I think we all just want to know... why?

[lmturne1]

If you've been around the "overland" scene or anything that deals with taking a Toyota off-road in the last 5 years, chances are you've heard of the brand "Pelfeybilt". A Southern California based fabrication shop dedicated to turning out some of the most desirable skid plates, sliders, and bumpers available for late model Toyotas.

Arguably one of the premier armor manufactures, competing with the likes of CBI Offroad, Relentless Fabrications, Metal Tech, C4 Fabrication, the list goes on. Pelfreybilt took pride in customer service and a product that would make any customer gloat. Although, with such pride came a cost. A steep financial one at that. Their products being field tested were praised by many to be superb across the board for their aesthetics and function alike. This pattern continued on for 5 years... continuously researching and developing new products and improving old. Building a fanbase that amassed under hashtags on Instagram, it had its own Facebook group page. Many of us felt like this pattern would continue on in perpetuity, as Pelfreybilt had cemented its name in the ring of reputable and certified off-road fabricators.

In the end, many of us were wrong and could not believe what had taken place. Blindsided really. So many questions, but so little to go on. Where were the indicators prior to? New designs had been announced, products launched, and media material composed. It was like Pelfreybilt was building an arsenal to attack the community with so many new offerings.

Then one day via an Instagram post... it all stopped. Poof, gone.


Testimony after testimony rolled in either here, or on another forum (Tacoma World), Facebook, or Instagram of the sad stories of unsuspecting customers pledging thousands upon thousands of dollars to orders that would ultimately go unfilled and refunds near impossible to acquire.

So heres the million dollar question? How did we get here? And do we ever think that we will see a resurface of Tyler and Satin?

As private citizens, we don't deserve the right to access the intimacies of others lives, but after dedicating so much support to those people and their business, I feel that many of us just want an explanation as to "why", for the simple fact of closure.

This wasn't a fly-by-night company and although many have chalked it up to have been one, it is simply ignorant and lazy to do so. There has to be more to the story.

-LT

 

[honda250xtitan]

Who cares. They deserve consequences for their actions.

 

[comtn4x4]

Respectfully, who gives a s$#t. Too early for this crap
I am still battling on a daily basis with the bank and others to get my money back, get on the creditors list and then figure out how to get off said list so I might have a shadow of a chance of getting pennies on the dollar back. I have spent probably 40 hours since their announcement researching, reading posts and on hold with my bank. Then figure out if it's worth the cost of traveling out there for the hearing(s)
It may or may not have been a well run business, we'll never know. But the bottom line is they went bankrupt. That in itself defines poorly run.
One thing I know for sure is the Pelfreys are self centered disrespectful a-holes who screwed 100's or maybe 1000's of people for close to a million dollars. Me personally for $3500
All this is evidenced by their stupid, callous, unsympathetic posts on social media and numerous e-mails that I had the unfortunate bad luck to send back and forth with Satin.

Way to Early. Just like salt in a raw wound

I apologize to everyone in advance for going off but f$@k the f$@king Pelfreys

 

[RedSled]

And yet we are ready to throw our hard earned money up front to another company offering a product we like. There has to be a better way, i realise that they can not produce product with out $$$$$$$, but we need protection in case the shit hits the fan. i do not know what the fix would be because i am just a old computer illiterate fart, but i am sure someone can figure out a safety for this type of crap. Anywho have a nice day.

 

[epjfsa]

And yet we are ready to throw our hard earned money up front to another company offering a product we like. There has to be a better way, i realise that they can not produce product with out $$$$$$$, but we need protection in case the shit hits the fan. i do not know what the fix would be because i am just a old computer illiterate fart, but i am sure someone can figure out a safety for this type of crap. Anywho have a nice day.

I'm not terribly familiar with this particular vendor, but having spent over 15 years participating in a car community with a fledgling aftermarket (BMW) -- none of this is shocking. Vendors come and go, and this exact type of conversation comes up quite often. This is why I can't help but be cynical when vendors post something that's expensive, mischaracterized, or provides zero evidence that they aren't simply full of it. I've watched many car enthusiasts lose significant amounts of time and money on bad or faulty parts (I have -- thanks, Vorshlag for the faulty coilovers!), or vendors who lie or have better marketing than engineering.

