Does anyone else go thru this. I've been dealing with freefly for 2 months or more back and forth emails to try to get little odds and ends parts like mimic backplate screws, m10 right arm with bearing, toad levers. Stuff like this. Pretty much sent in pics of damaged parts and asked to buy new ones to replace, and asked to get a few extra toad levers for backups just in case I broke one or bought one that was broken or whatever. They acted like if I didn't absolutely need the part, they didn't want to send it out. Like backups were unnecessary. So today I got in a movi pro today that I needed a part for, sent a pic of the damaged part and at one point got an email talking about how they dont sell parts that aren't on the website for sale, meaning special order, and that's why there isn't any out there for sale aftermarket on egay or wherever. I'm sittin here realizing that the whole reason I had to go thru all that BS the first time was because they thought I was getting parts to sell somewhere, and today as well. So what do they think someone is supposed to do when their m5, m10 or m15 or the pro goes down and needs a part? Send it in to get a new toad lever installed? Or a backplate screw installed? They send out emails back talking about high volume of back log basically. Wonder why?
They do sell a spare parts kit, and a lot of the bolts you need are probably available at the hardware store. The Kit doesn't include a Toad lever, but if you're that worried about it, you could plunk down $300 and get a spare Toad female. I would agree that the old M-series Toad Levers were more fragile than the new Movi Pro ones. I remember having to replace one or two of them.
One of my biggest pet peeves of online platforms is out of context ranting. So, for anyone out there on the forum, here is some context to this post and explanations on how service and parts requests work for us. While practices may change in the future, the statements below reflect current and previous practices. It takes some time to pull parts we aren't using and haven't sold in years, that's the nature of deep storage. These are special orders (as in, not sitting on the shelf ready to sell like items on our store), and it may take us some time to source, price and ship. We sourced and provided all of the parts we had available for the original request, we just weren't able to provide 5 extra Toad levers. We don't stock pile extra random parts that aren't regularly requested (this is especially true for products that have been discontinued for several years). If you need something, ask us and we'll see what we can do. The part requested was the inner workings of a MōVI Pro motor that was physically damaged, and then disassembled (pictures provided by Frank are included below if you're interested). The actual statement from Support about this wasn't that we don't sell parts, which obviously is not true. It just pointed out that you don't see them available online, and they are not available for sale, specifically regarding electronics and motors. This is standard language when people ask for electronics, here is the quote from the correspondence from Freefly Support to Frank: "As per our policy, and also for proprietary reasons, we do not sell or provide any of the major electronic components as spares, or sell them as individuals parts. All major components including, but not limited to, the GCU, MCU, IMU puck, TSU, and the Motors, are not available as spares, or sold individually. That is why you do not see the GCU, TSU, and/or motors available on the Freefly online store. The only way to repair and service that unit properly, to ensure it meets our standards and functions properly, is for it to be sent back to Freefly." I'm not sure what caused you to think this. As also noted by our team, we don't care where anyone buys Freefly gear. Or if you intend to sell or resell it, collect MōVIs in a museum or hang them in your yard as ornaments. There are no Freefly policies about the secondary market. How you use/store/sell your gear doesn't affect the availability of parts and how long it takes to get them, whether they simple mechanical parts that can be installed in the field, or proprietary electronics that only leave our building installed and properly calibrated by our staff. This applies to all 3rd party entities, including our dealers. You can't drop off a MōVI Pro with a busted motor at your local Freefly dealer for them to repair. They are going to send it to us for service. We do not generally fulfill requests for 5 extra whatever. If you have a broken part and want it replaced, along with a spare, and we have the inventory to cover it, we'll fulfill the request. See note above about stock piling isolated parts that we don't keep in inventory for the online store. If you have a bunch of MōVIs and want a spare something for each, ask, and we'll let you know what we can do. The delay in the original parts request was twofold: We work on an urgency first basis, and there was no expression of urgency for the parts. We (Support) had a mountain of inquiries we were working through where people were on a time deadline, that were prioritized in this case. The production team was buried in new product development (as was noted in the inquiry). For everyone out there, if you are working against a time deadline or are on set, let us know so we can properly prioritize your request, especially if it is a parts request from a product that has been discontinued for a while. We might have to dig deep to find what you need. Please have some integrity in this, don't abuse it. You wouldn't want us overlooking your time-bound request because someone else lied and said they were on set with an issue, so we helped them first. If it is a simple mechanical part that is broken, let us know what it is (a photo is helpful from the start) and when you need it, and we'll let you know what it takes to get one. If it's a major electronic component that needs to be replaced or repaired, ask for an RA so it can get shipped to us for repair. This isn't a DIY product guys, it's specialized equipment and the software to calibrate the system literally only exists in our building in Woodinville. You don't ask Canon for a lens mount because you dropped your camera, you send it in for service. If you have the skills to be tearing apart and rebuilding motors, come work on our repair team: https://freeflysystems.com/careers As already noted, we prioritize incoming requests by urgency. Working professionals should know that if they are on set or have a job immediately pending (time bound), they will be helped first, as quickly as we can manage during business hours. Needing a missing screw for the back plate of a MIMIC will be trumped every time, but we will respond and figure out how to help you. Images of the requested MōVI Pro roll motor, provided to Support by Frank.
