Availability of Lopi Leyden stoves?

[chillyinNH]

Hello. I purchased a Lopi Leyden in early June, 2008 and was told the delivery time would be end of september to october. Now, the shop I bought it from is telling me they have no idea when my order will be fulfilled.

Does anyone have insight on the availability of the Lopi Leyden? such as how backed up the factory is or whether they're catching up with demand . . . etc

My specific concern is for southern NH

 

[fireme]

As a Lopi dealer I can tell you that my sales rep has informed me that at the earliest it will be end of OCT. Again at the earliest.

 

[kd460]

So people who bought one in early june won't get one till october (if then)? What about the people who bought one in august? Something don't seem right. What have they been doing for 3 months?

I am not in the market for a stove/insert, but the same thing seem to happen every year. I can understand someone trying to buy a stove in september or october getting delayed, but man, isn't june early enough? KD

 

[fireme]

Well Im not sure where you are located but im in the midwest and my rep said they have allocated numbers for each territory of the US. Each month they will ley each region have so many stoves. Now if a particular region has not used up their alocated amount they then will release them to other territories. Stoves especially cast iron are in HUGE DEMAND and the forecast is that it is going to get much much worse. I have been in the hearth business for 16 years and can honestly say this is the earliest burn season has kicked in. We are seeing more people after wood and pellet stoves than ever before. That includes y2k.

 

[cmonSTART]

And this caught them by surprise?

 

[fireme]

Im not sure that it caught them by surprise. I do know that last year every tom,dick, and harry out there were supposed to buy pellet stoves. So these mfgrs. vamped up and made a butt load of them only to see their projections burst. This combined with china eating up cast supplies has put dealers and customers in a bind. Believe me I would love to sell tons of stoves if I could get them. I do know that travis industries has shifts around the clock making stoves and still cant keep up with demand.

 

[kd460]

Just seems goofy, you have one company go out of business or chapter 11, or whatever (Vermont castings), and another cranking them out as fast as they can. I wonder what the quality control is like?

The price of pellets and the fact they go up every year did not help the pellet stove end of it.

I agree, increased demand this year should not have come as a surprise, fuel prices have been up for a long time now. Sounds like the typical create a shortage to keep prices high. Why does that sound so familiar? I'm not knocking the dealers, they are caught in the middle. Just seems someone could have been better prepared.

Like I mentioned earlier, it seems every fall, we get lots of posts on this board about arrival dates getting postponed. Seems a shame. Even discouraging.

Next thing will be the cheaper import knock offs and the fly by night installs due to high demand. I guess buyer beware regarding stoves and inserts and homeowner beware regarding installations. Stick with a licensed and highly recommended professional installer! Get permits to cover you and our families behind! KD

 

[chillyinNH]

Thanks for the insight.

We bought the stove for the long-term difference it will make in our heating bills so I'm okay with Nov/Dec - I'm not sure if my dealer knows something they're not telling me. I am okay with an expected date, even if it is in Jan/Feb - I am a bit frustrated by, "I have no idea".

 

[R&D Guy]

Just seems goofy, you have one company go out of business or chapter 11, or whatever (Vermont castings), and another cranking them out as fast as they can. I wonder what the quality control is like?

The price of pellets and the fact they go up every year did not help the pellet stove end of it.

I agree, increased demand this year should not have come as a surprise, fuel prices have been up for a long time now. Sounds like the typical create a shortage to keep prices high. Why does that sound so familiar? I'm not knocking the dealers, they are caught in the middle. Just seems someone could have been better prepared.

Like I mentioned earlier, it seems every fall, we get lots of posts on this board about arrival dates getting postponed. Seems a shame. Even discouraging.

Next thing will be the cheaper import knock offs and the fly by night installs due to high demand. I guess buyer beware regarding stoves and inserts and homeowner beware regarding installations. Stick with a licensed and highly recommended professional installer! Get permits to cover you and our families behind! KD

The hearth industry as a whole is so small it cannot supply the public with alternative heat during an energy crisis. Y2K is another example of this when people bought up all the gas and wood stoves.

When you look at the different threads there are always new ones about people not getting their stoves, or not being able to find one. The industry simply isn't big enough to handle it.

Just wait until it starts getting cold and all the procrastinators go out and try and buy a stove, or finally put in that pellet order.

