RIP strictly7?

[oath5]

After talking with Curran further I'm even more worried tbf...We're screwed

 

[cwhitey2]

Is it me or does Jim have the BIGGEST balls in the world?

NAMM...really?


Take care of past customers before you get new ones guy.

 

[Jlang]

Eh, usually when someone says "Don't panic!", that's just about the time you should start panicking.

My sentiments exactly, grab whatever you can , and makeway for the door.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

I never see luthiers step up and take responsibility for their poor business decisions and time keeping. They always try to blame everyone else but themselves. But I do have to hand it to him for stepping up and coming out with a statement even if there is a lot in it that customers so not want to here. At least he has come out with something instead of leaving people in limbo like BRJ or Invictus.

Also worth noting is that S7 didnt have one of the small tiny booths down in the basement at NAMM that only cost a couple of grand, he had a good sized booth upstairs in a great location. As far as I know, those booths cost more than $10,000 and he also had 15 guitars on display easy! This was around 2 months ago that he was at NAMM with that killer booth.

So he can't pay his workers and doesn't have the time to finish guitars yet he spent a ton of money on a NAMM booth and all his time on show guitars despite knowing paying customers having been waiting months to years for guitars.

The purpose of a booth is to attract artists and future customers but he already has way more than he can handle. Thats just a terrible business decision and a complete waste of money. Finishing of the Bodens and a ton of NGDs on here + Facebook will do a lot more for your business than a trade show.

This is getting way to common nowadays and the worst part is how unprotected we are as customers since the window to dispute is so small.

 

[Nonservium]

If you are one of those who have been left swaying in the breeze while being fleeced I would, at the very least, speak with a lawyer to explore any and all courses of action you can take from here. Given the tone of his rants in the past and the letter he just posted on facebook (as well as Curran's post on it!) I wouldn't be surprised if the course of action he's laid out never comes to fruition. In fact, I'd bet on it at this point. You should probably look into protecting yourself as far as you can.

 

[HighGain510]

Hello Gentlemen:
It is with a heavy heart I write this letter…

If you are receiving this e-mail that means you are still waiting for your custom shop guitar, or a signature model that was “customized” with a custom inlay, or a signature model that was discontinued because that artist left during production. Some of you have been waiting an absurd length of time and have been in previous communication with me. I’m aware many of you have been trying to get in touch with me with no luck; which causes high anxiety I know…for that I do apologize. Some nasty chatter has been brought to my attention from a customer who knows I’m an honest man and directed me to a well known “forum” so I could read the slander and defaming words for myself, all I can do is shake my head. The only piece of truth in any of the inane, uninformed bloviating is that I am alone in the shop now. My employees have quit as of 2 weeks ago yesterday. As you can imagine, I have been trying to figure out a solution to this situation. I’m not just going to throw in the towel and throw all my hard work in the trash. No way.

Please do not panic! You are not going to get screwed; I’m just communicating the current situation and my plans to fulfill my obligations. The comparisons between me and other builders/luthiers are unfair and will be proven incorrect. Most of you are familiar with the difficulties I/S7G had last year w/the headless—fanned fret debacle; a very unfortunate set of circumstances and contract violations that put me in a serious financial hole, which I am still not out of; hence the continued delays on your guitars. And the VAST MAJORITY of you all have been incredibly understanding of the delays and for that I am thankful, so please do not read any hostility in this message.

I’m not asking for money, many of you graciously sent money previously which really helped move things forward (hard to believe on your end I’m sure). I am simply laying out the current plan.

Bottom line, I am shutting down the custom shop side of S7G until further notice. This means, unless I already have the programming to do a build, it will not be agreed upon to build. I will be focusing on finishing the current Custom Shop orders and my production lines for my Dealers, period.

I tried to do everything people wanted with their guitars, even allowed changes mid-way through the process, some of these changes have caused the delays those of you who requested changes are experiencing. Doesn’t matter either way. I have said this before, many times, but people just don’t seem to believe me; I’m not out drinking and doing cocaine with your deposit money. I spent it on materials, parts, labor, and shop/equipment rent/payments and money has run out because orders have slowed down while overhead hasn’t. Why have sales slowed…who knows? The biggest complaint with S7G product is NOT THE PRODUCT; it is the stupid wait times. I can’t change that now; all I can do is finish what I have left, so here is my plan…

I have attached an Excel file with the list of what guitars are still left to complete. The oldest orders that are paid in full will be completed first, in order.
Then, guitars that are the oldest but have outstanding balances will be completed oldest to newest. If you have a different amount due than I show here, please e-mail me the credit card receipt, wire transfer, or Paypal receipt.

