MaxJax Group Buy Announcement

[cw_racefan]

It didn't. His point is that this was supposed to be a "special" for GJ members, but since it turned into such a cluster f*** because of all the people joining who will never be back or contribute, that members who showed interest HERE not by way of other links or sites should get first dibs.

Oh well, guess they don't feel that way, and don't care if they piss off a bunch of people. Prior to this they definitely would have gotten my $$, now maybe they will, maybe they won't. At the group buy price it was worth it, not sure it is at full price considering what else is out there.

 

[cw_racefan]

BTW...If Danmar was telling people to come sign up here to get in on it, that just pisses me off even more! Just proves it they didn't intend for it to be for GJ members only as they touted in the announcement.

 

[tatra]

interesting that i suggested the group buy, been a member since dec 07 and am a senoir member, yet i'm not on this list?................i also voiced an opinion that allowed not only canadians to be eleigble but also hawaii and alaska to be included as well.........
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24033&highlight=maxjax&page=2

 

[sundialracing]

I think from Dannmar's standpoint this situation is better than having no takers on the group buy.

I hold no grudges against them, at $1500 I was a buyer. At $1700 I'll still be a buyer, at $2000 I might be but I'm going to look at some other options before I pull the trigger.

 

[rinker1]

interesting that i suggested the group buy, been a member since dec 07 and am a senoir member, yet i'm not on this list?................i also voiced an opinion that allowed not only canadians to be eleigble but also hawaii and alaska to be included as well.........
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24033&highlight=maxjax&page=2

First of all, the list cannot be ruled an accurate list of members being the first twenty submitting for the lift, it only shows the first twenty that voiced their concerns with the site having problems.This truly was not a well thought out contest, can only hope after Monday it goes better and we can all get back to our garages.

 

[v8garage]

I am glad I didn't get involved with this, what a mess! My head hurts just from reading about it!

 

[CanyonRS4]

I signed up on the Dannmar site months ago regarding this lift and got an email from them announcing the GB through this forum. I was unaware of this site, great by the way and is bookmarked!, but the rules of the GB did not state that you had to be a member by a certain date. I joined and played by the rules which is all one can do.

I understand the frustration but the GB did attract new members, some will contribute and some will never come back, just the way it is I guess.

Here is the email I received:

Hope Your Typing Skills Are in Order
Garage Journal Group Buy
February 15th, 2009 - 3:00PM PST

With all the hype going on over the MaxJax on Garage Journal, we're not sure if this reminder is actually needed. Just in case you missed it, this Sunday, February 15th at 3:00PM PST, the first 20 Garage Journal members receive the Ultimate Garage Lift by Dannmar for a special price of $1,500.

Here are the complete details:​

Available to Garage Journal Members residing in the United States and Canada. (Members living in Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada will have shipping charges applied.)
First come, first serve - the first 20 interested buyers that sign up and hit "submit" will be awarded the special price of $1,500.00 delivered.
Official sign-up will begin exactly 3:00pm, Pacific Time, Sunday February, 15, 2009.
To sign up, go to http://www.maxjaxusa.com/groupbuy and enter the username: MaxJaxGB and password: GBMaxPass.
After the first 20 Garage Journal Members have been verified, the contest will close and results will be posted shortly after.
Only one MaxJax per buyer.
We appreciate your continued support at Garage Journal. If you have any questions involving the Garage Journal Group Buy, please do not hesitate to contact us directly at 1-877-432-6627 or email us [email protected].

Sincerely,

The Dannmar Team​

I think they just underestimated the response and the site was overloaded and it crashed. It was explained as a "contest" in this forum and they should play by the rules they posted, you can't change the rules after the fact.

Glad to be here and hope to learn somthing and contribute if I can.

Thanks for reading, just my opinion.

Brian
Denver

 

[PAToyota]

As Junkman points out, Jeff first gave GJ the details on the lift back in October and then followed up with the promise of a group buy when he posted more information in November. Quite a few of us expressed significant interest in the product, including people ready to put money down on the spot, and we were led to believe that we'd be eligible for a special deal as soon as the lift was made available to the public.

