Fly-by-night outfit

[Soapweed]

"If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." Good advice.

Three years ago, we bought a portable calf shelter. It is a fairly well made steel structure on pipe runners so it can be pulled to a new location. It is 50' long and 10' wide, and is divided into five 10' x 10' box stalls. There are three doors on the front side. A twenty foot door on each end can be swung open clear wide which forms a twenty foot windbreak on each side. There is another 10' door in the middle. All the doors can be shut if so desired.

The cost of this structure three years ago was $5000, but at the end of three years we were to get a thousand dollar rebate. It sounded like kind of a flim-flam deal at the time, but we signed all the necessary paperwork so we would be qualified for the rebate from Rebates International, Inc. Their address was 101 State Drive, Suite H, Hollister, Missouri 65672. Well, wouldn't you know it, they declared bankruptcy a few months ago. We are not really "out" anything, but the manufacturer of the buildings lost a great deal of money with the program. With twenty-twenty hindsight, I wish at the time of our purchase, I would have asked the manufacturer how much money they were out on our building with Rebates, International. I should have just said, let's deduct that much money right now from the purchase price and we'll just forget the rebate. He would probably have liked for that to happen also.

There are gimmicks to just about everything. Lots of loose loaded cannons are bumping around out in the world, just waiting to go off.

 

[Jason]

That rebate company was on the news here a few weeks back. From what the report could discover, it seems as if the company was legit and planned on paying the rebates. However they didn't make enough in their investments or overhead was more than they expected or something like that, and they don't have the funds to pay all the rebates.

There is money there, it looks like some companies might be able to get some cash back. I don't know about consumers.

That part aside, how do you like the calf shed?

How many calves can use it?

 

[Northern Rancher]

Ahhhh Soapweed I've got some Saskatchewan ocean front property you might be interested in lol. Sorry buddy I couldn't resist lol. At least you got a serviceable building out of the deal.

 

[Soapweed]

Actually, I needed and planned to buy the shed regardless. The "rebate" was just supposedly frosting on the cake. The rebate part of it looked skeptical at the time, but the building itself was still reasonably priced and close enough to be delivered.

The weather has been nice enough the past three calving seasons that we haven't used it much. There are five individual box stalls, each 10' x 10'. The gate panels are "adequate" but sure weren't built by anyone with much actual cattle working experience. If I was going to order another one, I would forget the twenty foot solid doors that are also made to be windbreaks. They are too long, with too much torque on the uprights to which they are attached, and have bent the angle irons a bit. If I was to order another one, I would have a ten foot sliding door on each end, and the middle thirty feet would just be solid siding.

Guess it's like insurance. I bought it to have if needed, but really hope we never have to use it.

 

[CattleRMe]

Daniels buildings that can be moved around are pretty good buildings and the one I've been around has stood up to time. No rebate though.