jackrabbitmarine.com

[Microship]

It is being reported on The Hull Truth that they are filing for bankruptcy.

-Steve

[ssullivan]

That's a shame to hear... I had great luck with those people before they went under.

I wonder what is forcing them into bankruptcy? Maybe the slow climate selling boat stuff?

I know I took a BEATING selling all that expensive marine gear on eBay recently. Wow! I lost over 50% of what I paid for it all.

[hellosailor]

Maduro-
Bill is on the nose. At least here in the US, merchants are not allowed to process credit card transactions until they actually HAVE the merchandise and COMPLETE the order, unless there is something special being advance ordered, back-ordered, etc.

Explain to your credit card company that this was an order placed for repair parts for a vessel, on the basis that the parts were specifically in stock and would ship immediately, and that teh merchant appears to have gone out of business without shipping anything, and cannot be contacted.

Their policy may be that they don't do anything before 30 days--but if you ask them to treat this as a fraudulent transaction, they should be able to charge it back to the merchant immediately anyway. (And it is potentially fraud, he said it would ship at once, and it didn't, it is now up to him to justify the rest.) When all else fails--ask to speak to a supervisor and let them know you will be cancelling your card and dealing with a different company if this is how they behave. That should motivate them.

[David M]

Maduro,
Given the time frame, the lack of response to your inquiries and now the closing of the website, you need to contact your credit card company so that you can file a dispute for the charges against your credit card. You may or may not win, but this is your only chance I believe to have the charges against your credit card account reversed. I would not bother with threats or any other actions.

I'm sorry this happened.

[Pelagic]

Given the volume of business they do and the fact that probably a lot of unpaid suppliers have caused them to file bankruptcy… the last few loyal customers who pre-paid will probably get screwed unless the credit card company takes up your case for you and gets in line with the other creditors or writes it off for you

Bad way to spoil a great reputation!

Hope you get refunded ...let us know if you do as this is a grey area for most of us when bankruptcy is involved

[Maduro]

Thanks fellows for your support. I have been in touch with my cc and, although there is usually a 30 days grace period from the time the merchandise was supposed to be shipped, they will waive this period in case of a bankruptcy. I only have to provide them evidence to that effect. I should be getting my money back. I hope that everybody else that has purchased from jackrabbit also paid by credit card.

[GordMay]

Did you get a message from Jack Rabbit?

Evidently, Peter James, owner of Jack Rabbit Marine, sent the following e-mail:

"JackRabbit has closed and is filing for bankruptcy. I'm sorry that you got caught up in this mess. My understanding of the process is that the court appoints a trustee who is responsible for liquidating the assets of the company and reimbursing the creditors. Your contact information and the amount owed will be provided to the court as part of the filing. If you are not made whole by the trustee, I consider it my personal responsibility to make sure that eventually the full amount owed is returned to you."

[Sandero]

It's hard to know why they went bankrupt. As a retail operation they make their money on the spread between cost of goods, expenses and revenue. They had a very low overhead operation when I was there. No expensive retail space - they were located in a small location in an industrial park. The had one admin or perhaps two (I only saw one) and there seemed to be only two or three sales/tech people Steve and Peter and another fellow who actually came to my boat to test the Link. I am 1/2 hr from their operation. They did do some installation and service obviously and I did not pay for the service call. I heard talk of a Test Boat which who knows what that was and the expense of that for such a small operation and then there are the salaries and market expenses which might have been excessive.

If the revenue dropped off and the expenses stayed up there they would get into cash flow problems and being such a small company they might not have had a cushion. And there was the fact that the company was purchased from the previous owner and they may be servicing that debt which was not an expense line before it was sold.

It's hard to act as if (west marine) you have big shoulders when you are a small mom and pop working out of a warehouse in an industrial park. Big guys can work on closer margins because of volume.

JR tried to bundle in "service" with the price point, but that must have brought them down as being too expensive as a cost of their business model.

The road to hell is paved with good intention.

[Chief Engineer]

Things like this happen all the time in the marine retail business.

It happened in Annapolis when Fawcetts and Oceana combined. But I believe they are working it out.

Marinas/Boatyards who used to be able to get paint on credit...aren't paying their bills....poof....no paint COD only.

[Scottie2]

I was sure I read over a month ago on panbo.com that jackrabbit was going out of business and was having a sale. I can't seem to find the article any longer tho...

[AnchorageGuy]

Panbo's most recent response

Panbo: The Marine Electronics Weblog: Jack Rabbit Marine, down the hole?

[blahman]

All,

For the record, I bought $1000 in stuff from Jack Rabbit back in February and was very satisfied with the services, communication, and expertise they offered. The whole experience was great.

If any from Jack Rabbit read this - please know there are more people out there who liked your commitment. It has always been that the few who have issues are louder than the hundreds who had great experiences.

Whatever the reason for your closing, I am sorry and wish you the best in whatever you choose to explore next. I'm sure you'll stick to your service commitment there as you did with JRM.

Best to you all,
Aaron N.

[AnchorageGuy]

Originally Posted by blahman

All,

For the record, I bought $1000 in stuff from Jack Rabbit back in February and was very satisfied with the services, communication, and expertise they offered. The whole experience was great.

If any from Jack Rabbit read this - please know there are more people out there who liked your commitment. It has always been that the few who have issues are louder than the hundreds who had great experiences.

Whatever the reason for your closing, I am sorry and wish you the best in whatever you choose to explore next. I'm sure you'll stick to your service commitment there as you did with JRM.



Best to you all,
Aaron N.

That is all fine and good but any company heading to bankruptcy knows well in advance it is in trouble and continuing to take orders you know you won't fill and taking payment for them is not in my opinion a responsible act of a company that has customer service and commitment high on their priorities.

[Morgan Paul]

That is all fine and good but any company heading to bankruptcy knows well in advance it is in trouble and continuing to take orders you know you won't fill and taking payment for them is not in my opinion a responsible act of a company that has customer service and commitment high on their priorities.

I agree.

[knottybuoyz]

Originally Posted by Chuck Baier

That is all fine and good but any company heading to bankruptcy knows well in advance it is in trouble and continuing to take orders you know you won't fill and taking payment for them

Is this indeed not fraud in most juridictions?