We all know it can be hard to avoid getting overly excited when a vendor announces something new/shiny/whatever that offers a way to improve something we're enthusiastic about. But at the end of the day, there's a lot of snake oil that exists solely because of hype, and people end up wasting their time and their money as a result. This isn't the customer's fault, but it never hurts to wait for a verdict on a product and vendor before getting too excited.

 

[wfo9]

This happens all the time. Why do you need to know exactly why? How is it ignorant and Lazy to let it go? It would be interesting to know all the gory details... but I think we all know that will not happen here.

They tricked people.. Rich on marketing and use of brand ambassadors.. poor on substance and work ethic. Clear lack of integrity. There never really was a great product.. just a perception of one. Nothing more than a large hunk of steel.. nothing magic and I would go as far to say not even good aesthetics.

Learn from the mistake and move on. Go shake some hands and talk to real users of said product. But first, ask yourself do you really need it and would you get any real benefit from it. Are you trying to fit a square peg in a round hole....?

In the end.. people lost some money and that sucks, but they will get past it and hopefully learn from the unfortunate situation.

 

[LandCruiser]

This is just another in a long line of companies who knew they were in dire financial straits, but instead of being honest with their customers kept taking deposits and making promises--thinking that it can get better and they can dig themselves out of a hole.

Whether it's the gun community, the 4x4, or even a guy who does a remod of your house, there are lots of shitweasels like this running around. At some point every one of us has been hosed to the tune of hundreds if not thousands of dollars and no really good recourse on how to get it back.

I have tried to see if there are behavior patterns that can identify a crap company compared to a good one, but even well-reviewed companies that seem to be solid can sometimes suddenly fold with no warning the same way the guy who's running his entire enterprise out of his garage.

Found this gem on another forum--the posted it on they Twitbook page:

We love our Pelfreybiltfamily and have never had any ill intentions to wrong a single person. We do wish everyone believed this truth instead of resorting to believing we’re the horrible people they’ve painted us into. After pouring everything into Pelfreybilt and building the reputation for quality and customer service, why can’t people understand there’s something going on that’s out of our control rather than assuming the worst and defaming our character.

The unfortunate truth is that we had an amazing team of investors willing to pour a couple million into helping us thrive & as a result we had to remain quiet, so asked the #pelfreybiltfamily for their patience. However, with people feeding lies on social media, stirring up negative publicity, and opening claims on PayPal, the investors pulled out. They deemed the #pelfreybiltfamily too volatile and risky to make the investment. As a result we had no choice but to file personal bankruptcy, and lose everything. We literally poured everything into the business and have lost everything: our business, our jobs, our home, our cars and the money we loaned the business.

It’s heartbreaking to us to have given so much to the off-road community and to have built such an amazing company known for being one of the best in the industry, in just six years, yet have so many people turn their back on us and accuse us of as horrible things as fraud. All we’ve ever done is focus on providing the very best to our customers. We simply grew at a rate we struggled to keep up with, and refused to manufacture products of a lesser quality. Without capital to work with, it eventually took its toll and required investors.

Regardless, what’s done is done and feelings aside, we wish we had better news, but unless someone steps up and is willing to take over Pelfreybilt, the debt owed both to vendors and customer, we don’t see a way for our customers to get their product(s) or refunds. This is less than the ideal situation, yet it’s the reality the #pelfreybiltfamily helped create by allowing negativity to influence their decisions rather than looking at our track record and believing in us to always do what is best for our customers.

We wish each of you all the best, regardless.

Satin & Tyler Pelfrey

Translation: we tried so hard to make this work, but it was the ******* CUSTOMERS who ruined it!!!




 

[tacoyota]

I think most people just feel betrayed that they could not get their act together. How can they be so fiscally irresponsible when they have good products and selling more than they can make. You would think after a few bankruptcies you would learn a few lessons or hire someone that can manage finances. This will make many people wary of the all the small fab shops left. At least I know that I will never front cash sight unseen and any large purchases go on AMEX no matter what. Good luck to those chasing these shady guys.

 

[mrblah]

They built a brand through clever marketing, social media, and brand ambassadors. Basically, they marked their products as what the "cool kids" were using, and if you bought their products you would be part of their family. People ate that shit up.... including myself.

On the manufacturing side, they outsourced their fabrication to a 3rd party, and expanded too quickly. Somewhere down the line, they realized they can't pay the 3rd party to release their product, and they themselves don't have the ability to fabricate in-house anymore....so basically, they didn't have anything to actually sell you, other than hopes and dreams. Yet people kept throwing money at them.....due to their internet groupies pushing their products.

