Jack Speer
Well-known member
Sad sad news. I always liked them as they were a company tailored purely to birders as opposed to hunters, with birders being an afterthought.
Jack
Jack
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Eagle Optics To Close (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter pete_gamby
- Start date
This is what happens when people abuse the good stores.
Spend an hour of valuable store time with professionals examining the binoculars.
Or get several Sale or return.
Then going away and buying the chosen binocular on the internet at the lowest price available.
Even boasting about such behaviour here.
I have great respect for this store's decision to close.
No respect at all for people abusing the system.
In addition the only certainty is change. This happens regardless.
Then we have the big groups.
I used to supply a major store with hand made special candles.
They never paid me for 5 months.
This didn't bother me, as the invoices were small, but I found out that they do this to all their suppliers, despite 30 day terms.
Then another top name asked me to manage a major outlet of theirs.
I accompanied them to trade fairs and their business ethics were despicable.
I said 'No thank you'.
There is no way I would join such an establishment.
And these senior people become knights of the realm.
This was in the 1960s and 1970s.
Things are worse now with the internet trade in my opinion often have no ethics whatsoever.
And in many cases just crooked.
P.S.
Someone just kindly sent me a PM and informed me that EO was an online outlet not a bricks and mortar store.
But I think that I will leave my post anyway as I think it does reflect an attitude to trading that does sadly exist.
I apologise for my mistake, never having dealt with EO.
The post does reflect my personal anger at the internet trade and I have personally been a victim of fraud. But only once, and I have learnt my lesson.
If the moderators wish to delete this post that is fine.
Spend an hour of valuable store time with professionals examining the binoculars.
Or get several Sale or return.
Then going away and buying the chosen binocular on the internet at the lowest price available.
Even boasting about such behaviour here.
I have great respect for this store's decision to close.
No respect at all for people abusing the system.
In addition the only certainty is change. This happens regardless.
Then we have the big groups.
I used to supply a major store with hand made special candles.
They never paid me for 5 months.
This didn't bother me, as the invoices were small, but I found out that they do this to all their suppliers, despite 30 day terms.
Then another top name asked me to manage a major outlet of theirs.
I accompanied them to trade fairs and their business ethics were despicable.
I said 'No thank you'.
There is no way I would join such an establishment.
And these senior people become knights of the realm.
This was in the 1960s and 1970s.
Things are worse now with the internet trade in my opinion often have no ethics whatsoever.
And in many cases just crooked.
P.S.
Someone just kindly sent me a PM and informed me that EO was an online outlet not a bricks and mortar store.
But I think that I will leave my post anyway as I think it does reflect an attitude to trading that does sadly exist.
I apologise for my mistake, never having dealt with EO.
The post does reflect my personal anger at the internet trade and I have personally been a victim of fraud. But only once, and I have learnt my lesson.
If the moderators wish to delete this post that is fine.
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gunut
Registered Offender
Alexis Powell
Natural history enthusiast
Sorry to hear that. Fraud has always been a problem w/mail order purchasing, even before the internet.
The good news is, some of the very best on-line merchants (which, by the way, often do have a brick and morter store too) in the USA are best for honesty, price, availability, return policy and more. It is possible for an on-line merchant to be honest _and_ have the lowest prices. I like to think that such honesty is rewarded. For example, in the 30 years or so that I've been buying optics from B&H Photo, I've watched them go from just one in a sea of many merchants (then, in the price listings in the back pages of Modern or Popular Photography), many of their competitors dishonest, to becoming the dominant business here in the USA. Likewise, Adorama has grown a lot. Eagle Optics had excellent prices, sometimes the lowest, so I doubt they lost much business to others. However, they were a standout for patient customer service compared to others. I wonder what all the factors were in the choice to close.
--AP
Sad indeed. Efficient, generous, courteous, personal... An icon to many of us. My best wishes to Kate, Parker...
But what is going on in the last few posts? Was large-scale customer fraud a reason for their closing? If not then why are they closing down? I cannot figure out an answer from their own text either. Sorry if I am dense.
But what is going on in the last few posts? Was large-scale customer fraud a reason for their closing? If not then why are they closing down? I cannot figure out an answer from their own text either. Sorry if I am dense.
oldfortyfive
Well-known member
They did have a store in the Madison WI area.
james holdsworth
Consulting Biologist
Is the direct-to-consumer binocular market partly to blame here?
I don't know if there is any group outside of Eagle Optics to blame really. Eagle Optics were dropped by Nikon and that may have been enough to tip sales in the wrong direction. That removed a widely known brand and left a hole that may have been difficult to fill. And what I recall as an excellent return policy may have been abused by some. It may have been a long slow slide. Yes, I remember their excellent patient customer service.
BruceH
Avatar: Harris Hawk
Indeed they are.
