WARPed1701D Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 9 minutes ago, RichieV said: Well the v8 is sold out at ewheels.com: "SOLD OUT. Inmotion V8 & V5F will be rebranded as Solowheel, the V8 will be known as the ‘Glide 3’ at a 50%+ higher price." Head on over to Solowheel Seattle, and we can see the "Glide 3" now available for the low low price of $1595. Ugh. This wheel is now overpriced. Way overpriced considering the 480wh battery. The V5F (not +, 340wh only) is now the "Glide 2" at $999, and there's also a "Glide 2 Lite" which looks to be a slightly beefed up V5 with a 450w motor vs 350w and with a 160wh battery that is "FAA carry-on and checked approved". I'm feeling slightly angry at this. What were once highly recommendable wheels are now priced out of the running, at least here in the USA. SMH, as the kids say today. Wow! Your right to feel angry. I'm up they with you. So glad mine arrives on Monday, but Inmotion is now screwed in the US for all bit the casual uninformed buyer (which must be 90% of SoloWheel's customers). No one in their right mind would pay that for a V8 in it's current spec. I just hope this really is limited to the US. Given the recent review by SpeedyFeet of the V8 in which Solowheel and Glide is not mentioned I'm hoping this craziness is contained to US borders. I wonder if I should buy a set of replacement shells and pedals while they still have Inmotion on them and don't require a mortgage. I also wonder if eWheels will still have a license to stock and sell the wheels and parts or if SoloWheel will be the only outlet. What will happen to the + version of the V5? Dropped maybe to push people to the V8? Sigh. Why do stupid people ruin stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wax Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 22 minutes ago, RichieV said: Well the v8 is sold out at ewheels.com: "SOLD OUT. Inmotion V8 & V5F will be rebranded as Solowheel, the V8 will be known as the ‘Glide 3’ at a 50%+ higher price." Head on over to Solowheel Seattle, and we can see the "Glide 3" now available for the low low price of $1595. Ugh. This wheel is now overpriced. Way overpriced considering the 480wh battery. The V5F (not +, 340wh only) is now the "Glide 2" at $999, and there's also a "Glide 2 Lite" which looks to be a slightly beefed up V5 with a 450w motor vs 350w and with a 160wh battery that is "FAA carry-on and checked approved". I'm feeling slightly angry at this. What were once highly recommendable wheels are now priced out of the running, at least here in the USA. SMH, as the kids say today. That's really sad. But it's an opportunity for Gotway and Kingsong to gain market share if they want to drop their pricing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WARPed1701D Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 Just now, Wax said: That's really sad. But it's an opportunity for Gotway and Kingsong to gain market share if they want to drop their pricing. I don't think they even need to drop their pricing. When I brought my V8 it was almost $500 less than the new KS 16S. Now it is $100 more expensive and the 16S has much higher specs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 34 minutes ago, RichieV said: Well the v8 is sold out at ewheels.com: "SOLD OUT. Inmotion V8 & V5F will be rebranded as Solowheel, the V8 will be known as the ‘Glide 3’ at a 50%+ higher price." Head on over to Solowheel Seattle, and we can see the "Glide 3" now available for the low low price of $1595. Ugh. This wheel is now overpriced. Way overpriced considering the 480wh battery. The V5F (not +, 340wh only) is now the "Glide 2" at $999, and there's also a "Glide 2 Lite" which looks to be a slightly beefed up V5 with a 450w motor vs 350w and with a 160wh battery that is "FAA carry-on and checked approved". I'm feeling slightly angry at this. What were once highly recommendable wheels are now priced out of the running, at least here in the USA. SMH, as the kids say today. What the f***ing f**k?! Who thought this was a good idea? Seriously. WHY? I can only assume they patent-troll/sue the other manufacturers/dealers as a next step. Who else would buy this over a 16S or 84V ACM for the same price? edit: this deserves documentation by screenshot for how ridiculous it is. If even a dealer states on the website that the new branding is essentially a scam... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve454 Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 25 minutes ago, RichieV said: Well the v8 is sold out at ewheels.com: "SOLD OUT. Inmotion V8 & V5F will be rebranded as Solowheel, the V8 will be known as the ‘Glide 3’ at a 50%+ higher price." Head on over to Solowheel Seattle, and we can see the "Glide 3" now available for the low low price of $1595. Ugh. This wheel is now overpriced. Way overpriced considering the 480wh battery. The V5F (not +, 340wh only) is now the "Glide 2" at $999, and there's also a "Glide 2 Lite" which looks to be a slightly beefed up V5 with a 450w motor vs 350w and with a 160wh battery that is "FAA carry-on and checked approved". I'm feeling slightly angry at this. What were once highly recommendable wheels are now priced out of the running, at least here in the USA. SMH, as the kids say today. I was surprised the see that the original Solowheel 16inch is priced so low. $699 is cheaper than Ninebotone E+, might be a good starter wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wax Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 2 minutes ago, WARPed1701D said: I don't think they even need to drop their pricing. When I brought my V8 it was almost $500 less than the new KS 16S. Now it is $100 more expensive and the 16S has much higher specs. I hear you. This pretty much kills the inmotion market because their pricing is whack. Like you I'm a V8 owner so if I were to get a new wheel in the future, and if KS and GW sort out their material durability and firmware issues, I'd get them over the Solowheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LanghamP Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 I can see their point of view because we aren't their desired audience. Enthusiast are a fickle and disloyal lot, always looking for the best deals. In contrast, a well-heeled semi-enthusiast would buy this