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so theoben are gone


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Never had one , they look pricey as do daystate . I have the air arms S410 which is half the price of the Rapid and its a lovely rifle in my opinion . Why would i want to spend anothe £400 when i can get quality at half the price . Seems they were outcompeted by the rivals .

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Never had one , they look pricey as do daystate . I have the air arms S410 which is half the price of the Rapid and its a lovely rifle in my opinion . Why would i want to spend anothe £400 when i can get quality at half the price . Seems they were outcompeted by the rivals .

 

There might be some truth in that. They have no entry level rifle, or enough variety at the top. BSA have the Ultra, Air Arms have the S200 and a new Falcon can be picked up for less than £500. Added to that, Weihrauch waltz in and with their first PCP pull out a blinder with the HW100. Then there's Daystate going down the electronic route, yet still keeping their legendary build quality and customer service, so it does feel like Theo have been left behind a touch. Having a classic is one thing, but you need to be moving with the times!

 

I guess that means there are plenty of things that could be done if someone's willing to commit the finance to them...

Edited by chrisjpainter
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If certain European (well close to Europe manufacturers) came on board and bought Theoben I could see a new £250 rifle being on the shelves in pretty short order, they would only have to use their rifle and a self contained gas spring, then they have a cheap gas ram gun that could bear the name. One such weapon is being sold, sub £200 (by 1 penny), Nice rifle to fire too, makes 11.3 foot lb!

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Would bringing in a cheap, entry level, rifle really have saved Theoben?-I dont think so cos few people on here have said that they were overpriced.Would a cheap,Turkish built,Daystate enhance the companies reputation ?Guns like the Theoben are designed for people who want,and can afford,a little exclusitivity and quality-most often with a degree of personal customer service.There are a lot of near perfect rifles on the market that would match the Theobens performance and accuracy and at a fraction of the price so companies hoping to compete must do so by innovation or reputation-Theben,it seems,has not done well on either score.

Edited by bruno22rf
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I know some people have Rapids that shoot good now but most have had loads of fiddling and part changing on them, that coupled with bad customer service and hit and miss reliability I would say its not that bigger loss !

I had a FAC rapid and regret the day I set eyes on it ! I wont lose any sleep over them going.

 

Now a Daystate owner of 2 of there rifles and they are awsome, worth every penny ! :D

 

ATB

 

Matt

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Would bringing in a cheap, entry level, rifle really have saved Theoben?-I dont think so cos few people on here have said that they were overpriced.Would a cheap,Turkish built,Daystate enhance the companies reputation ?Guns like the Theoben are designed for people who want,and can afford,a little exclusitivity and quality-most often with a degree of personal customer service.There are a lot of near perfect rifles on the market that would match the Theobens performance and accuracy and at a fraction of the price so companies hoping to compete must do so by innovation or reputation-Theben,it seems,has not done well on either score.

 

Unfortunately, for Theoben, not many people leap into the sport shouting I wanna Rapid. You need something so that people become aware of the brand earlier and perhaps become brand loyal (such things do happen)! Having fired and owned a wide range of rifles there was a place in the market for such a rifle. Get stocks in bulk from Minelli, finished barrels from Anschutz, a decent trigger from HW and a self contained gas spring as used in the HW90, you would have had a superb rifle at a much more affordable cost, with as much made by Theoben as any of their rifles had!

Edited by secretagentmole
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I looked into buying a R7 a few years back. The chap in my local shop told me to buy an S410 because if anything went wrong Theoben pretty much gave them the shoulder with the attitude that their rifles were perfect and shouldn't have problems... Looks like that attitude has come back to bite them - In the current financial climate customer service is everything.

Edited by njc110381
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i miust be honest im not going to mourn the loss. Freind of mine bought a Rapid 12 FAC, came to him from the factory with the safety catch not working, contacted them and at first they didnt want to know, claimed he had messed aroud with the triggr mechanism!. I have spoken to them a few times and found them to be quite rude, good guns but a shockingly bad company to deal with.

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Brand loyal eh Mole?-then you admit to "owning a wide range of rifles" so I assume,in your case,the loyalty stick never connected? Building a gun using a selection of quality parts will not work-it would be a waste of a good barrel to fit it to a poorly manufactured cylinder for example.As for building an entry level rifle to make the general public aware of the brand-have you ever owned an Aston Martin?-I,m guessing not but I,m willing to bet that you've heard of them :good:

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I can't beleive everybody thinks its a daystate - theo rivalry, you need to try the FX range :)

 

On a more serious note though, it's a real shame to be losing a manufacturer in this climate, shooting seems to be becoming more popular, the turkish guns keep getting better though and staying reasonably priced (at44-10 for example) so maybe it's just natural selection

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i just ave to say that i bought the very first m1 rapid doing 28ftlb at the time, its had a few valve stems over the years but it as realy been a top shooter, ive used other fac guns and nothing in my eyes can match its accuracy and shots per fill. but as you all say the service just stinks, may be thats why they went bust, shame in my eyes...

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Brand loyal eh Mole?-then you admit to "owning a wide range of rifles" so I assume,in your case,the loyalty stick never connected? Building a gun using a selection of quality parts will not work-it would be a waste of a good barrel to fit it to a poorly manufactured cylinder for example.As for building an entry level rifle to make the general public aware of the brand-have you ever owned an Aston Martin?-I,m guessing not but I,m willing to bet that you've heard of them :good:

 

That may be so, but Aston very nearly dropped off the face of the earth - twice. Once in the 90's after the catastrophe of the Lagonda, and then again in the early 00's before the Vanquish/DB9. The first time was a ludicrously expensive product that was so unreliable it made Skoda look like VW, and then because they couldn't keep up with modern designs and market. Arrogantly assuming that a legacy built on the DB range assumed eternal success finally caught up with them. remind anyone of anything? Aston were saved by buy outs and finally dragging their product into the modern age with the DB9. Theoben needed to see the danger earlier than they did...

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They never made an entry level car,Mr Painter which was my point+I,m guessing you have never owned one yet you know their history. :lookaround:

 

Yeah, that's true about the entry level model. My point about aston wasn't so much about the entry level cars, it was about a brand nearly disappearing because they failed on reliability and adapting to a modern market. Fortunately they got the Bond franchise on board again with the Vanquish and then brought out the DB9. Theoben need either a DB9, or an expanded range that draws in a more varied clientèle.

 

Incidentally, there is an entry level aston...

http://www.autocar.c...n-martin-cygnet

 

an ABOMINATION, the resulting love child of an aston's beer-fuelled, kebab-vomiting fight-riddled night that ended in the back seat of an Toyota Aygo...

Edited by chrisjpainter
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just had a flick to the Theoben.co.uk website and things seemed to have progressed a bit:

 

The Directors of Theoben Limited having reviewed the financial position of the Company have taken the decision to take the necessary steps to place the Company into Creditors Voluntary Liquidation.

 

correct me if I'm wrong, but that is more serious than administration? this is the (British) company ceasing to exist in any form?

Edited by chrisjpainter
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

Damn!

 

Never spoke to anyone at theoben as mine was at least secondhand so can't comment on the service. Shame though when I think that my gun is probably older than me and has never been serviced that has to stand for something.

 

Just hope it doesn't break now because theres no way I'm trying to take it apart!

 

:bye2:

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Personally im not surprised although im saddened to hear this.

Theoben rifles have been nothing short of superb but their Customer Service has certainly let them down as it was dire!

You gotta look after your Customers as they are your "bread and butter"!

 

If all companies were like Daystate then they would go far wrong!!Brilliant Customer Service!!

 

a definate + 1

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