Workhorse Pits just went to retail only

[ttkt57]

Deleted

 

[Dweverett]

Retail prices are much higher. It's a new business model without a 13-month wait but with a middle man and inevitable markup.

I paid $3,126.00 including shipping for a 1969 with a cowboy firebox, and waited for over a year.

Today, if the retailer has the cooker you want in stock, you pay $3,776.00 (cowboy firebox and upper rack whether you want it or not) and then figure out how to arrange for transport on top of that.

The days of a cheap Workhorse pit appear to be over.

For grins I looked up where the closest dealer to me is and it’s in NJ. They show prices on their website — they show the “1969 with top pull out rack and cowboy firebox $3,162 and $199 discounted freight — Projected March 2024”

Elsewhere they say “We don’t ship Workhorse Pits”. And that “Sidewalk deliver is extra”.

I’m not sure what all that means.

EDIT: Just read the “about us” from the retailer. Apparently they are the online presence of a brick and mortar store doing business under another name. That physical store is one that’s only open by appointment so one would suspect they aren’t stocking a lot of inventory for their show room at least.

So, Workhorse is selling through a retailer that’s basically a website, that charges $199 freight, but doesn’t ship. Except they will put it on a sidewalk somewhere I guess for the right price. And, they can sell you a 1969 or one of three 1975 configurations next month — but they put their orders in a year ago.

Maybe I’m not thinking of something right but I’m struggling to reconcile all of the information

 

[ttkt57]

Ashley (JD's wife) called me a couple of days ago, and apologized for how long it took to fabricate and deliver my pit. I appreciate her humble honesty and eagerness to give me their perspective on things. Our talk helped me sympathize with their efforts to build a solid American company.

I do want to say here what I said to her, though, that my frustration about this purchase would have been greatly reduced if they had been more proactive about communication along the way, not waiting for me to reach out when there were frequent delays. All in all, I'm still glad I went with Workhorse instead of other options (it's a wonderful product), but they could have made a purchase like this superlative with a few emails along the way proactively getting ahead of my concerns.

 

[oldgfbbq]

I'm surprised the Denver area is such a hot bed for BBQ that it can support two dealers!

I work for a premium brand fly rod manufacturer with direct to consumer sales and also dealers. It's tricky. But, we have not had private equity investment by third party to grow the brand or volume. This should be interesting to watch. And, if you have kids or grandkids in business school, this looks like material for a masters thesis, as compared to Old Country Pits selling through Academy Sports & Outdoors.

 

[sloandsteady]

I'm surprised the Denver area is such a hot bed for BBQ that it can support two dealers!

I work for a premium brand fly rod manufacturer with direct to consumer sales and also dealers. It's tricky. But, we have not had private equity investment by third party to grow the brand or volume. This should be interesting to watch. And, if you have kids or grandkids in business school, this looks like material for a masters thesis, as compared to Old Country Pits selling through Academy Sports & Outdoors.

I'm here in Denver and it is actually the same dealer with two locations. Don't know if I would say that it's a hot bed for BBQ, but it is nice having a retailer like Proud Souls for all things BBQ.

 

[cayenne]

I thought...

i want a traditional offset but it's looking more and more like a "stock" shirley 36" might be the best call for me (seeing that they are fairly local to me)

For some reason, I thought on another thread awhile back, you'd already put an order in for a BlueSmoke smoker?

C

 

[bonz50]

For some reason, I thought on another thread awhile back, you'd already put an order in for a BlueSmoke smoker?

C

not yet, they are on the short list tho for sure.