Eagnas Machines

mrme3555

New User
I have been looking to upgrade from my gamma x-6 to a manual crank machine and have been looking at many Eagnas models. They seem to be significantly cheaper than their counterparts from other brands(i.e Revo 4000). In addition to this Eagnas seems to have many many machines that seem to all be nearly the same. Is there anything to be wary of before buying an Eagnas Machine, or are they really just that low priced? Thanks for any help.
 
There have been many complaints about really bad customer service. I remember there were some real howlers in the FAQ section of thier website. Use the search function here to see what others have said in earlier threads.
 
I have been looking to upgrade from my gamma x-6 to a manual crank machine and have been looking at many Eagnas models. They seem to be significantly cheaper than their counterparts from other brands(i.e Revo 4000). In addition to this Eagnas seems to have many many machines that seem to all be nearly the same. Is there anything to be wary of before buying an Eagnas Machine, or are they really just that low priced? Thanks for any help.

There are a lot of threads on this site about Eagnas customer service. If you live close enough to drive to their warehouse you seem to get better care. Cheaper prices comes with a cost.

My recommendation: Stick with Gamma or Alpha, or a Neos.
Rod
 
Run a search for the word "eagnas" on this forum and then you decide wether you want to take the chance with them. There have been some people who have been happy with their machines.
 
I am happy with my Eagnas. I have a Combo 3800. This is too much machine for a person only stringing their own. I really like it and customer service was not anyhting like I hear on these.
 
You can take a chance on a company that has many complants posted on this board, or go with the sure thing. If money is the only issue - buy an Eagnas - they are the lowest price for a reason. Low overhead, lack of customer service - they basically import the machines and sell them. Some models seem to be much better than others.
 
Don't worry about what they say about Eagnas. Its your own personal experience that counts to you anyway. I'm happy with my 300 and my experience with them is great.
 
I am happy with my Eagnas. I have a Combo 3800. This is too much machine for a person only stringing their own. I really like it and customer service was not anyhting like I hear on these.

I have a combo 3800 too, like it a lot but have to admit i have some issues, first one didnt go at all so i sent it back, got another one, this one goes but only on high speed, on normal speed it doesnt pull, i've bought it from an internet site so i cant keep sending it back, other then that i like it a lot.
 
I have a combo 3800 too, like it a lot but have to admit i have some issues, first one didnt go at all so i sent it back, got another one, this one goes but only on high speed, on normal speed it doesnt pull, i've bought it from an internet site so i cant keep sending it back, other then that i like it a lot.

I had no issues. It was calibrated perfectly right out of the box. I only string for myself and it is too much stringer for someone like me but I consider it a toy.
 
I really enjoy my EAG 300. Worked great straight out of the box and calibrated right on the money. I have strung about 25 racquets so far and have no complaints. Very sturdy and great machine!
 
I have an eagnas 300 and can only say good things about it.
Their customer service stinks, but the quality of there crank machines for the money can't be beat.
 
I have an Eagnas Smart 909 crank machine.
I'm in Australia, so I didn't have to deal with the (allegedly) bad customer service over there.
The guy I bought it from assembled it for me and made sure everything worked smoothly. I could see there are problems with quality control with these machines, but he was very familiar with them and fixed it all up very nicely.
I couldn't be happier but if you're going to assemble yourself, be prepared to fix a few of the small things.
 
I have a combo 3800 too, like it a lot but have to admit i have some issues, first one didnt go at all so i sent it back, got another one, this one goes but only on high speed, on normal speed it doesnt pull, i've bought it from an internet site so i cant keep sending it back, other then that i like it a lot.

I might be getting a 2nd hand C3800. How long haveyou had it for? Are the clamps sitll good to use? THe 2nd hand I might be getting was bought in January this year and is still as new condition. It's at an extremely good price- half price of what an electronic machine costs over here (Australia). I won't have to deal ith the customer service... so yeah. I might take the plunge.
 
I might be getting a 2nd hand C3800. How long haveyou had it for? Are the clamps sitll good to use? THe 2nd hand I might be getting was bought in January this year and is still as new condition. It's at an extremely good price- half price of what an electronic machine costs over here (Australia). I won't have to deal ith the customer service... so yeah. I might take the plunge.

A couple months already and probably 30 rackets strung, fine base, good clamps, very easy and fast to use, just that damn electronic stuff isent the best out there...(could be bad luck but it's the second)
 
SP and Eagnas are always bickering about each other being cheap knock offs. Truthfully, I only wanted a good stringing machine at the best price.
 
I have an Eagnas 925 purchased off the big auction site and do a ton of rackets, no problems at all. I think some of the other brand machines must be prone to failure and CS is necessary. At least we here that often from the Gamma and Alpha owners, guess those brands require more service. I have not had any issues nor have I contacted CS since purchasing my machine. The 925 is working great, just as good as it did 9 months ago when I purchased it. Great value, you can spend more, but what does the extra money buy you?

Stringing machines are very simple technology. You pull and clamp tension, which is all stringing machines do.
 
Interesting that you're more likely to hear about problems than props, especially when there's a "Eagnas sucks...beware" vibe, but a thread like this brings it all out.

I've been averagaing 8 frames a week for the last several months on my Combo 810 and am a happy camper...great machine at a great price and Victor was nothing but friendly to me via phone.
 
Truthfully, I only wanted a good stringing machine at the best price.

Please qualify 'GOOD'...

IMHO, Eagnas makes stringing machines. Good or not is subjective to all individuals and your luck of the draw. If you never had a machine, they're better than your first girlfriend. Those who have used/owned a Babolat, Gamma, Ektelon, the first girlfriend was 'What was I thinking?!'.
 
Please qualify 'GOOD'...

IMHO, Eagnas makes stringing machines. Good or not is subjective to all individuals and your luck of the draw. If you never had a machine, they're better than your first girlfriend. Those who have used/owned a Babolat, Gamma, Ektelon, the first girlfriend was 'What was I thinking?!'.

