No more J. Allen

[Dthomas3523]

Welp, this blows.

Message - J. Allen Enterprises, Inc.

To our valued customers and fans of J. Allen: It is with great sadness that after 16 years of designing and manufacturing one of the highest quality chassis systems in the world, we have recently had to layoff our employees and close our doors. We appreciate all of you and wish that it did not …

www.jallenglobal.com

 

[jacer961]

WTF! I was not expecting that.

 

[candyx]

They must of not been selling enough of them, and they just redid their website .

 

[Steel head]

Wow!

That blows.

Their chassis systems are super nice.

 

[King_beardsly]

Looks like their chassis just because a little more sought after and valuable. It really is a shame this happened they built kick ass stuff and really supported the sport

 

[kthomas]

Really shitty. Absolutely love my JAE chassis's. Best chassis out there IMO.

 

[Basher]

Oh, snap!! That effing SUCKS! I loved my J. Allen when I had it, and only sold it to fund my AI. Now I wish I hadn’t. Guess I’ll have to find a way to swing one now or something. Maybe they’ll sell to someone? I really felt they were the best chassis going, having all the benefits of a chassis but the feel and comfort of a stock. Had I know this was going to happen, I wouldn’t have just picked up a KRG (awesome as they are) and would have saved for a JAE. Super bummed!

 

[SharpsNitro]

That’s too bad. I have one of their M14 chassis, they make (I guess it’s made now) nice stuff. Have to wonder if being located in, and staying in, California had anything to do with it.

Edit: Can’t even get their website to come up.

 

[Steel head]

That’s too bad. I have one of their M14 chassis, they make (I guess it’s made now) nice stuff. Have to wonder if being located in, and staying in, California had anything to do with it.

Edit: Can’t even get their website to come up.

I got to shoot a nice built up M14 in a JAE.

All I can say is WOW!

 

[bjay]

Hmm lisa didnt say anything at FB ..wow

 

[_Windrider_]

I can’t even get the website to load. Damn shame, their chassis/stocks were nice. But given what they cost, this isn’t that surprising.

 

[M338]

That’s a shame!
Beautifully made chassis, but from a business perspective and given the current economic climate and over the past few years the price was a little out of reach for ‘most’ .especially considering the amount of chassis out there at the moment.

 

[BG94591]

Damn, out of all the chassis I wanted theirs the most.

 

[bjay]

Hmm lisa didnt say anything at FB ..wow

 

[Basher]

Hmm lisa didnt say anything at FB ..wow

There an echo in here?

 

[Covertnoob5]

Really sad. Damn I just spoke with Lisa not too long ago. Can’t get the website to load, if anyone can or has the press release I’d love to read it. I’ll definitely be running my JAllen the rest of the season. Not only do I love the chassis, but they were great people. Lisa was top notch.

 

[bjay]

Really sad. Damn I just spoke with Lisa not too long ago. Can’t get the website to load, if anyone can or has the press release I’d love to read it. I’ll definitely be running my JAllen the rest of the season. Not only do I love the chassis, but they were great people. Lisa was top notch.

Looks like lisa closed her fb acct and jae page too

 

[LawnMM]

Sorry to see a business go down but seriously, how long did they think the whole $1900 chassis thing was going to work with companies putting out product with the same or better features for less than half the price?

 

[Teach Me Sensei]

Production time kept me from buying their chassis..... Sure, quality is worth the wait, but not one or more years, in my opinion :-/

 

[ForgeValley]

Damn. I owned a few of their chassis and am down to one. Yes, there are a lot of chassis on the market, and the Jallen were in a league of their own.

Seems a little strange to just pull down your web presence even if you are going out of business. Hopefully some more info will be forthcoming.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Production time kept me from buying their chassis..... Sure, quality is worth the wait, but not one or more years, in my opinion :-/

There were stocking dealers. Wasn’t hard to get one unless you wanted something specific.

 

[stompbox]

Sad news indeed. They are an incredible piece of equipment and very well designed and built, a little on the heavy side, but manageable. I've got two 700 SA ones that I use regularly and a 700 LA one that I never got built and was going sell, I think I will have to resurrect that build after all.

 

[Changed]

It’s difficult to sell a product for double the cost of your competitors yet remain a viable concern.

 

[Tokay444]

Aw man, I'm bummed!.
I've been chatting with Lisa about the progress of my build since I got my JAE-700. She was always so helpful and quick to respond, or even just shoot the gab for bit, but it does seem as though she's no longer on FB. I sent her a heartfelt message in hopes she'll get it one day.

 

[THEIS]

Hi,

Damn,...hope for whatever reason that led them to make that harsh decision is one that they can come out of. I am sure at this very moment they cannot see the "other side" of anything going on right now but hopefully that will pass for them.