I am not, will not, and/or cannot issue refunds so e-mails to that effect will be ignored. If you don’t want your guitar, just let me know via e-mail so I don’t waste time finishing it; but know what money you have paid thus far is gone. Several people with whom I have communicated this information agreed they would rather have the guitar than nothing, despite the wait time. I have tied up ALL the money in the guitars, parts, and overhead as explained above. I have paid myself a total of $5,000 over the past 3 years, so the money isn't paying my bills, just ask my mortgage company and student loan people. That leaves me with this final thought…

If you would prefer to receive a production model piece, or some other custom model I have in the shop; I can re-calculate the costs and let you know the difference. I will be taking pictures of what pieces I have that are in near completion levels that I can send on request after this weekend.
Money situation has sucked badly for about the past year-18 months; I’m not going to cry about it, those who maliciously set out to cause me this problem will answer to karma in the end. Right now, you all are the unfortunate “collateral damage” of this BS and for that I truly am sorry. My employees all quit because they had been working for FREE the past 2 ½ months to help get product done and caught up in the hopes things would get better…but that hasn’t happened. This means I am doing it all by myself like I did when I first started out; funny how life comes full circle sometimes. Curran and Eric have said they will help me with final assembly when I get things to that point which will help move things along quicker; but until that point of the build process, I am on my own. I still have to work my day job so I get to work on guitars in the evenings and weekends; but focusing only on 1-2 at a time until completed.

I will do my best to check e-mails several times a week, but please know I am not going to answer e-mails that are requesting refunds or cancellations as I said above. My other option is to just file for bankruptcy and forget all of it; no one wins if it comes to that. I am not a quitter, simple. I’m a man of my word and I/we/S7G build a superior product and I want you all to have one of my guitars. I don’t screw people. Honesty and integrity are all I have to fall back on in the end. When I meet my Maker, I will know I did right by people. I have poured my blood, sweat, and tears into this business. Cost me 2 serious relationships and a couple of friends along the way as well. Many of you know this to be true. People have witnessed my blatant honesty, intensity, and love for this product on my many YouTube videos. Again, doesn’t change the fact you are still waiting for your guitar(s). They will be done.

Thanks for everything over these past 2 years, I do appreciate the support. I wish I could have done things better, faster, or differently to not be typing this letter; but I didn’t.

That note is just utterly laced with bullshit. I'll point out a few of the items that were the most ridiculous:

Bottom line, I am shutting down the custom shop side of S7G until further notice. This means, unless I already have the programming to do a build, it will not be agreed upon to build. I will be focusing on finishing the current Custom Shop orders and my production lines for my Dealers, period.

So it's totally cool to keep taking orders as long as you have the body style programmed? That doesn't seem like bullshit to me, not one bit…

I have said this before, many times, but people just don’t seem to believe me; I’m not out drinking and doing cocaine with your deposit money. I spent it on materials, parts, labor, and shop/equipment rent/payments and money has run out because orders have slowed down while overhead hasn’t. Why have sales slowed…who knows?

See, THIS is where Jim ....ed up. He based running his business on EXPECTING new orders to come in to allow him to actually complete the ones he took the full payment for already. How are you going to run a business that way? Robbing Peter to pay Paul is the ponzi scheme that so many other small builders have pulled, which is ironic since he specifically said the comparison to other luthiers who did that is unfair… but what he's doing is EXACTLY what those guys were doing too! Spent the money they got up front and couldn't finish the builds because they ran out of cash and when they couldn't get deposits from other guys to cover finishing old builds, they just went bankrupt or stopped replying to their previous order customers. "Why have the sales slowed… who knows?" Really Jim? WHO KNOWS?! Maybe because after the word gets out on public forums (or via yourself in your idiotic YouTube rants… nothing makes a builder look crazy like posting an online RANT VIDEO talking shit on current customers… ) and folks see builders not delivering after 1-2 years with zero proof of progress on outstanding orders, plus ignoring those guys who were out $1-2K+ with nothing to show for it, people get a little turned off and become unwilling to send people like you money anymore. Honestly, rightfully-so too.

The biggest complaint with S7G product is NOT THE PRODUCT; it is the stupid wait times.

Hmm I dunno about that… all the threads with pictures showing flaws with the S7 guitars you've actually shipped might lead one to believe the contrary.

I am not, will not, and/or cannot issue refunds so e-mails to that effect will be ignored. If you don’t want your guitar, just let me know via e-mail so I don’t waste time finishing it; but know what money you have paid thus far is gone.

Shit like this always cracks me up. "I spent your money, so don't bother contacting me because I'll just ignore you, ESPECIALLY if you want a refund 2 years later." Awesome attitude right there! So your options are 1) Get nothing for the money you already gave him or 2) Wait an undetermined amount of time for a guitar that may or may not ever show up. #WINNING DAT BUSINESS PLAN! Also you might want to save HIS valuable time by letting him know up front that you just donated that money to S7G so he doesn't "waste his time finishing it"…. or maybe starting it perhaps?

