AJ Brooks whats the deal???

[Cpl_Punishment]

Has anyone heard what is going on with AJ Brooks in Vancouver? I ordered a pair of Meindl boots in September of 2012 and they are still not in. I kind of put it out of my mind until my old pair of Meindls were in my truck when it was stolen. With hunting season around the corner I'm wondering if I should be looking at another boot.

Every time I call or stop in they say they should know something in another 10 days. This has been going on since January. They blame the economic slow down in Europe, but I can't believe that Meindl hasn't filled orders in almost a year.

Thankfully I have not paid for them, but I'm starting to wonder if they haven't paid their bills or are going under.

[~T-BONE~]

Heard the same.. But was told the pair I ordered would be here mid July.. This was back second last week of may. Hope that things are straightened out overseas..

[Bisonfirst]

I was in the store a month ago and it had totally changed inside. The guy working wasn't very friendly either. Almost seems like ownership changed or something.

[boxhitch]

Heard it at the campfire.
AJ Brooks is in trouble , keep your money safe.

If you want Meindls talk to Larry at Fishers Hardware , he has a hundred or so pairs arriving..

[killman]

I had the same thing....ordered a pair waited for ever. Finally gave up and bought else where. They called a week later.

[Gateholio]

Unless you already paid for them, I'd buy somewhere else

[GoatGuy]

Better ask who will cover the warranty if your boots crap out.

[Andrewh]

They are basically belly up,

Check out Fishers Hardware in Vernon, I talked to Larry and he has lots in stock.

[warnniklz]

From what I've heard(can't verify) the one importer keeps telling all their customers they're going to have a bunch in soon. But the importer has faced some sort of troubles and won't be getting any. Apparently there's a store up north and on the island that have teamed up together to make the direct program.

But in all honesty I'm not really sure what's going on.

[Bod]

I quit dealing with that company 20 years ago because of poor service and no help with a warranty issue. Call Cabelas and you will have them in a week.

[The Silent Stalker]

I just ordered a pair of Cabelas/Meindls boots, they are on their way, I have the tracking number. I would order online or call the shops mentioned above.

[Hammerhead]

I bought mine 2 seasons ago and couldn't get the size I wanted from AJ Brooke's so they checked with Larry at Fishers Hardware and he had them. Great guy to deal with, he put them on the Greyhound and I picked them up in Coquitlam. Did exactly what he said he would do. Great service,do yourself a favour and call him.
HH

[proguide66]

I phoned there a month ago . Me, " have any boots in stock?" Dumbass- " nope". Me- " do you j ow when you might have some in?" . Dumbass- " no I don't" . Me- " do you know who might be able to help me out ?" Dumbass- " no, not really".
Hmmm. Ok facknuts, see ya AJ, hello Kenetreck

[Seth]

Call River Sportsman in Campbell River. That's where I got mine.

[spear]

same story for me with hanwags, waited 6+months, ended up buying some lowas.

[Chopper333]

AJ Brooks is in financial trouble. They were the local distributor. River Sportsmen were frustrated that they had no stock and were more than helpful with me. They explained the issues that they were having with both AJ and Meindl. So, I emailed Meindl complaining about no stock at AJ and River Sportsman. Meindl told me that they were having issues with AJ and to go to Fisher's Hardware in Vernon. I told Meindl no way I was driving 8 hrs and a ferry for boots! I asked them what they were planning on doing to keep their customers since they were not shipping to AJ. Response...nothing. 4 emails sent...Needless to say, I bought Lowa's and can't be happier. I would have bought Meindl but they seemed not to care about the problem and offered no assistance in rectifying it, including a direct order. So they lost me for life. I will never buy them no matter how good they are. Customer service = loyalty.

BTW I was at River Sportsman today and they had no Canadian model on display.

[GoatGuy]

There's lots of history here - the big thing for people to keep in mind is if you don't buy from a good store and there's no local distributor you've got no warranty........... and when you spend $500 you want somebody who will back you and somebody who will warranty you.

BTW - Fisher's will warranty you

[BlacktailStalker]

They've never been good to deal with anyways. You win.

[freonguy]

Same story for me - I ordered a pair of Dovre Extreme in 7 inch - they had the 10 inch high in store ( kind of ) in 12 wide - fit nicely - this was prior to this post and I was told 4 - 6weeks delivery. So, I read this post - phone them on Monday, July the 22nd - one guy said that they had 27 pairs of my boots in my size on the way - - hmmmmmmm, so I said ' fine, are mine on the list? ' No, because yours were ordered incorrectly '. So he gets Paul on the phone, ask the same questions and he promised to phone back Tuesday with the status. No call. Phone him Wednesday - ' your boots won't be shipped from Germany till the end of August' - ''CANCEL THE ORDER'' says me - CLICK!! Crappy customer service doesn't cut it - I will try some Kenetreks this go around..

[GoatGuy]

Had a set of Lowas for the last month. Put a couple miles on em, so far so good. Grouse river carries them

[geoskier]

I phoned there a month ago . Me, " have any boots in stock?" Dumbass- " nope". Me- " do you j ow when you might have some in?" . Dumbass- " no I don't" . Me- " do you know who might be able to help me out ?" Dumbass- " no, not really".
Hmmm. Ok facknuts, see ya AJ, hello Kenetreck


Haha I had the identical experience. I had a pair of Meindl Ortlers that I bought there a couple years ago (after a significant hassle). I tried ordering a pair last year and after several months of hearing their bullshit I gave up. Then I sucked up my pride and called them up this year. They told me that they would be getting boots in the fall. I replied "you gotta be fkn kidding me, you are bring the boots in after the hiking season and you guys are a hiking store!"

That store is just another hipster haven. They sell the most impractical and over priced horseshit gear.

I reluctantly bought a pair of Kenetrek boots but they seem ok so far. They are giving me blisters when most boots don't. With a couple days before sheep hunting, I am just going to lather the shit out of my heels with Friars balsam and paper tape (it works!).

[geoskier]

My email (just now) to their cust. service

"Maybe you guys should take the Meindl logo off your website since you haven’t sold a pair in a couple years (or at least everyone I know that has tried has received the same pathetic customer service “oh they’ll be here in a week….” 6 months later… “oh they’ll be here in a week…”).

It’s a shame that what was once a reputable outdoor shop, now only sells overpriced impractical hipster clothing. "

[Cpl_Punishment]

Well to my surprise I called AJ Brooks to hear their same BS excuse and they stated that their Meindl order was on the ground in Canada and just waiting to clear customs. Boots should be available to pick up tomorrow. So this leaves me a whole 2 weeks to break them in before our sheep scouting trip. I guess I'll be trading my sandles for boots as my daily wear.

Well it only took 11 mos of getting jerked around to arrive. Pretty sure Ill be going elsewhere next time.

[Rackmastr]

At least Lowas are easy to find and a hell of a great boot!!!

My work has been waiting for pairs of Meindls for a long time, and its becoming laughable at the lack of knowledge, communication, and business planning they have involved. I'm happy there are a ton of places carrying Lowa and from what I've seen I wouldnt go back to a Meindl hunting boot anyways after owning Lowas.