I realize that Jeff isn't involved anymore when it passed from being a BendPak product to being a Dannmar product. But while this "special group buy" was advertised a month off on this board with great hoopla, they were apparently giving an unlimited group buy special (granted, at not as great a price) over on the Cobra board - no jump through the hoops on one special day, but a couple weeks with no limit to the people who can get in on it.

I'm not going to argue who "deserves" to be eligible for this contest, but consider that it was touted as a "special" deal for only GJ members. Then we find out that Dannmar is sending out e-mails telling people to get over here and get in on the contest?

PLEASE NOTE: THIS PROMOTION IS FOR GARAGE JOURNAL USERS ONLY. YOU MUST PROVIDE US WITH YOUR USER NAME. ALL USER NAMES WILL BE VERIFIED BEFORE BEING PLACED IN THE TOP 20.

Then Dannmar tries to tell us that the news "leaked" out?

One thing we were afraid of...

The word got out to a lot of car forums out there. We received hundreds of inbound links.

Come on... If you're going to make it a public contest then just advertise it on Dannmar's site as a public contest and be done with it. It obviously wasn't intended to benefit GJ or its members in any way.

For me, the lift still has a lot of potential for my application. But the whole song and dance, dog and pony show is a bit much...

 

[tatra]

well gj 's membership is up, so someone is ahead..........

 

[Mezzanine]

Wow, I am surprised to see all of the bitching here- I happened to join GJ recently, for no reason related to the group buy. I AM interested in the offer though. Just because I haven't been here long automatically means I am only in it for the deal? BS. Who can say that just because someone is new that they won't become a valuable member to the community here in the future?

I am especially impressed by all the crying about what is "fair". **** fair. This is MaxJax's group buy, and they can run it any way they want. Complaining that something isn't fair is a habit that you all should have dropped in kindergarten. This entitlement mentality is exactly what is wrong with our society. Fair. What a load of ****.

To the people at Dannmar and MaxJax, I say good for you, and thanks. It is very good of you to offer up a special discount here, especially when business is tight for everyone. I would love to get in on your discount, but it won't break my heart if I don't. In my limited experience with your company through this group buy offer, I have been nothing but impressed. Again, thanks.


Before you all complain about what is fair, tell me this- who else is conducting group buy offers for lifts? Yes, Dannmar and MaxJax have had some technical difficulties. And? I am sure they will make good on the offer of 20 lifts at the discounted rate. Who they sell them to is up to them. Not what you might decide is "fair."

Respectfully,
Mezz

 

[bobforman]

Those of us in the 356 Forum have been discussing the MaxJax and Easylift and others for some time. I too got the email this week re: the group buy. Didn't know about GJ before this time but am now a member. It appears to be a good forum for us do it yourselfers. I found the 3 oclock exercise as a blind dog in a meat market.

This has been a perfect example of classic economics. They can sell all they can make at 1500 but sales are iffy at anything above. I'll be back to my jack and jack stands until their marketing dept. gets its stuff together again and make another offer of this nature.

 

[wachuko]

First of all, the list cannot be ruled an accurate list of members being the first twenty submitting for the lift, it only shows the first twenty that voiced their concerns with the site having problems.This truly was not a well thought out contest, can only hope after Monday it goes better and we can all get back to our garages.

True, I meant it just as a suggestion... people were complaining and first thing I thought was, rather than complain, provide an alternate solution to the situation.

I hope they make it right...

They should also go over the web server settings... 100 connections crashing a site! That thing must be running of a very old machine...

 

[FunfDreisig]

I am glad I didn't get involved with this, what a mess! My head hurts just from reading about it!

Me too! IMHO Danmar has managed to turn Jeff's great PR move -- a GJ group purchase -- into a serious PR fiasco by adding this "timed contest" aspect and hyping it well above any reasonable expectation to handle the response. Even if their servers were working properly, the "contest" was certain to make more people mad, than happy - DUH.