I started stringing in 1989 (while in college) and started on the Prince P200 (I think that was the model it was the one with the air compressor). I have used Babolat Star 2 & 3. I have used the Prince Neos. I have used multiple others too numerous to name. None of them have given me any more consistent job than my Eagnas Combo 3800. Like the earlier poster said, a stringing machine is not a complicated technology. I am not a volume stringer; there is not enough money in stringing for it to ever be any more than a hobby. maybe those other machines are better but for my purposes, I am very happy.

If you are here to bash Eagnas, feel free, (and by the number of complaints it may be warranted) but my experience has been fine. My machine has never given me problems and it was considerably cheaper than the Alpha version of the same machine.

I am curious as to how many people who actually hate Eagnas has even dealt with Eagnas or used one.
 
I started stringing in 1989 (while in college) and started on the Prince P200 (I think that was the model it was the one with the air compressor). I have used Babolat Star 2 & 3. I have used the Prince Neos. I have used multiple others too numerous to name. None of them have given me any more consistent job than my Eagnas Combo 3800. Like the earlier poster said, a stringing machine is not a complicated technology. I am not a volume stringer; there is not enough money in stringing for it to ever be any more than a hobby. maybe those other machines are better but for my purposes, I am very happy.

If you are here to bash Eagnas, feel free, (and by the number of complaints it may be warranted) but my experience has been fine. My machine has never given me problems and it was considerably cheaper than the Alpha version of the same machine.

I am curious as to how many people who actually hate Eagnas has even dealt with Eagnas or used one.

Those of us who own and use Eagnas are satisfied with the product, those they have never used Eagnas seem to be the ones complaining the most.

It is a stringing machine, pulls and holds tension. Any machine will do that, it is what they are designed for. Whose name on it is simply marketing. If you want fancy go purchase a Tecnifibre TF-7000. It is a very state of the art, clean, and very appealing machine. But it cost retail about $6000.

http://www.doittennis.com/popup_image.php?pID=3003

Nice machine!
 
As another poster mentioned, if you do a search on this forum, you will find plenty of information and opinions regarding Eagnas stringing machines and Maxline, their US distributer. In fact, my very first post in this forum almost 3 years ago was about my experiences with Maxline and Eagnas!

For the record, I have owned and used two Eagnas machines, the Hawk 80 and the Flex 940, both purchased from Maxline. I also had ordered an Eagnas 860 in between these two machines, but it arrived literally broken in half and unusable... so I can't comment much on that machine other than to say I was not impressed with the overall build quality and the clamps looked substandard on that particular model. I sent it back and ordered the Flex 940 instead.

The Hawk 80 I had was just an entry level drop weight machine, no frills. It served me well enough. The Flex 940 I upgraded to has been great, although my tension head did break within the first year, and I had several issues with the folks at Maxline getting them to honor their warranty. After a couple months of badgering, they finally sent me a new tension head, but they were a real pain in the ass to deal with and were unprofessional to say the least.

For comparison sake, I learned to string on an Ektelon Model H, which was a standard upright spring tension workhorse back in the late 80s and early 90s. I have never used one of the high end electric machines, so maybe I don't know what I'm missing. On the other hand, I'm stringing just for myself and the occassional friend, so it doesn't matter... and the Eagnas machines have been adequate.

Since I really took a lot of time to detail my experiences with Eagnas and Maxline in my previous posts, I will attempt to find them and re-post them in this thread as the morning progresses.
 
OK, here is what I wrote back in January of 2005:

This is long, but I thought I would share my experience with Eagnas:

I have been stringing my own racquets for about 14 years now, and do it mainly to save money while maintaining quality strings in my racquets.

After using a friend's machine for years, '98 is when I bought a machine of my own. After looking around, I was attracted to the price of the Eagnas machines and decided to buy a Hawk 80.

At the time, I had a job where I traveled quite a bit. One of my projects took me to LA, so I decided to go directly to the Maxline/Eagnas “store” while I was in town. I didn’t call ahead, but rather, just put the Torrance address into Mapquest and started driving.

I was expecting to find a storefront or warehouse, but instead, found myself driving around an average suburban neighborhood. When I got to the address, it was just a regular, run-of-the-mill house. I rang the doorbell, and a confused looking Asian woman answered the door. I asked if this was Maxline and told her that I wanted to buy a stringing machine. She didn’t seem to speak much English, so after about a minute, a high school age kid came to the door and let me in. We wandered through their living room and into a shop area in the back. Inside, there were stacks of boxed machines everywhere. I picked out my machine, and paid for it with a credit card (using the old paper receipt method).

Based on this experience, I was kind of surprised how “mom and pop” Maxline was. They are not some big company, but a small family operation. I understand that they now have a warehouse store in Gardena, but they are still a small company. (Usually, these types of companies live and die by quality customer service, but more on that later.)

Anyway, I have used my Hawk 80 table top machine for about 6 years now and have had no problems. I paid about $280 and it has easily paid for itself. (For those of you that were wondering if the customer quotes on the Maxline website are real, they have actually cut and paste some of my comments from e-mails I have sent to them.) Since the machine had no problems, I had little need to contact Maxline again… until the last year and half.

First up, I moved into a new house and one of the mounting supports on my Hawk 80 got lost in the trip. I decided to contact Maxline to get a new part. On the first try, I called their phone number listed on the website. I just got an answering machine, so I left a detailed message regarding what I needed and asked them to call me back so I could order the part. Several days passed, and I never received a call back. Therefore, I decided to send an e-mail instead, including pictures of the part that I needed. Two days later, I finally got a reply that the part was available and would cost $5.00. I sent another e-mail asking for them to send me the part, and included my credit card info (which isn’t the safest, but more on that later). Anyway, again, I did not get a reply for several days… so I kept following up… with no response. About 5 days later, I received an envelope with the part in it. So, the communication was a little patchy, but they did get me what I needed.

So fast forward a few months, and it is just after this past Christmas. I was browsing around the Internet and decided to check the Eagnas/Maxline website. Lo and behold, they are selling several of their professional models for $399.00 and throwing in a 660’ reel of string and 4 stringing tools for free. I had the extra money floating around, and thought this was an excellent chance to upgrade!

