Does anybody know EPALin Chicago??

[Seabrooke]

G'day guys,

A friend of mine (from back in Navy days) and his wife currently sailing their yacht around the world have ordered a new radar from EPAL in Chicago and might need some help on the ground so to speak.

At present they are in South East Asia and have been waiting 8 weeks for the unit to be delivered with all sorts of excuses from EPAL.

It seems EPAL are giving them the big run around.

There have been some heated discussions over email with EPAL saying that it's with DHL but they have no details of the shipment.

DHL apparently are being as helpful as they can be but they have not received the goods for shipment.

If required and if possible, is there anybody in the Chicago area that might be able to try to assist with direct contact?

As a result of the delay, Garry and Wendy are now in jeopardy of missing the weather window for sailing to Japan before the Monsoon season hits.

If anybody can help out I'll put you in direct contact with Garry and I know it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[lumina]

Hi All,

I don't think Bob meant to be sarcastic, it seems his initial post was brief based on lots of experience.

Let's all take a deep breath ok.

 

[Seabrooke]

I was simply asking if somebody could help.

But, in answer to your questions, the man is a 20 plus year experienced veteran and a weapons level electronics tech who, after leaving the navy, then ran one of the top motor racing teams in the country so he has a first class approach to how he goes about everything.

Being unable to source the particular radar system he had decided on within a reasonable time frame anywhere nearby (which, I expect, would have been a lot cheaper in Asia based on exchange rates) and the same result with his next choice, being here in Australia, he found supplier that said they had it in stock, and would ship the goods immediately - internationally, unlike some who won't.

As they are sailing around the world, local support is a little irrelevant and I have no idea what the pricing was. He has never mentioned it. I expect it would have needed to be fair and reasonable. Not because it was cheap.

They were also, at the time, at a marina on a small island in Malaysia where they could not even source toilet paper locally. Everything is shipped in.

The immediate shipping would have allowed him to install the radar, knowing he was working within a weather window (before the Monsoon Season), test, adjust etc., like any proper installation before setting of for their next country - Japan where he wanted the radar before entering their shipping area and also as they will be sailing through the Philippines and it would be nice to have early warning of approaching vessels - pirates.

Instead of shipping out immediately, the supplier is still wasting his time which is why I asked if anybody had contact or could help.

I don't think any of this is unreasonable and it would have been ridiculous to put this in the original post.

There was enough information for anybody in the Chicago area that could help to put their hand up.

I'll let him know that it seems unlikely.

 

[Boatsb]

Look them up online and you'll see they have lots of complaints about not shipping. They are not listed with garmin or raymarine as dealers and seem less than reliable.

I would think he would have seen that if he looked a bit harder.

 

[smoothmove]

"In stock" doesn't really mean what it used to mean. It looks like ePal is probably a "virtual distributor" and someone in their network of fulfillment centers probably showed stock and that may or may not be the case now.

The Chicago domicile for ePal is probably irrelevant. I goggle mapped the address. ... Nice house!

Sorry - not much help here.

ej

 

[Boatsb]

General Information on Epal Inc in Glen Ellyn, IL

Epal Inc's Category:*Tools in Glen Ellyn, IL

Epal Inc is listed under Industrial & Agriculture » Industrial Machinery & Equipment » Tools and is the only company in this industry in Glen Ellyn, IL


And

http://www.xommerce.com/company/city/glen-ellyn/5446/peltzer-and-ehlers-america-corp/5260901/

They also do sewer Cleaning. 5 minutes on the phone surfing and there's so much more. Not a company I would trust for sure.

 

[Seabrooke]

Thanks for the information.

I'll pass it on.

It certainly appears that they are drop shippers and that he'd better try to find an alternate source and get a refund.

 

[foleyjt]

Rick, sent a PM. let me know if I can assist.

 

[Seabrooke]

Thanks Jim, your're a gentleman.