FWIW I was seriously interested when Jeff announced it as a BendPak product because of the ability to "install" it at multiple locations (e.g. any bay in my garage). I was willing to take a chance with a new product at a lower introductory price for GJ members. BUT...When Danmar re-announced it and added the carnival "contest" aspect, I decided to wait a see how well it turns out for the early adopters. I may still buy one later, but I'll probably go back to Plan A and get a proven full height 2 post asymmetric lift.

Funf Dreisig

 

[427HISS]

I agree with you guys that support Jeff, we all just have to cool down and give them a break. I seriously doubt, Jeff or anyone else thought there would be this much interest. It's a brand new product and when company's market a item, most of the time you really have no idea how much to produce, and when this buy was set up, I'm sure the site host underestimated what was needed.
Jeff and Dannmar will not screw anyone and will figure out what is best for everyone involved. People make mistakes and computers go down so, every one just settle down, stop all the complaining and vulgarer remarks and comments. If you put yourself in their shoes, can you honestly say that this would not of happened to you ? I don't think so.

 

[fattogatto]

This has been a perfect example of classic economics. They can sell all they can make at 1500 but sales are iffy at anything above. I'll be back to my jack and jack stands until their marketing dept. gets its stuff together again and make another offer of this nature.

I spoke with a gent and was told the price for the units after the GJ sale was over would be $1800 plus shipping for a distributor (5 units a month) or $2000 plus shipping for an ordinary Joe.

 

[Hellcat6]

I'm a new guy here too. Didn't join because of the lift and don't want one. I joined as a result of interest in flooring. I like it here, it is a friendly and informative site that is fun to read. Perhaps over time I will feel like I can contribute at the same level as so many of you other experienced and educated members.

But come on! Look at what you are doing to your own community over a few dollars. I understand the importance of saving on your projects. Seems to me that this action is FUBAR and cannot be saved in it's current form. The plan needs to be revised. Some good ideas on how to do that here. Maybe the focus should be on how best to now distribute the 20 available slots. A simple drawing perhaps? How about anyone intersted buy a chance for $20, proceeds going to support the site or a charity, then draw 20 winners. Stupid ideas? Fine, let's hear some others

 

[Junkman]

I'm a new guy here too. Didn't join because of the lift and don't want one. I joined as a result of interest in flooring. I like it here, it is a friendly and informative site that is fun to read. Perhaps over time I will feel like I can contribute at the same level as so many of you other experienced and educated members.

But come on! Look at what you are doing to your own community over a few dollars. I understand the importance of saving on your projects. Seems to me that this action is FUBAR and cannot be saved in it's current form. The plan needs to be revised. Some good ideas on how to do that here. Maybe the focus should be on how best to now distribute the 20 available slots. A simple drawing perhaps? How about anyone intersted buy a chance for $20, proceeds going to support the site or a charity, then draw 20 winners. Stupid ideas? Fine, let's hear some others

Government subsidized program to buy lifts???????

 

[Axis11]

Did anyone check the original signup link?
The page says that due to "technical difficulties" information didn't get sent or recieved so today they are going to announce a new date for signup.

Apparently their servers couln't handle all the traffic they recieved, which is exactly what I thought would happen.
You can't shop around a deal like to this to multiple forums and not expect your server to get slammed.

Get ready for round two of the madness. This whole thing reminds me of one of those sales where people rush in as soon as the doors are open and start grabbing anything they can whether they want it or not just to get something before the other guy.

I'm ready to knock some old ladies over and grab the last item on the shelf; who's with me?

 

[Jack T.]

Did anyone check the original signup link?
The page says that due to "technical difficulties" information didn't get sent or recieved so today they are going to announce a new date for signup.

Apparently their servers couln't handle all the traffic they recieved, which is exactly what I thought would happen.
You can't shop around a deal like to this to multiple forums and not expect your server to get slammed.

Get ready for round two of the madness. This whole thing reminds me of one of those sales where people rush in as soon as the doors are open and start grabbing anything they can whether they want it or not just to get something before the other guy.

I'm ready to knock some old ladies over and grab the last item on the shelf; who's with me?

Yeah, lets get those elbows swinging.

