Whoopie Kat Decals

[RodBurNeR]

I talked to Keven after I saw an email about his possible closing up. I emailed him and the rest is history....

He has basically seen what the economy has done and it's hurt his business. "Not many orders in the last 3 months" .... "my printer is down and I can't afford to get it fixed"....."I need some orders to come in so I can get it back up".... which are some of the things he said.

Since he uses an Alps printer, they do some of the finest work in decal making. The thing is, he has to ship it over seas and it's not cheap to do so. His is under warranty, so it's the shipping costs that are hindering him.

Check his site, let him know what you think.....most of all support him if you can and help him get the printer fixed so he can stay open. (by ordering , you are helping him get it done) I hate the way the economy is affecting us all. Since this is our precious past time....our hobby, we can't let it die off slowly. Once after market guys drop off....we are stuck with nothing but the kits we have and the kits we can find , even what little after market we will be able to find.

Time to stimulate our hobby! Stop by, I am sure he has decals for everyone. Keven has been in business 3 years, let's help him stay in it for many more. (click on image of car to see decal sheet, nice art work!)

http://www.whoopiekatdecals.com/

Just doing my part to see that we don't lose another one.

[purplehornies]

What kind of orders will he need to back to business. I really want a set of his Batman ’66 Mustang long nose decals but may order others to try to help him out.

[RodBurNeR]

What kind of orders will he need to back to business. I really want a set of his Batman '66 Mustang long nose decals but may order others to try to help him out.

Not exactly sure, you might ask him on that. I do know that he has support coming from a couple other guys that puts him at the "half way mark". He did tell me a figure, but I don't have permission to say and don't want to step on toes.

[Guest Davkin]

I don't beleive Alps is refurbishing their old printers anymore, he should make sure he can get it fixed before he takes any more orders. Alps no longer even has a printer factory and from what I understand ran out of parts for them some time ago. I used to be an Alps decal maker and got one of the last printers on their trade-in program and that was two years ago. Alps hasn't even supplied printer supplies to North America in over 1 1/2 years. The writing was on the wall for all Alps based decal makers some time ago.

David

[Guest Davkin]

Okay, I looked into it and apparently supplies are still available, though often branded as Oki or Citizen, probably because they coming from Europe since Alps is required to continuing supplying printers sold there by law for a certain period of time. I couldn't find anything about a repair service though. I did find new printers available in New Zealand, (obviously old stock since the factory was shut down to comply with the Kyoto treaty.) but the cost is nearly $900 US$ + shipping. That's about $1000 to continue producing decals. Considering sales are slow doesn't seem like a good investment at all on his part. Even at my peak at making/selling decals I don't think I netted much more than $1000/year. When Alps still had their exchange program the cost was $300 and I had a hard time pulling the trigger on that!

David

[Aaronw]

ALPS still make printers, they just stopped marketing them to the US. Their latest printer is the 5500 which is supported, the older 1300, 5000 etc are not.

They are not cheap, particularly with the exchange rate and shipping but they are still fully supported.

ALPS supplies in New Zealand offers the printers and supplies along with good service.

http://www.alps-supplies.com/

There are a lot of rumors about ALPS one of those being the halting of production.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Aaronw

[Guest Davkin]

The shutdown of the factory in Japan wasn't a rumor, I got that info straight from Alps. Maybe they just lied to the US customers, but they told me that they essentially dismantled the factory to comply with the Kyoto treaty. Again, not something I just read on the internet, the info came straight from their office via email. That's why I procured another printer from them via near the end of their exchange program even though the printer I had was working fine. So, if they are still manufacturing printers they either changed their minds or outright lied to me.

