Aero Price Increase! and other mishaps on my Aero experence!

[Fiver64]

eloquent reply!

Maybe we sometimes think that the jacket will endow us with something we didn't have before, or that such an expensive self-indulgence makes us more vulnerable to dissapointment, but in the end, its just a jacket.

Well said............I think that most things are simply miscommunications, with no evil intent on either side. "Poop happens."

 

[Blaster]

This jacket, which I have had my eye on, was $675 last week.

Now it's $800. That's quite some price increase.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Aero-Leather-HA...5686692QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS_CSA_MC_Outerwear

 

[johnnyjohnny]

whar's tha rope boys!?!

"its just a jacket" --gfirob

them thar's hangin' words round these parts, pahdnuh!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Mike in Seattle]

Most business, and Aero seems to fall into that category based on the reputation they've gained with Lounge members, would unquestioningly give you the old price on an item, and if you explain the entire situation as you have here, may give you a little bit better deal to make up for all of the disappointments you've encountered.

You might also have then recheck their new prices. The price jump on the coat you mentioned is pretty close to a 50% increase. The other price increases sound a little high as well, although nowhere near 50%. Someone could've miscalculated or punched a wrong number into the computer. That sort of increase sounds out of line in our current economy, but it could be they've not raised prices in many years, or it could be, as you mentioned, their production costs & costs of raw materials may have significantly increased.

But back to the first point - in your case, I certainly understand your disappointment (been there and done that in a few sitations and some mistake out of my control delayed or crushed hopes I had). But again, the price increase shouldn't come into play since you're just getting the item you wanted and paid for but unfortunately turned out to not fit as expected. I'll cross my fingers for you!

 

[Papa M]

In the case of the Waterfront I believe that the original price (£140 that I paid) was ridiculously reasonable. As I said on the original thread - I've paid a lot more for shirts that were not of such fine quality.

Maybe Aero looked at my ultra-cool Waterfront photos and decided that it warrants a price hike?

 

[GriffDeLaGriff]

Maybe Aero looked at my ultra-cool Waterfront photos and decided that it warrants a price hike?

That was my first guess :cool2:

 

[elnico]

Update

Hi everyone... i just spoke to Will this morning and he has kindly agreed in my case to keep to the original price of the jacket i want as the deal was agreed prior to the Christmas Holiday. This means that i am now going to be able to order a Highwayman. If he had not agreed i would probably gone for one of the cheaper A2's.

Will also informed me of the reasons for the price hike... Apparently for the leather jackets is has been due to the rising cost of the leather itself.

For the Cloth Jackets sadly, I Wish you were right Papa M, but Will informed me that these jackets are to be phased out as general demand as shrunk and also the two specialists that solely make these jacket up are near retirement age and new staff would have to be employed and trained up...

I wonder if the latter information when read will draw a response from a few members whereby they will be inspired to rush order the last of the cloth jackets before they are no longer available?

Will also informed me of the prices some of the Aero's go for in Japan and Germany... well over a grand in UK pounds in some cases! .. it seems from what Will said that Aero's market planing and prices are mainly set by overseas sales rather than Britain. Which is understandable given that the British market is currently still dominated by cheap mass produced Chinese produced clothing, that is not all bad quality.. quite a few designer brands that i own originate from Asia.
It is a shame however that we have so few companies that produce a hand made. high quality ,customer order specific items that cater for the retro minded amongst us in the UK,
Papa M.. take care of your Waterfront, it may become one of the true collectible jackets one day... though i hope not......

 

[blethook]

Just to be clear, there was a total of 10 mails from me for the order.

4 mails was to clarify what a custom order would cost and what measurements they wanted.

4 more mails was to ask some questions about what lining would work
and how long the jacket should be for me, plus the armlength, and at this point
I got some wierd answer back about the length that made me have to ask
on of the questions again but in a different way, along with 2 other clarifications.

The 8:th mail took longest time to get answered because she thought she already had answered those questions.

After I got that one answered i sent 2 more mails with the final ordering.


---

I have read people here having over 200 mails back and forth for one jacket.

Seriously, 10 mails for a guy who doesnt even have English as a mother language, if that is too much then I dont know.

The customizations werent many either, I know it had been done before many times because of people posting the jackets here, and some have more options than mine.


Anyways, now when I have learned about how it works from them I should be able to do the next order in maybe 3-5 mails.

Rather than sending emails back & forth (which will end up being a very long email consisting of a long chain of threads), try sending a snail mail with all of your measurements & special requests on one sheet, and your order (cc details, addresses, etc.) on a separate sheet.

This seemed to work well for me the last time.