As you see first it's the pellet stoves, then the cast iron wood stoves. I think (key word) Vermont Castings was the only mfg who made their castings in the US. The rest import off shore which first off means a 4 week delay between the time the mfg says ramp up and they start getting more stoves, and that's if they can ramp-up same day. Then there is the issue of molds - you can only make so many stoves a day with so many molds. Different story with plate steel units. You ask for more material and the steel guys drop another truckload or 3 the next day.

 

[coreystaf]

Fireme, where in the midwest are you?

 

[BJ64]

Well Im not sure where you are located but im in the midwest and my rep said they have allocated numbers for each territory of the US. Each month they will ley each region have so many stoves. Now if a particular region has not used up their alocated amount they then will release them to other territories. Stoves especially cast iron are in HUGE DEMAND and the forecast is that it is going to get much much worse. I have been in the hearth business for 16 years and can honestly say this is the earliest burn season has kicked in. We are seeing more people after wood and pellet stoves than ever before. That includes y2k.

That explains a few things.

I ordered my stove in the first week of August and it arrived at the dealership about the 20th. When I picked it up they said it came from Georgia? It is still sitting here on the pallet next to my desk waiting for me to install it. My closest dealer was 60 some miles away in Arkansas. The dealer stated that they was having quite a run on stoves of all types and I did notice that their store room was rather empty.

I thought I was just being smart but now it seems that I was rather lucky.

 

[fireme]

cory I am in kansas city market

 

[thoude3]

Just got a call from my dealer. He said my leyden pellet stove will be in earlier than they had previously thought. I ordered it back in May/June and they told me Dec or Jan. Talked to my dealer today and said to expect a call soon as he's been told the stoves will be in Oct/Nov. Good news to me as it starts getting cold in Maine about this time. I thought I was planning well in advance. I think a lot of people are going to be caught paying the oil man. My neighbors are just starting to talk about getting a wood/pellet stove. Good luck I tell them. As an aside, the reason I bought a pellet stove was just to keep my money in the local economy. I think that's more important than ever. :coolsmile:

 

[The Dali Lima]

While the post about the small size of the market makes some sense, I must say that this industry is really strange. It feels like the business model is to NOT overproduce and have stock sitting around. In other words, "we'd rather lose customers than have to eat stock"... The end result appears to be customers who decide to purchase a product from a competitor instead of waiting, or the customer waits until the product comes in... it is just weird. Where is the customer service? I'm not knocking the dealers, because they get what they can from the manufacturers... It also appears that the majority of the manufacturers are from the USA, Canada and Northern Europe. I wonder what would happen if the Asian market decided to start mass-producing these things at crazy low prices? I know that is unlikely ... oh yeah, wait a minute, remember Datson, Toyota, Honda?

 

[fossil]

I don't think this is a typical year for the industry. I think recent (couple years) unexpectedly large rise in conventional (traditional) energy costs has taken everyone by surprise...consumers, and service providers, and manufacturers alike. And I think many would-be consumers are trying to jump in pretty late in the game imagining that there must be warehouses stuffed full of woodstoves stacked on pallets just waiting to be bought & delivered. If I owned a factory that made woodstoves, I don't think I'd have decided, in the absence of a significant increase in actual orders, to ramp up my production (with all the attendant costs and risks associated with such a decision) based soley on what I saw happening with the price of oil. I dunno...just speculating here. Rick

 

[The Dali Lima]

Rick, I'm totally speculating here as well, but from what I've read here and elsewhere, the shortage of stoves isn't a 2008 phenomenon. My understanding is that stove lead-time has been tough for the past few years. I'm purchasing mine with the understanding of "when it is in, it is in"... so no worries here. But as a consumer it is frustrating when you go to a store in August (90+ degrees) and the second thing the salesperson says to you is, "I'd put a deposit down while we have them because you might not get one in 2008."

Aside from inventory, the entire industry is strange. You can't find a stove price unless you go and see a salesperson. I can't stand salespeople (sorry if I offend anyone here) so I try to avoid talking to them until I'm ready to purchase. It is almost impossible to research costs on the net before going to a store because of the strange secrecy within this industry. It could be that the market is so small that the information just isn't widely available... i dunno. It was a bit frustrating for me.

