Ivanko’ s packaging sucks!

[mathtcha]

I received my $1800CAD OBXS-20kg bar a couple of days ago! The bar was out of the tube and the blue/metal caps were at the bottom of the tube on the other end suggesting that the entire bar was taken out. The corners of the sleeves were dinged and scratched. My aluminium beater bars have less damage on them! For a company that has been around for so long and touts the quality of their bars, their shipping dept comes across as down right incompetent! Wish I never spent the money on their bars!

[JoshLV]

Looks like they’ve lowered the bar on their shipping standards.

[mathtcha]

Looks like they’ve lowered the bar on their shipping standards.

Wish I’d known before I purchased! Any idea what their Barbell shipping was like before?

[Northernmoris]

I wouldn't necessarily blame them. Shipping companies are notorious for abuse. On the ******** groups ive seen banged up bars come from Rogue, Titan, Buddy Caps, Sorinex and Elite FTS.

[VTLifts]

As mentioned above, this happens to the best. Shippers probably have strongman javelin contests with all the bars coming through.

I received a REP bar a month ago. End caps were solidly nailed, but one was still off upon arrival. Luckily no damage. But shipping these bars is difficult.


On more important note:

Join Date: Feb 2012

First 2 posts in Sep 2020.

The lurk is strong with this one.

[urbanlifter]

Agree. My most recent REP bar came in a destroyed tube and they use CRAZY materials, with endcaps wired to the point where you need power tools to remove. Sometimes I wonder if the guys working the loading dock just want to check it out, saw a $1600 barbell and decided one of those ends needed to get opened lol

[mathtcha]

I wouldn't necessarily blame them. Shipping companies are notorious for abuse. On the ******** groups ive seen banged up bars come from Rogue, Titan, Buddy Caps, Sorinex and Elite FTS.

Not my experience with Rogue. I’ve had 4 straight bars and 5 specialty bars from them over the years and never had this problem. In fact, it has taken me more than a few minutes to remove those staples every single time. Going by that standard, my opinion is that Ivanko definitely dropped the ball there!

[mathtcha]

Agree. My most recent REP bar came in a destroyed tube and they use CRAZY materials, with endcaps wired to the point where you need power tools to remove. Sometimes I wonder if the guys working the loading dock just want to check it out, saw a $1600 barbell and decided one of those ends needed to get opened lol

I’ve seriously wondered that too! There is no way to tell in this case though and that has probably given them some leeway to do that. However, if anyone removed the staples off the end of a Rogue bar, it would be very evident!
Did you contact REP about that?

[mathtcha]

I wouldn't necessarily blame them. Shipping companies are notorious for abuse. On the ******** groups ive seen banged up bars come from Rogue, Titan, Buddy Caps, Sorinex and Elite FTS.

Just googled ‘banged up bars rogue shipping’ and saw one reddit post. That is very unfortunate and not my experience with ROGUE at all. I do feel a little better about my experience though!

[mathtcha]

As mentioned above, this happens to the best. Shippers probably have strongman javelin contests with all the bars coming through.

I received a REP bar a month ago. End caps were solidly nailed, but one was still off upon arrival. Luckily no damage. But shipping these bars is difficult.


On more important note:

Join Date: Feb 2012

First 2 posts in Sep 2020.

The lurk is strong with this one.

The lurk is strong with me, but why is that important? I am a bit of an introvert and tend to mind my own business, except for when it matters! I have been working out for over 24 years though and find reading people’s thoughts on the topic interesting!

[mathtcha]

On a positive note, my second Ivanko bar arrived today and the packaging was intact!

[ncsuLuke]

Not my experience with Rogue. I’ve had 4 straight bars and 5 specialty bars from them over the years and never had this problem. In fact, it has taken me more than a few minutes to remove those staples every single time. Going by that standard, my opinion is that Ivanko definitely dropped the ball there!

I've seen quite a few complaints on the home gym subreddit of people getting their Rogue (and other brands) bars beat up in shipping and coming out of the tubes. I think it's noticeable now because so many barbells are being shipped out right now so the sample size is large in a short amount of time and shipping companies are being overwhelmed so I am sure there are some UPS guys getting real tired of seeing barbell tubes come across.