I decided on an Eagnas 860 and sent an e-mail with all of the complete order information to Maxline on December 29th. 24 hours went by, and I did not hear anything from them. Therefore, I decided to call. I got Victor (I think) on the phone, and he told me that the machine was in stock and would ship it out that day. So… 7 days went by, and I still hadn’t received my order yet! At the end of day 7, I sent Victor another e-mail asking for the tracking number of the shipment (or a response if there was a problem with the order). Another 24 hours went by with no response. I e-mailed him again… and again, no response. Finally, I called, and he came up with the tracking number.

I ran the tracking number to see where the package was since it was now 10 days since I had ordered it. Turns out that Victor didn’t even send the package until January 5th, even though he said it was shipped on December 30th! Obviously, the dishonesty and lack of communication was very irritating, but I can live with it if the machine is OK.

The Eagnas 860 arrived on January 10th, and I immediately opened it up. To my dismay, the head support mount (made of cast metal no less) was broken completely in half! In addition, the side support mounts were completely missing… along with several screws, and the free string tools were not included. And finally, the base support legs were not the same as what was advertised on the website.

I immediately went to the Maxline website to find out what the return procedure was. Basically, the way I read it, a damaged shipment meant that I needed to contact UPS. I called UPS, and they told me to package the shipment back up in the original box and they would return it. I e-mailed Victor about the damage, told him about the missing parts, and sent some digital photos. To no surprise at this point, he did not immediately reply. In the meantime, UPS called a couple hours later and explained that the shipping damage insurance claim would be between them and Maxline, and that normally a manufacturer would ship a replacement machine once UPS picked the old shipment up for inspection.

The next day, I finally got an e-mail reply from Victor. He told me to keep all of the parts that were good, and that he would just send replacement parts for what was damaged or missing. I replied to him that UPS had instructed me to box the entire shipment up for return, and that I was having second thoughts about the 860. (Aside from a cast metal part breaking in shipment, the missing parts and the base difference from what was advertised kind of spooked me.) I asked him some questions about the 860, Beta, and Flex 940, and asked for some recommendations. Again, no response!!! Finally, on my own, I decided that I would rather receive a Flex 940 for a replacement machine instead of another 860. I e-mailed him again, in fact two more times over a 48 hour period, that I wanted to change to a Flex 940 and wanted to know when he would be shipping it (especially since UPS had already picked up the old machine at that point). Finally, he responded that a new 940 was on the way.

Yesterday, the Flex 940 finally arrived. To my delight, all of the parts were there and intact. In addition, I was happy to find that the string clamps were upgraded from the older PN-1002 to the newer PN-1012, and that there were some extra replacement mounting pads included. Just to make sure everything was in order, I assembled the machine and strung a couple older frames I had lying around. The machine is great!

So, to make a long story short, here is what I think of Eagnas/Maxline:

1.) The two stringing machines that I have purchased and used (the Hawk 80 and Flex 940) have been of good quality and are an excellent value. I was unimpressed with the Eagnas 860, but my opinion of that machine was probably tainted by the horrible condition that it arrived in.

2.) Maxline’s customer communication is terrible. Whether it is talking to someone with broken English on the telephone or waiting 2-3 days or more for an e-mail response, it is not what you would expect when dealing with a “professional” company.

3.) The lack of secure credit card transactions on their website is disconcerting. Maxline wants you to e-mail your credit card information or tell them over the phone, which opens you up for fraud. How hard is it for them to set up a PayPal account? (For that matter, how hard would it be to set up an E-Bay store? They could probably open up more business that way.)

4.) Maxline’s website is not kept up-to-date, so product changes are not reflected. In addition, I think it is unprofessional to air their running feud with Silent Partner and others on the site - especially when their lack of English skills make some of their arguments hard to understand. (For example, read their “bad stranger policy” or the part about why they don’t want to be associated with the USRSA.)

5.) Other companies I have dealt with over the years, especially the smaller ones like Maxline’s size, usually bend over backwards to please the customer because they are usually competing with the giant corporations. Excellent service helps the smaller company overcome the price barriers that giant companies generally have. With Maxline, it is the opposite. Their products are high quality and low price, but they don’t (seem to) care about customer service.

In my opinion, if you are a recreational or amateur stringer like me, the Eagnas stringing machines are a great deal for the money. However, if I was going to open up a tennis store, I think I might be more inclined to go with another manufacturer like Alpha or Gamma because I would want better support for a machine that is part of my livelihood.

Can you imagine how many Eagnas machines Maxline could sell if there were no customer service problems? If they modernized their website and hired a marketing/customer service person that could speak English, there would not be a single bad thing anyone could say about them!

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=14907&highlight=Maxline
 
Here is my review of the Hawk 80 and Flex 940 from June of 2005:

OK, I have an Eagnas Flex 940 and it was the second stringing machine that I've bought from Maxline in the past 8 years or so. Therefore, I feel like I am qualified to throw in my opinion.

I like the 940 and have had nothing but good results with it. I purchased the machine in January and paid $399 plus shipping, and it came with a basic set of stringing tools and a free 660' reel of 16g "Perfect Spin" string, which looks and plays a lot like Prince TopSpin. In my opinion, this was a killer deal compared to the prices of similar upright, 6 point mounting, swivel clamp, spring tension machines. In fact, I play tennis 5-6 days per week and hit with mamouth topspin, so I break a lot of strings. Between my own racquets and the occasional string job for a friend, I probably service between 4-6 racquets per month - which means I have already recieved my return on investment with the 940.

I originally learned to string on an Ektelon Model H, and although the mounting system and clamps are different, the general operation of the 940 is very similar. Before I bought the machine, I was worried about the "suspension" mounting system as I was used to a "lock down" system previously. However, it does seem to secure the racquets just fine and I have seen no sign of distortion when I am pulling tension. When I first got the machine, the tension was calibrated just fine... but I found I needed to adjust it after about a month, which I think is normal. Before I do any stringing, I always check the tension calibration and have found that I've only had to adjust it that one time so far.

I have only had one other Eagnas machine for comparison, the Hawk 80 - which is a table-top drop-weight machine. The Hawk 80 is a simple, entry level string machine and it worked fine for me. However, I wanted an upright with a spring tensioner, and I perceive the Flex 940 to be a big upgrade.

