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Marino Order


sevendave

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Hi guys, I ordered a Marino frame and forks some time ago and was just wondering about the length of time other people have waited for theirs.

I ordered something similar to an arcade, but with through axles front and rear and clearance around the chainstays for a Hope crankset, so nothing massively custom.

Anyway, after some emailing I sent a deposit over at the end of January, nearly 5 months ago, quite a bit longer than the 1-3 week estimate on the website! 

After I sent the deposit I waited through February and didn’t get any updates so emailed in early March and had no reply, then sent another email a couple of weeks later and he sent me a picture of the frame which was more or less done. Heard nothing more so sent another email early April and he sent another picture of the frame with seemingly no more work done, saying the axle for the fork was coming that week and it’ll be built ASAP.

Heard nothing more so sent an email nearly 3 weeks ago asking for an update, again heard nothing more so I’ve sent another email and I’m just waiting on a reply to that.

Is this normal for a Marino build? I was looking forward to getting the bike and the two pictures do look good but I’m getting close to the PayPal dispute deadline and wondering if I’ll ever get it and whether I should just bail out now and try and get my deposit back. Like I said, the website says 1-3 weeks for a custom build, I think at the time it said 3-5 weeks, it’s now getting on for 5 months.

Cheers

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Marino has wildly varying timescales and contact timelines. Sadly we can't tell you any more than you already know. Keep hounding him via email/Facebook, and if you've nothing to go on with the deadline looming, get PayPal involved - it'll probably give him the rocket up the backside he needs.

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Thanks Ross! That must be a hell of a jig to take 3 months! Anyway hopefully this will shift things along a bit. Still heard nothing via email, hopefully hear something this week or I’ll have to send another and try Facebook too. Didn’t realise he had a bit of a rep for not communicating unfortunately, the two pictures I’ve seen look good which makes the wait even worse.

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He needs it explaining to him that the communication is more important than the cutting, welding and copying that he does. Whether he does it himself or not, it’s been years and years that he’s been shit at that bit of his business  

I only care because I’ve bought and enjoyed two of his frames, and the cost he’d need to outlay on someone to communicate with his customers would be far exceeded by the extra he’d bring in with a better reputation. 

...or yea, we can just joke about it. 

Edited by JD™
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It's a shame after all the years that he does still have a delay in communication. Fortunately his work is worth the wait. He must be pretty flat out to still not have the time to get back to people. He's lucky to have people like Ross and other members of his team that are able to keep the cool a little bit. The batches of frames are the best idea they had. Imagine if they weren't designed by a 5' Scotsman, they'd be the rage! 

Once your frame is finished you have the absolutely shocking postage to wait for but unfortunately that is totally out of Marino's hands. 

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It's a shame really. His frames are pretty good these days (compared to when he first started) but the service side of things is a real let down. Don't get me wrong, people often expect too much given he's still "just" a bloke in his shed in Peru knocking out bike frames, but there's a whole load of expectation management which is way out of whack.

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Considering I paid less for my custom Marino frames than I would for any other new frame, and the quality was spot on, it was worth the wait for me.  I always wanted to try different geos and do something custom, but typically the price is astronomical.  That being said, I think it would help if he updated his website to reflect the actual time frame.

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On 19/06/2018 at 11:52 AM, Paperclip said:

It's put you off ordering from Marino in the next 5 months? 

That like a punishment sentence? 

 

That'll teach him! 

Hilarious! Got any others?

I've been considering going to Marino for a while now and reading this has put me off? 5 months is ridiculous. 

Edited by jack219
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1 hour ago, jack219 said:

Hilarious! Got any others?

I've been considering going to Marino for a while now and reading this has put me off? 5 months is ridiculous. 

Endless dad jokes. 

 

Speak to Ross. I phrased him above for what he does for Marino. Last time I got one it took 4 weeks and 2 of those was me getting the cheaper postage option because Yorkshire. 

 

 

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Yeah, I'd imagine mine has slipped between the cracks and just got lost in amongst the other frames he's doing.

Anyway, got an email yesterday from him apologising and double checking what colour I want the frame and forks, and he's said he'll ship for free and put in a free headset too, so hopefully it should be shipped out soon. Unfortunately I'm taking on a work contract next month which means I'll be out of the country until November so I'll have to wait until then to build it up and ride it.

Thanks for the help guys!

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Yep. That's got to be Daves. Looks great but shame the Marino guy failed to mention he was going on holiday around USA bike parks for months. Checked on his FB. 

That must be the real reason for it taking 5 months instead of the advertised 4 weeks. Little bit of communication could of solved everything.

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42 minutes ago, Ross McArthur said:

I've told him to take that off his website. Stop everyone's knickers getting in a twist.

Fairly legitimately in a twist though?  If I bought something for a reasonable chunk of money and didn't hear from the seller for a long time I'd be a little concerned too.

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19 minutes ago, Mark W said:

Fairly legitimately in a twist though?  If I bought something for a reasonable chunk of money and didn't hear from the seller for a long time I'd be a little concerned too.

Yep. Everyone's got a phone. Not that hard to email clients that have been waiting months for an update, after being told it's 4 weeks away.

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30 minutes ago, Mark W said:

Fairly legitimately in a twist though? 

Waiting a few months for a Marino isn't anything new. Its been the same for years and will be the same for years to come. I agree, its f**ked up but the worst he's done is not reply for a while. He hasn't run away to the jungle with anyone's money, yer man will still get his frame, the world will continue to turn.

Please, if anyone is having trouble with anything Marino related, don't hesitate to get in touch. (Y) 

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Nah, but the way you were putting it implied people who weren't buzzing about being left in the lurch for months were the ones at fault.  If you haven't been on TF for years and aren't aware of the situation you're getting yourself into then it's understandable to be wondering what's up, as Dave was when he made this post.

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A wee story for everyone.

Young lad buys a frame from Marino. Gets it, builds it, rides it, has a smile on his face. A year or so later sells it.

The buyer builds it, rides it, has a smile on his face. A few months later finds a crack. Marino finds out and offers to build him a replacement frame, knowing full well of the age and secondhandedness of the frame. New buyer gets free frame with free postage.

I'm not aware of any other companies who have that level of ah-hem, "customer service" :lol:

Pedro for president.

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