Saying "No!" to X-Treme

Hm, it would seem you're no longer selling these "fine" products. Your site doesn't have any buy buttons and the sales pages now read something like this:


XB-700Li
X-Treme's Cost: $920
Customer Pays: $1999
You're Overcharged: $1079


I don't know what typical markup is for a retail product, but it is perfectly normal for a business to sell their products for higher than their cost. That's called Capitalism. It doesn't seem appropriate to say the customer is overcharged by whatever amount is the markup. Maybe their markup is excessive? That I cannot judge.

I tend to agree with you that, judging from the reports we've had on this site, that API has not done the best of jobs getting vehicles on the market. I'm drawing an analogy in my mind here with ZAP. ZAP also has had a spotty quality record, questionable service, questionable ethics, etc.

Whatever you can say about either company there is one bright thing you can say about both -- they brought a lot of electric vehicles to market.

Reikiman, always a silver lining. I agree with you except for the profit margin and the bright spots. While being a Republican I understand that profit is what the business machine eats to grow into a conglomerate machine almighty. And I know that the market helps set the price. And as long as there is a demand, someone will supply. But the kind of profit generated for these scooters may be something the government might want to take a look at. A Republican shilling for government intervention gleans of desperation, but I am guessing the profit is obscene. Doesn't look like the R and D was porportional over the years either. And making that kind of jack on each scooter and ignoring the cutomers basic needs is just wrong. A company that will allow merchandise to be damaged do its own negligence and not figure out a way to ship safely doesn't care about the customer, product or industry. It's in it for greed and the dirty dollar.
The scooter industry will grow porportionally when fuel prices go back up as OPEC stems supply on oil by cutting back production. We don't need or want companies like extreme undermining it sustained growth.
I wonder how much money Extreme received or recieves as far as government grants/ loans for electric vehicle research? Could Uncle Sam get Extremes attention if prodded? Wishes, yeah, but who knows? An industry that is still trying to gain acceptance with the general public doesn't need weasels causing more of a stigma that scooters are junk and not worth the money. Thanks Extreme for delivering both.
Now to ArcticFox, who has pitched these bikes as long as I have been at this site. Some might think I would throw eggs at him if I spotted him at a local Arbys. But in reality, the guy sold me on himself more than his product. Biggest thing, he cares and has a conscience. It doesn't hurt he wants to take pride in what he sells.
I don't know the dude other than on this site, but If I owned a company that valued integrety and wanted an employee to do right by me and for the customer, I'd look no further than ArticFox. His reputation speaks for itself. Greener pastures, ArcticFox.

I hope you didn't take what I wrote as defending X-Treme. I, too, do not like the situation of delivering products that are more likely than not to arrive damaged and often requiring the "customer" to spend weeks pleading with the seller for repair parts and having to repair the bikes themselves. I've made postings saying that same idea before.

I think Electric Vehicles have a greater chance of success if the sellers are selling products that work well, last a reasonable time, and live up to the claimed specifications.

As an end-user/700Li owner, it's my opinion that minimal R&D for the US/Canadian market was done. It seems that the manufacturer sees short-term profits at the expense of long term sales projections. Hopefully, as gas prices go back up and the popularity of electric scooters increases, this business model will lead to the failure of this company and other like it.

As for Alpha/Extreme, they should see the light before their sales and profits go south. How they have survived this long is beyond me. I hope that others will do as I did and contact the Attorney General of Iowa on-line and file a complaint about the lack of quality and poor service that Alpha/Extreme is handing out.

David, I was just giving you a little electric grief. But I wonder if the US government could use their clout to do something. We are tired of junk and promises! Big Brother is coming! For once I might be happy to see them "help".