BRAKE! LED tail/brake light manufacturer out of business?

[BarryBrisco]

Based on recommendations I read in this thread on Oct 25th I ordered a unit for my R1150RT (called and placed the order on the phone). It has yet to arrive. I have emailed twice in the past week without a reply from the company, and today I called 250.370.0802, the number on their website and got a recording saying the call could not be completed.

 

Since my credit card has been charged, I am a little concerned. Has anyone else done business with that company lately?

[tomk99r11]

Did you trace an order no. on the website? You can double check their phone no on lots of sites on the web to see if it jives with what you have. I have that set up on my bike. works well although the dealer told me it was for my bike and it wasn't. Good Luck

[BarryBrisco]

Did you trace an order no. on the website? You can double check their phone no on lots of sites on the web to see if it jives with what you have. I have that set up on my bike. works well although the dealer told me it was for my bike and it wasn't. Good Luck

 

Thanks, but it sounds like you are not familiar with this company and did not look at their website. They only accept orders by phone or email, and this is stated on their site . They do not have an online order tracking system. They are clearly a very small company, based on the phone call I had with them over two weeks ago when I placed my order. I was just interested in seeing if anyone else had dealings with them recently. As it has been 18 days since I placed my order, and I can't get a response from the company, my suspicion is that they are out of business and I am going to have to ask my credit card company to credit my card.

[Sidmariner]

Give me until next week and I'll visit the shop personally to talk with the owner. I'm out of town for a few days on business, so it will be around 21 Nov before you hear from me.

[NoHeat]

This thread suggests other customers have wondered the same thing earlier this year

 

http://www.bmwmoa.org/forum/showthread.php?p=226577

 

No experience with them myself.

[BarryBrisco]

Give me until next week and I'll visit the shop personally to talk with the owner. I'm out of town for a few days on business, so it will be around 21 Nov before you hear from me.

 

Sidmariner, thanks, that would be great.

 

Noheat, I appreciate the link to the thread at bmwmoa.org. Maybe slow delivery is not unusual. I won't give up on them until I hear from Sidmariner, and I'll keep trying to get through on the phone, but I'm concerned that my credit card has been charged yet no product has arrived.

 

It seems like a good product, and I like the idea of more brake light visibility without add-ons.

[BigAL]

Didja find out anything?

 

I called my local dealer, he said they sometimes have delays in shipping these items across the border....something to do with it being an "unauthorized electronic device" or something like that....

 

BTW, I have one, bought from said dealer, and I like the extra attention it demands when I engage the brake.

[BarryBrisco]

BigAl, who's your dealer? (I placed my order direct with the manufacturer)

 

On the manufacturers website they only list one US dealer, Dual Star in Lynwood WA. I called them yesterday, they couldn't tell me if they had the right unit for my R1150RT and promised to get back to me. But they haven't yet.

[outpost22]

My local BMW dealer in Medford carries BRAKE! on the shelf. I'm sure many others do too.

I like my BRAKE! on the RT, but actually prefer the HYPER-LITES on the GS.

[BigAL]

I bought mine from South Sound BMW, in Fife WA. Cost about a hunnert bux.

[Hulka]

I have the BRAKE! light and Hyper lights in my turn signals. Works awesome. After I put in the BRAKE! light and set it to the 5 second flash between the two lights the cars stop way back from me. It was kind of weird at first but it is great, especially at nigh, an attention getter!

[Sidmariner]

GIZMO MILL VISIT REPORT

 

As promised, I went to visit the folks at Gizmo Mill in Victoria today to see what’s what with their business and the BRAKE product.

 

I am pleased to report that I arrived to find the owner, Keith, unloading a pallet of new shelving units and work benches for new assembly stations. He was happy to talk to me and appreciated the interest in the product, but was apologetic about the state of affairs at the moment. I could tell from the disarray, including table saws, raw lumber, bulk wire, plumbing and lighting supplies everywhere that he was trying hard to turn an empty shell of a commercial unit into a proper manufacturing shop all by himself. I reminded him that I had visited him in his previous location, a double bay garage in the back of an apartment building, so I could appreciate the scale of the changes he was making would be a challenge.