 

[fossil]

I hear ya, and I've felt the same frustration from time to time. I'm just wondering (without any data to back it up) whether or not this is a particularly challenging time for them (the manufacturers). Last year I bought two stoves...my CFM came right off the floor at Lowe's, the Lopi had to be ordered because of the trim options. The Lopi took something like two or three weeks, but it was there right on schedule as quoted by the dealer when I ordered it. Today, I'm thinking I wouldn't have that same kind of buying experience...based mostly on what I've been reading here on the forum. Dunno, maybe I just have two stoves that nobody else wants. %-P Rick

 

[hikerjohnm]

In Central NH and we ordered a Lopi Leydon pellet stove in June...we had an install date of the first week in September and were told the day before that they don't know when they'll come in, and that we're "on the list". Anyone know exactly how they're figuring out this list? I was told it came from the distributor in Mass...I think we made a mistake ordering from a locally owned, smaller business.

Anyone know a way to chase this down? How are others dealing with this delay?
THanks,
John in Moultonborough

 

[cilasl]

I guess we were lucky.

Orderd the Lopi Leyden August 27, 2008. Received a call from dealer two weeks later asking when we would like to schedule the delivery/installation.

Finished install September 22, 2008. Now waiting for the inspection before we fire it up.

located in Michigan Thumb Area

 

[chillyinNH]

In Central NH and we ordered a Lopi Leydon pellet stove in June...we had an install date of the first week in September and were told the day before that they don't know when they'll come in, and that we're "on the list". Anyone know exactly how they're figuring out this list? I was told it came from the distributor in Mass...I think we made a mistake ordering from a locally owned, smaller business.

Anyone know a way to chase this down? How are others dealing with this delay?
THanks,
John in Moultonborough

John,

I'm curious where you bought your stove. I live in the Seacoast/Durham area and because of a friend's referral, I worked with Woodman's Forge & Fireplace in Wakefield, NH.

The salesperson was very helpful and friendly so I felt comfortable going with them and put my deposit down on a Lopi Leyden - however, after putting down my deposit, I've gotten mixed signals from the other employees there. One woman that answers the phones there has been borderline rude. . . I haven't run into her when I've called the last couple of months so maybe she no longer works there.. . ??? Anyways, the other staff has been very kind even though they couldn't give me details on expected ship dates.

I'm a big advocate in going with locally-owned businesses instead of Home Depot or Lowes. . .so I'm totally willing to have more patience with my local dealer. but I want Woodman's Forge to understand that I want honest, friendly communication - set my expectations appropriately so I know what to expect. I get the sense they're not sure how to deal with all the demand they're experiencing and are a bit overwhelmed.

Anyways, Woodman's fire and forge has been as helpful as they can be - Just wish the stove would come in so I could stop worrying about it.

 

[BJ64]

Chilly,

Were you trying to buy the pellet stove or the wood stove?

We have a wood burning Leyden in the area still on the pallet that could be shipped..

 

[branchburner]

I didn't have any problems getting pricing - visit the stove review section on this site and it's pretty funny (or not) to track the price increases over recent years! I don't like dealing w/ salesmen either, but a few phone calls and emails and I knew exactly how much I was going to pay for my brand new Harman Oakwood. What I didn't know, but quickly found out, was that I'd have to wait a full year.

I don't think it's a strange business model at all for an industry to run lean on inventory. The internet has really changed the way business is done in many areas. While nobody wants to lose a customer, having something in physical inventory is more often seen as a liability rather than as an asset, assuming it is in your virtual inventory and can be ordered/shipped almost instantly. But I admit, virtual inventory is no good if the product is virtually gone!

Of course, if we all knew what oil prices would do, we'd all have our stoves and seasoned wood in good order (okay, with that info we'd all be rich and not care!).

 

[BJ64]

There are Lopi Leyden pellet (6) and wood burning stoves (4 or 5) in stock at my dealer. They also have the Harmon down draft (4). They also have several tube type secondary burners also but I was asking about cast iron stoves and did not quiz about the wielded stoves.

Many of these stoves are still on the factory pallet and are ready to ship if needed.

I do not want to make an unpaid advertisement for my dealer but you can do a dealer search via the zip code 72734 and contact the people yourself. If somebody wants to PM me for the info that is good also.

I did another quick scan of the area and other dealers here have QuadraFire and Pacific Energy stoves (the PE T6 is available) in stock and able to ship. I will share that info as well via PM or phone (PM for the number) or just do a dealer search for zip code 74361 and find these people the same as I did.

 

[chillyinNH]

Chilly,

Were you trying to buy the pellet stove or the wood stove?

We have a wood burning Leyden in the area still on the pallet that could be shipped..

Thank you but we're looking for the Pellet model.

 

[branchburner]

Just curious - what does it run to ship a 500lb stove cross-country?
(sorry about my previous post - I thought the thread ended on page one!)