Now, to address specific issues that others have brought up:

1. The turn table is not "wafer thin" in my opinion. I went out and measured mine and found that the table was made from 1/4" steel, and there is absolutely no perceptable flexing - which would lead to tension loss - when I am stringing a racquet.

In terms of the "thin" turn table and not getting what was advertised, I believe that the unsatisfied customer that wonder_wall was referring to was matchpoints in this thread:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=44438

My Flex 940 looks exactly like the picture that was posted, except... when I received my 940, I was pleasantly surprised to find it came with the upgraded PN-1012 swivel clamps instead of the older PN-1002 clamps that were advertised. These new clamps are actually higher quality, and were provided free of charge.

2. The shipping cost for my machine was about $50. However, I have also bought several bicycles off of **** and the shipping charge is about the same. If you go to UPS.com and price out the shipping on a 50 lb package, I think you will find that this is the going rate. Therefore, I see no indication that Maxline is "ripping people off" with the shipping.

(I believe that Gamma must either be using a different shipper than UPS - US Postal maybe - or is putting back some of the shipping costs into the price of their machines.)

3. As others have pointed out many, many, many times... the customer service from Maxline (primarily Victor) is not what somebody would expect from a professional company in the United States. The standard is high here, and Maxline does not meet this in general terms. I did not have any major problems with my purchases, but I did exhaustively detail my experiences and observations in some threads earlier this year:

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=33136&page=2&pp=15&highlight=Eagnas

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=37756&highlight=Eagnas

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=38146&highlight=Eagnas

My advice about Eagnas is the same as it was a few months ago...

If you are a home stringer that is not servicing racquets for a living, then the Flex 940 is an excellent choice because of the value. Since you are not relying on the machine for income, you can probably afford to deal with any customer service issues that may arise and in the end, you will have a great machine for less than $500.

However, if you own a tennis store and are stringing to feed your family, then you absolutely need the best product and customer service available. (For instance, if a major part fails under warranty, you want a company that would be willing to ship you a replacement machine while the other is being fixed.) If that is the case, even though it will cost you more money, you are probably better off going with a higher end machine from Alpha or Gamma because of their superior warranty support and customer service.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=35427&page=2&highlight=Maxline

By the way, I think the thread links within my quote may be broken from the TW forum software upgrade earlier this year.
 
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Here is what I wrote regarding the problem with the tension head I had with my Flex 940 in the summer of 2005, and Maxline's response:

barry,

I've had a Flex 940 since January, and I think it is a pretty nice machine. I have never seen a Combo 910 in person, but based on the pictures, it looks almost exactly like the 940 except for a sturdier looking turntable and the spring assisted swivel clamp bases. Since the 910 is $595 and the 940 is $399, I'm not sure that the turntable and clamp bases are really worth the extra $200... but maybe someone that actually has a 910 or has seen both machines can comment.

As you know, the biggest problem with Eagnas is not really the machines, but their main US distributer Maxline. I have made several posts in the past detailing my experience with them (do a search on my user name and the keyword "Eagnas"). Basically Maxline is a little family operation, the owners speak English as a second language, and they lack the normal customer service attitude that you would normally expect from an American business. The Eagnas machines are a good value, but you may run into communication issues if there is a warranty problem.

Recently, I had a problem with the manual tension crank on my 940. There are two little pins or shafts that are supposed to be welded to the crank arm and go through the flywheel that the brake grabs onto. Unfortunately, on the tension head I originally received, one of these pins was not welded into place. It was like this when I first got the machine, but I did not notice it until a few months later when the pin started falling out almost every time I cranked the arm - which made the flywheel go out of alignment and engage the brake... which made the machine impossible to use. Here is a picture of the problem:

axzpxz.jpg


My experience in getting Maxline to replace the tension head under warranty (most of their machines have a 5 year warranty) was very frustrating. I e-mailed them about the problem and they responded within a day telling me to ship the part to them for repair. However, it took them 6 weeks (!) before they finally shipped me a replacement tension head... and it would have been longer if I hadn't been so persistant. Basically, I exchanged multiple e-mails with Michelle during those weeks where she either did not address my questions, or wrote one line answers that did not give me any information. (I think her English skills are worse than Victor.) Anyway, I finally got ahold of a young sounding girl named Kelly on the phone and she found the package with the defective part I had sent them un-opened (after 6 weeks!) in their shop. Anyway, after seeing the defect, she immediately understood the issue and shipped out a replacement tension head. (Ironically, I got an e-mail from Michelle about a week later that said they would be looking into my problem "soon"... :roll: )

My advice about Eagnas/Maxline is that if you are a home stringer and can deal with the occasional problem (like having your stringing machine out of operation for 6 weeks), they are a great deal. However, if you are stringing for a living, you might want to place your trust in a different manufacturer who will support you better in a crunch.

I know that most of this is irrelavant to you since I think you have previously mentioned that your experience with Maxline has been peachy, and that you live near their operation in SoCal. However, I thought it might be food for thought for other readers who aren't as lucky...

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=45522&highlight=Maxline
 
Here is part 1 of my gigantic review of Eagnas and Maxline in January of this year (I wish I had found this post first!!!):

I’ve posted about Eagnas machines numerous times in the past, but I haven’t done so in over a year because the same questions keep coming up over and over again. However, since there are probably a bunch of new posters now or folks that have missed what I previously wrote, here is my experience with Eagnas machines and dealing with Maxline.

Eagnas Hawk 80 and My Initial Impressions of Maxline

The first Eagnas machine I ever bought was a Hawk 80, which is their basic drop weight table top stringer. I had looked at the Maxline website and compared the machine to other entry level offerings from other companies, and at $280, it seemed like it would be hard to go wrong.

At the time (this was around 1998 or so), I had a job where I traveled quite a bit and one of my projects took me to LA, so I decided to go directly to the Maxline/Eagnas “store” while I was in town to buy the machine. I didn’t call ahead, but rather, just put the Torrance address from their website into Mapquest and started driving.

I was expecting to find a storefront or warehouse, but instead, found myself driving around an average suburban neighborhood. When I got to the address, it was just a regular, run-of-the-mill house. I rang the doorbell, and a confused looking Asian woman answered the door. I asked if this was Maxline and told her that I wanted to buy a stringing machine. She didn’t seem to speak much English, so after about a minute, a high school age kid came to the door and let me in. We wandered through their living room and into a shop area in the back. Inside, there were stacks of boxed machines everywhere. I picked out my machine, and paid for it with a credit card (using the old paper receipt method).