The part in the pictures is a highly specialized part. It's a freakin motor rotor and a bearing and it's housing. I have two M5's, three M10's, two M15's and now a movi pro. I got a box full of toad in the holes. I buy them whenever I see them for sale used at a good price. Handy things to have. Things break, go wrong, need repairs of all kinds. I'm lucky I can do them myself, so far. Without parts, what can I or anyone do? It took me two months or more and how many emails to you? You tell them. To get mimic back cover screws, which I took pictures of and circled next to the hole they came out of. Why am I missing screws? Lost during dealing with and replacing the battery on the thing being damaged from a battery drain built into the things. Wanna tell them about that little problem? And still, turned out to be the wrong screws sent. I asked for a M10 right arm and bearing, some toad levers, and an m15 little wiring cover and two screws. You guys act like the toad levers come off a unicorns hind leg or something. After two months and excuse after excuse given in how many emails, I barely ended up with two things I asked for. After two months, you could have had a bag full of the levers and all kinds of stuff there and they could have come over on a boat from China with one guy paddling the thing. Now I got a movi pro I need a part for. It dont need re-calibrating or nothin. Ok, you dont sell the part. Cool. So after two months and 25 emails to get those simple little parts I mentioned above, can anyone guess how long it might take to get my movi pro repaired??? When there seems to be no parts at freefly central??? Can anyone guess why I would want to fix the thing myself??? I was told the other day when I asked again if I could just order 5 toad levers because I needed one to replace a broken one that I sent a picture of, and 4 more for backups. Get this now. Instead of saying sure, that will be X amount of dollars and they will be in in such and such amount of time, I was told to check back in a few weeks and see if they had some then. Duh. So in a few weeks, when I go to check back, guess what I probably will be told again? Could have made the sale, put the money into your pocket, got the customer taken care of and got it done. Simple. So here's something to think about. If Ford and Chevy didn't keep parts readily available for the automobiles they make, what would the highways look like? If the mechanics or end users of their products cant get the parts for weeks to keep their automobiles going, what will customers do? Over on a shelf is a large, alexmos controlled gimbal I have that doesn't get used these days very much. I can get parts for the thing in a couple of days. Any part, no questions asked, from humpteen places out there online here in the US or from China. Sure, they're a pain in the butt, but they do work well if you know what to do with them. But lemme see, whats this pain from I'm feeling now? Those Ford and Chevy customers will eventually buy a car from a company that keeps parts available, or that at least make a great effort to get the customer the part they need, and not have the customer chasing after the parts for weeks or months or be told to check back in a few weeks. But do you know who at Ford or Chevy these days cares if these customers buy a Dodge or Honda? No one. Nada. Zero. Not one person cares one bit if they lose a customer to the other guy. Problem is that the only one who cares is the customer who is smiling in their new Dodge or Honda. It dont really matter anyway. Alot of young geniuses have painted the whole industry into a corner where you cant get paid to do jack for nuthin anyway. Or at least thats what they tell me anyhow. Love yah Bryan. Love yah Chris. Gotta go to bed now. Wake up early and figure out how I am going to fix this movi pro myself. Maybe Aleksey Moskalenko can help me out.