My update
First off, I did not do enough research on GOBI before I ordered, I only searched the good not the bad.
Got an automatic email from GOBI with an update:
"Hello,
We want to thank you for hanging in there with us. 2020 was a year like no other, and now we are dealing with the ripple effects. To say that we are facing challenges daily is quite the understatement. One of the primary challenges is material shortages, including steel and other essential components to our manufacturing process. This has caused considerable delays in our lead times.
The Executive Director at Coalition of American Metal Manufacturers and Users, Paul Nathanson, sums the situation up well. "Our members have been reporting that they have never seen such chaos in the steel market. When the pandemic started, domestic steel mills idled furnaces and they have been slow in ramping up production - despite a recovery in demand for cars and trucks, appliances, and other steel products. The steel shortage is having major implications for our industry that has already been struggling from previous delays”.
Through extensive research and communication within the industry, it is apparent we will be facing this challenge for the foreseeable future.
We would like to personally apologize for the unexpected delays. Please know we are working nearly around the clock to deliver for our customers as soon as humanly possible. Quality has no shortcuts, and we are committed to overcoming these challenges without sacrificing the principles that GOBI Racks was founded on.
We want to remind you we DO NOT take payment, nor a deposit, until your order is ready to ship. As off-roaders and adventurers ourselves, we understand the frustration this causes, and we sincerely thank you for hanging in there with us. We do not have an exact ETA for the shipment of your rack as timeframes are constantly changing depending on welders, material, and other components. We will reach out once your order has been assigned to a welder, ready to ship, and has shipped.
Due to the high volume of daily inquiries, a response may be delayed as we address each request individually. As a friendly reminder, we will be closed from July 5th through July 9th for maintenance repair and system updates. Thank you again for your patience and support. We cannot wait to have you GOBI equipped."
My order was confirmed on Mar 24. So I thought ok this is going to be atleast the 18 weeks that they say on a lead time. Then I checked the website and it now says 24 weeks min on orders. At no point was I told that the minimum lead time was changed to 24 weeks.
I know this is my own fault for not doing better research on a company. I will live with that and at the same time I am looking for other options. Also I will note that I was never told how long it could take, in theory it could be 2 years until I receive it and no one is at fault.