Here is an article from a few months ago reporting on the status of their new facility where everything will be under one roof.
http://host.madison.com/wsj/sports/...cle_44cb0dcd-1241-5f9c-bd9d-46e6fc098b44.html
I do not know if the upcoming consolidation had a role in the closing of the retail operation or not. Eagle shuts down the end of 2017 and the consolidation into the new facility takes place early 2018. I suspect Eagle was set up years ago to help get the Vortex product out there and introduced to the market. That goal was achieved long ago so maybe there was no real reason to continue the Eagle operation and sell competing products. Additionally, Vortex, through Eagle, was competing against their own dealers. That can not make for a happy dealer.
Dorian Gray
Well-known member
Do you happen to know why?
I never dealt with Eagle Optics, since they pointedly stated they didn’t ship abroad. But their website was visible in the binocular world, so I did sometimes see it.
It would be fascinating to know the product return rate for high-end binoculars bought from shops like this in America. I bet it’s gobsmackingly high. I have seen many American customers return things just because they change their mind about what they want. A small minority even use shops for free rental of new gear. There are outsized costs to this kind of thing.
james holdsworth
Consulting Biologist
Blame Dennis then...
David in NC
Well-known member
I'm not sure admittedly but I think it was the other way around... I think EO folks started Vortex after being around a while.
Edited to add-YES. Mr. Hamilton started EO in 2004...
Pinewood
New York correspondent
Hello,
I recall buying four binoculars from EO, one returned with no problems. I did buy quite a few accessories, Bush whackers, Zeiss rain guards, and Eo reduced the shipping costs, below their stated minimum, for some small light items. I thought that it was a high quality outfit and I would be pleased to know what wrong with their business model.
Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
I recall buying four binoculars from EO, one returned with no problems. I did buy quite a few accessories, Bush whackers, Zeiss rain guards, and Eo reduced the shipping costs, below their stated minimum, for some small light items. I thought that it was a high quality outfit and I would be pleased to know what wrong with their business model.
Happy bird watching,
Arthur :hi:
DocSarvis
Well-known member
Eagle Optics was a going business when I purchased my first Alpha scope (Swarovski) from them in 1996. I will miss their honest business practices and was very sorry to hear earlier that Ben Lizdas had left the company. I had dealt personally with Ben for many years and couldn't help but think that news was a harbinger of worse to come!
NDhunter
Experienced observer
It seems the reasons have been brought out clearly in the above posts. The Vortex company is getting
to be a large optics seller, and the Eagle Optics retail side was not important to continuing operations.
The internet is a large marketplace, and price shopping is important to many. Look at those members on
here who point out sales of 10% off every week or so, by some large New York companies.
Some shoppers, will go for the lowest price for just a penny or two.
Jerry
to be a large optics seller, and the Eagle Optics retail side was not important to continuing operations.
The internet is a large marketplace, and price shopping is important to many. Look at those members on
here who point out sales of 10% off every week or so, by some large New York companies.
Some shoppers, will go for the lowest price for just a penny or two.
Jerry
I bought my Swarovski 8.5x42 EL SV from them, and they called me to verify the transaction and notify me of shipping. I didn't think much about it but that may mean they had to deal with a lot of fraud. I've never had voice security checks from B&H or Adorama, but I have also had some from Optics Planet.
It's always sad when good retailers go out of business, but in this case it simply looks like the business was marginal compared to Vortex and not worth the hassle of pursuing. I hope the staff get offered new positions.
It's always sad when good retailers go out of business, but in this case it simply looks like the business was marginal compared to Vortex and not worth the hassle of pursuing. I hope the staff get offered new positions.
edwincjones
Well-known member
gunut
Registered Offender
I think that the tire kickers that order bins just to see how they work or compare them to other models then send them back for no real reason add to this.....now the seller is stuck with a bin that has to be sold as less than new....I think it is a poor business practice to allow this...and poor ethics to on the part of the tire kicker to do this.....know what you want B4 U order one.....
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Gunny
I have a lot of sympathy with what you say but this is a difficult circle to square off.
How do folks find out what they want? If they don't have access to a store that is difficult to say the least, and if they do have a store locally then what is the morality in spending an hour of the store assistant's time giving advice and yanking binos out of boxes to be tried out, only for the punter to say 'I'll think about it', drive home, and buy off the internet?
Its easy to condemn this but some folks have trouble putting food on the table and decent school clothes for their kids and having some bins to go birding with may be their only relaxation luxury. Better than going on booze and cigarettes anyway.
Its easy for me. We have a great photo store nearby and a great bino store about 1.5 hrs away and we can afford to travel to both and pay their prices but not everyone is as lucky as this.
An internet store that recognises the problems of selling at a point remote from their customer base and has a sympathetic returns policy is just dealing with the practicalities of internet selling.
Lee
wdc
Well-known member
.I think it is a poor business practice to allow this../QUOTE]
Then I guess LL Bean, Nordstroms, and Amazon are a bunch of fools as well.
You're correct that there are some who will abuse such a practice, but it does serve many consumers well, for reasons that others have already pointed out. Eagle Optics themselves have offered no information to support your speculative analysis of their decision to close up shop.
Bill
