# What's YOUR worst investment?



## airraidapparel (Jul 6, 2007)

Well, I'm sure everyone here has made some bad purchases in the business; weather it be trying to save a few bucks and going the cheap route or buying something pointless, maybe something you really don't need.

My worst experience was quite recently. I made the mistake of buying a cheap-o plotter from Bridge Cutters (same Chinese-made junk that UScutter sells). I should've known it was a bad deal when the owner had a yahoo e-mail address. Basically, the thing didn't work. It came with possible the worst manual ever written (no really, windows screen shots in Chinese with arrows pointing to buttons you can't read instead of written directions). It came with a trial of SCX2, which also never worked. When it did finally communicate with my computer, it just cut random rectangles or lines all over the place. The guy at Bridge Cutters told me "it's fine, nothing's wrong, but I'll send you a motherboard anyway". Yep, a motherboard with no directions and actually not the same kind that was in it already. The new motherboard introduced even more problems. I wasted so much vinyl, I probably paid for the piece of crap twice. I know some people have good luck with the cheap USCutter plotters, but I truly did not. I definitely believe in "you get what you paid for" now. I got myself a GX-24 and couldn't be happier. It's got so much more than I ever could imagine. 

Now, what's YOUR story?


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## badalou (Mar 19, 2006)

2nd wife. Or was it the first. mmmm


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## AustinJeff (May 12, 2007)

I bought a bunch of screen printing equipment before researching and deciding that screen printing was not the best option for my particular circumstances and business model.


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## Titere (Sep 14, 2006)

A 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle and a 1975 Chevrolet Camaro. I love classic, but I dont have enought money to keep them as they deserved. I destroyed both of them (had some accidents in the Chevelle, blew the camaro's engine) Im a menace... (it has nothing to do with shirts, but still)
Joe


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## COEDS (Oct 4, 2006)

I had a couple of those. myself It's true the third one is a charm. ......JB


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## hiGH (Jan 25, 2007)

AustinJeff said:


> I bought a bunch of screen printing equipment before researching and deciding that screen printing was not the best option for my particular circumstances and business model.


We share the same story.


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

airraidapparel said:


> (same Chinese-made junk that UScutter sells).


Now that's funny, that 'Chinese-made junk' US Cutter machine I bought was probably one of my BEST investments I ever made. Have you owned a US Cutter and was not happy with it, so you decided to purchase the exact same plotter from someone with less support then US Cutter?


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Drew,, almost all the stuff we buy is built off shore,, sad but true,, open up your computer and take a look,,, pop the hood on your late model car and take a look,, turns out that off shore companies from china or where ever do produce good stuff if the company that is having a product made has inspectors in place and holds the companies accountable for their cheap ways.... I understand the woes of buying a piece of equipment and it does not work out of the box....

The yo-yo you where dealing with on your cutter should have been smart enough to know that if your cutter was not cutting at all it was a comunication problem,, the simple fix would have been if you are using a usb was to go to the store and buy a usb driver ,, made in Korea,, the language is different but our computers understand it,, would have fixed your cutter,, I know I did the same thing,, I have a copan cutter,, made in china,, built like a tank,, and works great ,, so if you still have that cutter,, go down and buy yourself a new usb cord and driver, install it,, and make sure your com port is changed in your sx2 and it should cut away,, then you will have 2 machines,,,

R.


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## airraidapparel (Jul 6, 2007)

theflowerboxx said:


> Now that's funny, that 'Chinese-made junk' US Cutter machine I bought was probably one of my BEST investments I ever made. Have you owned a US Cutter and was not happy with it, so you decided to purchase the exact same plotter from someone with less support then US Cutter?


I bought mine from Bridge Cutters. It's the lowest end you can buy from USCutters. I got a bad run, no support and they wouldn't send me a new one. They sent me what looked like to be used replacement parts, too. Also, bridge offers zero support, but cheap prices. I guess that's what attracted me to it.


