It’s 2020 Part 2
We all thought we’d be clean and clear once the calendar changed over, didn’t we? Joke’s on us! The year 2021 has proven itself to be 2020 Part 2. Much of what began last year is still going on and some of the fallout from pandemic shutdowns are becoming more obvious to the general public. I have managed to make some great progress on my website, though, so that’s nice.
Fallout From the Pandemic Continues
Many of the problems caused by the pandemic weren’t obvious to the public at large. I wrote a bunch of blog posts on my old website about delays for orders, supply chain disruptions, and all that, and not everyone really understood just how extensive it has been. Now that people are seeing more and more products being hard to get, it seems the general public is getting a better understanding of how extensive the pandemic closures have been.
The reason I’m talking about this is because the supply chain difficulties have made it more and more difficult to keep OEM Aston Martin parts on the shelf and get in special orders, which has been an ongoing issue, but now it’s also affected one of my most popular products: Aston Installations’ Infotainment Upgrade Kits.
That’s right - they’ve wiped clean the global supply of some of the components needed for these kits and have no idea when more will be available again. So, I’ve listed these on backorder for the time being and we don’t know when supply of those parts will resume.
In the meantime, we can supply previous version of the kit if you don’t want to wait. The product is the same, but the installation is far more difficult as it requires the main radio panel to be removed. If any orders are placed for the Infotainment Upgrade Kits before production resumes, I’ll reach out to the customers to see if they want to wait for the current kit or be supplied more quickly with the older version. The price is the same, the end result is the same, but the installation can be a pain on the previous version.
Beyond that, I’ve had a few delivery issues with a few orders. The problems have been with multiple carriers so it’s no one company that’s messing things up (they all do, really). Namely, shipments are being held up for paperwork that’s been the same as always, but now they’re saying it’s insufficient for one reason or another. It’s only affected a few customers so far but having the problems pop up around the same time seems like a bit more than coincidence.
If you notice that the tracking information for your order says the shipment is being held, please let me know and I’ll look into it. Sometimes the carrier fixes themselves on their own and the shipment will continue transit the next day, but if it takes longer than a business day then I may need to poke the carrier so just let me know.
Upcoming Product Re-Releases
I’ve been getting a lot of requests for my Redpants private label products and I’m getting ready to resume manufacturing of those. I do still have some black lug nuts in stock but the clear ones sold out a month or so ago. I’ll also be working with a new manufacturer for my super-popular catch cans. As soon as I confirm production is starting, I’ll get a product listing up for those. Same goes for my lightweight battery kits, but those should be made by the same manufacturer as before.
Updates on the New Website
I’m going to go ahead and say I’m really happy with the way my new website is coming together. It may not make much of a difference for a visitor that only sees it once in a while but, for me seeing it constantly every day, I’m soooo much happier with this new version. It still has a long way to go, but here’s some updates from the last few weeks.
Information Pages: I’ve added more entries to the Troubleshooting page, which is going to continuing being an ongoing project given there’s so much to add to it. Since launching the new website I’ve also added an Infotainment page and Lighting page. Each of the existing Information pages will continue to be expanded as I get time, and I still have a few more really big ones to make, so this part of the website will continue to grow quite a bit.
Build Pages: I didn’t intend for these to be a very high priority, but looking at the traffic stats on my old website, these were apparently visited quite a bit. So, I’ve gotten a lot of work done on the Build page for my 2007 V8 Vantage - though it isn’t done yet - and will get started on a couple other cars once that’s done and I’ve had a chance to work with the owners of those cars.
General Stuff: I’ve touched up some of the formatting for the website. Embedded links, for example, are now a bold dark red to make them easier to see. I try to keep things subtle but realized making the links stand out more would be a good idea when I myself couldn’t tell if something was a link sometimes and this is my own website. I don’t think many of the other changes will be too obvious, if noticeable at all.
Support: I created a Support page at the urging of some of my customers and holy crap a few of you have used it!! I really can’t thank you enough and I’m trying to find a way to express my gratitude because it’s really the most complimentary thing a person can do and appreciate it so, so much.
I do all the work on my website in addition to everything else I do for Redpants so it can be slow going sometimes when adding more content. I think the website is coming along really well, though, and hope everyone likes the new layout!