Personally, I think it's generous of Danmar to offer 20 units at such a discounted price. They aren't under any obligation to sell at anything below retail if that's their choice. Let's give them a chance to sort it all out if they want to. It doesn't do any good to criticize a vendor when they're trying to do a good thing. It just proves the adage "No good deed goes unpunished".

No connection to Danmar, and I've been a member since before the offer.

Jack Terrick
Greensburg, PA

 

[Axis11]

Yeah, lets get those elbows swinging.

Personally, I think it's generous of Danmar to offer 20 units at such a discounted price. They aren't under any obligation to sell at anything below retail if that's their choice. Let's give them a chance to sort it all out if they want to. It doesn't do any good to criticize a vendor when they're trying to do a good thing. It just proves the adage "No good deed goes unpunished".

No connection to Danmar, and I've been a member since before the offer.

Jack Terrick
Greensburg, PA

Exactly. It is very generous to offer this at the price point that they did. their other group buys where no where near as good as this one so i give them credit for that. It's just that a lift like that for 15 hundy will almost certainly incite riot type conditions and the strong emotions that have followed.

Perhaps they should have presented it differently instead of saying "for garage journal members only" which may be interpeted as someone who has been a member and contributed to this site for a specified amount of time.

You joined 5 months before me; I joined a year ago. I just didn't post until I caught the tool fever that grips quite a few of the members here.

In a situation like this, you can't please everyone. And while some new people may stay and contribute to this site, they may be hard feelings remaining.

 

[89C4]

Its interesting how everyone (at least the 'senior members') thinks that there should be some preferential treatment to people who were GJ members for months before anyone else.

Frankly, I'd never even heard of MaxJax or GJ until a Rennlist poster on the Porsche 964 forum mentioned the lifts in a general discussion of 'does anyone know anything about this lift?' Another poster mentioned there was a group buy scheduled and posted the link to it. I joined GJ and found the site to be pretty informative and its members offered lots of useful garage ideas etc.

That was about a month ago. I've never posted as I haven't had any earth shaking new garage / shop ideas, but plan to share any ideas or thoughts I had when appropriate. The way I see it, you will always get members that contribute a lot and those that don't and thats nothing special on forums. Typically the members do support the sponsors, especially if they have a hugely popular, if not untried product to offer, ie MaxJax.

I have never been involved in a group buy that a maximum number of participants. Sure, there is always a minimum number, but maximum? No way, the more you sign up the better the deal usually gets. Just sayin is all.

Lynn

 

[wachuko]

Its interesting how everyone (at least the 'senior members') thinks that there should be some preferential treatment to people who were GJ members for months before anyone else.

Frankly, I'd never even heard of MaxJax or GJ until a Rennlist poster on the Porsche 964 forum mentioned the lifts in a general discussion of 'does anyone know anything about this lift?' Another poster mentioned there was a group buy scheduled and posted the link to it. I joined GJ and found the site to be pretty informative and its members offered lots of useful garage ideas etc.

That was about a month ago. I've never posted as I haven't had any earth shaking new garage / shop ideas, but plan to share any ideas or thoughts I had when appropriate. The way I see it, you will always get members that contribute a lot and those that don't and thats nothing special on forums. Typically the members do support the sponsors, especially if they have a hugely popular, if not untried product to offer, ie MaxJax.

I have never been involved in a group buy that a maximum number of participants. Sure, there is always a minimum number, but maximum? No way, the more you sign up the better the deal usually gets. Just sayin is all.

Lynn

Hello Lynn!

 

[AffableCurmudgeon]

I am a recent member and joined to get advice on which mid rise lift to buy. Did not join to get a deal on MaxJax. Got great advice, insights and even pictures on my mid rise lift question.

I am not going to buy a MaxJax because I need a mid rise so I have no interest in how the 20 promised lifts get allocated. However, I am very disappointed that in the same forum where people took to the time educate me on the topic that I had posed, there are people, who in order to save a few dollars, want to exlude those members who have not posted as much as others or have not been around as long as others.