Did I read the memo correctly in that JAE only had 5 workers? Surely they were not including the shop floor in that number right?

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[BLKWLFK9]

Damn this sucks.

Off topic, wow, Dthomas got banned? Wtf he do?

 

[b6graham]

Damn this sucks.

Off topic, wow, Dthomas got banned? Wtf he do?

https://www.snipershide.com/shooting/threads/flat-trigger-finger-slips.6927190/page-3#post-7847599

 

[b6graham]

anyone else think this is a legal issue? they just changed their entire system to allow for a $1200 chassis if you didnt need the extras

now i gotta figure out how to get a long action collet system for mine so i can switch back and forth

 

[Steel head]

Damn this sucks.

Off topic, wow, Dthomas got banned? Wtf he do?

He let an idiot get him fired up.

 

[b6graham]

He let an idiot get him fired up.

again. lol

 

[DangerRanger]

Would have been super cool if they had contacted customers with current orders before just dropping a nuke on their page and going AWAL

 

[Steel head]

I was just playing around with options on the website contemplating another build this weekend

 

[5RWill]

That’s a shame!
Beautifully made chassis, but from a business perspective and given the current economic climate and over the past few years the price was a little out of reach for ‘most’ .especially considering the amount of chassis out there at the moment.

My thoughts as well. I think they were solid chassis' but i also think when they made the jump in price they put themselves outside of the vast majority of people that buy chassis.

 

[brianf]

Would have been super cool if they had contacted customers with current orders before just dropping a nuke on their page and going AWAL

exactly...maybe they didnt read the Prime Ammo thread and how customers will be loyal as long as they are informed

myopic while in business and myopic while going out of business...cant make it up

 

[lte82]

They had a big name in the industry. Surely someone will scoop them up and bring it back to life, maybe even do a v2.0 / budget friendly model.

 

[kindabitey]

This is just a copy/paste of the website message:

To our valued customers and fans of J. Allen:

It is with great sadness that after 16 years of designing and manufacturing one of the highest quality chassis systems in the world, we have recently had to layoff our employees and close our doors.

We appreciate all of you and wish that it did not have to come to this, but we were unable to find a solution to stay open. Please understand and respect that this is extremely difficult for our family and employees, and wish that we could have kept on going.

For everyone on our 5 person team, customers were our number 1 priority and it hurts us that it ended this way. At this time, we are unable to give any more info, and if that changes in the future, we will let you know.

Thank you to all who have believed in our products and loved them as much as we did. This was our life.

Sincerely,

Lisa, Jeff, and J. Allen Team

July 15, 2019

 

[ForgeValley]

They had a big name in the industry. Surely someone will scoop them up and bring it back to life, maybe even do a v2.0 / budget friendly model.

This is what I am thinking, they have exemplary brand recognition. Someone in the game has to be interested in that.

 

[Basher]

I hope you guys are right, I’ve wanted another ever since I sold mine. Didn’t have a use for it then, but with a Vudoo in the safe now, I do. Fingers crossed!

 

[THEIS]

Hi,

Do you guys really get the gut feeling of:

A. They have exhausted all means in regards to actual selling the company?
B. There is actually someone willing to pay the "perceived" price of the brand?
C. There is NOT some behind the scenes reason(s) of such apparent abrupt closing that would tend to scare capable purchasers away?

Companies typically do not make such statement as they did on a spur of the moment type thing.
Even though it may "appear" to be a spur of moment situation...I am willing to bet it has been going on internally for at least a few weeks.

Read word for word of their statement and not focus on the full statement in itself and see what your perception of the situation is....

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[Changed]

Small business can often find it difficult to remain solvent. People are great with customers and development yet terrible when running the business operations.

If the business could have found a way to make a streamlined and cheaper version, they would have sold thousands. MPA is a case study on how to make product and market it. For years they offered the best mix of quality, price and features.

Only now are be starting to see competitors match the features.

KRG is another brand who offered a unique product at an entry level price that could be updated.

 

[Zero520]

Apologies if someone has already said this, but is there anyone else out there who paid a deposit on their JAE chassis and were waiting on the build to finish?

On May 6th, I paid a $999.50 deposit towards my $1,995 overall balance to get production started. At the time, Lisa quoted me 6-8 weeks for production. On June 6th, I emailed her just to make sure we were on track for the end of June. Here was her response:

"We're still tracking for later this month. The chassis are being machined right now."

Since July 1st I have sent a few emails, left a voicemail, and sent a message on Instagram. No responses - they went completely dark. I even called Altus Shooting Solutions, one of their suppliers, to see if they knew what was going on. They called Lisa and got her voicemail as well. They just assumed she was on vacation.

