From Black Friday To Insolvency: A Summary Of The Fanatec/Endor Troubles

azaralamouri said:

My favorite sim racing gear company.

I have always purchased Fanatec and always will.

Even my contact with their customer service was pleasant. Not only the employees, but even Tomas was nice and looked like willing to listen to an individual user like me and take notes, especially about the durability/ longevity/ reliability.

I'm glad to learn it's here to stay.

I recommend it.

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Kingkoenig said:

Same here. I asked a question about the QR2 and got a helpful reply very quickly. I'm thinking of getting the Clubsport wheel eventually, I'll see how things go with the restructuring.

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Kingkoenig said:

Same here.

I asked a question about the QR2 and got a helpful reply very quickly. I'm thinking of getting the Clubsport wheel eventually, I'll see how things go with the restructuring.

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J.J.McClure said:

Anyone who brings investors, in whatever form, into their small company has immediately lost control of the business. A majority shareholding or not.
It's the same in private life. Move in with your partner and you can no longer do what you want in the apartment. If my wife reads this, I'll be a dead man.
The investors, in this case the shareholders, want to see money. Come hell or high water.
If necessary, they threaten to sell the shares and thus lose money.
Someone wanted to catch up with the global players with a finite niche product and simply gambled and lost. Megalomania was never a good thing.
Why is Moza, Logitech and Thrustmaster also serving flight enthusiasts, truck drivers or PC-Hardware?
Diversity is the key word.
The market for steering wheels, pedals and all these racing accessories is completely oversaturated.
Innovations are in short supply.
Only ever higher FFB, new steering wheels with more buttons than the Space Shuttle needed, pedals that look like the arm of the T-800 are not enough to survive.
Whoever sells something should also ensure that customers receive the goods they ordered within a reasonable time and do not have to wait long.
For me personally, a maximum of 3 days, otherwise the order is cancelled. I don't need their goods to survive. But in return they need my money.
More and more suppliers are coming onto the market.
The cake is getting smaller and smaller, but for me as a customer, the choice is bigger and bigger means cheaper. As we all know, competition stimulates business.
Users also don't buy a new steering wheel, base and pedals every 2 months.
When the bucket is full, no more water will fit in it. No matter what the water on offer looks or tastes like.
What Fanatec/Endor also didn't seem to want to admit is how immensely important good word of mouth is for a company.
You can commission Tarantino to make your commercial, you can hire the best scriptwriters,hire the best actors and invest hundredthousands of euros, but if customers have had bad experiencesand there are more than enough of those, they can't do so if a friend asks them if they recommend steering wheel XY.
One less potential new customer.
If asked, they will then be more likely to recommend the alternative product that they bought on the advice of their friends. Because it is available and not better or worse.
This creates an avalanche that no campaign can stop.
Annoy a single customer and you lose 10 potential new customers. But these are what keep a company alive. Good word of mouth is also free and the best advertising you can get.
Several paid Hein Happelpabbels featured by Fanatec with their channels are simply not enough.
Whoever believes them also believes that there is someone who bends bananas.
The market is cleaning itself up. It happens all the time on this planet.
Do I feel sorry for the employed workers?
I'm honestly sorry, no.
That's life. Grow up for once.
You just take your experiences and move on to the next anthill and carry on there.
You, who are now acting as if the world is coming to an end, could have simply given Fanatec/Endor your bank account numbers and account details and placed a few orders to save the company.
But love didn't go that far, did it?
There is surely another manufacturer somewhere waiting in the wings to delight us with their oh-so-great, innovative steering wheels made from space dust and equipped with a cowbell sound.
For the equivalent of a used small car, of course.
After all, it is limited to 5,000 units.

Click to expand...

J.J.McClure said:

Anyone who brings investors, in whatever form, into their small company has immediately lost control of the business. A majority shareholding or not.
It's the same in private life. Move in with your partner and you can no longer do what you want in the apartment. If my wife reads this, I'll be a dead man.
The investors, in this case the shareholders, want to see money. Come hell or high water.
If necessary, they threaten to sell the shares and thus lose money.
Someone wanted to catch up with the global players with a finite niche product and simply gambled and lost. Megalomania was never a good thing.
Why is Moza, Logitech and Thrustmaster also serving flight enthusiasts, truck drivers or PC-Hardware?
Diversity is the key word.
The market for steering wheels, pedals and all these racing accessories is completely oversaturated.
Innovations are in short supply.
Only ever higher FFB, new steering wheels with more buttons than the Space Shuttle needed, pedals that look like the arm of the T-800 are not enough to survive.
Whoever sells something should also ensure that customers receive the goods they ordered within a reasonable time and do not have to wait long.
For me personally, a maximum of 3 days, otherwise the order is cancelled. I don't need their goods to survive. But in return they need my money.
More and more suppliers are coming onto the market.
The cake is getting smaller and smaller, but for me as a customer, the choice is bigger and bigger means cheaper. As we all know, competition stimulates business.
Users also don't buy a new steering wheel, base and pedals every 2 months.
When the bucket is full, no more water will fit in it. No matter what the water on offer looks or tastes like.
What Fanatec/Endor also didn't seem to want to admit is how immensely important good word of mouth is for a company.
You can commission Tarantino to make your commercial, you can hire the best scriptwriters,hire the best actors and invest hundredthousands of euros, but if customers have had bad experiencesand there are more than enough of those, they can't do so if a friend asks them if they recommend steering wheel XY.
One less potential new customer.
If asked, they will then be more likely to recommend the alternative product that they bought on the advice of their friends. Because it is available and not better or worse.
This creates an avalanche that no campaign can stop.
Annoy a single customer and you lose 10 potential new customers. But these are what keep a company alive. Good word of mouth is also free and the best advertising you can get.
Several paid Hein Happelpabbels featured by Fanatec with their channels are simply not enough.
Whoever believes them also believes that there is someone who bends bananas.
The market is cleaning itself up. It happens all the time on this planet.
Do I feel sorry for the employed workers?
I'm honestly sorry, no.
That's life. Grow up for once.
You just take your experiences and move on to the next anthill and carry on there.
You, who are now acting as if the world is coming to an end, could have simply given Fanatec/Endor your bank account numbers and account details and placed a few orders to save the company.
But love didn't go that far, did it?
There is surely another manufacturer somewhere waiting in the wings to delight us with their oh-so-great, innovative steering wheels made from space dust and equipped with a cowbell sound.
For the equivalent of a used small car, of course.
After all, it is limited to 5,000 units.

Click to expand...