Customer experiences with Aero Leather

[Fardad]

Hello, I was wondering if waiting 5+ months for a custom HWM is the norm.
I ordered a jacket from AeroLeatherUSA (who's a swell guy) at the end of Sept'11 and still haven't received it yet. :S

At the time I ordered, the ebay page stated "minimum of 3 months". Now it's "3-6mo". I wish I knew my "queue#" or something.

 

[pauleway]

Hello, I was wondering if waiting 5+ months for a custom HWM is the norm.
I ordered a jacket from AeroLeatherUSA (who's a swell guy) at the end of Sept'11 and still haven't received it yet. :S

At the time I ordered, the ebay page stated "minimum of 3 months". Now it's "3-6mo". I wish I knew my "queue#" or something.

In reality, the wait will be more like 7 to 9 months. If you get it before then, consider yourself lucky!

 

[Equality 7-2521]

I ordered my jacket around the same time and received last week. I believe I was told the waiting time was 14-16 weeks so it wasn't so far off. I ordered directly from Aero Scotland though, which perhaps is a different process... I hope your jacket arrives soon.

 

[Fardad]

In reality, the wait will be more like 7 to 9 months. If you get it before then, consider yourself lucky!

:eeek:

Yeah I definitely can't hold out that long (that's kinda ridiculous actually considering the risk that one's body measurements can change drastically during that time). If that's the case, I need to find out about their refund policy (I already paid in full). I think it's about time they step up with some kind of queue-feedback on their site so that customers can check where they stand with their order.

I ordered my jacket around the same time and received last week. I believe I was told the waiting time was 14-16 weeks so it wasn't so far off. I ordered directly from Aero Scotland though, which perhaps is a different process... I hope your jacket arrives soon.

Thanks Eq, I hope it's just around the corner. The window for wearing this jacket is practically gone as the weather here in Mass is almost in the mid-60s.

 

[ButteMT61]

IMHO ordering a custom jacket in September for this cold season is a bit unrealistic.
If your body changes, that's not Aeros (or GW, ELC, RMNZ) fault! Most of the wait is over. And it's still within the normal window.

 

[pauleway]

:eeek:

Yeah I definitely can't hold out that long (that's kinda ridiculous actually considering the risk that one's body measurements can change drastically during that time). If that's the case, I need to find out about their refund policy (I already paid in full). I think it's about time they step up with some kind of queue-feedback on their site so that customers can check where they stand with their order.




Thanks Eq, I hope it's just around the corner. The window for wearing this jacket is practically gone as the weather here in Mass is almost in the mid-60s.

It's a long wait, but once you finally get it you'll forget about how long it took to receive. Butte is right, the bulk of the wait is behind you and so just stick it out. You did order a little late in the year to expect to get much wear time for this years cold season.

 

[Fardad]

IMHO ordering a custom jacket in September for this cold season is a bit unrealistic.

Good to know.

If your body changes, that's not Aeros (or GW, ELC, RMNZ) fault! Most of the wait is over. And it's still within the normal window.

Relax, I didn't imply they would be at fault for one's physical changes. It's just seems so bothersome to make a jacket based on someone's measurements -6mo from present day only to have it with high probability, altered or made from scratch again.

If anything they should ping you when they are ready to start making your jacket (whether it be 3,4,5... months down the road) so that you have a chance to update them with new specs if need be.

I'm sure when I get mine I will be ecstatic but I just think there should be better status/feedback for products that you front $1k+ for than this 'you'll get it when you get it.' type of assurance. :S

 

[Fardad]

It's a long wait, but once you finally get it you'll forget about how long it took to receive. Butte is right, the bulk of the wait is behind you and so just stick it out. You did order a little late in the year to expect to get much wear time for this years cold season.

I hope so

I had my eyes set on this "Fonzy" style jacket they have but I'm just not sure I can duke out another wait. I guess I'll see how much of an impact the HWM will have on me.

 

[Rudie]

You should definitely not go bespoke, at least not with a traveling tailor or shoemaker. Or learn some patience first.

 

[Jeff M]

It will be worth the wait.

FWIW, I order directly from Aero Scotland.
The wait they quote iis generally 14-16 weeks. It has been my experience that they are pretty accurate...give or take a couple of weeks.

 

[Fardad]

It will be worth the wait.

FWIW, I order directly from Aero Scotland.
The wait they quote iis generally 14-16 weeks. It has been my experience that they are pretty accurate...give or take a couple of weeks.

I hope so. Maybe next time i'll just stick to the sales or the used on ebay.

 

[Fardad]

You should definitely not go bespoke, at least not with a traveling tailor or shoemaker. Or learn some patience first.

Patience? (Really?)