I woke up this morning to the message posted on their website and sent an email to Lisa in hopes of reaching some kind of agreement with my deposit. I'll gladly pay the remainder of my balance if the chassis is in fact complete. I'd also be fine with applying my deposit to any similar chassis they may have laying around.

Is there anyone that knows Lisa or Jeff personally that can help with this? I'm sure they are very busy and my little peon self is not a priority. I know $1,000 isn't a TON of money in the grand scheme of things, but it is a lot of money to me and my wife right now. I'm new to this community so don't have many contacts. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Hollywood 6mm]

Sucks to see any company go under like this, especially one as well known as JAE. Hopefully they can get the people waiting on product (especially with paid deposits) taken care of.

 

[lennyo3034]

I feel more for the customers that have paid deposits and now may be out the cash. Good luck.

 

[SOAPdata]

Apologies if someone has already said this, but is there anyone else out there who paid a deposit on their JAE chassis and were waiting on the build to finish?

On May 6th, I paid a $999.50 deposit towards my $1,995 overall balance to get production started. At the time, Lisa quoted me 6-8 weeks for production. On June 6th, I emailed her just to make sure we were on track for the end of June. Here was her response:

"We're still tracking for later this month. The chassis are being machined right now."

Since July 1st I have sent a few emails, left a voicemail, and sent a message on Instagram. No responses - they went completely dark. I even called Altus Shooting Solutions, one of their suppliers, to see if they knew what was going on. They called Lisa and got her voicemail as well. They just assumed she was on vacation.

I woke up this morning to the message posted on their website and sent an email to Lisa in hopes of reaching some kind of agreement with my deposit. I'll gladly pay the remainder of my balance if the chassis is in fact complete. I'd also be fine with applying my deposit to any similar chassis they may have laying around.

Is there anyone that knows Lisa or Jeff personally that can help with this? I'm sure they are very busy and my little peon self is not a priority. I know $1,000 isn't a TON of money in the grand scheme of things, but it is a lot of money to me and my wife right now. I'm new to this community so don't have many contacts. Any help is greatly appreciated.

View attachment 7112757

View attachment 7112764

If you paid by credit card. Contact your card company, they can usually help you out.

 

[THEIS]

Hi,

Just in case it helps anyone....(You can search California corporations of J Allen Enterprises for the hard copy data)

Per the State of California "Statement of Information" filled June 1; JAE changed ALL their addresses to the mail center address listed on that invoice:

Up until that point the physical premise address was the "Star Machine" address and the registered process agent (Jeff) was apparently their home address.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[bourbonbent]

Damn. I remember when their M14/M1A chassis was brand new. Always liked the feel and how they were designed and built.

Hopefully they make it right with the customers who have paid deposits or full payment for goods.

My thoughts, are along the lines of others posted. I got a new right folding AX AICS chassis for less than a JAE would have cost, and I definitely don’t regret not going for a JAE now.

I can say, it’s hard to stay above water financially doing that sort of thing. Small business is hard any way you cut it. Without the facilities, machines, personnel, and capital to make production cheaper and lower prices, it’s hard to be competitive and remain solvent. All those things are very costly to do, and take real business expertise. That’s assuming you can find someone to loan for the machinery and facilities, etc.

I don’t believe it’s a sustainable business model in the current economic climate. There was a place for small businesses for years, the demand was there and the lack of other available options kept many businesses afloat, and will keep some afloat now that continue to operate filling a niche market. With the market saturated, it makes it really difficult.

None of that means jack shit if they don’t make it right with customers who gave them money.

 

[Krazy_jim]

Of course i finally get to finger one, and decide that in a year or two that i would get one.

I am sad to hear this has happened. Best feeling chassis i have got to play with.

 

[_Windrider_]

Hi,

Just in case it helps anyone....(You can search California corporations of J Allen Enterprises for the hard copy data)

Per the State of California "Statement of Information" filled June 1; JAE changed ALL their addresses to the mail center address listed on that invoice:
View attachment 7112777

Up until that point the physical premise address was the "Star Machine" address and the registered process agent (Jeff) was apparently their home address.

Sincerely,
Theis

Oh shit, didn’t know they were Cali based. Makes more sense now.

 

[Steel head]

Of course i finally get to finger one, and decide that in a year or two that i would get one.

I am sad to hear this has happened. Best feeling chassis i have got to play with.

I’m kinda in the same boat.
They’re amazingly comfortable and I was planning on saving up for one.

 

[THEIS]

Hi,

I cannot even imagine what a CNC programmer cost in that area of California.....

Bet you could find one about an hour outside of Huntsville Alabama that contracts to the Agencies/Entities in that area for half the cost.

Sincerely,
Theis