Hey guys,
I was just wondering what's the average turnaround time for a custom shell set from one of the big boys of coin gaffs? Thanks.



Roberto

You can check these out (or look for others):

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......&start=0
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......orum=202

The wait time can vary depending upon what big boy you are ordering from and what he is working on.

Todd has a Blog that lets you know what he is working on. If you get on a list (and Todd confirms it), you are golden. In addition, he is very approachable by phone and will be able to let you know if he is likely to be working on something fairly soon. Even so, if what you want is somewhat unusual or difficult for him to obtain, it might take some time so you need to be prepared to wait.

If the item you are looking for is listed on the Schoolcraft site as for sale, you are golden. I have heard that Schoolcraft has a similar backlog to what you experience with Todd if you want something he is not working on right now.

Roy can do good work and has satisfied many people, but there have been some problems in the past (check out the first link above).

Mr. Tango is very approachable here on the Café for custom work, but there are some communication issues.

Johnson will do custom on occasion. I have never purchased custom from them, though, so I have no idea what the usual wait is.

Xavier has a delay of about 3-4 months (everything is custom with him). Communication is also an issue there, make sure to explain exactly what you want (heads/tales shell, etc) He does a kind of softening on his gaffs that I don't care for (similar to Jim Riser's method) - I prefer natural, but that is harder to find naturally soft American coins in Europe.

Bob Swadling (sold through Mark Mason - JBTV USA) has very quick turnaround and does quality work. He doesn't do everything, so you will need to contact Mark to see if it is something he will do.

Just my opinion.

Alan

From experience and what I've heard:

Jamie Schoolcraft: 1-2 months (depending upon his supply, he has pre-made sets that he sends out)
Todd Lassen: Recently promised 2 weeks turn around time for all of his shell sets on his blog (and at cheaper price than schoolcraft)
Roy Kueppers: Around 2-3 weeks from experience for just a shell set.
Joe Morgar: About 2-3 weeks from my experience as well.

They all make pretty nice shell sets, If you want more info you can PM me.

Thanks guys! I ask because 7 weeks ago I placed an order for an unexpanded shell set. I called the gaffer twice and sent an email but no answer as of yet. I know he's gotta be busy making his gaffs but I was just trying to get the status of my order. I guess I'll just be patient and wait

Roberto

May I ask which gaffer this is? You can message me if you feel that you don't want to disclose this publicly.

Well, to my delight the gaffer sent me an email today with my order tracking number so I should have my set in 2-3 days, woohoo!!! So it looks like the overall wait time for this set was close to 2 months. Can't wait for the set to arrive!


Roberto

I know this thread is a little old, but I would like to add my comments regarding the craftsmen mentioned in the post I've quoted above, based on my personal experiences. I have some positive experiences with others who were not mentioned in this post, but I will stick to commenting on the craftsmen mentioned in the post I've quoted...

- Jamie Schoolcraft has never taken more than 3 weeks - and the one time he took three weeks, he was out of town and was a vendor at Magic Live, I think it was - or another large convention - for a week.

- I've never dealt with Todd Lassen and I have friends who, though they almost all complain about slow turn-around times, swear by his work. He has some very loyal customers; but I've seen his work side-by-side with the same/similar products from three different craftsmen and I can tell you that I wouldn't buy his stuff lest I received it second hand and at a very good price, (like half price or better - at an estate sale or something). In my personal opinion, what I've seen is less impressive from Todd than from others. I'd expect a little better based on the prices and comparative works.

