"It's been a while since I was on the forums but some of you will probably remember me.
When BEST started out they went direct to consumer, so this isn't that different.
What is different is that virtually none of the people who ran the company back then are left, and those who are left... So here's a tale, it's going to cost me £1600 but what the hell, it might save some of you some trouble and some money so i figure it's money well spent.
Back in the day the people who ran and represented BEST really gave a shit, Alex cared, Shannon cared, Peter cared, Stacey, Troy, the Jeffs and everyone else gave a damn. The business had grown from nothing and we were all part of it. Customer service was the most important thing and after that product and price were king. We were the punk kids of the kite industry, shops hated us, brands feared us and customers and riders loved the shit out of us. We'd turn up at a beach demo the gear, make friends, drink beer and have a great time on the water. It was kiting rock n roll.
Well that's not how it is now. Remember Miguel, the team rider who did the great travel videos, well he got stiffed for expenses and unpaid bills. Gisela, Ruben and Youri? Hell yeh, they all got screwed over too and either didn't get all their money or got fobbed off with payment in kites. I've still been doing their 3D work for them ever since I left over three years ago. Payment was always flakey, but I've still not been fully paid for work I submitted back in June 2015. In fact, do you see the 3D kite images that they are using to advertise their 0% sale, I created those and I haven't been fully paid for them yet. They still owe me £1600 for that work and I guess I've just kissed that goodbye.
It's not just the riders and the contractors though. Peter Stiewe the kite designer has just left them. Peter said he hasn't been paid this year...
So if you think that they have stocks of kite in the warehouse to sell to you at a huge discount, I would suggest that you consider it a deal that is too good to be true. Sure, some of you 'might' get your kites, but i think the most likely outcome is that you'll end up like me, Peter, Youri, Gisela, Ruben, Miguel and like many of the kite magazines that they have unpaid bills with.
F_cked over.
If you want to buy a BEST kite get it from your local dealer, at least they have stock and you know they're going to want to sell them now. Please think wisely before you send anyone money for kites. If a deal looks too good to be true it usually is.
It really hurts me to write this, not just because it's going to lose me £1600, ( I couldn't give a rats ass about that actually) but because we built something great, something meaningful, BEST changed the industry and made kiting affordable and more fun for a lot of people.
It might have the same name over the door, but it certainly ain't BEST any more.
Have fun, keep your money in your wallet and kite safe.
Simon"
By ostudzic emocje =]