David

[RodBurNeR]

Okay, I looked into it and apparently supplies are still available, though often branded as Oki or Citizen, probably because they coming from Europe since Alps is required to continuing supplying printers sold there by law for a certain period of time. I couldn't find anything about a repair service though. I did find new printers available in New Zealand, (obviously old stock since the factory was shut down to comply with the Kyoto treaty.) but the cost is nearly $900 US$ + shipping. That's about $1000 to continue producing decals. Considering sales are slow doesn't seem like a good investment at all on his part. Even at my peak at making/selling decals I don't think I netted much more than $1000/year. When Alps still had their exchange program the cost was $300 and I had a hard time pulling the trigger on that!

David

Yeah you can still get parts and ink and printers, but as you found out....it's expensive. Actually Keven told me he just got his printer not that long ago and it did cost him $900....now the problem is , it's still under warranty and he has to pay shipping back across seas. The cost for shipping is HIGH...We aren't talking $30.....it's much more than that.

The economy slowed his business down to the point he could not afford to ship it off for repair....now the mission is to help him get orders again to get it shipped off , while his friend prints for him.

I think he's an honest guy, I just don't want to see another one of "us" lose a business that helps "us" out.

I didn't know you made decals before? I used to be Gooche web master and I had access to everything in order to run his site. I know how much can be made doing decals......a person can live off of it if you have what people want etc etc....

Thanks for your replies and orders if you have made any.

Edited March 19, 2009 by awbcrazy

[Guest Davkin]

Okay, I understand now. However, they may not honor the warranty if they feel he abused the printer. Once Alps discovered that people were using their printers for commercial purposes and that was the cause of the printer heads burning out they put a limit on sheets/month. If you exceeded what they determined to be the proper usage the printer was designed for they would not warranty the repair. I've been out of the loop for about 1 1/2 years now so I can't say for sure what their policy is anymore but I'd imagine there is some limit to what they'll warranty. After blowing through a couple printers I figured this out on my own, even before Alps instituted the usage limit. I purposely slowed down my decal production and I would only print a couple sheets in a row then let the printer cool off and no more than 5 sheets a night. Once I did that I never had problems with my Alps printers again.

I sold decals for about 5-6 years as "DSAO Decals". My focus was vintage Nascar. I question the idea that a person could make a living producing Alps decals for two reasons; First, the fragility and limited availability of the printers, afterall they are not commercial printers therefore even if there is enough demand you won't have the capacity to fill it. Second, if he was really ever getting a significant amount of orders I find it odd that he can't even afford to ship the printer to have it fixed now.

I also personally beleive it's wrong to borrow from your customers to pay for capital expenditures. My opinion is he should temporarily close shop until he can save up the money to fix the printer on his own, then once he has a functioning printer so he can actually fill orders as they come in can open up the business again.

I don't want to see these cottage companies go out of business either, but I also don't to see people ruin themselves financially trying to keep a loser business open, and this case possibly cause hard feelings with customers for taking money for orders he may not be able to fill for a couple months or longer if ever.

David

[RodBurNeR]

David, I think you read that wrong. Whoopie Kat is not making enough to live on......I was talking about "for example" of Gooche Decals when I was his web master. I know for a fact how much he made....and he didn't get stuck with broken printers too often, because he had a few of them as backups. Between selling on the site and ebay sales.....it was as much as my wife makes a year full time job for $22 an hour.

Not everyone can do that though and I am not insinuating that Keven is doing it. He said he doesn't make enough at it to live off of and "prints them as they are ordered".....never anything in stock, which is good.....always fresh decals for each order!

Thanks again for your reply.

[Fletch]

I also personally believe it's wrong to borrow from your customers to pay for capital expenditures. My opinion is he should temporarily close shop until he can save up the money to fix the printer on his own, then once he has a functioning printer so he can actually fill orders as they come in can open up the business again.

David

David makes an excellent point here. While I completely agree with the idea that we need to support the After Market Cottage industry, I'm not sure this is a sound business plan.

Granted, shipping a 10# printer back to the Manufacture in Europe is not cheap. What is Keven's plan if ALPS determines the printer has been used beyond it's rated duty cycle and voids the warranty? What happens then to the orders that have been paid for up front? For a business to not have a contingency plan for equipment failure is just looking for disaster.

