Update From 02Bumpers.com

[02bumpers]

Hello fellow 02ers! 

 

I am giving you all an update as I have been somewhat absent from the forum for a good while now. The last two and a half years have been crazy for everyone, myself included. From having my first child in November of 2020, to moving my entire livelihood from Morro Bay, CA to Placerville, CA to closing a business, starting another, trying my hardest to keep 02bumpers afloat and then having my second child in February of 2022 things have been moving at lightening speed and I have not been my best at communicating this to forum members and customers of mine, that being said I really have been trying my hardest to keep everyone, my new family included, happy. 

 

Covid 19 really messed up my supply chain as it has all over the world. It seems that bumper shipments have gotten fewer and farther between in the last two years. I have only received two shipments in the last 6 months. This is a very unusually long lead time and it has not been easy on me dealing with some harder to work with customers who are understandably frustrated with this "new normal" in supply chain issues. It had taken a hit on my mental health and I was very seriously considering closing the business (after all outstanding orders were either fulfilled or refunded) and focus on my career in guitar building.

 

I am not sure who knows that the bumper business has been my method of supporting my career in guitar building for sometime now and I have been running the bumper business since 2011 while working at National Reso-Phonic Guitars in San Luis Obispo from 2010-2017 and then a full time apprenticeship with acoustic guitar builder Mike Baranik from 2017-2020. I am now pursuing this career full time and trying to make a name for myself in the acoustic guitar world. I thought about closing down 02bumpers.com and walk away from the bumper business, for my own personal health. But after careful consideration I have decided to change my business plan with 02bumpers.com and keep it running on the side and continue to provide for the 2002 community. 

That being said, now the supply chain is starting to get more streamlined, I have decided to change my business plan to a strictly inventory based system. This means if I don't have the bumper on hand, it will not be available to order, meaning there will be no custom orders that can be placed from 02bumpers.com from here on out. I will only provide bumpers that I have on hand and in stock.

This will help alleviate the stress of supply chain issues and to help keep a happy customer base who will now be receiving their orders within a week instead of within a year...or more. I do apologize in advanced for any inconvenience this may cause, but I hope it gives peace of mind to future customers who will know that if they order from my website, it will be shipped the next possible business day. 

All currently outstanding orders will still be fulfilled. 

 

I hope you all are doing well during 2002 season! I am working on installing a new IE header so I can get my 74' 2002 back on the winding roads of gold country! Looking forward to taking my 18 month old for her first spin in the 02  

 

Please reach out to me here or at chris@02bumpers.com if you have any questions, concerns or comments and thank you all for the continued support over the years. I look forward to adding new products to 02bumpers in the next year, so stay tuned. 

 

Cheers and best regards,

 

Chris Broemmelsiek

02Bumpers.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Gh356]

Best of luck Chris.  Seems like 2002s and guitars are both pursuits of passion as much as they are a business.  Hope both flourish for you. 

[Dudeland]

Chris I feel you dude.  I have had to move back and forth across Canada in the middle of the pandemic.  My business is hamstrung due to a lack of people with the skills I need.  Personal challenges are amplified due to the restrictions covid has put on us. 

 

It is very considerate of you to reach out to the 02 community, but in my opinion everybody needs to be given a tonne of slack including you. 

 

Regards

 

[JsnPpp]

Hi Chris, 

 

Do you have a website for your acoustic guitars? 

 

Cheers,

Jason

[02bumpers]

On 6/21/2022 at 11:03 PM, Gh356 said:

Best of luck Chris.  Seems like 2002s and guitars are both pursuits of passion as much as they are a business.  Hope both flourish for you. 

Thanks very much. I have been lucky to have both 2002s and music as a means to make ends meet. I hope to continue the trend! 

[02bumpers]

5 hours ago, Dudeland said:

Chris I feel you dude.  I have had to move back and forth across Canada in the middle of the pandemic.  My business is hamstrung due to a lack of people with the skills I need.  Personal challenges are amplified due to the restrictions covid has put on us. 

 

It is very considerate of you to reach out to the 02 community, but in my opinion everybody needs to be given a tonne of slack including you. 

 

Regards

 

I really appreciate the sentiment. I've been frustrated, my customers frustrated and my supplier frustrated. Sorry to hear you are dealing with similar struggles, I've only had to move once so doing it multiple times is rough.. It is not a fun situation to deal with but we either give up or persevere, so here goes nothing right?!? Haha

[02bumpers]

2 hours ago, JsnPpp said:

Hi Chris, 

 

Do you have a website for your acoustic guitars? 

 

Cheers,

Jason

I am working on a website right now. Here are some pictures of the guitars I'm working on now. All the woodworking is nearing completion and I will be in the spray booth this week. 

 

I'll post some more pictures once they have been finished and buffed

[Dudeland]

Forward your website once it is completed. My neighbor collects them. 
 

…. guitars that is …not websites..lol

Edited June 23, 2022 by Dudeland

[Bumpky02]

I believe I have a set of your SS bumpers mounted on a ‘76 (circa 2014). Glad to hear you’re able to pursue both endeavors.  The past few years have been rough for business, hopefully you can continue to offer these awesome bumpers.

[02bumpers]

On 6/23/2022 at 12:30 PM, Dudeland said:

Forward your website once it is completed. My neighbor collects them. 
 

…. guitars that is …not websites..lol

Will do! 

[02bumpers]

On 6/24/2022 at 6:32 AM, Bumpky02 said:

I believe I have a set of your SS bumpers mounted on a ‘76 (circa 2014). Glad to hear you’re able to pursue both endeavors.  The past few years have been rough for business, hopefully you can continue to offer these awesome bumpers.

Sweet 02! And look at those shiny bumpers after 8 years of road time! I am very proud of the stainless steel bumper program I built, it is definitely hard to walk away from it after all the years of hard work. I'm hoping to keep it going for as long as possible. Thank you for sharing this

[Redtail]

Hey Chris, thanks for the update, sorry to hear times have been rough lately but it sounds like you have a plan to get the business figured out. 

 

I have a set of your shorty SS bumpers on my '73 and I think they look great! I have been thinking about ditching the front over-riders for a set of seam covers though. I see they are listed on your website, should I place an order or would it be better to wait until you clear the backlog. Is this an item you will be keeping stocked going forward or will you only be selling full bumper kits?

 

Thanks for continuing to support the 02 community!

[02bumpers]

On 6/27/2022 at 12:23 PM, Redtail said:

Hey Chris, thanks for the update, sorry to hear times have been rough lately but it sounds like you have a plan to get the business figured out. 

 

I have a set of your shorty SS bumpers on my '73 and I think they look great! I have been thinking about ditching the front over-riders for a set of seam covers though. I see they are listed on your website, should I place an order or would it be better to wait until you clear the backlog. Is this an item you will be keeping stocked going forward or will you only be selling full bumper kits?

 

Thanks for continuing to support the 02 community!

Thank you for your kind words. I will be stocking the front seam covers. It has been a while since they came through. I will update the FAQ everytime I add inventory. 

Edited July 7, 2022 by 02bumpers