Done Fenno - Warning - Equip Broker

[mimosatexas]

twas a joke...

[Frog]

twas a joke...

Unfortunately, many of us have gone through major forum combat with a few individuals who considered that practice perfectly acceptable  and S.O.P.

[spotcolorsupply]

winston is great to work with.

I think we are lucky down here to have some great techs/brokers.  I would buy equipment in a heartbeat from the following(more than likely sight unseen if they checked it out)

Winston, Brannon, or Sieggy in no particular order.  I've known all 3 for a while, Sieggy since I was probably 14 or 15 years old.  Brannon since his days back at Freedom Supply and I've only known Winston for a couple years, but people like him are the reason I love this industry.

No offense to anybody that I left off.

Thanks bud!! 

[Prosperi-Tees]

I think I painted my broker experience in a bad light. Bill Foust did offer to replace any parts that were damaged by the freight company so that is a great thing. I think the question is what should brokers responsibilities be? Should they take care of all 4 steps from inspection, teardown, crating and shipping? I know Bill takes care of the first 3. But should shipping also be on the backs of the broker? I know there are plenty of brokers out there that dont even do the first 3 and only collect money. What should it be? All I can say is if I would not have purchased insurance for the freight I would have been out over $8000. As it is I am still out $2000 but I guess thats the price you pay buying used equipment from across the country. I have talked with Bill yesterday as he called me out on my post and I really dont have anything against him, I think he is one of the good brokers, I just think my situation just plain old stank.

[3Deep]

A good broker does what it takes to keep his name good and repeat business, unless there one of those that like to stick people and run and hide until there next victim comes alone.

Darryl

[spotcolorsupply]

I think I painted my broker experience in a bad light. Bill Foust did offer to replace any parts that were damaged by the freight company so that is a great thing. I think the question is what should brokers responsibilities be? Should they take care of all 4 steps from inspection, teardown, crating and shipping? I know Bill takes care of the first 3. But should shipping also be on the backs of the broker? I know there are plenty of brokers out there that dont even do the first 3 and only collect money. What should it be? All I can say is if I would not have purchased insurance for the freight I would have been out over $8000. As it is I am still out $2000 but I guess thats the price you pay buying used equipment from across the country. I have talked with Bill yesterday as he called me out on my post and I really dont have anything against him, I think he is one of the good brokers, I just think my situation just plain old stank.

A good broker will cover at least the first 3... We just brokered a diamondback L and we did not take care of the shipping. There was very little money in the deal so we left that up to the customer. I don't see anything wrong with that as long as it is stated before the deal is closed.

We always recommend the customer purchase insurance, if they choose not to, it’s on them. I can’t be held liable because they want to be a cheap a$$.

Speaking from experience, brokering is a huge PITA, that was the first broker deal we have done in almost a year. I prefer selling equipment off of my floor.

[Prosperi-Tees]

The whole situation just left a bad taste in my mouth. And seeing others like Gilligans embroidery machine get trashed just makes me not want to buy large used equipment anymore unless its in my local area. Would I buy from Bill Foust again? Probably but nothing large like a press again unless its real close to me and I can go pick it up myself.

[mimosatexas]

I'd honestly rather take the 500+ bucks I would spend on shipping and borrow a trailer/uhaul and pay the gas to drive to pick up stuff out of state rather than pay a shipping company.  There are sooooooo many terrible freight companies and very few good ones, and even the good ones typically have high turnover when it comes to drivers and your equipment is only as safe as their driver cares for it to be.

[Frog]

I have to think that the quality of crating must be a major factor as well.

[danlilsade]

Gerry,  Thanks for the clarification.  I always try to get customers to inspect prior to purchase and to rent a truck and take the machine on the road (KY to CA would be crazy for an $8k machine).  Truck drivers don't care whether they are hauling eggs or t-shirts, they drive the same way.  The problem with your load was likely at the freight terminals, the guys that transfer loads from one truck to another get paid to be fast (again eggs or t-shirts).

You need to weigh the amount of money you are spending against the cost of inspection and taking time to drive (or have someone you trust drive the equipment to you).   I don't think you can expect the broker to be responsible for the truck line, this is why they (truck lines) sell insurance.  I seriously doubt any new machine damaged in transit would be covered by the manufacturer.  The drivers for truck lines are getting to be more and more particular about the way items are crated and have refused loads because they packaging doesn't meet the carrier's standards.  Once they accept the load, it is on them to get it delivered undamaged.