So, I ask those who want to exclude the newbies: How far are you willing to take this? Should the quantity of posts by a member be sufficient or should we take it one step further and evaluate the quality of their posts as well? In other words, is it enough to say that Person A, who posted 100 messages should get a cheaper lift or should we look to see the soundness of advice given by Person A as well?

Folks, you don't always get what you want; deal with it.

 

[89C4]

Hello Jaime!

Gee, did this thing take a strange turn or what?

I took the time to call Danmar a month ago and told them I thought they had a potential train wreck on their hands. Guess they found out yesterday, huh. I haven't seen anything today telling us what to do, have you?

Lynn

 

[wachuko]

Hello Jaime!

Gee, did this thing take a strange turn or what?

I took the time to call Danmar a month ago and told them I thought they had a potential train wreck on their hands. Guess they found out yesterday, huh. I haven't seen anything today telling us what to do, have you?

Lynn

Nothing yet. Their site still has the same message. I did send them a PM via here. I am guessing they are trying to figure out how to do this without running into the same situation with the customers.

Either that or they are pushing their suppliers to bring down the price for all of us to buy it at the GB price.

 

[Richard Givan]

Ok, first I wish to explain that I did not hurl myself into the melee on ****** Sunday, nor do I intend to go after one of these lift deals.

I joined the forum last November after a year of spotty lurking, at first because I was researching flooring choices and gradually morphing into deeper and broader interests regarding tools, paint schemes, air lines--name it. Although I don't post a lot (my interest in this area far outstrips my fund of knowledge that's worth sharing), I now spend more time on this forum than any other net activity by far.

This is just me talking here, but this whole unfortunate mess seems like a publicity/marketing/hype stunt that went farther than it should have. As such I have to blame the vendor in question. I have skimmed the postings over the past few months regarding the "Ultimate Garage Lift" with amusement that the best possible lift doesn't go to head-height clearance and some slight irritation that some company was touting its products so blatantly. Don't get me wrong, I would like to have one, but honestly not enough to pay two large, or even $1500 for it.

But when it came to light that agents of the company have gone fishing through other forums to lure people with little sincere interest into joining this forum just to get into a lottery for a deal, I have to believe (being the cynic I am) that they are merely trying to whip up interest and competition into a feeding frenzy so guys will buy their product even if they don't get their mitts on a winning ticket.

This forum is left with the aftermath of resentment and hard feelings that already has gotten downright ugly not just between the Johnny-come-latelys and the veterans, but throughout the membership. And the longer this machete-fight atmosphere continues, the more the company stands to profit through promoting desire for their lifts. Again, the cynic in me questions whether their server breakdown excuse is genuine or a part of a plan to whip up further interest.

If the Max-Jack people are serious about serving the community to which they cater, they have a great opportunity to step up and offer their product at the G-J price to everybody on the forum with a cut-off date of having joined by last Sunday. I bet that they would make some money on each unit sold at that price, and, with the economy in the shambles it is, it's more important that they keep product moving out the door at a tiny profit than it is to make a big return on a small number of units. And the G-J folks would be the most avid army of non-paid salesmen they could hope for for years to come.

 

[jh_m5]

Thank you for not welcoming a new member... I was really starting to enjoy this forum that maxjax helped me find.

Ill be looking out for updates on the GB.

 

[Richard Givan]

Hmm, as a relatively new member myself, I certainly intended no slight toward other newbs. I apologize for any perception of criticism toward anyone who has recently joined with a sincere interest in this forum. My post was directed at the unfortunate circumstance that I have seen developing caused by the hard feelings over the great lift lotto debacle.

To anyone who has been made aware of this forum by any means, and who finds it of genuine interest, I absolutely welcome your presence and participation.

 

[G-force]

Thank you for not welcoming a new member...

 

[G-force]

Hmm, as a relatively new member myself, I certainly intended no slight toward other newbs. I apologize for any perception of criticism toward anyone who has recently joined with a sincere interest in this forum. My post was directed at the unfortunate circumstance that I have seen developing caused by the hard feelings over the great lift lotto debacle.

To anyone who has been made aware of this forum by any means, and who finds it of genuine interest, I absolutely welcome your presence and participation.

