Discussion of New Colors, New Designs

[G42]

I'm happy you are keeping us up to date G42, but I think its kind of odd that the company is not doing any such announcing. I would have expected some traffic on the forums, or a blog post or an email.

Oh, I'm just pointing things out that I'm watching for myself that I figure some of you might also be curious about.
TB doesn't normally announce ALL the ongoing stocks or restocks, that's what the email notifications are for. As far as I can tell, they use the blog and Forum for items of particular note or that are unusual for some reason or if they're perhaps particularly geeked about something.

ETA, moriond dirkhaun Chicagoan often post updates too... I'm assuming ones they're watching...
I wasn't particularly watching the Western Flyers for instance.... Those were announced by TB for the first restock they did in a year (or more) but this last one seemed like a regular cadence

Another random observation, the inventory levels seem to have recovered quite a bit over the last several months, which is quite nice...
And some of the combos In Production hit 16 or so, which seems like more than pre pandemic, but that could just be recency bias in my brain

[Chicagoan]

I can't hibernate like a bear.

But I can squeeze in a post-work and pre-dinner nap.

Just awoke from one to see my name mentioned!

Ugh, guys. It's tough.

You know? I did like the short-lived "recently restocked" category on the website before it was removed.

But it just seems the company is either so pre-emptive that it puts an announcement out there so ahead of time it creates this enormous demand and items immediately sell out once released, or they restock quietly so folks can stumble across new items organically and without everyone dog-piling on them all at the same time, at the expense of no one knowing when in heck the new stuff shows up.

They're trying to make us happy. Really. They are. And there's never going to be a time or method that works for 100% of those interested. So they shoot to please most. A majority.

But I feel like with all the recent brand crisiticism, largely and simply because new players are making new choices, they're damned if they do, and damned if they don't.

G42 , thanks for being Johnny on the spot and not only having advice, and even pictures, but also offering a trade opportunity to solve an issue when zero inventory wouldn't allow it to be solved otherwise. That's super nice of you.

Also YES! They have been restocking staple items a LOT more often than they have over the last few pandemic-era years and it's nice to know they can get through more than one production batch in a year. Great news for folks who don't have the immediate time or money commitment to trying to run the rat race of low quantity restocks.

Guys, just bookmark the site, sign up for email updates, and check back when you have an idle moment at home, work, or when you're traveling in-between the two. Most the time I'll thumb through the website when I have a slow moment after catching up at work and will start looking at bags I'm interested in. Maybe the related product category. Etc. Sure, these methods aren't perfect, nor are they guarantees, but diligence often pays off with perseverance.

[sturbridge]

G42- I'm talking about the new color announcement. New colors used to be a very big deal.

[Chicagoan]

Weird as it is to say, has there been any talk ever of having some sort of virtual "town hall meeting" to consolidate things like this into one open forum conversation and turn the minutes into action items?

I honestly don't know how TB keeps track of all the comments, compliments, and concerns when they're so far spread across so many category and subject threads on the forums.

sturbridge, maybe just shoot them an email at customer service and ask if they have plans to continue announcing debuts of new colors? I get what you're saying, and I remember those updates, too. Really was an easy way to breathe life and sales into items simply by announcing same item but HEY SHINY NEW COLORS.

[G42]

G42- I'm talking about the new color announcement. New colors used to be a very big deal.

Oh, ok, I misunderstood which bit you were referring to, I'm sorry

I don't know if they ever announced every time a new colour was used in the next bag (other than perhaps back when they were in Port Angeles, as a much smaller company).
Açai was announced with the first set or two of items, and has since just showed up as a new option on other bags/accessories.

The three new Cerylons have been hinted at in multiple blog posts and then were announced as part of the Parental Unit pre-order here by MikeV
They then started appearing as options in a lot of other bags and accessories, though to your point, the VPCs are the first ones to ship (other than swatches).

[Chicagoan]

Oh, ok, I misunderstood which bit you were referring to, I'm sorry

I don't know if they ever announced every time a new colour was used in the next bag (other than perhaps back when they were in Port Angeles, as a much smaller company).
Açai was announced with the first set or two of items, and has since just showed up as a new option on other bags/accessories.

The three new Cerylons have been hinted at in multiple blog posts and then were announced as part of the Parental Unit pre-order here by MikeV
They then started appearing as options in a lot of other bags and accessories, though to your point, the VPCs are the first ones to ship (other than swatches).

I'm guessing, but I think sturbridge is referring to the fact TB used to be better at providing a pretty extensive list ahead of time of all items being made with a new fabric, be it exterior facer, or interior liner.

Now things, like restocks, seem to trickle in unannounced and it's hard to track them.

I'm sure it has something to do with their production schedule and knowing how much they can make from how much fabric they have on hand (and maybe sometimes they estimate conservatively and discover they can make more than they planned?).

But that's me just speculating, but I think I know what we're hinting at.

[sturbridge]

Yes, and, there was more fanfare around new colors. A running joke would be that Darcy would tease by saying "here's a picture of the new color" and provide the picture in black and white. I just think the company could get a lot more excitement/engagement going by mentioning these coming attractions. The traffic is way down on these forums, and that would be a way to stimulate conversation.

When the 525/210 ballistic colors first out, there was a whole mystery for weeks. People who were in the know (mods, folks who got the preview swatches) would weave stories including the colors and it took a while to figure out what it was they were doing. That was a lot of fun.

[MaiaH]

I'm happy you are keeping us up to date G42, but I think its kind of odd that the company is not doing any such announcing. I would have expected some traffic on the forums, or a blog post or an email.

Hey folks, I just wanted to jump into this conversation real quick!

We’ve been dealing with a pretty hectic week at the factory, but we will try our best to give more of a heads-up in the future (via newsletter, blog post, or forum post). We made sure to make a lot of accessories in the new colors, so we don’t have any expectation that they will sell out quickly. We have a lot more accessories on the way in (3D Organizer Cubes, Cubelet, PCSB) and you will be notified in real-time when they debut if you sign up for the notifications! :-)

[G42]

Thanks MaiaH !

[epeterson]

MikeV Could you say anything about the future of 1050d ballistic? It seems like the colors have been limited to black and burnt orange for awhile. Is this a temporary thing? Will we see more aubergine, steel, verde, navy, coyote 1050d in the future?

[dirkhaun]

MikeV Could you say anything about the future of 1050d ballistic? It seems like the colors have been limited to black and burnt orange for awhile. Is this a temporary thing? Will we see more aubergine, steel, verde, navy, coyote 1050d in the future?

The Parental Unit pre-order had Coyote and Navy 1050 (in addition to Burnt Orange) as options.

[Tonya]

The Parental Unit pre-order had Coyote and Navy 1050 (in addition to Burnt Orange) as options.

Those are some heavy duty diaper bags lol. As a mom I certainly get it, but yeah I'd like to know about the 1050 staying around for a while. It seems TB keeps moving toward lighter and lighter weight fabrics. We live a rugged lifestyle out here, and travel isn't always kind to bags. I need my TB bags to keep up.

[dirkhaun]

Those are some heavy duty diaper bags lol.

Indeed. I already have a PU in 1050 Burnt Orange and it feels like I could tear down a wall with it

[MikeV]

Hey folks! Wanted to give you all a heads up that we're restocking a bunch of accessories, and a few larger bags lined with Acai and the new Cerylon fabrics today. There are some instances where we don't have interior photos on some of the larger bags yet but we're working on getting those done and they should have their interior photos set up next week

[ayazgood]

MikeV - Are there any plans to do the T45 in xpac?