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## airraidapparel (Jul 6, 2007)

plan b said:


> Drew,, almost all the stuff we buy is built off shore,, sad but true,, open up your computer and take a look,,, pop the hood on your late model car and take a look,, turns out that off shore companies from china or where ever do produce good stuff if the company that is having a product made has inspectors in place and holds the companies accountable for their cheap ways.... I understand the woes of buying a piece of equipment and it does not work out of the box....
> 
> The yo-yo you where dealing with on your cutter should have been smart enough to know that if your cutter was not cutting at all it was a comunication problem,, the simple fix would have been if you are using a usb was to go to the store and buy a usb driver ,, made in Korea,, the language is different but our computers understand it,, would have fixed your cutter,, I know I did the same thing,, I have a copan cutter,, made in china,, built like a tank,, and works great ,, so if you still have that cutter,, go down and buy yourself a new usb cord and driver, install it,, and make sure your com port is changed in your sx2 and it should cut away,, then you will have 2 machines,,,
> 
> R.


Believe me, I know that most things in this country are made overseas, but that's not my complaint. I could get the computer to communicate with the plotter, but the way it acted upon the information it was receiving was wrong. I know computers very well, and this was not user error. If you read my first post, you can see that it was cutting, just not correctly. I wanted a machine that was made to cut with it's own software or made to cut in a reputable software specifically, Artcut just didn't do it for me. The Roland works like a dream, though.


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## oldkush (Jun 25, 2007)

airraidapparel said:


> I bought mine from Bridge Cutters. It's the lowest end you can buy from USCutters. I got a bad run, no support and they wouldn't send me a new one. They sent me what looked like to be used replacement parts, too. Also, bridge offers zero support, but cheap prices. I guess that's what attracted me to it.



When you were having trouble with your cutter, did you try the US Cutter forum at US Cutter Community - Index

There seems to be a reasonable amount of online support at US Cutter

Bob


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## airraidapparel (Jul 6, 2007)

The USCutter support was great, the guys that run the forum said my problem called for a replacement. Obviously, USCutters won't take mine because I didn't buy it through them. Bridge just simply wouldn't take it back.


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## rrc62 (Jun 2, 2007)

Cheaper than US Cutter? I'm happy with my 24" Refine. The most reliable way to drive it is serial port. May be the same with your plotter. This plotter paid for itself in two jobs. Best money I ever spent.

The worse would have to be the screen printing equipment. I realize now that I can heat transfer just about everything I screen print faster and with less mess. There are still the one/two color logo shirts and ling on dark prints in large runs where the screen printing comes in handy, but for the most part, I could have gotten by with some high end transfer equipment...which I'm in the process of buying.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Sx2 is a great program,, I have had no problems with it,, but however it is not a stand alone program,, have you tried the new usb driver cable route,, its a shame that you have a cutter that is just sitting there and not working,, I had the same problem, with that easy fix it works great now,, its worth a shot,, if you go to best buy get one and if it does not work you can take it back,, best buy's policy is great,, the other thing is that if you are running vista this might not work,, but to me its worth a shot..

R.


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## Titere (Sep 14, 2006)

airraidapparel said:


> Believe me, I know that most things in this country are made overseas, but that's not my complaint. I could get the computer to communicate with the plotter, but the way it acted upon the information it was receiving was wrong. I know computers very well, and this was not user error. If you read my first post, you can see that it was cutting, just not correctly. I wanted a machine that was made to cut with it's own software or made to cut in a reputable software specifically, Artcut just didn't do it for me. The Roland works like a dream, though.


I have a refine 721 plotter cutter. I had problems at the beggining I admitt, but it was all setting issues, not machine or software related. I had luines all over the viny and guess what it was. It was only that I didnt calibrate it, I had a 2 inches graphic but it was cutting an 11 inches graphic, all cuz it wasnt properly calibrated and that was soooo easy to repair. 
It is a little pain to get it working the first 1 or 2 days, but after that they are exelent machines.

Also something I dont like here is that most people classify china items as crap just cuz one member had a problem with one heat press., or because they read someone had problems with a plotter. It is not like 50% of the users with a made in china press had problems, or hate them. I bet roland have had problems, hixx have had problems. They must have had a plotter that got defective since new...

Joe


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

Joe great post. Now that you mention it, I remember you having a calibration issue. I have always used flexi so I am not familiar with SC x2 or any other cutting software.

Sometimes it's the simple things that cause the biggest problems. BTW, Drew I once had a problem with mine cutting "a line of death" and it was simply a static issue. I still to this day can make the blade drop down whenever I want to by simply grabbing the roll of vinyl and pulling it to cause static electricity. 

