Sometimes when you start up a new enterprise it takes some time and shake down effort to get everything working smoothly. I hope you don't give it up without giving some thought along those lines.

When I received my long case it seemed that it could almost contain a complete mini survival kit. I am hoping for more good ideas and products.
You have a good product at a good price. I hope you can stick around.

Jon

Sorry Randy,
My fault I guess, it seems that I not only tossed you in the water with the sharks, but then poured a bucket of blood in after.
Keep at it and don't give up, the vast majority of people are plenty willing to wait for a high quality product. That's why you need a pre-production order (wait 6 weeks) statement on the site. It would smooth some things out for you. I also like the "wish list" function, it helps for planning if you ever catch up.
Cheers and work harder, or it's the lash!
<img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
Mike

Tom,

Schwert has been around on these forums for a while. I should say years. Three weeks isn't that long for a custom, hand made item. Be assured you will receive your order. I just wish I would have ordered some.

If you start accepting orders, please let us know. I would like some also...

Sorry if my question offended anyone. But I was not aware that they were custom made. I just placed an order on a web site and had not received or heard anything in 3 weeks. I though that this was not normal and posted a question asking if anyone had had similar experiences.

Posiblily the site should mention that they are custom made and that there is a wait.

Another post in the pile. I know how ordering on the internet can be sometimes, but rest assured that if Schwert is involved everything will be allright. These things take time and Keith will get all the orders shipped.

And I don't think anyone was offended at all. You have a right to ask, I just hope the responses put you at ease regarding your purchase. In the end, I think you will find it was well worth the wait.

Here is the latest from Keith.....

Randy;
Perhaps a few words of explanation that you may even want to put on the site will help customers to understand our situation.

AN EXPLANATION AND APOLOGY
First of all, customers need to understand that our business is literally a Mom and Pop operation. Marge and I do everything without outside help and sometimes get covered up with matchcase orders in addition to the other products we make. There are also slack times during which we try to anticipate the next "hot" item and build inventory, but we rarely guess 100% correctly.
Secondly, we have no control over the flow of raw materials to us - brass, aluminum, compasses (our biggest headache!), o-rings, anodizing, etc., and are at the mercy of our suppliers for timely delivery. Even after 15 years we find that our best efforts to anticipate demand are about as accurate as the weather forecast.
Thirdly, internet marketing is a brand new endeavor for us and the volume of sales caught us off guard. Our previous sales experience was primarily through large volume catalog retailers (L.L. Bean and Cabela's) who usually (but not always) gave us long lead times. As we become more proficient with internet marketing we should be able to work the bugs out. Rest assured that WE WILL CATCH UP AND EVERYONE WILL GET THEIR PRODUCTS!!!
Meanwhile we'll continue to offer what we believe to be the best matchcase/compass combination on the market in the belief that discriminating outdoorspeople will understand our situation and be willing to wait for what will hopefully always be short interruptions in supply.
If it's any comfort know that when you do receive a K&M matchcase it will be as dependable and functional as if it were personally made for one of our grandkids, little people we're quite fond of.
With sincere apologies and the hope that this short explanation will ease your concerns we beg your understanding.
Thank you,
Keith and Marge

You got my understanding... I don't even know the price, but I'm already sold based on comments here and the website. Looks like a quality unit and I'll be ordering as soon as you catch up. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Folks,
I think just about everyone here is willing to wait if it means purchasing a quality, American made product once. Meaning that these are something we'll be able to pass off to our children, so it's worth the wait. Why not purchase quality, especially if it never goes bad, barring the usual Murphy'isms as we know, S!@t happens.
I'm content to wait, if it means quality, I love the one I have, and will continue to buy these for gifts for additions to the E&E kits for my buddies in the sand box.

Cheers,
Mike