 

The move to the new facility has been costly and labour intensive, and at the moment he has only a tiny staff, including his wife, to do the work. Over the last month they have been focussed on the grunt work of building the new facility while still trying to fill the major orders from distributors. A large order went out to a major distributor last week, but I could only see about twenty or so units ready to go on the inventory shelf. Kevin informed me that some of the assembly is being off-site while the renos are underway.

 

Kevin was unaware that the website phone numbers weren’t working as they should and acknowledged that his website was in dire need of overhaul. I could sense he was feeling a little overwhelmed by the growth of the business and looked forward to regaining control of the whole business soon. He also told me he was looking for investors to help take the business to the next level.

 

I asked about future product development and asked specifically about the BRAKE light compatibility with the BMW CANBUS system. He told me some Canbus equipped bikes have been using the BRAKE light with success, while others seem to have a problem. He is looking forward to getting a newer 1200 in so he can run some tests and figure out the circuitry, but I suspect this is down a bit on his “to do” list at the moment.

 

So, in summary, Gizmo Mill is the quintessential small manufacturing business trying to get on its legs. They make a really good product, but are struggling at the moment to get their shop in order. Give them a month or so and I think they’ll be fine. Given the building activity I saw, I think I can safely say they look like they plan to be around for the long haul.

[tallman]

[jskene]

If you would rather not wait for delivery, you can place an online order for an alternative LED brake light, P3 Lights. Shipment is usually within 24 hours.

 

P3 Lights are auxiliary tail & brake lights that mount on your license plate. I have designed them to be CAN-bus compatible, and they also work perfectly on the 2007 R1200RT and other BMWs that use single-filament tail light bulbs.

 

Two distinct advantages of this design, which adds extra lights rather than replaces your existing light, are that it gives you a much larger lit area and provides redundancy for this very important component of your motorcycle.

[RFW]

Brake is just a couple of young guys operating out of their basement or garage, on Vancouver Island.

[BarryBrisco]

Sidmariner, thanks for reporting on your visit with Keith at Gizmo Mill. But now I'm confused and not sure we are talking about the same company. A month ago I placed on order, by phone, for a "Brake!" unit from a company called Homebody Design by calling the number shown on this website http://www.homebody-design.com . That site never mentions the name "Gizmo Mill". But when I google that name, it leads me to this site http://www.gizmomill.com/ That site states:

 

 

Gizmo Mill is our new identity, and our new web site will be up and running within a few days. Meanwhile, visit our old web site:

www.homebody-design.com

Or call us toll-free at: 1-877-370-0802

Update as of 02/20/04

 

So apparently the company changed names, and maybe even changed ownership? And why the very old "update" date? That phone number is the same as on the old site, and it doesn't work. My credit card was charged $120 three weeks ago and I still don't have what I ordered. Do you have a phone number for Gizmo Mill that is not the 1-800 number?

 

Thanks very much.

[R4ND0M_AX3]

Homebody-design and gizmomill are the same. They've been transitioning to the gizmomill name for a few years now.

[Sidmariner]

I went by Gizmo Mill after work today and found Kevin still building stuff while his partner Tamaya was soldering a circuit board. There was no one else in the building. The office computers were dormant.

 

I provided Kevin with a photocopy of this entire thread and pointed out the numerous questions and concerns expressed about shipments, payments and dead phone numbers. He told me he intended to have the phone number active again in a few days.

 

We'll see.

[Jon_M]

I provided Kevin with a photocopy of this entire thread and pointed out the numerous questions and concerns expressed about shipments, payments and dead phone numbers. He told me he intended to have the phone number active again in a few days.

Good grief! What business model are these guys working from? Any thought of ever buying anything from them just flew away.

[camfarm]

I can appreciate the concerns expressed here. But I wish to defend this merchant/manufacturer.

 

He took an idea and turned it into a product that is useful, popular and reliable for a niche market. That's a good thing.

 

He is overwhelmed by the growth and pace of his company. That is a shame and it is reasonable for some customers to be put off. It would be nice if he had a more practical business plan and the wherewithal to follow it.

 

Nonetheless, I'd endorse his product and encourage customers to be patient with his current business woes.

 

It is worth noting that no body has lost money yet. There is no hint of fraud or shady dealing with customers.

[NoHeat]

It is worth noting that no body has lost money yet. There is no hint of fraud or shady dealing with customers.