People have witnessed my blatant honesty, intensity, and love for this product on my many YouTube videos.

Yeah… that's what that was… not the ranting of a crazed person… just "honesty, intensity and love for this product." Nevermind the name-calling and finger-pointing BS in all the vids he posted (some of which were removed, of course&#8230, that's just that honesty and intensity coming at you!


I think this was the best part:

I am not a quitter, simple. I’m a man of my word and I/we/S7G build a superior product and I want you all to have one of my guitars. I don’t screw people. Honesty and integrity are all I have to fall back on in the end.

Which was preceded IMMEDIATELY by this line:

My other option is to just file for bankruptcy and forget all of it; no one wins if it comes to that.

Yeah, he says that's an option for where things are going... but he's no quitter, gosh-darnit! Those sound like the words of a guy who refuses to give up... There's really nothing keeping him from filing for bankruptcy which honestly seems to be where this is going to head (especially now that he's brought it up publicly), if he couldn't build any of these guitars with a shop full of employees, do you think he's seriously going to build anything when he only has a handful of hours each week AFTER he works a full day at his day job? He doesn't want people to draw comparisons to folks like BRJ and the like, but this is EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED THERE! Countdown to shutdown in 3…2..1…

 

[underthecurve]

That post by Ola simply said that anyone with issues with S7 could contact him and have their order handled by him in Sweden if they wanted? Im not so sure that most could have afforded that option regardless, so most just kept quiet and waited in hopes for Jim to get them their guitar while he apparently went under instead.

You have it wrong my friend. I contacted Ola, Paul, about 0.0005 seconds after that post was make. Why wouldn't anybody with an outstanding order not contact him?

Jim is the one who screwed everyone over, not Ola. How many actually tried to go that route of contacting Ola? If nobody contacted him then he cant do anything about it. I dont think people contacted him and got no response or anything like that. I do agree that ultimately its his name, but its probably really difficult for him to offer any type of refunds since the deposit payments were not sent to him or astral, which wasnt even a company at the time, but sent to Jim directly. Its sort of like Jim was subcontracting the Strandberg name but it was ultimately his product. The S7G Bodens were really S7 guitars. They werent purchased from Strandberg, but from S7G. Thats where it gets really tricky. Ola assuming responsibility is really an honest good gesture on his part, not a true legal obligation?

This is tricky, and I'm pretty sure only a lawyer can answer, and I'm sure even then, if you asked more than one you would get different answers. Without looking at the partnership agreement between S7 and strandberg, we are even more in the dark. You say Jim subcontracted the Strandberg name, but I say Ola subcontracted Jim's manufacturing.

 

[MetalHeadMat]

Wow, those V's and Explorer's look very nice. That sucks.

 

[mountainjam]

Ya know, he did:
http://www.sevenstring.org/forum/se...-i-got-my-strictly-7-boden-9.html#post3576937

Which was an extremely generous gesture. From there I was put in contact with Paul, and things seemed to be moving in a positive direction. At some point I got an email from Ola saying that he didn't plan on fulfilling orders, essentially washing his hand of the whole thing.

Yeah, mother fucck Ola Strandberg. He told us to put our faith in s7, which I did, and then I received probably the biggest Boden lemon they built. I saw Ola's public statement about helping us, contacted him, and was told by Ola he would fix the situation. Like you said, he eventually told me there was nothing he could do and passed me off to s7, which did nothing at all for me or anyone.

 

[Suho]

This is tricky, and I'm pretty sure only a lawyer can answer, and I'm sure even then, if you asked more than one you would get different answers. Without looking at the partnership agreement between S7 and strandberg, we are even more in the dark. You say Jim subcontracted the Strandberg name, but I say Ola subcontracted Jim's manufacturing.

I highly doubt it was a partnership. My guess is, S7 had a licensing agreement to use Ola's designs and hardware and name. On paper, anyway. It gets a little murkier when you account for Ola's direct role in referring customers to S7.

Frankly, I am an attorney, but this is one of those situations where you as an individual who got screwed will likely spend at least as much on a lawyer as you already spent on the guitar. This makes pursuing the lawsuit option somewhat unpractical for multiple reasons. There may be ways to share the legal costs if you team up with others, and you may end up with a judgment against S7 or even Jim, but still not collect any money. There may be other ways, but the more creative your theory of recovery is the more your legal fees will rack up.

PLEASE DO NOT TAKE THE ABOVE AS LEGAL ADVICE IN ANY WAY. [I kind of have to say that for my protection, even though it is obvious.]