[murphyreedus]

I've seen quite a few complaints on the home gym subreddit of people getting their Rogue (and other brands) bars beat up in shipping and coming out of the tubes. I think it's noticeable now because so many barbells are being shipped out right now so the sample size is large in a short amount of time and shipping companies are being overwhelmed so I am sure there are some UPS guys getting real tired of seeing barbell tubes come across.

Agreed. 2 of the 3 Rogue bars I've purchased showed up falling out of the shipping tube. This was even pre-COVID, so maybe we just have some particularly sadistic shipping guys around here. Either way, I've never understood trashing a company for shipping damage without (apparently) giving them a chance to make it right.

[cwcmac]

I've ordered new bars from Rogue, Rep, American Barbell and Edge (Slim FBall bar), Elite FTS (SSB). All were packaged well, American Barbell was the best with rogue and Rep comparable in comparing straight bar packaging

[mathtcha]

So gentlemen..would you have higher expectations for a company like Ivanko, whose bars cost 3 or even 4 times as much?

[Garage Rat]

So did you contact them and showed them the issue?

[mathtcha]

So did you contact them and showed them the issue?

I sent them an email yesterday. No response yet. I don’t expect much based on what i’ve read while forum lurking, especially it isn’t a ‘functional’ issue.
I read that their CS was not the greatest, but I didn’t think I would need to contact them at all because of the high quality of the bars!

[urbanlifter]

Did you contact REP about that?

No, the bar was fine overall and it didn't appear bent. I've probably had 15-20 bars delivered over the years and it's a mixed bag on how they will arrive, 50/50 on whether the tube arrives dinged up or the ends busted out. You would hope that a more expensive bar would arrive in better shape, but then again I've never been willing to spend more than $450 on a barbell. I'm slowly moving over to seeing my equipment as 'Consumables' though, if its not bent or scratched with daily use then you are not trying hard enough. My brand new Legend rack is already scratched up badly, didn't buy it to look pretty I guess

[zoom008]

Mech6 should give every company out there lessons on shipping.

The mailman can throw the boxes off the truck while it's still moving and the product wouldn't get damaged.

[mathtcha]

No, the bar was fine overall and it didn't appear bent. I've probably had 15-20 bars delivered over the years and it's a mixed bag on how they will arrive, 50/50 on whether the tube arrives dinged up or the ends busted out. You would hope that a more expensive bar would arrive in better shape, but then again I've never been willing to spend more than $450 on a barbell. I'm slowly moving over to seeing my equipment as 'Consumables' though, if its not bent or scratched with daily use then you are not trying hard enough. My brand new Legend rack is already scratched up badly, didn't buy it to look pretty I guess

I hope Ivanko manages to do something about it!
Haha...started working out with rusty screw type dumbbells and I promised myself an expensive gym that looked super pretty when I grew up, which I spend a bomb on my gym.
It also gives me a chance to ‘tinker’ around in gym when I need to get away from the kids and watch my shows that are inappropriate for them. I polish the chrome on my comp plates, take the sleeves of the barbells, clean and oil them, vacuum, clean and oil the bearings on my Assault AirRunner etc...

[mathtcha]

Mech6 should give every company out there lessons on shipping.

The mailman can throw the boxes off the truck while it's still moving and the product wouldn't get damaged.

Ivanko! You reading this?!

[radrd]

My experience has also been mixed though generally good.

The worst was many years ago I had a Troy bar delivered with no packaging remaining intact. I think they taped the shipping label to the bar. Fortunately the bar wasn't damaged, so that's a head-scratcher. The second worst was Fringe Sport that arrived missing an endcap and the bar hanging out of the tube. The bar was scraped up but it was an axel bar and not a big deal. My American Barbell T-Grip Bar was in perfect shape but the packaging was a bit damaged. The best experience I've had was recently with Rep Fitness. M ybar showed up pristine with the tube fully intact and the metal end caps secured so tightly I had to get out tools to remove them.

I can also attest to Mech6 doing an amazing job on packaging. Might literally be bomb proof.

[EricAtl]

My experience has also been mixed though generally good.

The worst was many years ago I had a Troy bar delivered with no packaging remaining intact. I think they taped the shipping label to the bar. Fortunately the bar wasn't damaged, so that's a head-scratcher. The second worst was Fringe Sport that arrived missing an endcap and the bar hanging out of the tube. The bar was scraped up but it was an axel bar and not a big deal. My American Barbell T-Grip Bar was in perfect shape but the packaging was a bit damaged. The best experience I've had was recently with Rep Fitness. M ybar showed up pristine with the tube fully intact and the metal end caps secured so tightly I had to get out tools to remove them.