Based on this experience, I was kind of surprised how “mom and pop” Maxline was. They are not some big company, but a small family operation. I understand that they now have a warehouse store in Gardena, but they are still a small company. (Usually, these types of companies live and die by quality customer service, but more on that later.)

Anyway, I used my Hawk 80 table top machine for about 6 years, and it easily paid for itself. Since the machine had no problems, I had little need to contact Maxline again… until I lost a small part on the machine while moving to a new house.

First Experience With Maxline Customer Service

As I mentioned, when I was moving, one of the small plastic mounting supports on my Hawk 80 got lost in the trip. I decided to contact Maxline to get a new part. On the first try, I called their phone number listed on the website. I just got an answering machine, so I left a detailed message regarding what I needed and asked them to call me back so I could order the part. Several days passed, and I never received a call back. Therefore, I decided to send an e-mail instead, including pictures of the part that I needed. Two days later, I finally got a reply that the part was available and would cost $5.00. I sent another e-mail asking for them to send me the part, and included my credit card info (which isn’t the safest thing to do and made me feel uncomfortable). Anyway, again, I did not get a reply for several days… so I kept following up via e-mail with no response. About a week later, I received an envelope with the part in it. So, the communication was very patchy and the payment process arcane, but they did get me what I needed.

The Eagnas 860 and My Second Experience With Maxline Customer Service

At the end of 2004, I decided to upgrade my machine and decided on an Eagnas 860, which was selling for $399.00 and included a 660’ reel of string and 4 stringing tools. I sent an e-mail to Maxline’s address on their website with all of the complete order information on December 29th of that year. 24 hours went by, and I did not hear anything from them. Therefore, I decided to call. I got Victor (I think) on the phone, and he told me that the machine was in stock and that he would ship it out that day. So… 7 days went by, and I still hadn’t received my order yet! At the end of day 7, I sent Victor another e-mail asking for the tracking number of the shipment (or a response if there was a problem with the order). Another 24 hours went by with no response. I e-mailed him again and again, and got no response. Finally, I called, got Victor on the phone, and he came up with the tracking number.

I ran the tracking number to see where the package was since it was now 10 days since I had ordered it. Turns out that Victor didn’t even send the package until January 5th, even though he told me on the phone that it was shipped on December 30th! Obviously, the dishonesty and lack of communication was very irritating, but I could live with it if the machine was OK.

The Eagnas 860 arrived on January 10th, and I immediately opened it up. To my dismay, the head support mount (made of cast metal no less) was broken completely in half! In addition, the side support mounts were completely missing… along with several screws, and the free string tools were not included. And finally, the base support legs were not the same as what was advertised on the website.

Here is a picture of the damage to the 860 when it arrived:

2cygz5t.jpg


I immediately went to the Maxline website to find out what the return procedure was. Basically, the way I read it, a damaged shipment meant that I needed to contact UPS. I called UPS, and they told me to package the shipment back up in the original box and they would return it. I e-mailed Victor about the damage, told him about the missing parts, and sent some digital photos. To no surprise at this point, he did not immediately reply. In the meantime, UPS called a couple hours later and explained that the shipping damage insurance claim would be between them and Maxline, and that normally a manufacturer would ship a replacement machine once UPS picked the old shipment up for inspection.

The next day, I finally got an e-mail reply from Victor. He told me to keep all of the parts that were good, and that he would just send replacement parts for what was damaged or missing. I replied to him that UPS had instructed me to box the entire shipment up for return, that they had already picked it up, and that I was having second thoughts about the 860. (Aside from a cast metal part breaking in shipment, the missing parts and the base difference from what was advertised kind of spooked me. In addition, I was also very unimpressed with the quality of the clamps on that machine.) I e-mailed Victor and asked him some questions about the 860, Beta, and Flex 940, and requested some recommendations. Again, no response!!! Finally, on my own, I decided that I would rather receive a Flex 940 for a replacement machine instead of another 860. I e-mailed Victor again - in fact two more times over a 48 hour period - that I wanted to change to a Flex 940 and wanted to know when he would be shipping it (especially since UPS had already picked up the old machine at that point). Finally, he responded a couple days later (just as I was filling out an online Better Business Bureau complaint about them) that a new 940 was on the way and I got it about a week later.

(To be continued due to TT post length restrictions...)

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=109611&page=3&highlight=Maxline
 
Part 2:

(Continuation due to TT posting size restrictions…)

The Eagnas Flex 940

When the Flex 940 arrived, to my delight, all of the parts were there and intact. In addition, I was happy to find that the string clamps were upgraded from the older PN-1002 to the newer PN-1012 version (which is much better), and that there were some extra replacement mounting pads included. In addition, I got the free reel of string and the stringing tools that were promised with the original order. Just to make sure everything was working, I assembled the machine right away and strung a couple older frames I had lying around, and all was well for several months as far as I could tell.

Then, about 6 months after I purchased the 940, I began to notice that the string tensions that I was getting were wildly out of wack. I was stringing my personal racquets at 67 lbs with the same string every time, but sometimes the job felt way too tight and other times it seemed extremely low. I bought one of those tension calibration tools and did some tests on my machine. As it turned out, the tension was pulling up to 15 lbs, plus or minus off of the setting, which is obviously unacceptable! Furthermore, no matter what adjustments I made to calibrate the machine, it just kept giving me bad results. However, it soon became apparent what the true cause of the problem was…

There are two little pins or shafts that are supposed to be welded to the crank arm and go through the flywheel that the brake grabs onto. Unfortunately, on the tension head I originally received with my 940, one of these pins was not welded into place. It was like this when I first got the machine, but I did not notice it until these few months later when I encountered the noticable tension issues. I discovered the problem when the pin started falling out almost every time I cranked the arm - which made the flywheel go out of alignment and engage the brake... which made the machine impossible to use because it would stop at more and more variable tensions instead of where the tension knob was set at. Here is a picture of the problem:

axzpxz.jpg


My Third Experience With Maxline Customer Support

My experience in getting Maxline to replace the tension head under warranty (most of their machines have a 5 year warranty) was very frustrating. I e-mailed them about the problem and they responded within a day telling me to ship the part to them for repair. However, it took them more than 6 weeks (!) before they finally shipped me a replacement tension head... and it would have been longer if I hadn't been so persistant.