I bet my "made in china" machine will make me more $$$$ then most rolands out there.


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## mystysue (Aug 27, 2006)

Jezz.. sometimes some of you sound like grade schoolers.. .. im sorry.. but you do.. 
* bet my "made in china" machine will make me more $$$$ then most rolands out there.** sounds alot like my dad can beat up your dad...

Im glad you are happy with your machine. David and that it works for you.. but know that not everyone has the same luck with that machine.. and you dont have to take it personally..
I have 2 rolands and a graphtec.. and personally i wont buy anything other than one of these two brands.. but that doesn meant I will get all defensive when people dont like it, or that people with other machines are not getting theres to work right... 

I know the machines I have are quality and they work for me.. But i wont get into the the I make more money than you with my machines war.. I left grade school years ago..

over and out..
sue


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## theflowerboxx (Mar 26, 2007)

Well Sue I am sorry but people don't need to be saying a machine is junk when they never even owned one before. I get sick and tired of hearing the phrases like "you get what you pay for" and similiar quotes. 

I'm glad you're happy with your rolands and graphtec, but that does not make them any better then another machine either. Sure they are built with better quality parts then the refine series is, but my refine will cut vinyl exactly the same as they do and nobody could ever tell what machine cut what vinyl.

As far as the $$$$ issue, I was simply stating that my refine will cut more vinyl this yr then most rolands in people's shops.

My cutter runs almost non-stop for up to 10 hrs a day 6 days a week and other then the "line of death" that I got figured out rather quickly I have never had one problem with my "made in china" machine.


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## plan b (Feb 21, 2007)

Man I gotta tell you I wouldnt mind being a grade schooler again knowing what I know now,, fresh start think of the possabilites...

R.


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## airraidapparel (Jul 6, 2007)

theflowerboxx said:


> Well Sue I am sorry but people don't need to be saying a machine is junk when they never even owned one before. I get sick and tired of hearing the phrases like "you get what you pay for" and similiar quotes.
> 
> I'm glad you're happy with your rolands and graphtec, but that does not make them any better then another machine either. Sure they are built with better quality parts then the refine series is, but my refine will cut vinyl exactly the same as they do and nobody could ever tell what machine cut what vinyl.
> 
> ...


I have owned one, had problems, and that's why I said what I said. I wasn't trying to cause an argument on this thread, just sharing my experiences. I know a lot of people have had great success with the US Cutters, that's great. I had a Bridge, and didn't. Personally, I think I got what I paid for; and I'm glad I bought the Roland. We're not contesting who makes more money or who got a better deal, we're just talking about bad experiences and investments. 

So please guys, keep this a happy forum and don't bash the guy that didn't like something that you do like.


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## prometheus (Oct 19, 2006)

badalou said:


> 2nd wife. Or was it the first. mmmm


I hope you are on your third, either that, or the second doesn't read your posts.  

I tend to try and work through my purchases and do a lot of studying and waiting. I've never really had a bad purchase yet. Probably the worst thing I have invested in was time goofing off when I was younger.


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## a.santos (Aug 23, 2008)

A DTG Printer. Texjet by Polyprint. Worst machine ever and worst, but really worst, assistance ever!!! It costed me 16000 euros and doesn't work. Worst, they don't know how to repair it and they refuse to do so now!! Unbelievable, no?! but truth! It made my business go down.


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## brice (Mar 10, 2010)

plan b said:


> the simple fix would have been if you are using a usb was to go to the store and buy a usb driver ,,


I've never been in a store that sells drivers. Cables maybe, but not drivers for any computer device. Perhaps you meant something else.


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## LaylaG (May 5, 2010)

Old post but I like it.

My worst investment: Buying a printer for $65, shipping it for $110, and buying ink for it that cost me $1500 without paying attention to shelf life.


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## buehrle (Jan 14, 2008)

a p.o.s for my bar is mine. it's junk, slow, lousy service, too many steps. my old $300 registers were much better.


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## Corel Whisperer (Sep 1, 2010)

COEDS said:


> I had a couple of those. myself It's true the third one is a charm. ......JB


 The cars or the wives?


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