5+mo for a jacket with no status or chance for a fit-update is pretty ridiculous and unrealistic (it's almost on par with a waiting period for some high-end cars). The room for human error grows during this period (I've read that some people received a completely different style jacket from the one they've ordered, or jackets received made from incorrect sizing even when measured up at the factory. There was a time during my wait where they forgot that I "paid in full" for it. Not a good sign).

So it's not an issue of patience. It's more of an issue of coping with the paranoia of a complete purchase.

How hard would it be to inform customers that they are some # in a queue with a proposed delivery time of n-months? Hell I should just write a PHP script that will do this for them - really simple (in fact, I think I'll contact them about it and maybe get a free jacket out of it. Yum). This way people can adjust their fit (or lifestyle for those who are dieting) accordingly to the deadline.

I don't think what I'm asking (or concerned) about is unreasonable.

 

[Fardad]

All in all I think the purchase of an Aero costs $1500.

$1k for the jacket, and $500 for a "snack" jacket (a Schott, etc) to wear in the meantime until you get the Aero. :S

 

[Grayland]

All in all I think the purchase of an Aero costs $1500.

$1k for the jacket, and $500 for a "snack" jacket (a Schott, etc) to wear in the meantime until you get the Aero. :S

That's pretty good!

 

[Rudie]

Patience? (Really?)

5+mo for a jacket with no status or chance for a fit-update is pretty ridiculous and unrealistic

No chance for a fit-update? I don't get it. What prevents you from being proactive and telling them when your measurements have changed? Just call Amanda or write her a mail and let her know.

If you don't like the way Aero or other high-end jacket makers do their business just get a mall jacket. Quick & cheap.

 

[Edward]

I hope so

I had my eyes set on this "Fonzy" style jacket they have but I'm just not sure I can duke out another wait. I guess I'll see how much of an impact the HWM will have on me.

It does take a while sometimes - that's the nature of the beast, really.... small-scale production, made to order, popular maker... combination of things. If you're luck that their standard sizing works for you, though, you might find in future buying from their sale page - or, indeed, eBay - is a faster (and sometimes much cheaper!) way of doing it. The jackets I ordered direct from Aero which were made for me came i good time, well within the estimate. You really do want to be ordering a season ahead, though.... I hope to order a custom jacket for this time next year, but I'll be doing that around September....

Fwiw, my wool Waterfront arrived within a month, the Bootlegger ordered at the same time took much longer. I'm not sure whether this was coincidence, or if they have different people working on different ranges, hence some depending on how many orders there are process faster? You'll find somewhere that works more to stock patterns like Eastman will be able often to send you a jacket faster as they keep more in stock.

Aero might get faster soon.... my new Highwayman is only one of a whole slew of apprentice jackets on their site, all available because they have hired a new bunch of folks they are training up for main production....

 

[Don Tomaso]

...

5+mo for a jacket with no status or chance for a fit-update is pretty ridiculous and unrealistic (it's almost on par with a waiting period for some high-end cars). The room for human error grows during this period (I've read that some people received a completely different style jacket from the one they've ordered, or jackets received made from incorrect sizing even when measured up at the factory. There was a time during my wait where they forgot that I "paid in full" for it. Not a good sign). ...

I don't get it... Aero's jackets are items that will last many years, not just for one season. So, what's that thing with "I'll get fat (or thin) during the wait, huh, huh..."
Relax, man. I ordered a few weeks back, maybe have it in September, just in time for autumn.

 

[leopardstyle]

Guys I have to go against the group just a bit on this one. Of course we all respect and like Aero and custom makers off all sorts. Still we all wait by the proverbial mail box when we know the order is being shipped. We might even check the tracking info on the shippers website to find out exactly where our package is.

It's definitely no disrespect to these makers to sugges the idea that they let the customer know at certain intervals what's going on with their jacket. I wouldn't be surprised to see anyone of us checking a site often if it gave us occasional updates on the status of our fine purchase. It might also just make us feel more involved in the process and even more proud of the jacket when it finally arrives, if that's possible. Also, I doubt it would hurt sales any. Just my thought on the issue.

 

[ButteMT61]

OK, this is beating a dead horse (oops) and does no good here. You're all either customers or potential customers - call/write Aero for cryin' out loud!
I have nothing against any of the ideas posted here, excepting the "it takes too long" bits. Contact Aero or whoever makes you gear and suggest that they do what you're asking. If you don't like the current model, and they won't budge, takes your business elsewhere. It's a simple model that works wonders.

 

[regius]

Experience with Aero A2 jacket

The pocket flap starts to rip open after a few days of wearing, simple reaching in and out of the pocket. Just met a guy on the street wearing an Eastman A2, also reported this problem, I can't help but think the what you pay is what you get is not really working, because the Coopers and Gibson Barnes and Willis Geiger and Orchard, just don't rip (or haven't yet after some 10 years).
I wonder what the craftsmanship back in the war were like, they must have been in a hurry to make jackets, but could the "planned obsolescence" be at play in today's jacket making?