No need to apologize. I think you points were unbiased and accurate.

 

[cw_racefan]

Richard - Here here....coudn't have said it better!

 

[GYOGI65]

Let me know when this comes available

 

[fattogatto]

But when it came to light that agents of the company have gone fishing through other forums to lure people with little sincere interest into joining this forum just to get into a lottery for a deal, I have to believe (being the cynic I am) that they are merely trying to whip up interest and competition into a feeding frenzy so guys will buy their product even if they don't get their mitts on a winning ticket.

Again, the cynic in me questions whether their server breakdown excuse is genuine or a part of a plan to whip up further interest.

If the Max-Jack people are serious about serving the community to which they cater, they have a great opportunity to step up

However, their Internet Marketing guru did have the time to tout the fact that they will be featured in some doo-dad TV show. I would think they should be doing some sort of damage control.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30391

 

[jay50]

Let me know when this comes available

'Sure will....after the contest is over....

 

[gcan]

Honestly I'm surprised, their business must be so good potential customers aren't an issue....there are a lot of companies that wish they had customers to piss off. I hope their business holds up...didn't they say after the second fiasco that new instructions would be posted today??

 

[TRex-Dannmar]

However, their Internet Marketing guru did have the time to tout the fact that they will be featured in some doo-dad TV show. I would think they should be doing some sort of damage control.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30391

Hello Charlie,



Of course this sounds a bit biased, but we're pretty stoked over this venture. Should be interesting to see how the MaxJax can be used in a commercial setting like an auto fabrication shop.

Hope you're able to watch it!

PS. Update on the Group Buy will be posted soon. Still working out some kinks.

 

[Thomarann]

Its interesting how everyone (at least the 'senior members') thinks that there should be some preferential treatment to people who were GJ members for months before anyone else.

Frankly, I'd never even heard of MaxJax or GJ until a Rennlist poster on the Porsche 964 forum mentioned the lifts in a general discussion of 'does anyone know anything about this lift?' Another poster mentioned there was a group buy scheduled and posted the link to it. I joined GJ and found the site to be pretty informative and its members offered lots of useful garage ideas etc.

That was about a month ago. I've never posted as I haven't had any earth shaking new garage / shop ideas, but plan to share any ideas or thoughts I had when appropriate. The way I see it, you will always get members that contribute a lot and those that don't and thats nothing special on forums. Typically the members do support the sponsors, especially if they have a hugely popular, if not untried product to offer, ie MaxJax.

I have never been involved in a group buy that a maximum number of participants. Sure, there is always a minimum number, but maximum? No way, the more you sign up the better the deal usually gets. Just sayin is all.

Lynn

Hi Lynn, welcome to GJ!

I was not in on this GB (as I have a scissor lift and I'm in the market for a full-height asymmetric 2-post lift) but I was rooting for Jaime!

Marc

 

[goblue1998]

As a price reference, I have found two vendors with the MaxJax on their websites.

One had it listed at $1989 but they are not in stock and can't order (http://www.gesusa.com/Dannmar-MaxJax-Two-Post-Lift-p/1375659.htm).

The other has it for $1889 (available to purchase) and shipping to Detroit MI area was $150 (http://www.eautotools.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MaxJax&CartID=1).

I thought this was interesting because up until I found this, I was just guessing at what the "street" price would be.

 

[TRex-Dannmar]

Please go here http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30425 for update.

 

[jmimac351]

Hello Charlie,



Of course this sounds a bit biased, but we're pretty stoked over this venture. Should be interesting to see how the MaxJax can be used in a commercial setting like an auto fabrication shop.

Hope you're able to watch it!

PS. Update on the Group Buy will be posted soon. Still working out some kinks.

TRex, hyping your product in the middle of a fiasco is an interesting marketing approach. A lot of people were planning to make a significant purchase, the plan blew up, and you thought today was a good day to hype the product even more knowing you had no answers for potential customers. Either you're planning to open this wide open for a period of time or you have rather unique customer relations skills. I'm curious to find out which it is.