 

I guess it depends on how you define the words "lost", "fraud", and "shady".

 

The OP said that his credit card was charged but no product was shipped, and it was impossible to reach the business owners.

 

If the business had refused an order it couldn't fulfill, that's a good and honest thing to do. If it hadn't charged his credit card until they shipped, that would be a good and ethical company. But they didn't. They took his money, and they didn't provide him anything, not even an explanation. That's not growing pains, it's something much uglier IMHO.

 

If it were me, I would dispute the charge with the credit card company if there's still time to do so.

[Jon_M]

If it were me, I would dispute the charge with the credit card company if there's still time to do so.

Agree. I have respect for innovative small businesses that have to work really hard to turn a good idea into a steady income. But there is no excuse for simply ignoring a customer who has been badly served.

[BarryBrisco]

I'm the OP in this thread. Just to be clear on Oct. 25th I called Homebody Design at 250.370.0802 and spoke to someone (don't recall his name) and placed an order for Brake! module for my R115RT. I called because their website was not clear on what module number I should order for my bike model. Since it seemed like I was dealing directly with the company and I knew they were very small (and they were recommended by others on this board), I didn't ask for an order number or anything, I just gave him my credit card information over the phone. My card was charged $120 on Nov. 5th. It is now Nov. 25th and I have not received the Brake! unit. Over the past 2 weeks I have emailed the company twice with no reply and also called 250.370.0802 (which used to work) and 1.877.370.0802 but those numbers don't work (when I spoke to them on Oct. 25th he admitted the toll free number wasn't working). That is the same toll free number that is shown on what is supposedly the company's new website at www.gizmomill.com. I have called each number several times but have never gotten through. The phone company recording seems to indicate that they are not in service.

 

So it's been almost 3 weeks since my card was charged, and no product has arrived. I'm willing to give small, struggling companies the benefit of the doubt, but given that the company doesn't respond to email and has no working phone number, my patience is running out. If my card has been charged, the product should have been shipped on that date. It should not take 3 weeks to get something through customs and then to California.

 

If I do not receive the product by Dec. 1, and I still cannot contact the company, I will reluctantly have to get a charge back on my card. If the company really is still in business and manufacturing product, they should at least have a working phone number and reply to email.

 

Thanks to everyone for their input and advice.

[BarryBrisco]

I'm please to report that today I received my BRAKE! module that I ordered on Oct. 25th. It was shipped to me on Nov. 20th and took 9 days to get here. I was never able to contact the company (emails not replied to, phone numbers not working) but at least they shipped the product. Hopefully they will get re-organized and back on track with customer service.

 

I'll try installing it tomorrow. I was a bit surprised to see that the unit is only about 1" in diameter and appears to have only two LEDs in it. I guess they are VERY bright LEDs.

 

I'll report back after installation.

[PRC]

I I was a bit surprised to see that the unit is only about 1" in diameter and appears to have only two LEDs in it. I guess they are VERY bright LEDs.

 

They are and you will be VERY pleased...at least I am with mine.

[BarryBrisco]

Just installed my BRAKE! unit. Really quite easy as long as one concentrates on reading the directions carefully. And the directions are very clear.

 

As to the difference: wow! An order of magnitude brighter (by rough guess) and the flashing effect is remarkable. Clearly this will not only annoy the cagers but most importantly get their attention!

 

Time to take a ride...

 

(p.s. the "extension module" to replace the running light with another LED unit that also acts as a modulated brake light sounds worthwhile, but I'm going to wait awhile until Gizo Mill get re-organized and back on track)

[PRC]

Just installed my BRAKE! unit. Really quite easy as long as one concentrates on reading the directions carefully. And the directions are very clear.

 

As to the difference: wow! An order of magnitude brighter (by rough guess) and the flashing effect is remarkable. Clearly this will not only annoy the cagers but most importantly get their attention!

 

Time to take a ride...

 

(p.s. the "extension module" to replace the running light with another LED unit that also acts as a modulated brake light sounds worthwhile, but I'm going to wait awhile until Gizo Mill get re-organized and back on track)

 

Ahh...so it was worth the wait??? I knew you'd love it...I have the other module that replaces the running light, wait until you see the difference when you put that puppy in! Glad you like it.