Basically, over several weeks after I sent the defective tension head in, I exchanged multiple e-mails with someone named Michelle. Every time I got a reply from Michelle, it either did not address my specific questions, or she wrote one line answers that did not give me any information. (I think her English skills are worse than Victor.) Anyway, after numerous failed e-mails and phone messages that were not responded to, I finally got ahold of a young sounding girl named Kelly on the phone. Kelly went into the warehouse and found the package with the defective part I had sent them. It had been sitting un-opened (after 6 weeks!) in their shop, and nobody had even looked at it. Anyway, after seeing the defect, she immediately understood the issue and shipped out a replacement tension head that day. (Ironically, I got an e-mail from Michelle about a week later that said they would be looking into my problem "soon"... :roll: ) What a joke… if it hadn’t been for Kelly (who I think was just working there temporarily), I might still be looking for Maxline to honor their warranty.

Concluding Remarks About Eagnas and Maxline

So, to make a long story short, here is what I think of Eagnas/Maxline:

1.) The two stringing machines that I have purchased and used (the Hawk 80 and Flex 940) have been of overall good quality and are an excellent value at the prices that they sell at. Although I had a tension head issue with the 940, I don’t think that this is a common problem with that machine. In fact, I am pretty sure that Eagnas uses the same tension head on all of their spring tension machines, so the quality control was the problem with that particular part, not the machine itself. Also, although I did not have a chance to use it, I was unimpressed with the Eagnas 860… but my opinion of that machine was probably tainted by the horrible condition that it arrived in. In general, I think that Eagnas makes some machines that are solid (like the 940) for the money, but you have to be prepared for headaches if there happens to be a defect in the equipment you receive.

2.) Maxline’s customer communication is terrible and their integrity is questionable. Whether it is talking to someone with broken English on the telephone, waiting 2-3 days or more for a response to an e-mail or voicemail, or having Victor or Michelle lie directly about something they say their going to do, it is not the kind of behavior you would expect when dealing with a “professional” company in the United States.

3.) The lack of secure credit card transactions on their website is disconcerting. Maxline wants you to e-mail your credit card information or tell them over the phone, which opens you up for fraud. How hard is it for them to set up a PayPal account? (For that matter, how hard would it be to set up an E-Bay store? They could probably open up more business that way.)

4.) Maxline’s website is not kept up-to-date, so product changes are not reflected. In addition, I think it is unprofessional to air their running feud with Silent Partner and others on the site - especially when their lack of English skills - make some of their arguments hard to understand. (For example, read their “bad stranger policy” or the part about why they don’t want to be associated with the USRSA.)

5.) Other companies I have dealt with over the years, especially the smaller ones like Maxline’s size, usually bend over backwards to please the customer because they are usually competing with the giant corporations. Excellent service helps the smaller company overcome the price barriers that giant companies generally have. With Maxline, it is the opposite. Their products are decent quality and low price, but they don’t (seem to) care about customer service. (If their products weren’t so relatively inexpensive, they would be out of business by now.)

In my opinion, if you are a home stringer that is not servicing racquets for a living, then Eagnas stringing machines can be an excellent choice because of the value. Since you are not relying on the machine for income, you can probably afford to deal with any customer service issues that may arise and in the end, you will have a great machine for the money.

However, if you own a tennis store and are stringing to feed your family, then you absolutely need the best product and customer service available. (For instance, if a major part fails under warranty, you want a company that would be willing to ship you a replacement machine while the other is being fixed.) If that is the case, even though it will cost you more money, you are probably better off going with a higher end machine from Alpha or Gamma because of their superior warranty support and customer service.

Same link as above...
 
And here's my reply to barry in that same thread discussing the machines and Maxline's rep. In this, please note that Maxline has established an online purchasing method now that replaces their old "e-mail me your credit card number" procedure in the past:

barry said:
Curious what machine are you currently using? Also how long ago did this take place?

Eagnas recently established a store front for secure transactions at http://www.eagnas.com/store/catalog/index.php. I purchased a couple of reels of Eagnas Perfect spin and a machine and the package arrived in 5 days. My customers are big fans of the Perfect Spin and no complaints on their string jobs, which kind of says it all for me!

Lot of people comment about Eagnas, guess Eagnas is considered the Wal-Mart of the stringer industry, but it is tough to beat their price / performance!

barry,

I assume these questions were directed at me... if not, please disregard.

I stated the timeframes in my narrative, but I guess you missed it. I bought my Hawk 80 back in 1998 and I got the Flex 940 in January of 2005. My tension head was defective from the beginning, but I didn't notice the problems until about May or June, 2005. I first reported the problem and shipped the entire tension head back in late June... and didn't get my replacement until August. That's over 6 weeks right in the middle of the summer that my machine was unusable because Victor and Michelle kept screwing around, lying, and not processing my warranty return. If I hadn't gotten Kelly on the phone, it would have taken even longer to get my machine back in order!

I am still using the Flex 940. I haven't had any problems since I got the replacement tension head, and I am satisfied with the machine's performance overall. I mostly string just for myself, so any of the problems I've had with Maxline have merely been a personal inconvenience. However, I do break strings quite often and with the aforementioned 6+ week delay with the tension head problem in 2005, I had to take my racquets into a pro shop to be strung because my machine was inoperable... which I obviously wasn't too happy about. (Who wants to pay $35 for a string job when you can do it yourself!)

Regarding the new online Maxline store (with credit card processing), I am glad to see them finally modernize. According to the timestamp at the bottom of the page, it looks like that new service went live on April 23rd, 2006. Without it, I'm not sure I would be comfortable using my credit card with Maxline again (and I would still be hesitant given my issues with Victor and Michelle's honesty).