I have worked in the copier/printer industry for the past 20 years. From experience, Manufactures and service organizations look for the slightest thing to void a warranty. If a copier or printer is used beyond it's duty cycle or the improper media is used it will void a warranty in a heart beat. The one thing I can tell you form working in this industry is, the equipment never has a problems when it's sitting idle. But, when you need to fill an order, get that presentation ready etc, that's when it will fail.

So, when you have a failure with a specialized piece of equipment like an ALPS printer, you can't just run to Kinko's to get them to run it on one of their machines. If the ALPS printers are truly this fragile, I'm not sure attempting to build a viable business around one is sound investment.

While I love the idea that the product you get is fresh off the printer, not like Micro-Scale where 100s are screened at a single run. I would be hard pressed to lay out the kind of money that an ALPS Print costs. From the site listed above at $1532.95 NZ dollars is very expensive for a printer that you can only run 5-10 pages per day in hopes the print head doesn't fail.

Just my $0.02 worth.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Fletch

[RodBurNeR]

Points taken guys. Keven said he barely got to use the printer and it broke down. I discussed the possibility and definate possibility that he may have worn it out...

He said he didn't print that many, so I have to take his word on that. We all know ALPS printers break down with little use. Kinda sucks when ya think about it, my Brother will keep going as long as I put ink in it and it didn't cost $100.....let alone $900! The main reason I think the cost difference is mine won't print "white" or "metallics".

I see your points about the customer being relied on in order to get it back up again.

The thing I ask you to consider is, he did ask if he should stay open....that if he did, he would ask everyone's understanding that it will take 4-6 weeks before they got their orders due to the fact he has to ship the printer etc etc....

He is not asking everyone to pay his way back into business. He just got the slap we all felt from the decline in our economy.....

I took it upon myself to put this notice up, he didn't ask me to do it.

I am just that kind of guy....I will do what I can to help keep things alive in this hobby.

Without Whoopie Kat......the decals he makes will be gone, unless another person steps up.

I am sure most of you remember the companies we "used to have".....They either retired or quit because they could not afford to keep going.

All I ask is for you to email him and give him thoughts and if you are willing to wait for your order while his printer is in the "air"....then make an order, but it's not necessary for anyone to get him back up....only if you care to keep it running.

Up to you....

thanks again for the replies.

[Jon Cole]

He said he doesn't make enough at it to live off of and "prints them as they are ordered".....never anything in stock, which is good.....always fresh decals for each order!

Thanks again for your reply.

Well, I am trying to put together an order with a friend, so we can save a little $$$ on shipping. But now what I don't understand here, is you say he prints them as ordered, never anything in stock. And now his printer is broken.

If he has no inventory, but you are saying we should order from him to help him out... why? His ALPS printer is broke, and he has nothing to ship. So that apparently means that he cannot possibly fufill any order I send in, yes?

Maybe he needs to make a business decision, and find a way to get the printer back. Once he gets the printer back, and up and running, then he should make a promotional push, get the word out, such as right here and on other message boards (Like on Spotlight... they LOVE advertising!) You and him can then do some shameless self-promotion! I hope he can make a go of it, and earn some $$$ at the same time.

Good luck, and all the best.

-Jon-

[RodBurNeR]

Well, I am trying to put together an order with a friend, so we can save a little $$$ on shipping. But now what I don't understand here, is you say he prints them as ordered, never anything in stock. And now his printer is broken.

If he has no inventory, but you are saying we should order from him to help him out... why? His ALPS printer is broke, and he has nothing to ship. So that apparently means that he cannot possibly fufill any order I send in, yes?