- Roy Kueppers: Well, I bought one unexpanded set from him that was pretty impressive. Not better, say than a Schoolcraft Dean's Set, mind you; but impressive. Took a couple of months and dealing with untrue claims that the item "shipped yesterday" when it had not, in fact, shipped; but when it finally did arrive, it was well-made and I let the joy of my new set of coins wash away the frustrating behavior and timing I had to deal with to get them. I should not have let the shiny things distract me; because I ordered a second set from him several months later and the nightmare began. The set, again, took months to receive and it arrived poorly machined in multiple ways. So much so, that the set could actually not be used. And he knew it. It left his workshop like that. No way he wouldn't have noticed. Attempts to return the item for exchange started a whole other months-long war of wills and cost me even more money. He finally sent a replacement set - five months after my original order - and it, too, was sub par. I don't use it and can't sell it to recover any of my money, (I actually am so upset with his behavior and shoddy work that I don't even want the original, good set and have also tried to sell it with no success). I've found many others with similar experiences. Long waits, avoided calls and emails and lies about items shipping when they have not. I would avoid doing business with Roy like the plague. He does some quality work on occasion; but it's a gamble whether you'll get the quality pieces or not and you sure as fire won't get them in a timely manner or with any modicum of ethical service.

- Joe Morgar: Never ordered anything from him directly and don't own any of his stuff, but I have friends who swear by his knives.

That's my input. Hopefully it helps anyone looking to invest for the first time in a nice, expensive set of gaffed coins.

And if you believe the above post regarding Todd Lassen's work, then you are a bigger fool than the fool who wrote it.

I believe that's his personal experience and opinion, just as I'm sure there are folks with no complaints about Kueppers.
That your experience (or mine for that matter) differ makes neither you, me, Bendy, or any other reader a fool.

Not much personal experience there then.



I have a friend who has a friend who's sister met a man who's aunt danced with the Prince of Wales.



Really? I mean, really?

I'm sorry, inigmntoya, but to me this sounds utterly foolish at best, and at worst it sounds like a fairly transparent agenda.

It's worth considering that on these boards there are more people who have failed to get custom orders from Todd than there are regular customers. Every month or so, somebody posts on here bemoaning the fact that Todd "hasn't answered my email", despite being advised both by Todd and others to pick up the bloody phone.

Honestly, it just gets boring. I can't imagine how irritating it must be for Todd. Does anyone, and I mean anyone, on these boards who is a customer of Todd, please tell me if you agree with the above assessment of Todd's work?

C'mon, let's hear it.

Screw that, the more Bendy's we keep away from him the better. Who wants to add to their turnaround time for the Bendys of the world?

Fair point.

Incidentally, he had 17 half dollar, copper Miracle Enjoyment sets up yesterday. I, for one, invested.

I have bought from both todd and schoolcraft. I won't buy from schoolcraft again. Todd has a very slow turn around time. This is mainly due to the amount of work he puts into his products. I bought a magnetic shell flipper combo and the shell was domed. He said it was to make the sides more deceptive but I hated it. I've spent a couple grand with todd and have never been disappointed about what I received.

I'm not even sure what people here think of as a "slow turnaround time".

Here is what I think about "turnaround times":

Turnaround times. Times to turn around. What does this mean?

Well, if you are in the business of supplying, say, incontinence pads for the general public, then "turnaround time" would refer to the period between ordering 1,000,000 incontinence pads from your manufacturer and the date that they arrive for distribution. So much for incontinence pads.

My childhood was privileged, in one way, in that I grew up around beautiful things. Old things. When I decided to spend some money on serious coin gaffs, several years ago, I did my research. I read through every d*mned thread in this section, I looked around the Internet at large, I talked to people, I looked at examples.

There really was no question at all, after all that searching, as to who was the best person out there. There was no confusion as to how to best contact that person, and no stupid expectations as to "turnaround time".

I found that I was indeed dealing with a serious craftsman, a true expert. Never did he mislead me in any way. A simple conversation was sufficient to establish his working practice and what was realistic.

Perhaps it is down to ignorance, I don't know. But surely, surely, when we spend serious money, we don't just want a cheap incontinence pad.

God Donut! I missed the button! SOB frickam frackam !@#$um!?!?!?!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF6j-qEIXm8&t=1m41s

Stupid double post.

grrrr. and youtube links don't work with time sigs in preview mode. Brooks... update the site code!

;)