По скорому, о чем он написал:
Граупнер наращивает мощности и поставки не прекратятся. Но в связи с тем, что не один ММ был вывезен в Азию, то в Европе стоит ожидать следующую партию не раньше декабря этого года.
От себя замечу, что на Россию были выделены РТР наборы, но не в полном объеме сколько заказывал Филия. То-же самое было и в Германии. Т.е. первую партию РТР ММ поделили "по-братски"
Hi Micro Magic Sailors around the world
During the ambassadors meeting at the European Championship in Los Nietos, Spain we discussed the situation of our favourite hobby. We all agreed that the received information from Graupner was both, frustrating and wrong and we all had to admit that consequently the numbers of Micro Magic sailors in our countries are shrinking.
In the course of the conversation Tom proposed to group our activities together and to appoint one person to be the MMi contact for Graupner rather than writing many emails from different countries. He furthermore mentioned that a native German speaker would probably be the best choice…. As I was the only German guy in the meeting I am having a new job now
We decided to send a message which should express our frustration and should also ask for an update, as all formerly heard dates were obsolete.
Consequently I sent an email to the Graupner/SJ MD and PM on Oct. 6th. It makes sense that you read he attached pdf 1 in German or 2 in English, before you continue here…
As these are my own words I have no problem to copy it for you. However I will not copy you the Graupner messages as long as they are not especially designated to be published. But I will do my best to transport not only the words but also the “sound”.
My above message has been answered the next morning by the PM Sebastian Vees:
After writing thanks for the info he confirmed that few MM’s have been in the trade, but were sold after 4 days. That’s why no further info has been published.
He wrote that the next shipment would be on the way and that he is looking forward to give me as contact person info about what and when.
He mentioned that I could probably imagine that they produce not only Micro Magic and that the communication with many countries is not always easy and having one contact person only would make life easier.
Finally he promised to come back with the necessary info “within the next days” to hopefully improve the situation.
Some comments from my side:
Even if we are Germans, when talking to customers who have a reason to complain we usually apologize for any inconvenience, try to explain why information has been wrong, try to answer at least some of the raised questions…
The few MM’s in the trade were most likely samples. We could find only one shop in Germany which received 4 boats. But, this is a speculation.
After some time of waiting and thinking what “within the next days” could mean for a Graupner PM I sent the next message to Graupner/SJ on Oct. 29th stating that meanwhile a bit more than some days are gone and that there is obviously nothing worth to report. I announced that I would inform the MMi community the following weekend just about the so far conversation and I attached the list of MMi countries from our website.
The reply came after some minutes, from the Product Manager:
There would be really no news about Micro Magic. Some RTR models would be on the way to Graupner. But he would not like to give out info before having them in the warehouse. Kits would also be on the way and the arrival would be expected “soon”. But same as above, info only after having it in the warehouse. Carbon edition is not expected before Christmas.
Comment:
Even if we are Germans…. I think you know what I mean.
Almost simultaneoustly the MD Ralf Helbing replied that the 2014.V2 is supposed to be here mid December.
Comment:
The week before 29th there was again availability for the RFH shown on the Graupner website, but just for two or three days.
Reflecting that shipments from China to Germany usually take less than 4 weeks and mid December is the ETA (which is now also shown on the German Graupner website), there is most likely no big shipment on the water yet. The PM is probably talking about another sample or initial batch sending. But this is a speculation, too.
My conclusion for the moment:
The good thing is, they are working on it and actually there seems to be no reason to believe that the Micro Magic could be stopped because of not being profitable or important enough.
We should not expect availability in Europe before December.
And we should for sure not quit our hobby because of a current product manager.
I will keep you updated if there is anything worth to be reported. I don’t know how the MMi as organization is working. As far as I’m concerned I would just collect and summarize any questions or comments you have and see how I can transport it to Graupner, if you want me to do so.
Kindly inform me if you don't want to be part of the mailing list or if someone else should be added.
Best Regards from Germany
Ralf Bohnenberger