I can also attest to Mech6 doing an amazing job on packaging. Might literally be bomb proof.

If I remember correctly my Cap Ob86 was hanging out of the cardboard. Both of my rogue bars required a work out to get the bar out of the tube. I agree on mechs packaging. He had wood inserts in the mono lift hooks so they would not get bent, but he learned by experience with that I think.

[Mech6]

Mech6 should give every company out there lessons on shipping.

The mailman can throw the boxes off the truck while it's still moving and the product wouldn't get damaged.

Lol, thanks. But it's easily the most annoying part of the whole process. You learn to hate bubble wrap and tape guns.

[supramax]

Am I reading this right? $1800 CAD for a bar? Are you insane?

[DarthCholo]

It's the shipping. I'm beginning to think the only way to guarantee no damage is to order a bunch of stuff together and get freight shipping.

[mathtcha]

It's the shipping. I'm beginning to think the only way to guarantee no damage is to order a bunch of stuff together and get freight shipping.

At this point I would agree that the only way to guarantee that your bars stay intact is to get freight shipping. I think companies should look into this though. It would a huge boost to a company’s rep to have all their bars arrive still in the packaging.
In my case, it is the equivalent of having ones McLaren show up on your door step all scratched up.

[mathtcha]

Am I reading this right? $1800 CAD for a bar? Are you insane?

Why yes! Yes! I am insane! I’m an equipment $1ut!
Sold my Rogue bars and other crap I had gathering dust in my gym and made a tidy sum.
Got a second Rogue plate cart (for the other side of my rack), a scout hyper, the OBXS and the OBS and a 360lb set of Urethane plates to complement my comp plates in kg. I wanted to get the OPB and the Pyrros, but they weren’t available for 4 months at the time, and I didn’t expect them to be for the next many months! I have a couple of Aluminium beater bars that I’ve been using in the mean time, but I can only load them with a max of 200lbs and it was staring to get a little frustrating.
I figured that since I take such fantastic care of my bars and they are of very high quality, the cost would be worth it(cost per use), as I see them being passed along to my grandkids(20-40years)....some sort of weird legacy!
And of course, I’d enjoy those beautiful bars for the entire period....

[supramax]

Why yes! Yes! I am insane! I’m an equipment $1ut!
Sold my Rogue bars and other crap I had gathering dust in my gym and made a tidy sum.
Got a second Rogue plate cart (for the other side of my rack), a scout hyper, the OBXS and the OBS and a 360lb set of Urethane plates to complement my comp plates in kg. I wanted to get the OPB and the Pyrros, but they weren’t available for 4 months at the time, and I didn’t expect them to be for the next many months! I have a couple of Aluminium beater bars that I’ve been using in the mean time, but I can only load them with a max of 200lbs and it was staring to get a little frustrating.
I figured that since I take such fantastic care of my bars and they are of very high quality, the cost would be worth it(cost per use), as I see them being passed along to my grandkids(20-40years)....some sort of weird legacy!
And of course, I’d enjoy those beautiful bars for the entire period....

I'm an equipment minimalist, but that doesn't mean I'm not also insane; just differently.
I don't know what most of the things you mentioned are, but I'm guessing they're bars. What is the point of a bar like that?

[mathtcha]

I'm an equipment minimalist, but that doesn't mean I'm not also insane; just differently.
I don't know what most of the things you mentioned are, but I'm guessing they're bars. What is the point of a bar like that?

Absolutely! To each his own! The point to owning the OBXS? Not much that would justify the price. Like I mentioned, I waited for the Rogue bars I wanted, but they were out of stock for 4 months and I couldn’t wait any longer. The max load of 200lbs on my Aluminium beater bars (place holders) was starting to frustrate me!
I love the knurl (for my purposes) on both the OBXS & the OBS, and the stainless steel feels amazing. The bar is mag tested for straightness etc., but that helps justify the price a little. If I didn’t have the cash from selling stuff in my gym I wasn’t using, (that I earmarked for my gym expenditure) there is no way I would have bought these bars!
As much as I like pretty things in my gym, the Rogue bars would have plenty pretty for me.