I remember corresponding with Amanda on email back & forth and then after several replies going back & forth she asked me, "Which jacket are you ordering?" lol. Obviously the email chain had gotten so long over time that she didn't even remember which Jacket I was asking for, and probably too tedious to search in the previous email threads

 

[P5640blouson]

Sounds like hit and miss

Sounds like hit and miss with Aero. I wouldn't tie up $500 for one of those unless I knew what the measurements of the finished product would be. Fit is so important with such an expensive garment, its would be sad to end up with 'Mall' fit for the hard earned dollars spent. JMO

 

[Lt GUSTL]

Servus from Vienna,

it looks like Aero increased the price for their A1, too.
From 375 to 425!!

kindest regards

 

[AEH]

Rather than sending emails back & forth (which will end up being a very long email consisting of a long chain of threads), try sending a snail mail with all of your measurements & special requests on one sheet, and your order (cc details, addresses, etc.) on a separate sheet.

This seemed to work well for me the last time.

I remember corresponding with Amanda on email back & forth and then after several replies going back & forth she asked me, "Which jacket are you ordering?" lol. Obviously the email chain had gotten so long over time that she didn't even remember which Jacket I was asking for, and probably too tedious to search in the previous email threads

Or, as I did with both of my Aero orders (and other e-mail orders too), be sure to include all your specifications in all your e-mails. It worked nearly perfect for me, the only miss was that one of the jackets did not get the name tag i had asked for. When I told Amanda, she offered to take the jacket back and fix it, but as I found it to be too much hassle for little gain, she sent me two name tags for my use.
I must say that it has been a great experience to work with Amanda, but one might think that Aero's ordering system could need an upgrading to serve the increase in business they have had leately.

 

[H.Johnson]

Just to say that I have had a Waterfront jacket since they were first produced (mine is a prototype and was therefore half price or 75 GBP) and it is giving great service.

 

[Edward]

Sounds like hit and miss with Aero. I wouldn't tie up $500 for one of those unless I knew what the measurements of the finished product would be. Fit is so important with such an expensive garment, its would be sad to end up with 'Mall' fit for the hard earned dollars spent. JMO

To be fair, I think it's more likely to be a case of 'hit and miss' with measurements submitted by customers... I agree, though, it's always worth being extremely careful with your measurments to make sure they're right when spending that kind of cash.

 

[H.Johnson]

That's what Aero tells me...

To be fair, I think it's more likely to be a case of 'hit and miss' with measurements submitted by customers...

 

[Ace Rimmer]

Or, as I did with both of my Aero orders (and other e-mail orders too), be sure to include all your specifications in all your e-mails.

Good point. I threw all my final specs into a Word document and emailed it to Mark. That way it's all in one place.

On the measuring front, they say that the measuring tape never lies. Remember the "Big Mac" thread from a few months back? While weight is a sensitive issue for some people, if you're gonna spend $600-800 USD on a jacket you are better off being honest with yourself and Aero. Vanity isn't worth spending that kind of cash on a jacket that won't fit.

 

[Stevie J]

Price Increases

Is it my imagination or have Eastman's prices taken a jump, too?

 

[Papa M]

Just to say that I have had a Waterfront jacket since they were first produced (mine is a prototype and was therefore half price or 75 GBP) and it is giving great service.

I saw the photo on the Aero site of their original prototype. It sure does wear well. I look forward to mine maturing gracefully over many years.

 

[Papa M]

Is it my imagination or have Eastman's prices taken a jump, too?

I recently purchased an Eastman G1. The price was supposed to be a hefty £510. Luckily for me the vendor had not got around to changing the price tag so they charged me the marked price which was (an only slightly less hefty) £465.

I normally might have waited until a bargain appeared on E-Bay but after trying several sizes in the shop I found one that was a perfect fit. It seemed a shame not to take it!

 

[Lt GUSTL]

Is it my imagination or have Eastman's prices taken a jump, too?

Yes, they did.

kindest regards from Vienna

 

[advpampas]

Lost confidence

I ordered an Aero jacket in Jul 2009 and received it 5 months afterwards, on Dec 23; of course, I had paid the old cheaper price. When I received the jacket, I realized that Aero had made major errors in sizing (although I had sent careful measurements). I submitted to Mark pictures of me wearing the jacket (among other problems, the sleeves were grossly short) and he offered to make a new jacket (I then returned the old one on Dec 24). In a follow-up phone conversation, he told me that Aero gives priority to jackets that need to be re-made, and that the delay now would be very short. However, on the third week of Jan 2010, when I asked him about an estimated date for the new jacket, Mark told me that the factory was too busy now and that I would have to wait another 6-8 weeks (correcting himself to a "minimum" in a subsequent email) for a new jacket (he mentioned that there were many orders). It surprised me that without me asking for a cancellation of the purchase, Mark spontaneously offered to refund my money; both of us communicating by email in a civilized manner. From my previous conversation with Mark, I was expecting that Aero would prioritize orders like mine and by now I had lost confidence. Therefore, I accepted Mark's offer. I received most of my money back (I assume that shipping charges were deducted). For the money I would have expected better attention to detail, more consistency of communication, and faster service.

============

Sounds like hit and miss with Aero. I wouldn't tie up $500 for one of those unless I knew what the measurements of the finished product would be. Fit is so important with such an expensive garment, its would be sad to end up with 'Mall' fit for the hard earned dollars spent. JMO