Maybe he needs to make a business decision, and find a way to get the printer back. Once he gets the printer back, and up and running, then he should make a promotional push, get the word out, such as right here and on other message boards (Like on Spotlight... they LOVE advertising!) You and him can then do some shameless self-promotion! I hope he can make a go of it, and earn some $$$ at the same time.

Good luck, and all the best.

-Jon-

Jon, that's right....at the moment the orders would help him get his printer fixed and when it's fixed, he would be able to ship your decals. It's not my deal.....it's not promotion for me at all, I am just trying to help a guy stay in business. Your decision doesn't affect me.

However, though it should only take 4-6 weeks to get your decals IF ya ordered them from him....

You can still order some of them from Model Express (in stock). This still helps him out a little also.

http://www.modelexpress.net/

Hope that helps you out.

[Aaronw]

David I know there are a lot of conflicting stories, I'm on one of the ALPS yahoo groups and it seems like every month there is a new tale being told. The general story held by those far more knowledgeable on the subject than me is that ALPS are still in production, but there is no actual ALPS factory. Production and demand for the printers is relatively small so they are just a small piece of a larger production facility. It could be a big load of hooey, but it is a well coordinated load if it is.

Really the only absolutes I know for sure is when I bought my printer last year it was sealed in a box from ALPS, it is new with a warranty and it shipped from Japan not New Zealand. If Mr ALPS is sitting on a warehouse full of printers he cranked out before ceasing production or is really still making them I have no way of really knowing for sure one way or the other.

ALPS supplies in New Zealand definately seems to be the source of information and ALPS stuff. While some dealers and people on Ebay are playing up the lack of availability along with asking high prices, he seems to have everything in stock at decent prices.

For anyone looking at ordering a new ALPS it will run $1000-1500 for the printer, 2 or 3 sets of ribbons and shipping. Price varies considerably with the current exchange rate (the exchange rate has made the printer almost $150 more for a US buyer than it was last year). If you only occasionally use special decals it is probably not worth the expense, if you do a lot decals than it might be. I like to make my own decals and have an awesome wife so it was a possibility for me.

If you want special decals to remain available though I can say it is worth trying to keep them in buisness with orders. Like resin you may find what is here today may not be available tommorow. ALPS printers were not made for commercial use and only have a life expectancy of 2000-3000 sheets. That is probably a life time for a home user but really not much if you sell a lot of decals.

I don't know this decal maker, and to be honest knowing he is using the money from orders to make the repairs would scare me. On the other hand it might be worth the risk if you want to see the decals remain available. Like most aftermarket there is not really a lot of money being made by these people because the raw materials eat up most of the purchase price.

[Guest Davkin]

Thanks for the clarification Aaron. Like I said. I sold my printers 1 1/2 years ago so I haven't paid much attention since then. I was also a member of that Yahoo group.

The reason I sold my printers wasn't because I was afraid of support going away, it was because my old computer took a dive and I couldn't get the printers to cooperate with my new computer. I couldn't justify $200-$300 to repair the old computer, (which might not have worked with the printers after repairing it anyway because it possibly needed a new mobo) and then have it occupy space just for printing decals. I certainly do miss having that capability however, but not $1500 worth!

David

[Aaronw]

Thanks for the clarification Aaron. Like I said. I sold my printers 1 1/2 years ago so I haven't paid much attention since then. I was also a member of that Yahoo group.

The reason I sold my printers wasn't because I was afraid of support going away, it was because my old computer took a dive and I couldn't get the printers to cooperate with my new computer. I couldn't justify $200-$300 to repair the old computer, (which might not have worked with the printers after repairing it anyway because it possibly needed a new mobo) and then have it occupy space just for printing decals. I certainly do miss having that capability however, but not $1500 worth!

David

It really makes one understand what people mean about a weak dollar, I was lucky and hit one of the best exchange rates in the past 2 years, that probably saved me $400 compared to buying one today.

One of the nice things is with the current printer you can use USB cables and drivers for Windows XP are available. No more having to use a 10 year old computer just for the printer.