Anybody know if Brighton boat works is still doing business? I sent an order in on the 23 of February, emailed later that week then called so I could get an idea of a ship date, no response. I know the owner has a full time job, just would like to know if I need to cancel my order or wait a bit more.
Cash

They are still running.

Lost us$100+ with them... no proof of delivery provided, ever ...

He was here in DC most of last month. Had a beer with him.

I ordered from him last year and never got any response and had to get my $$$$ back through a pay pal dispute resolution.

We have a member of our club that had to take Brighton to court to get his money back (over $1000) after almost a year of no shipment and lack of communication.

I HIGHLY recommend these 2 resources, great communication, inventory and timely shipping...

http://www.midwestmodelyachting.com

https://www.radiosailingshop.com.au

Always sad to hear news like this.

Sailsect out of the UK is also a good source
Great customer service great prices...
great people

A buddy of mine paid for an IOM and never received it from Brighton. Being the nice guy that he is, he trusted that Brighton would come through and allowed the window to contest the transaction with the credit card co. to lapse. Three years later, still no boat....

Sent him emails,called with no response!Opened paypal case.Tom Brighton is F--king Scum bag!

I would 100% reccommend Midwest Yachting , Radio sailing shop , Sails etc in UK they are top notch suppliers.
For me, from what I’m reading, just too many red flags that there is a 50/50 chance of receiving goods from BBW.
On the flip side I totally get it if it is a second business and he is just swamped. Communication is the best service you can give. Just my two cents.

It's unfortunate to read about this drama.

I recently sold an IOM I had for a long time, and subsequently found myself in the market for a newer model. I had been giving some consideration to one of the models offered from Brighton Boat Works, but the experiences posted here were absolutely considered in my ultimate decision to purchase a home-built boat from a local supplier in C.T. No doubt I've made the right decision keeping it domestic and verified.

Brighton is a really nice guy (I have met him) who is running a hobby business while working a "real" job, I was told that his regular job takes him all over the world, often for extended periods of time. Unfortunately, he doesn't have anyone minding the store while he is gone and coupled with a non-confrontational personality where he never wants to give anyone bad news - like he is out of stock on an item and has no idea when it will be back in stock - he just doesn't communicate with customers. As a result, he has developed a well deserved terrible reputation.

After an unfortunate situation where he didn't make good on a verbal promise to replace a new out of the box defective part, I had to dispute a purchase with PayPal (be sure to do it within 30 days) to get my money back. I was still out the shipping to send the bad part back to him. I won't be ordering from him again unless he can hand the item to me before I hand over the $.

It's too bad because he has some items that are unavailable from other domestic suppliers.

I ordered a DF65 from Brighton Boat Works and he emailed me back that the boat was out of stock and that he'd refund me but I never got my money back. After several non-answered emails I had to go to my local branch and fill out their forms to get my money back.

I did get my money back but I'll never shop there again. It's too bad since we don't have many US retailers that sell these things. I don't want to ship from the UK for toy boat parts.

Originally Posted by cripple

I ordered a DF65 from Brighton Boat Works and he emailed me back that the boat was out of stock and that he'd refund me but I never got my money back. After several non-answered emails I had to go to my local branch and fill out their forms to get my money back.

I did get my money back but I'll never shop there again. It's too bad since we don't have many US retailers that sell these things. I don't want to ship from the UK for toy boat parts.

You should order any DF product from Dragon Sailing North America - the exclusive distributor.