So like many, I thought i’d give FLO wheels the benefit of the doubt and give them a whirl.
600 wheels available (not sure how many discs), logged in on the dot, addresses pre entered and disc wheel put in the basket within 30 seconds of order 11 opening. By the time the credit card details were in, gone. (as long as it takes to type 16 digits!)
My advice, don’t bother. 5 of us didn’t get a wheel, 3 of which was their second time trying.
Great product FLO, lousy and ultimately disappointing stock levels.
I guess I was fortunate enough to have successfully ordered one of the discs (not meant to brag as my wallet account just got substantially lighter!). My disc order was #6281.
I forgot to add in additional stickers, so I placed another order just over a minute later. …my second order is number was #6673.
Within 1 minute thats an additional 400 orders for 600 wheels (some orders may include multiple wheels). Wow.
But a good problem for FLO to have - makes for great hype for their product. You wouldn’t even be mentioning FLO if there were like thousands of extra wheels to be hand, any time you wanted to order them.
They did advertise that there were only about 100 discs available. So, type faster ( I had cc # copied and ready to paste). I’m sure it sucks if you don’t get what you want. But for many, including me, it worked out great.
If you just want to complain, by all means, this is a forum and you are free to do so…but do you have a proposed solution or how much more are you willing to pay to ensure you get the wheel you want when you want it? My guess is you will eventually have that wish granted but you will pay the price for that convenience.
Pretty sure there weren’t 100 available, as it stated only 10 of each hub.
How about sufficient ability to honour purchases within 15 minutes? You still get the hype of a countdown, you still get people talking and ultimately 5 people would have bought their product rather than advising their peers in the triathlon community not to bother trying.
Sounds a bit bitter i know, but it is a bit ridiculous.
They make them as fast as they currently can … when they get sufficient amounts ready they have a sale. The simple fact is this: Great wheels at low prices are in demand and go FAST. Simppe supply and demand.
I’m sure as they sell more wheels supply will increase and make it easier to get the wheel you want.
I already have a set of 90’s and a 60 front from previous orders and was able to pick up a Clydesdale build disc in this order … my number was 6442 if I remember correctly.
I’m guessing that heading straight for the “Clyde” version gave me a little longer to complete the transaction for a rear disc. I also emailed Flo ahead of time to see how many disc’s they would have and how many of those were going to be “Clyde” versions … of which they had 17, but I’m guessing most went for the standard disc first.
I have little doubt they considered various options to best deal with the supply/demand issue. While I know they visit this forum frequently, perhaps you should write them directly with a suggestion of how they could do it better. If your suggestion is feasible from a business perspective, I’m sure they will be all ears. But, throwing out an idea like honor all orders within 15 minutes probably won’t get you very far.
Have you ever tried to get tix for an event but were shutout? What did Ticketmaster have to say when you suggested they honor all people who tried to order within first 15 minutes?
Well 15 minutes, was an arbitrary number, but perhaps a sensible one. After all, it is possible to tell taiwan to build more rims, and it is possible to employ more wheelbuilders. U2 only have a concert hall in NYC for 2 nights, and then they physically have to move on.
They could structure it so there are two prices? The mad dash price and a normal order price. Personally i wouldn’t be too bothered, about say paying a 10 / 20% premium for this.
On a personal level, cost is not the main driver of my purchase decisions, but i’m not built of money and can’t extend to the levels of Zipp or lightweight.
Well 15 minutes, was an arbitrary number, but perhaps a sensible one. After all, it is possible to tell taiwan to build more rims, and it is possible to employ more wheelbuilders. U2 only have a concert hall in NYC for 2 nights, and then they physically have to move on.
They could structure it so there are two prices? The mad dash price and a normal order price. Personally i wouldn’t be too bothered, about say paying a 10 / 20% premium for this.
On a personal level, cost is not the main driver of my purchase decisions, but i’m not built of money and can’t extend to the levels of Zipp or lightweight.
I find it an odd way to do business. I mean if they consistently have over twice as many on the email list as wheels available why not up the availability at least 50% for the next order, see how things go with that order and adjust. I would think that they would want to at least try to meet demand. I have been in business for 30 years. You have to a product to sell in order to make the sale. It strikes me as an odd way of doing business but they have the freedom to conduct business as they choose. For the second time I chose not to even attempt to purchase a set. Interesting to see how it will work out for them in the long haul. I wish them well.
