BobCad sales getting annoying

[gregben]

I was just about to purchase a copy of BobCad V22 a few weeks ago when at the last minute I carefully read the return policy. I immediately cancelled the order upon reading that you cannot return the software unless it "fails to post" to your chosen machine. This is despite the fact that they sell you a dongle/key which renders the software useless without it, so the package should be returnable. It's not like buying a copy of software on a CD/DVD and making a copy and trying to return it. The media is of no consequence; only the dongle/key is. Anyway, their sales people keep calling to try to sell me the software and I keep telling them I won't buy it until their return policy changes. After all, if I buy the software and later return the dongle to them it is no longer of use to me, so they should be willing to do this. Instead, they just keep lowering their price. I told them that's of no consequence to me; I want the company to stand by their product instead of just shot-gunning cr*p all over the place. I think their approach is "make sales no matter what it takes" as opposed to "let's make the customer happy and build a good reputation for integrity and fair dealing".

A little background is probably in order:

I already own a copy of FeatureCAM which works fine, so I'm just interested in evaluating BobCad for possible migration to it because it is less expensive and I can own two dongles/keys for much less than FeatureCAM.

[Mike Stevenson]

Greg,

I could not agree with you more. Their salesman are relentless.

[wwendorf]

Check out Alibre Design. They have what appears to be a much more stable product, and you get several license keys for both cad and cam to use on machines that belong to you. You also won't have to deal with the business practices of BobCad.

[retromulticam]

At least it should be for free...
I have both V21 (proartX) and v22 along with v21 training vidoes.. oh I got the prestigous "Operator Certificate" too!
I don't use it and they still continue to attempt to sell me more, phone calls & emails.
What an outfit!!!

[Chuck Reamer]

I downloaded a trial version last fall and they have called me about 7 or 8 times.

The one time I received a call and told her I was not interested because I could not get it to work on Vista. (not true, I wasn't interested because its a piece of crap) She asked me if I would like to talk to tech support, I said no thank you I am busy and have work to do. 10 minutes later someone from tech support phones and goes on and on, I repeat that I am not interested and the call ends. 10 minutes later the same woman phones and starts pushing again, I say that I am definitely not interested and then she just hangs up on me. I laugh it off and get back to work, and couldn't be bothered with it all.

2 days pass when I get another phone call from a man trying to sell me the same thing at half the price. I explain the whole story to him and let him know I am still not interested. He apologizes and then lowers the price again.

They were pushing the fact that there software is great for doing molds, he even said it was BETTER than mastercam for hardcore 3-d cavities. I asked about a 4th axis, and they don't even support one!

I hope I never hear from them again.

[captainasty]

I have used Bobcad and had a couple of rounds with the tech's and return policy. I went with an upgrade to the V22 and it would not open their older versions, like V21. Also they are using Predator for the DNC transfer and editing. Well in demo mode you can not post to machines and see the speed limit they put on the program. The baud rate could only be up'd from 19k to full 114k IF you buy another upgrade. I asked for them to solve these problems or give me my money back. Well they said no on both because I had run the demo and agreed to buy. The problems are not seen until unlocked with the dongle/key. The credit card company agreed with me and returned my credit. They do have some nice features but major problems with this last upgrade.

[r56554]

I just came across your site and should have checked here first. I just purchase there bob cost software and there fast talking and not very staright forward sales man Dan told me I did not need the dongle with bob cost. I also purchase there cad-cam for another job we are working on that needs the dongle. Well to make a long story short they shorted me a dongle and put it with the cad-cam, so we can only use one program at a time. there are also other reason that I will never but anything from them again. there service is HS. Other people out there stay away from there junk

[cam1]

Yes, the pressure sales tactics went out of style in the 1970's. Todays consumers like the straight goods.Buyer beware....

regards

[sergizmo]

I have v21 and Bobart, purchased about 10 months ago. All drawing is done in another program and imported into BobCAD for CAM. Both work fine for what I do, simple pockets and profiles, engraving, and maybe some simple 3-D in the future. I machine putters exclusively, which are very simple parts. So, there is no need to upgrade.

Well, it seems like every month I get called asking to upgrade to v22. Every time I explain very politely that v21 satisfies my current and future needs and there is no need to upgrade. Last week I got another such call and the guy was relentless. After telling me it was only $500 for the upgrade, he was almost incredulous that I said no. I had to say no several times before he finally gave up. Just yesterday I get another call from a different guy telling me this guy forgot to mention a feature in the new BobArt. Again I have to explain that I am happy with the current version. Finally I lose my composure a bit and tell him that if I want to upgrade, I will contact them. I think that finally got through.

After a while, this verges on disrespect. I have paid for a product and yet am continually bugged to spend more money. I don't care what the price is, I DON'T NEED TO UPGRADE! They seem to think that customers should keep purchasing the latest version. Almost like it is owed. Unreal.

[WayneHill]

And the pricing is wacky. One salesman quotes a price, then a different salesman quotes another price, thousands of dollars different for the same product and features.

[dbassva]

stay well away from bobcad....everyone has a horror story about their software....its always released too early and is never "finished"....thats how they make money....release it early, when they fix about 8 versions of it, they come out with a new and improved version to sell you...which of course leads you into the cycle again....i had a salesman personally gaurentee v22 was returnable if it didnt do the things he claimed....of course it was a mess and everytime i called him to get it returned he switched me to tech support....i eventually sold it for what i paid...yeah, bobcad is cheap...yeah some people find it usefull for the $ paid, yeah it can work "ok" with some manipulation; but its just not very accurate, user friendly, trustworthy or worth it in the long run....if you are just cutting and doing simple operations in plywood panels, use it..if you need something professional, stay way clear of it...i have been beating this drum about them for years now and i have yet to see anyone truly defend their product....including people who work for bobcad

[johnmac]

Any replies or comments from BobCAD reps? I have V20, and have been getting messages from them on my answering machine. Hmmmm, wonder what they want?

John