 

[stevexc]

I will give him some credit, "bloviate" is a good word.

That's all the credit though.

 

[Krucifixtion]

I can sort of understand his frustration with dealing with certain types of people and some of what he is saying makes good sense, but if your whole video is about people that want to bash you and not directly contact you personally then you probably shouldn't post an hour long video bashing people yourself. I don't have any experience with S7, so it's hard to comment, but I just dislike when companies are so quick to take your money if you place an order online and they seem to answer emails very quickly when it comes to starting something, but then all the sudden they don't have time to answer emails when it comes to something you personally paid for??? I can understand not dealing with just answering tons of generic questions about stuff for people who aren't buying or ordering stuff, but man give your customers some more respect than that.

I learned my lesson from DAR and I was one of the lucky few who actually got their deposit back. This is why I stick with production guitars and amps that are already produced and sold by dealers. Just way less hassle.

I kind of feel sorry for him in terms of some of the BS he had to deal with, but man no big successful company would actually post a video like this demeaning your customers regardless of how much of an asshole some of them might be.

 

[RustInPeace]

If I were a customer waiting on my build, Id be at least slightly relieved after seeing that email. Seems like he's adamant on resolving this without giving up.

 

[RagtimeDandy]

TL;DR version:

"Hey I heard you guys heard that the shit hit the fan. Don't panic! I'll make sure you wait just long enough for me to close shop and GTFO with absolutely no repercussions for being an absolutely incompetent businessman!!"

 

[stevexc]

TL;DR version:

"Hey I heard you guys heard that the shit hit the fan. Don't panic! I'll make sure you wait just long enough for me to close shop and GTFO with absolutely no repercussions for being an absolutely incompetent businessman!!"

"PS: Now you can't compare me to BRJ, I actually sent out an email on my own!"

 

[technomancer]

But do you think this was his plans all along??? I really do not. I don't think he is dishonest per say....just a real bad decision maker and businessman.

Does it matter? I don't think most of these guys start with some diabolical plan to rip people off or deliver bad products, but if that is the end result what difference does it make? As the saying goes the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Do you think the guys out thousands of dollars to BRJ care if he intended to rip them off or not?

I honestly hope Jim turns it around and delivers the guitars everybody is waiting for

 

[Henry Terry]

You should contact the office of the state's Attorney General. I do not know where Strictly 7 is located, but the Attorneys General in some states have "consumer protection" divisions. The people there may be able to offer you some advice. There are statutes of limitations for filing lawsuits, but they vary from state to state, and there are different ones for different types of lawsuits.

Sometimes, the Attorney General's office will become involved in a complaint like this, especially if there are many people with the same complaint.

Good luck!

 

[SpaceDock]

If I were you guys, I would get my unfinished guitar NOW. BRJ did the same b.s. with calling people and saying "it's all good, just wait a bit longer" then he fell off the planet.

If Jim is still willing to communicate, you have a chance to get something. Do not wait!!! Learn from my mistake.

 

[AfroSamurai]

That post by Ola simply said that anyone with issues with S7 could contact him and have their order handled by him in Sweden if they wanted? Im not so sure that most could have afforded that option regardless, so most just kept quiet and waited in hopes for Jim to get them their guitar while he apparently went under instead.

I was in contact with Ola from before that post and he basically said the same. He told me to send the guitar back to Jim to get either a refund or rebuild by Astral...... If I knew he was going to bail like that I would have kept the Boden and sent it locally for a repair.

Now, that mail from Jim is something else. Like someone else said, he has some balls to post that publicly. What pisses me off the most is that I know he sold the Boden I sent back, so he should be able to refund me.

I think I'm going to take a lesson here and do like Krucifixtion does, buy shit from the shelf and be done with it.

 

[HighGain510]

If I were a customer waiting on my build, Id be at least slightly relieved after seeing that email. Seems like he's adamant on resolving this without giving up.

Not at all, actually. He's been making the same claims for over a year (again, including some of his now-deleted YT vids) telling people "things are rough, hang tight guys, I'll take care of you because I'm an honest person!", except now it's even so dire that his own employees have left him because it's been 2 months without pay (honestly shocked any if then stayed and worked for free for the jerk on promises of payment... ). That's usually not a position people are able to recover from, official "downward spiral to death of the business" has begun. He's already ignoring a large part of his customer base, that's step 1, add him publicly stating that he's broke and won't give any refunds - step 2, and finally even his own employees have ALL quit, including the ones who had stayed with him for years.

Sorry man, a long-winded email making promises that he plans to make good on all those orders means nothing, just like it didn't mean a thing when he made them months ago. Seriously, this is like "final nail in the coffin" bad for customers still waiting for guitars, unfortunately.