wheel because of "good enough" performance, excellent refinement, and great looks. For a white collar urbanite an extra $500 for a wheel in stock, available immediately, doesn't sound bad at all. $1500 or so is quite comparable with mid-range bicycles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WARPed1701D Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 @Jason McNeil will you still sell the V5 and V8 under their new name? I don't see any mention of backorder available for the V8. Will the plus model be dropped? What about parts? Will you still stock them and if so will they go up 50% in price too? If you are loosing the brand what is the deal with Warranties for existing owners. I'd like to know how my new wheel will be supported going forward before I open the box and can't return it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WARPed1701D Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 They have been posting images of the Inmotion wheels since July 5th on the SoloWheel Seattle Facebook page. It kind of says something about the brand when one of the busiest EUC communities didn't pick up on it for nearly two weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 2 minutes ago, WARPed1701D said: They have been posting images of the Inmotion wheels since July 5th on the SoloWheel Seattle Facebook page. It kind of says something about the brand when one of the busiest EUC communities didn't pick up on it for nearly two weeks. Nice observation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tjtripp Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 Damn. I'm glad i got my V8 when i did. I hope the parts continue to be stocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US69 Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 Haha, and LOL!! Glide 3....what a joke for 1600 bucks! Really, my english is not enough to describe my feelings! SlowMotion..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US69 Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 3 hours ago, steve454 said: I was surprised the see that the original Solowheel 16inch is priced so low. $699 is cheaper than Ninebotone E+, might be a good starter wheel. sorry...but nowadays this "old original solowheel" is a piece of crap.... Even for that price i would never recommend it...i would advise to take 300 bucks more and buy a fantastic Inmotion V8....Wait?! No, not anymore..... Fortunatly...this is only US market.....as far as we know at the moment :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houseofjob Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 As expected, Inventist / Solowheel = patent trolling RIP InMotion EUC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fearedbliss Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 23 hours ago, WARPed1701D said: @Jason McNeil will you still sell the V5 and V8 under their new name? I don't see any mention of backorder available for the V8. Will the plus model be dropped? What about parts? Will you still stock them and if so will they go up 50% in price too? If you are loosing the brand what is the deal with Warranties for existing owners. I'd like to know how my new wheel will be supported going forward before I open the box and can't return it. Yea I'm kinda concerned as well now, and my new V8 also arrives tomorrow. I originally looked at the purchase as "I'll be the last one to get the upgrade to my V5F+ without paying a 50% premium", but like you mentioned, all of the support equipment could go up in price. Maybe I should return the V8 before I open it and possibly just switch to a Gotway ACM+ or KS 14S, or something else. @Jason McNeil I know you are running a business and you need to do what's best for it, but you know that the new pricing for the V8 and basically any other wheel Inventist makes is a scam. Are you thinking of leaving the V8 up with your note on the site as a sign of protest, are you gonna remove the post and stop supplying Inmotion wheels and just focus on other groups, are you going to continue selling them? @Jason McNeil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason McNeil Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 I'll be making a full post about this later today. Solowheel's/Shane's position is that he wants to block import of all other brands of Electric Unicycles into the US, he's even going after Segway/Ninebot through the courts at this very moment. For those with the knowledge about Shane's true involvement in the 'Invention' of the Electric Unicycle, this is a complete farce. On 15/07/2017 at 10:00 AM, WARPed1701D said: @Jason McNeil will you still sell the V5 and V8 under their new name? I don't see any mention of backorder available for the V8. Will the plus model be dropped? What about parts? No, I won't be selling any of the Glide series. I have a +$10,000 Inmotion parts inventory, this ought to be more than sufficient to deal with any after-service issues with the V8s we've sold; furthermore, we can continue to purchase parts from China. As you can imagine, I've tried to vigorously persuade Inmotion Management of the error of their ways, that this pricing policy will be self-defeating, but in their minds, the Solowheel joint venture is a fait accompli, not open to debate or revision. "No doubt there has been intense internal debate about the new pricing policy of the rebranded products, in my mind the negatives overwhelmingly supplant any marginal benefits of revenue from the higher prices. The arguments summoned against this dramatic increase include: Accusations of Price Gouging: Consumers who buy Electric Unicycles today are among the most educated & intelligent buyers in the US. They're going to know what the historical prices were, along with the comparable overseas prices in other markets & draw the conclusion the conclusion that they're being overcharged. Price Elasticity: this is the concept that if an Electric Unicycle is out of a person's budget, they will instead substitute the Electric Unicycle for another mode of personal transport that offers double, or triple, the capability per $. It doesn't look like there's been any serious analysis of this factor with the new pricing regime. Loss of credibility for the new brand: as a first action of the new company, this sends the wrong message to current loyal Inmotion Customers, that the new company is overpriced. Competition: even if Shane is successful at blocking King Song & Gotway at the wholesale level, he still has to face the facts that, 1) consumers can still purchase individually directly from China & there is nothing that can be done to stop this, 2) there are domestic US companies like Kiwano & Segway/Ninebot making similar products for a lot less money, 3) prices have to be in line for similar class of devices—this is the chief argument levelled against Solowheel within the Electric Unicycle community, that their products are overpriced! Dramatic Decrease in Sales: I predict the net effect of these factors, is that even with massively increased marketing dollars, many people will take an immediate dislike to the new company & the expensive rebranded but hardly improved products. Hope you're receptive to exploring the new pricing further." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fearedbliss Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 @Jason McNeil You having a good amount of supplies left definitely makes me feel more confident about the purchase. I don't understand what you mean you can still buy direct from China for the parts? If inmotion is sold to solowheel, doesn't solowheel have full control over production and redistribution of the product? Thus they can prevent any "non authorized sales"? Basically if I didn't want to buy a V8 in the US but wanted to buy it direct from China, I wouldn't be able to do this. Do you mean authorized Inmotion parts or just generic but equivalent parts that are compatible with the inmotion? Or do you mean that Solowheel only bought the distribution rights for that wheel within the US but inmotion is still operating independently in China in a collaboration with Inventist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason McNeil Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 2 minutes ago, fearedbliss said: don't understand what you mean you can still buy direct from China for the parts? I'll explain it all later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Really looking forward to your explanations! And my sympathies for these assholes trying to ruin your livelyhood along with effectively ruining and undoing EUC progress, a big part of which is thanks to you -- Well, maybe we need to start review-bombing these new "Solowheels" wherever they appear. "Scam", "overpriced", "old technology" etc and pointing out the alternatives... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieV Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 I'm curious as to how Inmotion thought this would be a good move. What was their reason for agreeing to this? How long are the terms of this agreement? Is it only their unicycles that are affected? Will their V3 units still be available under the Inmotion brand? Their scooters? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meepmeepmayer Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 I believe Inmotion are like Trump voters. They thought if they ally with the bad guy and endure his more wacky sides/pretend these do not exist, they get spared or even get some "trickle down". Instead, they (predictably) got scammed like everyone else, probably the worst. They effectively killed their US market. Who buys a 1500+ V8, even if they manage to ban other wheels (I have my doubts) that's a very hard sell as soon as people start researching. Good luck getting these on Amazon without 90% negative reviews, e.g. Also, who buys these crazy overpriced original Solowheels when even the overpriced V8 is a much better offering now? It's just stupid from every angle. Only explanation I have is that Chen is a vindictive baby and Inmotion thought they would get away with a deal with the devil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HETPE3B Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 Interesting, what is the approximate total number of any brand of electric unicycle owners in US (e.g. if there at least 10k people own the unicycle in US) and what is the share of this number of V8 owners? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WARPed1701D Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 @Jason McNeil Thanks for responding. I think it would be fair for me to say the entire community here sympathizes with the situation you find yourself in and supports you. You've made considerable effort to support Inmotion in the US and they are screwing you. I really thought Inmotion must have been forced into this but it sounds like they were willing participants. Shame. Very poor business decision I think. Speaks volumes about SoloWheel too. Rather than innovate and produce products people want to buy they hide behind lawyers, steal designs, and try to suppress the competition. I for one will not support this kind of company going forward. It seems like everyone could lose in this game. I look forward to your post later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WARPed1701D Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 2 hours ago, Jason McNeil said: No, I won't be selling any of the Glide series. I have a +$10,000 Inmotion parts inventory, this ought to be more than sufficient to deal with any after-service issues with the V8s we've sold; furthermore, we can continue to purchase parts from China. Forgot to add this... I'm glad you have sufficient parts to support the wheel although I guess these will become a fiscal liability to you now. My concern was that Solowheel would take over warranty and they would require the whole wheel be shipped to a service center for repairs vs just sending out replacement parts for user installation when needed. Also beyond the warranty period I didn't want to risk their price gouging on repairs. Thanks again for some clarification here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rehab1 Posted July 16, 2017 Share Posted July 16, 2017 1 hour ago, meepmeepmayer said: Well, maybe we need to start review-bombing these new "Solowheels" wherever they appear. "Scam", "overpriced", "old technology" etc and pointing out the alternatives... I can think of other methods but we first need to see what @Jason McNeil has to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.