panther or bobcat... experiences??

[hambone]

what are your experiences with either of these pieces of equipment. Starting small should i get the 30" or the 24". does anyone have any advice steering me clear of a 24"?

 

[WVB]

I use a Panther 24" and love it. The new Panther also comes with the auto registration sensor. What you need to think about is A) Will you need tech support? B) Do you want to be tied to one supplier.

SW is the only place to get a Panther, Tech support is only through SW hence being tied to one supplier. They are cheap yes for both supplies and equipement. However I have had so many issues with SW that I avoid them at all cost now. Sad too because the Panther is such a great piece of equipment.

Do a simple search on this forum for Panther and/or Bobcat and it will list all forums pertainning to these two.

 

[hambone]

thanks

appreicate the recommendation., So, i need to avoid SW at all cost huh? well let me ask you this, ever hear of Ameriban?? they are located here in my home town, and this could be somewhere i could get some stuff from. any ideas? anyone dealt with them?

 

[Color Dude]

From the last I heard Ameriban is only a supply company, I didnt think they sold equipment.

As far as SW goes, I really get tired of seeing people bash this company, you know it turns out that most of the people complaining are people that think they are the only customer SW has. Do you realize that SW sells more equipment, Cutters or Printers than any other company out there. I think that company goes out of their way to help most people I talk to.

But as most situations, there is always somebody who has to bad mouth large companys.

 

[Si Allen]

Hahahahaha...since I do so much work for constuction companies...at first...I thought you were talking about earth moving equipment!

:Big Laugh

 

[WVB]

SW is far from "large" company. They are a small company in Denison, TX been there as well as there old store in Sherman. I bad mouth the company due to their horrible customer service. My personal experiences with them are both good and bad, unfortunitly the bad out ways the good. Always having to worry about the correct order being shipped. Making sure the order has been shipped, and also making sure items that are back stocked are told of being out of stock upfront as opposed to after the order has been filled and shipped. Not to mention I placed an order online with them one time. They charged me tax on my order. Of course I am tax exempt. So I contacted them concerning this, they said they never charged me tax. So I got my statement from my credit card company showing that they did. However the receipt they mailed me did not reflect the tax they charged. Instead they said visa had added the tax on and that I needed to contact them about it. I called visa who stated SW indeed charged tax and that Visa does not due any such things (Of course they don't). In any event I let the situation go without resolution, Visa was not at fault and SW had no record of them doing any such thing.

 

[kalvix]

As far as SW goes, I really get tired of seeing people bash this company, you know it turns out that most of the people complaining are people that think they are the only customer SW has. Do you realize that SW sells more equipment, Cutters or Printers than any other company out there. I think that company goes out of their way to help most people I talk to.

I'll throw my two cents in on this comment as well. I would totally disagree with this perception of this company. I have worked with many large retail companies and SW probably has the worst customer services i have ever seen. I have been ignored and not called back for over a week. Of course each one of us as an individual is not the ONLY customer, but as a group we do represent the majority of their customers. And it is these vary customers that SW despises and chooses to ignore. Well, they may (and i don't know) if they treat large customers any differently, but the DISRESPECT they show to small shops should not be tolerated by ANYONE.

It is percisely this reason i will not do business with them. As small shops, we have no recouse except to help other small shops not be steamrollered over by these bad business practices. I have a panther, but for not having to deal with SW i would have rather purchased the refurbished SUMMA.

Just my 2 cents and hopefully some good advice.

 

[Color Dude]

Hey Will:

I would like you to name a company that sells more Supplies and Equipment than SW as a whole company. I am not talking about a company that sells supplies, and seperate company that sells equipment. I mean a company that sells everything under one roof. I to have been to their facility in Denison, TX. and honestly, for a sign supply company, 85,000 sq ft seems to be pretty large to me. I would like to know what other company compares.

I am not causing any trouble here, and yes I have had my share of problems with SW but they have always made it right for me, and I am definatly a small company.

 

[WVB]

There are tons of companies for which do the same:

Advantage Sign Supply
Grimco
Gregory
SSK Sign Supply
JSI

I am really glad things work out for you with SW, however myself and MANY others are tired of "working" things out with SW. Ameriban matches their pricing and that is who I deal with now. As to equipment from what I have found out the only thing they sell cheaper is there own product line. Roland V's are the same price as say JSI. I love my panther I do it is an awesome machine for what I paid and received as a bundle. I just wish there were more dist. to dist. them. I have had it with working things out with SW for supplies. Yes SW has the cheapest pricing on a lot of supplies including Oracal films. However Ameriban will match SW pricing including their $50 order = free shipping. You too will come to a point when you get tired of working things out with SW or allowing them to make it right for you. I wish you the best of luck with SW, for me I am done with it.

 

[ken23]

I am in the middle of a problem with SW. My brand new plotter/cutter doesn't work! Customer service has yet to call me back. I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but I will not wait a week for them to call me back.

 

[Color Dude]

Ken:

Did they ever get back to you?

 

[TekCorps]

I too have quit buying from SW, due to damamged products received, wrong orders, missing items in orders, double billings, horrible customer service. Too bad, so sad... I too bought a 24" Panther from them.

Back to topic, sorry. I like the Panther. Nice machine for the value.