I just happen to be watching this unfold from the front row; I'm one of Amazon's customers who ordered the new Leatherman Skeletool CX back in early December 2007.
The Skeletool's original release date before it went on sale was supposed to be November 2007, but they weren't offered for pre-order until December with a release date of early January 2008. Then the release was pushed to late January, then early February, and now the best we can make out is mid March. I feel like I'm waiting for Half Life 2 to hit shelves again.
Amazon has a discussion page about the tool where customers have gathered to talk about the delays. For a while, there was someone who was posting nearly every day, claiming to be an Amazon employee. He spoke of his communications with Leatherman, and how he expected the tools to come in any day. Then suddenly, Amazon deleted all of his posts. Nobody is quite sure of what's going on over at Amazon, and people are canceling their orders because of the delays and bad communication.
It's so sad that Amazon has built these great community features and yet seems to know bupkus about supporting a community. I'm the second community member so far (the first is here) to post about the idiotic situation that Amazon has created. Please Digg Here to show your support.
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Leatherman is the tool
I pre-ordered the Skeletool CX all the way back in early November. At the time, Leatherman's website had "Coming in November 2007" splashed on the tool's page. Since then, it's been a snipe hunt.
Now on the page, it says it's the winner of an award for "Gear of the Year" in 2008. More like best vaporware.
Leatherman reps keep responding to emails with cookie cutter excuses that they pride themselves on quality and don't want to release an inferior quality product. What I get out of that message is that engineers are working hard, execs are poor planners, and their PR is turning a bad situation into an awful customer experience.
They don't seem to show any empathy to us. Especially when many of us purchased these with a reasonable expectation of turning these into Christmas gifts. I had to convert mine into an IOU card.
Leaving the skeletool in the closet
I'm right there with you on this one. I placed my order on Amazon simply because they appeared to be the one store to have the items earlier than others. Then they delayed it a few weeks in January, and as you stated before, its now looking like mid-March... oh wait its the 15th. I received an email from Amazon saying they would try to find the items. They also asked for me to approve my order BEFORE APRIL 29TH!!! They can't be serious. I have been a very loyal customer because Amazon makes it convenient for me to buy thins I can't find overseas for a reasonable price. I am seriously considering not shopping there again because they just won't tell anyone whats going on.