBSxx kit... oh, I am
I stumble across Eclipse's website, and let's say theoretically, I have never heard of the Pedelecs Forum. I am a newbie to ebikes!

So I fire off some e-mails to Eclipse, asking some pertinent questions about the kits they sell.
I receive the first one back, which means they must be receiving my e-mails ok. Then many e-mails after that are left unanswered.

What would most people do? Move on the to next company.

The fact is, that I do scout this forum regularly, and know they've had a few problems with what Bafang shipped them.
So I know that they are a good company by reading member's posts.

But I bet many others, moved on to the next company!

Why not have an automated reply system which says something like, 'Sorry, we are really busy at the moment, we truly value your custom, so we will strive to answer your questions within 48hrs'

 

[Eclipsebikes]

Appreciate the feedback guys even if it isn't particularly positive. With us being fairly new to the Bafang motor kits & Samsung Lithium Ion battery packs demand has been fairly strong and as such it can be a challenge to get orders out whilst keeping up with email communications. Unfortunately the unit where we are based does not have the option of a landline or broadband and mobile signal is extremely poor hence at present we generally only offer email support. On the plus side the unit is good value & this helps to keep our overheads to a minimum.

It isn't always fair to compare the services different companies offer when the prices are so very different. For example we can supply the Bafang 36V 250 watt motor kit with 36V 13Ah Samsung lithium Ion battery + 2A charger for £560 inc VAT in comparison to one of the companies mentioned above who charge £799 including VAT for the same motor kit with a lower capacity 36V 9Ah Lithium Ion battery. For an additional £239 with a lower capacity battery we would also expect excellent customer service.

Doing your own research isn't always a bad thing if the savings are worth the bother. Moving forward we may need increase staff levels to deal with demand though this will increase operating costs and result in higher prices (something we try to avoid).

 

[trex]

...
For example we can supply the Bafang 36V 250 watt motor kit with 36V 13Ah Samsung lithium Ion battery + 2A charger for £560 inc VAT in comparison to one of the companies mentioned above who charge £799 including VAT for the same motor kit with a lower capacity 36V 9Ah Lithium Ion battery. ...

which one of of the companies mentioned above are you comparing to?

 

[Fordulike]

The negative comments will only help you improve in the future

It's really good to see you on here to clarify the reasons behind the customer communication, and you get a big thumbs up from me for doing so.
Unfortunately, there's sometimes not enough hours in the day.

On a positive note, I do like your website. It's well laid out and easy to navigate.

I wish you all the best for the future, as you are one of the few companies who are supplying Bafang BBSxx kits from the UK at the moment.

 

[Fordulike]

which one of of the companies mentioned above are you comparing to?

Sounds like bush

 

[Eclipsebikes]

which one of of the companies mentioned above are you comparing to?

It was the company which Fordulike mentioned though didn't want to name them specifically as not wanting to directly have a go at them. The may have costs to add which we don't and offering a high level of customer service no doubt adds to those costs.

Thanks for your comments Fordulike. Hopefully we can address the issues mentioned as we move forward whilst still offering good value to customers.