On the subject of the Perfect Spin string, I got a reel of this with my machine purchase and thought it was pretty good. It looks to me like it might be a knock off of Prince TopSpin, and it performs well for that type of string. The only funny thing was that instead of saying Perfect Spin on the string, it was actually stamped "PREFECT Spin", which I thought was kind of funny! :grin:

Again, same link as the previous two posts.
 
whoa jack - you kind of hijacked us for a few pages there - pun intended.

another vote for eagnas here -- happy with my EAG-300.
 
have been using my flex 740 for a year. Happy for the decision and money i saved for more than 100 string jobs. Victor doesnt have telephone manner when i called him though.
 
whoa jack - you kind of hijacked us for a few pages there - pun intended.

another vote for eagnas here -- happy with my EAG-300.

:D I know... a lot of reposting. I forgot that I had summarized all of my experiences in that one set of posts toward the end. In the future, if I repost my information, I will just use that one.

The questions about Eagnas and Maxline keep coming up every month or two here... so much so, they probably need a "sticky" about the subject. I got tired of reading and responding to the same questions, so I avoided the threads for awhile, but got a wild hair when I saw this one for some reason.
 
:D I know... a lot of reposting. I forgot that I had summarized all of my experiences in that one set of posts toward the end. In the future, if I repost my information, I will just use that one.

The questions about Eagnas and Maxline keep coming up every month or two here... so much so, they probably need a "sticky" about the subject. I got tired of reading and responding to the same questions, so I avoided the threads for awhile, but got a wild hair when I saw this one for some reason.

NP - it's good info. Sounds like you had a interesting experience with Maxline. I think there are about 3 active threads on Eagnas/Maxline right now. It's amazing how passionate people on these boards get about something like a tennis stringing machine.
 
:D I know... a lot of reposting. I forgot that I had summarized all of my experiences in that one set of posts toward the end. In the future, if I repost my information, I will just use that one.

The questions about Eagnas and Maxline keep coming up every month or two here... so much so, they probably need a "sticky" about the subject. I got tired of reading and responding to the same questions, so I avoided the threads for awhile, but got a wild hair when I saw this one for some reason.

So which machine do you own and use these days?
 
So which machine do you own and use these days?

It's the Flex 940 that I mention in my posts above. I probably average around 25-30 string jobs per year, so the machine has paid for itself easily. Personally, I think it's probably one of the best deals in the Eagnas line-up, and you rarely hear anyone say bad things about that machine.

I wrote a lot of detail in my previous posts because I wanted to show a valid distinction between the machines and their US distributor Maxline. Other than the faulty tension head I initially got on my Flex 940, I've had no problems with that stringer. However, the folks at Maxline are not easy to deal with and their communication is not what you would expect from a retailer in the US. For those considering an Eagnas machine purchase through Maxline, I still stand by the advice I gave in my previous posts.
 
Although barry would like new users to believe that everyone who has actually bought/used an Eagnas machine thinks it's great, and that anyone who says otherwise has never actually used one, that's just not true.

There are plenty of folks on the board (like me) who've gotten both a bad machine and bad service from the good folks at Maxline/Eagnas.

There are also plenty of folks who've gotten machines they are happy with.

I just like to post "the other side" in these threads, because I would have liked it if someone had warned me before I ordered a useless stringing machine from Maxline.

It's a risk, as far as I'm concerned.
 
Although barry would like new users to believe that everyone who has actually bought/used an Eagnas machine thinks it's great, and that anyone who says otherwise has never actually used one, that's just not true.

There are plenty of folks on the board (like me) who've gotten both a bad machine and bad service from the good folks at Maxline/Eagnas.

There are also plenty of folks who've gotten machines they are happy with.

I just like to post "the other side" in these threads, because I would have liked it if someone had warned me before I ordered a useless stringing machine from Maxline.

It's a risk, as far as I'm concerned.

And Ben42 would like every new user to believe Maxline is junk, since he bought one and could not make it work.

I just like to post "the other side". Don't really care what you buy or own.
 
Eagnas needs to reduce the number of machines it sells. You go to their website and they have so many machines that have very similar features and in the same price range. Naturally, the first time purchaser of a stringing machine is confused. Those that have strung for numerous years know what features they want. Eagnas carries so of the lowest price machines. They import and export. Those that want a warm fuzzy customer service representative answer their questions need to look elsewhere. You pay for those extras.

Carry 10 machines, and make sure they all successful is much better than carrying 80plus. If they did this, they would have much less negative feedback on this board.
 
Why don't you guys just settle in with the 300 so we can stop all this bashing :). There were no complaints with the EAG 300 that I can remember reading about that's why I picked it and so far it has performed very well. Plus I saved ALOT of dinero. EAG-300 cost $350 over the Neos which is $1,100. And it functions just the same.

Some complaints were about Eagnas having bad customer service. I mean does it really matter if you get bad customer service if you save alot of money? I shop at Wally world all the time, its bad service but I got the stuff I need.
 
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Some complaints were about Eagnas having bad customer service. I mean does it really matter if you get bad customer service if you save alot of money? I shop at Wally world all the time, its bad service but I got the stuff I need.

The problem with bad customer service is that if you have a problem with your machine, you may not be able to get Maxline to honor their warranty or ship you replacement parts in a satisfactory manner. Also, I've read examples where folks lost a good chunk of money when they got a defective machine and cancelled their order, but Maxline got them with a restocking fee or never gave them a refund.

(I actually like my Eagnas machine, but I've had problems with Maxline. Waiting two months for a replacement part for a critical component on my machine was not acceptable... especially when it turns out they didn't even open my package when I send the defective part back per their instructions.)
 
Eagnas needs to reduce the number of machines it sells. You go to their website and they have so many machines that have very similar features and in the same price range. Naturally, the first time purchaser of a stringing machine is confused. Those that have strung for numerous years know what features they want. Eagnas carries so of the lowest price machines. They import and export. Those that want a warm fuzzy customer service representative answer their questions need to look elsewhere. You pay for those extras.

Carry 10 machines, and make sure they all successful is much better than carrying 80plus. If they did this, they would have much less negative feedback on this board.