Spending money without looking is a decision for the buyer, all a seller can do is make recommendations.  If you are spending $10k without looking, that is a risk for you to weigh against the time it would consume to inspect.  If you are spending $50k+ without looking (or having someone you trust look) you are either a fool or very well off and money is not important to you. 

I have dealt with Don F and Bill F on more than one occasion and not had problems with with either guy. 

I have learned over the years that every seller thinks his equipment is cherry, 95% of the time they are wrong.  On some occasions they are flat out lying and they know the machine is junk. 

I am not the BillF that started this thread. 

[Rick Roth]

I have had only good dealings with Don Fenno. I can't vouche for all his dealings, but he has done well for me both buying and selling. He puts buyers with sellers, he doesn't add anything more or less in that equation from what I see. You can get good deals but you can get burned.

If you want a broker that stands by the equipment, that means they are a techie or have techies. It also means they probably have to take in the equipment, check it out, maybe do some refurbishing and then sell it. Duh, that costs a great deal more.

In any case, unless you know the person well, you have to check out the equipment yourself, or send someone on your behalf.

One last warning is that trucking companies have low low low amounts they pay if they damage used equipment. You take a huge risk as they pay almost nothing. Go get it yourself or take a big risk if it is breakable.

[jrbestinknthread]

Hello my name is Junior I own a screen printing and embroidery company in southern California
I have a business partner name ray also we are reaching out to warm people about a machine broker
That goes by the name “Don Fenno”  we made a deal with him a few months ago with a machine that
He was going to get us for 70,000 so we wired him 63,000 to his account well it’s been more than 2 months
He told us that the machine owner did not want to sell his machine anymore so we ask for out money back
Now he is just giving us the run around with lies after lies at this point we are starting a lawsuit against him
And will be posting on all forums about what he has done to us and others we recently talk to another person
That he has done this to.. Don't know if this will help me recover my money but at least warn people of the kind
Of business man that he is a lier a thief.. We are honest and hard working people that are only trying to better our
Company .. I know a lot of people might not agree and thinks he is a honorable and honest man but we
Have plenty of prof contracts and email from him to prove it...

Please don’t be the next person that this happens to

Don't trust don fenno

And for the record it was Steve Vermillion who recommended him who know will not answer our calls...

Thanks for taking the time to read this ...

Junior Vice President
Ray President

www.bestinkandthread.com
jr@bestinkandthread.com

[ffokazak]

I didn't realize that Don had this reputation, I found his site online and contacted in the search for our new press. He contacted me the next day, so he's still on the grind. Glad I stumbled upon this post.

[bimmridder]

Welcome to Don Fenno Enterprises
Posted on April 8, 2013 by Fenno Enterprises

Don Fenno Enterprises, LLC has been assisting customers in the garment decorating equipment business for over 20 years. We strive to find and represent those pieces of equipment that give the customer the best value for their purchases. We follow up with close client contact — before, during and after each transaction — to make sure the customer is completely satisfied.

We deal in new and used equipment to meet our customer’s ongoing operating needs. We also have a toll-free number 888-291-8116 to insure constant availability of our resources for our clients.


This is directly off his site,with the exception of me changing the font color. I've never bought or sold from him, so I can offer no opinions

[ffokazak]

One more thought... I bought a laser cutter from China, and they only accepted wire transfers. 

I remember the facial expression of the girl working at Money Mart when I told her I was there to send a lot of cash to someone in China. She strongly suggested that I rethink this... but I was confident. I had done my homework and found supplier that had a reputation they had been building for a few years on a forum. They had their problems, but every time an issue was posted the OP had responded to the thread saying that this company had helped them though the issue and had resolved it. They relied on that reputation for sales. I knew that if they screwed me, I would have 13 thousand reasons to drag them through the mud and cost them more than that in the long run. The laser came, it worked, I had a few pieces replaced under warranty, {Overnight DHL BTW. Great followup service} and I would gladly recommend them to anyone looking to buy machinery.

I hate seeing that in this industry there are people who disappear after conflict and then be sure to call new potential clients within a day of an email. How many of us would still have T shirt shops if we acted like that? Yes I hate when I, or one of my guys makes a mistake. But we act honourably and resolve the issue, even if it ends up costing us. Maybe thats why were busier than ever before.

Hopefully this thread marks the start of a brokers reputation being valued by the brokers themselves.