What makes them thieves, is they continued to take people's money when they had no intention of making it right, because there was no way they can pay their creditors to release their products to the customers. When people started to wise up that they were about to go under, they released a statement about a cinderella story about how they were going to find an angel investor, but it was a ruse to stop people from doing chargebacks so they can get their bankruptcy papers in order. It also didn't help matters they had a horde of internet groupies vouching for them, giving people a false sense of hope or worse, stopped people from initiating chargebacks or lawyering up. Once they got their bankruptcy paperwork in order, they released a statement basically telling their customers that it was the customer's fault, they weren't going to refund anybody and to Fuk off. They closed up shop, and moved to god knows where, and probably use the half million or so dollars they swindled as seed money for their next business adventure.

Thats what is my take on these swindlers.... Whats also sad, is they still have internet groupies portraying the pelfreys as victims, or making excuses on their behalf because they received their products and other people didn't.

There are con men and swindlers in every facet of life....this one just hit close to home....

 

[SR5Bart]

I hate to add fuel to the fire but wasn't LawnDart very close to them? He was super active on here he was even testing the new rear bumper which was "amazing" then he gets a Raptor and the Pelfreys go under. Just thinking out loud here

 

[MTN4RNR]

I hate to add fuel to the fire but wasn't LawnDart very close to them? He was super active on here he was even testing the new rear bumper which was "amazing" then he gets a Raptor and the Pelfreys go under. Just thinking out loud here

Then don’t add fuel. The last thread about this topic was shut down because of people adding fuel just like this. I said it there, and I’ll say it again, think before you post.

 

[fourwd1]

Moving to Off Topic

 

[phillyd2]

Not sure what the point of this thread is but there is a world of difference between an honest company filing bankruptcy for a number of unfortunate but valid reasons and these morally bankrupt A-Holes.

 

[gdvan01]

Seriously, how much longer do we have to suffer through this bullsh*t...get the phuck over it and move on.

:crybaby:

 

[T4R2014]

Made in China looks better and better everyday.

 

[dylans]

The only thing that I get out of this is to stick with ARB. Will do Pelfrey, will do.

 

[Solofowaffles]

I hate to add fuel to the fire but wasn't LawnDart very close to them? He was super active on here he was even testing the new rear bumper which was "amazing" then he gets a Raptor and the Pelfreys go under. Just thinking out loud here

You're not allowed to badmouth the guy who told everyone everything was going to be fine and they would get their products despite the clear signs that things weren't ok. He's just another victim bro.

 

[SR5Bart]

You're not allowed to badmouth the guy who told everyone everything was going to be fine and they would get their products despite the clear signs that things weren't ok. He's just another victim bro.

I'm not badmouthing him at all man he had done a f*ck ton for this community I learned a lot from him through his build. I do believe he got screwed like a lot of other people and its just a shitty situation for everyone that got screwed by the lovely Pelfreys.

side note.... you're not being sarcastic are you? hard to tell with the interwebz

 

[LandCruiser]

You're not allowed to badmouth the guy who told everyone everything was going to be fine and they would get their products despite the clear signs that things weren't ok. He's just another victim bro.

IF he knew something he'd be opening himself up to a lawsuit by interfering with their ability to secure investors at the 11th hour or leaking they were planning to declare bankruptcy, and unless he was a financial officer he couldn't have known for sure. He criticized their supply chain issues and freely admitted that he got special treatment because his truck was a test bed and a running advert.

It says more how easily we are swayed by social media influencers that we allow companies to charge us 4k with only a promise. I think he was happy with how their products allowed him to promote himself--which isn't a bad thing. I genuinely think he was NOT involved in any malicious activity to continue taking orders once PB knew they were going under and weren't planning on making good on them, given how Satin and Satan blamed consumers for all of this.

Either way he is the face of PB, whether he wants to be or not, and he's not the one who butt****ed me out of my money.

 

[Hepar]

The companies that make it longterm in business aren't often the ones who make the best product per se, but the ones who know how to run all sides of a business.

I really don't know anything about their company as I have a 3rd gen and they don't make anything for it. But, one thing I have heard is that they didn't even have their business setup as an LLC. Is that correct? If so, that's sign number one they didn't know what they were doing.