They even produce more different models than are sold on the regular Maxline site.http://www.eagnas.com/lilylee/uprightm.html
 
The problem with bad customer service is that if you have a problem with your machine, you may not be able to get Maxline to honor their warranty or ship you replacement parts in a satisfactory manner. Also, I've read examples where folks lost a good chunk of money when they got a defective machine and cancelled their order, but Maxline got them with a restocking fee or never gave them a refund.

(I actually like my Eagnas machine, but I've had problems with Maxline. Waiting two months for a replacement part for a critical component on my machine was not acceptable... especially when it turns out they didn't even open my package when I send the defective part back per their instructions.)

Good thing that I live near their warehouse.
 
gotta disagree...

Eagnas needs to reduce the number of machines it sells. You go to their website and they have so many machines that have very similar features and in the same price range. Naturally, the first time purchaser of a stringing machine is confused. Those that have strung for numerous years know what features they want. Eagnas carries so of the lowest price machines. They import and export. Those that want a warm fuzzy customer service representative answer their questions need to look elsewhere. You pay for those extras.

Carry 10 machines, and make sure they all successful is much better than carrying 80plus. If they did this, they would have much less negative feedback on this board.

(Beware - pent up rant to follow - sorry ace)

Can't say I'd agree with this.....to say "less choice is better" minimizes the reality that everyone values a different component of a stringing machine.....I've read "passionate" opinions on these boards about everything on these damn things - from the clamp styles, the mounting styles, the weight-pulling styles, price, you name it........Personally I like to have lots of choice, and since I value buying what it is I want, not what it is you have, Eagnas is a good business model in my eyes, not a bad one. Do you really think the average (?) person is "confused" by choice? Does this also apply to rackets.....restaurants...cars......."naturally"

And I'd disagree with the idea that fewer models would mean better manufacturing quality - "quality" is a choice of how to operate, and that's generally apart from the what or how many - decisions re materials, processes, etc, are unlikely to change just because they make fewer models - they'd make fewer models but still have to make the same quantity of overall machines. And most (obviously not all) of the problems seems to be customer relations, not the structural integrity of the machines, and certainly a different manufacturing process or product line will not improve their wacky personalities.

And less bashing on this board? Come-on, this is a favorite target - those who want to be opine and say "BAD" will continue to do so, as will those who opine and say "GOOD".......as if there are comments on each and every of the machine they make....and who really cares? It's an inexpensive machine to work on a piece of equipment to go play a sport......not a defibrillator. And its obvious their customer service sucks - but that statement covers probably 75% of the business's that touch my day - cable, gas, supermarkets, any state agency (hey, it NJ here..)....do you expect hand holding and flowers from Babolat, Prince (or whoever makes the Neo these days), Wilson, on-and-on.....? From what I see, only the guy from Alpha seems interactive - cool for them, but gee, their choices are limited, and the prices are high......oops, sorry, exercising choice again......

Ok, so now, wanna know why my racket is the only best one, and everyone who doesn't use it is "warned"........

....Sorry, now back to your regularly scheduled "Stringing Machines" board rant.......I'll head back to my corner now.
 
And Ben42 would like every new user to believe Maxline is junk, since he bought one and could not make it work.

I just like to post "the other side". Don't really care what you buy or own.


See. "Oh, if you're bashing Eagnas you must not have ever used one. Oh, you did own one and didn't like it, you must not have known how to make it work."

Some "other side" from this guy.
 
(Beware - pent up rant to follow - sorry ace)

Can't say I'd agree with this.....to say "less choice is better" minimizes the reality that everyone values a different component of a stringing machine.....I've read "passionate" opinions on these boards about everything on these damn things - from the clamp styles, the mounting styles, the weight-pulling styles, price, you name it........Personally I like to have lots of choice, and since I value buying what it is I want, not what it is you have, Eagnas is a good business model in my eyes, not a bad one. Do you really think the average (?) person is "confused" by choice? Does this also apply to rackets.....restaurants...cars......."naturally"

And I'd disagree with the idea that fewer models would mean better manufacturing quality - "quality" is a choice of how to operate, and that's generally apart from the what or how many - decisions re materials, processes, etc, are unlikely to change just because they make fewer models - they'd make fewer models but still have to make the same quantity of overall machines. And most (obviously not all) of the problems seems to be customer relations, not the structural integrity of the machines, and certainly a different manufacturing process or product line will not improve their wacky personalities.

And less bashing on this board? Come-on, this is a favorite target - those who want to be opine and say "BAD" will continue to do so, as will those who opine and say "GOOD".......as if there are comments on each and every of the machine they make....and who really cares? It's an inexpensive machine to work on a piece of equipment to go play a sport......not a defibrillator. And its obvious their customer service sucks - but that statement covers probably 75% of the business's that touch my day - cable, gas, supermarkets, any state agency (hey, it NJ here..)....do you expect hand holding and flowers from Babolat, Prince (or whoever makes the Neo these days), Wilson, on-and-on.....? From what I see, only the guy from Alpha seems interactive - cool for them, but gee, their choices are limited, and the prices are high......oops, sorry, exercising choice again......

Ok, so now, wanna know why my racket is the only best one, and everyone who doesn't use it is "warned"........

....Sorry, now back to your regularly scheduled "Stringing Machines" board rant.......I'll head back to my corner now.

Look at Dancraig link above. Explain why they carry that many upright machines. Makes no business sense to me. I would rather have a few good models, than 100 that vary so little that you need a fine tooth comb to figure it out. Check out this page, you are a first time string buyer, what is the difference in many of theses machines. How many uprights do you need to carry? Seriously: glide bar, fixed clamps, 2 point mount, 6 point mount - carry 2 each and that is only 8 models. Better to be good at a couple of things than average at 100...
 
I have an eagnas flash 925 stringing machine and it works great. As for customer service, if you ask politely to them they will respond to you very quickly.
 
I have an eagnas flash 925 stringing machine and it works great. As for customer service, if you ask politely to them they will respond to you very quickly.

Put a Gamma sticker on your 925 and you have a Gamma 5003! My 925 is working great, over 1000 rackets strung so far, and have done nothing to it. I was planning on replacing it after 2 year, but have decided to keep it and see how many frames I can string on it. My experinece has been positive.

Interesting the most talked up and praised machines on this board are the ones TW sells. Makes you wonder!
 
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