GOBI racks USA - an anecdote on my experience

[Jetboy]

I don't get the hate behind Gobi because they take so long along with they defend their patents...

If they had a valid patent to defend - sure go for it. Patents are for inventions. Gobi hasn't invented anything. There is nothing new or non-obvious about a tube roof rack. If you think they have - what's the invention?

They sue small companies that can't afford the legal fees in order to stifle competition. They are using the expense of the legal process as a weapon against competitors. That's not okay. Companies like this deserve to be on a never-ever list. Even if they were free I wouldn't put one on my 4runner.

At least two companies have cloned my high clearance rock sliders. I'm not out suing them for it. In my opinion it's obvious. I'm surprised it took so long to have some copies made.

 

[Grape Ape]

If everyone didn't want a 4R that looked exactly like every other 4R on the road, you could get a Gobi in less time. I remember ordering mine in 2010 and taking about 4 weeks to arrive at my place. People around town would stop and ask what I was driving, what kind of rack it was etc.

Now I can't drive home after work without seeing 5-6 Gobi rack & Ladder combos on a 3" lifted with 285 BFGs having 4R

 

[Brandon H]

14 weeks from order to my front doorstep. At week 12 I started calling them once a day. You have to be proactive and you will get it in a timely manner.

For the haters, its pretty simple. You always have the same argument. Lead time, Patent suing, blah blah blah. If you dont want it, dont buy it. Dont hate on the people who own one though. IMHO its the best Rack out there. Fits perfect, made extremely well, you don't have to drill, and has great accessories. I actually had a guy give me negative feedback on here because he said i defended bad business (Gobi). HAHAHAHAHA. Probably the same Gobi Hater that blocked me on Facebook. Get over it.

 

[ZOMBRNR]

If they had a valid patent to defend - sure go for it. Patents are for inventions. Gobi hasn't invented anything. There is nothing new or non-obvious about a tube roof rack. If you think they have - what's the invention?

They sue small companies that can't afford the legal fees in order to stifle competition. They are using the expense of the legal process as a weapon against competitors. That's not okay. Companies like this deserve to be on a never-ever list. Even if they were free I wouldn't put one on my 4runner.

At least two companies have cloned my high clearance rock sliders. I'm not out suing them for it. In my opinion it's obvious. I'm surprised it took so long to have some copies made.

Yup. It’s a shitty thing for them to do, and exactly why they’re on my no-go list.

Support small and local businesses. With that said I absolutely LOVE my WMW rack and sad to see it no longer being produced.

If everyone didn't want a 4R that looked exactly like every other 4R on the road, you could get a Gobi in less time. I remember ordering mine in 2010 and taking about 4 weeks to arrive at my place. People around town would stop and ask what I was driving, what kind of rack it was etc.



Now I can't drive home after work without seeing 5-6 Gobi rack & Ladder combos on a 3" lifted with 285 BFGs having 4R

This. Seems like everyone traded their Honda/Subaru/ Jeep for a 5th gen 4R down here with all the same mods. So original!

 

[Jetboy]

I don't think many people hate people who have Gobi racks. Frankly I don't think anyone else knows or cares what brand of rack is on someone else's vehicle. I don't want one. I can build a similar custom rack on a Saturday afternoon in my shop. Bending some tube isn't exactly brain surgery. I have no use for a roof basket. I don't store stuff on my roof, so there's no utility for me.

It's simply a matter of informing people thinking about who they are buying from. Some people care about the source of a good or service, some don't.

 

[DrVolkl]

Put my order in the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend and just got it finalized yesterday.... and now I get to wait the 8-16weeks or whatever it is.

I'm glad I got to read all the other threads on what to expect... It sucks to have to wait so long... they seem to need to expand their operations, but whatever, it's the rack I want and I'm willing to wait a bit for the right one.

But dang, I wish it would be here sooner!

 

[native_end]

Is this where we shit on Gobi?

Order was placed on 1/19/18
Got the below email on 4/18/18

And no word since. May has come and gone. I have sent two emails asking for a status and did the request status button on their website, crickets.

I'm not in a rush so I don't really care about the wait time. Placed the order directly with Gobi so they haven't charged my card yet. Still, pretty awful customer service.

I don't understand how a business is successful when they just don't respond to emails.

 

[Brandon H]

-LEAD TIMES-
In my opinion - to gripe about 'lead times' is pointless and it gives unwarranted grief to companies. If the company makes a great product & has limited space/staff, they MIGHT have a lead time... if you don't like it - then don't purchase the product and complain about the lead time. Many reputable companies in the off roading business and many other trades do this & as long as their lead times are accurate - I have no beef and neither should you. I recall reading on here that some customers here on the forum were upset about not being able to get ahold of GOBI during their lead/build time, perhaps they just wanted an update on their order, perhaps they were getting impatient or perhaps they too wanted to modify their order that was already placed - I don't know.
My estimated lead time when I placed my order was 8-12 weeks. This was actually prolonged BY MY DOING because I modified my rack order after placing it (see below). Order placed 5/31/16 & delivered 9/12/16.

Right on brother. I get so tired of seeing people whine/complain/moan over having to actually put patience to good use. Such a spoiled Wendys/McDonalds/BurgerKing society we've become. Waiting for a well made/crafted product is..well worth the wait.

Nice post my friend!

You guys both said it all!

 

[brtnstrns]

Is this where we shit on Gobi?

Order was placed on 1/19/18
Got the below email on 4/18/18

And no word since. May has come and gone. I have sent two emails asking for a status and did the request status button on their website, crickets.

I'm not in a rush so I don't really care about the wait time. Placed the order directly with Gobi so they haven't charged my card yet. Still, pretty awful customer service.

I don't understand how a business is successful when they just don't respond to emails.

I ordered mid-February and called yesterday to update my credit card information. I also asked for a status update on the phone but the lady that does processing wasn't available, however she did send me an email a couple hours later saying "This email is to inform you that your rack is still on the queue for production and it is scheduled to be released to the freight company next week."

Not sure if that means it'll be on a truck next week or it hasn't even been started on yet or what exactly. Hopefully I'll be seeing it soon though. I anticipated a July delivery when I placed my order. Kind of nice actually as it's allowed me to save up some extra money to not make it hurt so bad.