Sailrite

I ordered some outdoor fabric on ⁴⁄₂₈ and was told it would ship in 3 – 5 days and that I would receive an email giving me tracking info. I received an email saying they had charged my card and that’s the last I heard until, I called them on ⁵⁄₇. I spoke with Julie who said I should have received an email telling me the material was back ordered but she could see that I had not. She then said she would have to get back to me because she couldn’t determine when the material was coming in. She agreed to phone me later that day. When I hung up, I found a number for the fabric manufacturer & called them myself, finding out the material wouldn’t be available until late June. I never heard from Julie. I did get an email from Teri telling me what I already knew. I emailed her back saying it was too little too late & to send me confirmation of a refund. Nothing yet and I won’t do business with them again… Pam

For years, I’ve dreamt of getting a portable LSZ-​1 industrial sewing machine from Sailrite, but after leaving boating, I kind of forgot about it. Then I discovered the Sailrite website through a search for Sunbrella fabric for some cushions. I love their website! It is so easy to navigate and they have a really great online chat feature for help. Some online chats are useless, but theirs is terrific.
I ended up ordering a ton of fabric samples. It’s really essential because fabric in real life is so different in both texture and color than what you perceive on the screen. When you want to match a fabric to something else it’s the ONLY way to go. It’s a pain, but the Sailrite order fulfillment was so quick, it was really worth it. I ended up ordering a large amount of Sunbrella and everything is gorgeous. I’ve ordered from
the same way, (samples first, then order) but the process takes much longer and I don’t get any sense of a company of employees behind the online experience. Their fabric looks even less like what they have on their website than Sailrite’s — but in the case of Sailrite, many times they even have videos with someone handling the fabric so you can get a better sense of it.
And Sailrite makes free online How-​To videos available on their website for everything from making cushions to using various tools. I ended up getting an Engle hot knife and it cuts the Sunbrella like a dream. Without that video, I wouldn’t have remembered what a problem having fabric unravel is. I don’t have a lot of experience (yet) making cushions, and all that expensive fabric would have ended up a mess.
Since I’ve had such a good experience so far, I decided to overlook the poor reviews here on Unilocal (which was tough! — Unilocalers have never let me down) and I just ordered an LSZ-​1. Again, service was impeccable. I was referred to «Matt» who answered all my intricate questions about the machine and then I actually placed the order online with someone helping over the phone. They were all so courteous and helpful, I’m left bewildered about the poor reviews here. I’m chalking it up to a small sample size and the fact people who have unhappy experiences are more likely to get online and rant than people who have happy experiences. But seriously, how often can you talk directly to someone who REALLY knows EVERYTHING about their product? These days, I’m lucky if I get through to a machine — forget about a live person of any caliber or one I can actually understand.
My only complaint about the company is they seem to have no west coast presence. It’s unnerving to buy a sewing machine sight unseen, but I guess buying sight unseen is simply the way of the future for just about everything. Still, I wish they had some demonstrations or demonstrators or something out here. They do have a 30 day return policy but I’d have to pay for shipping which is painful. But most places like this — a manufacturer — would have a restocking fee on top of shipping. So, all in all, this ends up one of my favorite places to shop, even if it has to be only virtually…

I purchased a sewing machine from Sailrite on 1÷14÷15 for a total of $ 741.39. The machine was delivered to me on 1÷23÷15 at 12:45pm PST. I noticed, although the packaging was flawless from any damage, the powder coated surface on the machine was flaking off in several locations. This was clearly a defect in the manufacturers powder coating process. Powder coating is chemically bonded to the metal in the application process, which is different from hand paint. 1:00pm PST I phoned Sailrite’s customer service department to notify them of the defective machine. The customer service created case number #SC13734 specifically assigned to Matt Borden, a sales and warehouse manager.
Matt reached out to me and I forwarded photos of the flaking powder coated surface. His resolution was to immediately ship «touch up paint.» This was not a satisfactory solution since I paid for a powder coated machine.
He offered solutions that were unsatisfactory as I cannot accept paint, parts, of a repaired/​refurbished machine.
Matt Borden, the sales and warehouse manager, repeatedly stated they they were trying to help me with «my problem.» For a company to shift its blame onto the customer is unsettling.
After dealing with the defective machine and poor customer service, I do not feel it is fair for me to accept paint, parts, or a repaired/​refurbished machine. After the defective machine and poor service from Matt Borden, I would like a full return and the company to pick up return shipping. This company should meet my requests for sending out a defective machine and for the poor experience I have had.

I just had a terrible experience with sailrite. I had ordered some fabric and thread, both lite tan, that came under the category of beige. What they sent was white and the «matching» thread was grey. I explained to them that this was not beige, and not what I had ordered. The customer service help tried to make one excuse after another. First they explained that the colors on the website aren’t a match for the fabrics. I explained that I understood that the fabric could be some variation of a light tan or darker tan that was shown and that would be fine, but what I received was a completely different color. White is not beige. Then they said it was described as «oyster». I explained that was the name of the fabric and not the description, again noting that the fabric shown appeared to be a lite tan and that it was listed under their category as beige. Then she went on to say that it was not described as a beige, & I explained that when you use THEIR website, and you punch in the prerequisites that you want, such as, Sunbrella, marine grade, 60 inch wide, beige, this is one of the handful of fabrics shown that pops up. I explained that means it’s been described as beige and when you look at the website color sample which is a very light tan, it’s completely different from what had arrived. I also explained that, if it was a beige fabric, the matching thread would not have been grey. She kept repeating herself, saying it was not described as beige. Repeatedly I had to explain when you punch in the prerequisites on THEIR website, and you punch up beige this is what pops up. I thought it was absurd that she was saying that the fabric was not described as a beige, when it’s their website that suggesting it’s a beige fabric and the color sample shown was a beige. I was disappointed that I was going to have to pay for return shipping on a product that was not what I had ordered and not what their website suggested it was. I was also disappointed at the terrible customer service that made one false excuse after another in order to not take care of the return. Terrible service.

I ordered 100 yards of sailtape 3 years ago, and recently used the rest of it on a mainsail cover, including on some vinyl material, for chafing, that they recommended. To my horror, after a few weeks, black lines appeared on either side of the tape (on the Sunbrella) where it was next to the vinyl. It won’t wash out from the Sunbrella. When I called Sailrite, they said, «oh, we knew that older sailtape was a problem, and we told the manufacturer to change their chemical formula. There’s nothing you can do to take out the stains.”(ha-ha, sorry). They should have sent out a warning to everyone when they were made aware of the problem. I get emails all the time from them to sell me things! And I agree that customer service is horrible. I tried to take advantage of a free shipping offer on the last day, and because it was after 5pm, they had taken the offer away. They were quite rude to me the next day when I explained the situation. I’d love to find another company to do business with, but as of yet, can’t find one that sells everything I need.

i ordered a mainsail cover kit which i received in short order. after completion of the kit i was less than impressed with the stubbornness of the v.p./co-owner’s attitude regarding customer service and a partial refund due to misinformation. the materials are top notch, the management, and customer appreciation, however is seriously lacking.