Trapline Steve Albano Mole Traps

[Steve Albano 21]

Logun, you say that your mate felt "ripped off" by the traps he bought from my company, yet you go on to say the the traps worked so well that he designed a jig to make copies of our product. I could see that he might have felt ripped off if our mole traps didn't work, but I don't think it's fair to say that he was ripped off when by his own admission, our products worked very well for him.

 

I don't want to get drawn into an argument with anyone on a professional forum, but I just wanted to point out that some things are being said that don't really make sense.

[logun 91]

Logun, you say that your mate felt "ripped off" by the traps he bought from my company, yet you go on to say the the traps worked so well that he designed a jig to make copies of our product. I could see that he might have felt ripped off if our mole traps didn't work, but I don't think it's fair to say that he was ripped off when by his own admission, our products worked very well for him.

 

I don't want to get drawn into an argument with anyone on a professional forum, but I just wanted to point out that some things are being said that don't really make sense.

think he felt the price of your traps were to expencive for what they are.thats what he said in the past to me.other than that he thinks they are a good compact sort of trap that works well.

[Steve Albano 21]

Well, he knew the price ahead of time, so I still don't see how he felt "ripped off" once he got the traps and found them to work well.

[logun 91]

my i also state in reply to the messages i got regarding him selling traps to others the answear is no.

he made them for his own use only and none are made for sale.dont think he has even gave any to his best mates. so please dont ask me about them.

thanks.

[logun 91]

Well, he knew the price ahead of time, so I still don't see how he felt "ripped off" once he got the traps and found them to work well.

im not sure mate ,and to be honest its not my thing.i only put some pics up for him.

[logun 91]

they work as well asanyother traps in the uk but at the cost he would best get fenns or duffers. you can get almost 4 traps for the price of yours steve and double catch ones to.

[logun 91]

he also just told me he will supply the jig and the springs to anyone who may wish to make they own.

will also include a detaild written ,step by step guide .

[OldTrapCollector 377]

he also just told me he will supply the jig and the springs to anyone who may wish to make they own.

will also include a detaild written ,step by step guide .

 

For how much??

 

OTC

[moxy 617]

he also just told me he will supply the jig and the springs to anyone who may wish to make they own.

will also include a detaild written ,step by step guide .

 

Go on then, i will have some of that then please.

[comanche 2,991]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Steve Albano ,who has every moral right to feel aggrieved , seems thus far to have been very gracious about the affair . Fair play to him !

He supplies usefull little devices that work in situations that Duffus,tong and Talpex traps would'nt and I certainly have not regretted in investing in a few .

Edited August 22, 2010 by comanche

[logun 91]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Steve Albano ,who has every moral right to feel aggrieved , seems thus far to have been very gracious about the affair . Fair play to him !

He supplies usefull little devices that work in situations that Duffus,tong and Talpex traps would'nt and I certainly have not regretted in investing in a few .

think steve stole some ideas from the traps to make them is own ,starting with the death klutch gother trap to start with got al the same design features as is then a bit of this then that from other mole and gother traps and bingo.

nothing new about the trap just many parts from others put together.

[Steve Albano 21]

Logun, you say that "there's nothing new about the trap", and I would respond that the United States Patent Office disagreed with that view, as they issued a patent on the trap, and a key prerequisite for getting a patent is that the invention must offer some reasonable degree of novelty compared to similar existing inventions.

 

An invention doesn't have to be 100% original in order to be eligible for a patent, and I certainly don't claim that our trap is completely new. Yes my trap has some significant similarities to the DK-1 gopher trap, and by the way, the DK-1 gopher trap had significant similarities to other gopher traps invented before it. As trap designers, we all build on pre-existing designs, and we owe a debt of gratitude to past trap designers.

 

But for you to say that my trap has no novelty to it is simply false. It has enough novel design features to have been eligible for a patent. It also had enough novel design features that your friend found it useful to make an exact copy of my trap. Why did't he copy a DK-1 gopher trap?

 

And again, I certainly don't want to get drawn into an argument on a professional forum, but I do feel the need to correct some of the stuff you're saying here.

[TOMO 26,141]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Steve Albano ,who has every moral right to feel aggrieved , seems thus far to have been very gracious about the affair . Fair play to him !

He supplies usefull little devices that work in situations that Duffus,tong and Talpex traps would'nt and I certainly have not regretted in investing in a few .

 

can i ask what situation this trap will work , where the others wont???

[moxy 617]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Steve Albano ,who has every moral right to feel aggrieved , seems thus far to have been very gracious about the affair . Fair play to him !

He supplies usefull little devices that work in situations that Duffus,tong and Talpex traps would'nt and I certainly have not regretted in investing in a few .

 

can i ask what situation this trap will work , where the others wont???

 

These traps are good for sandy soil, ie golf courses, especially on the tees where there is very little soil.

Secondly they are very discreet little traps, perfect for use where the public are likely to come across your traps.

 

Bloody shame killgerm have the corner now with these traps a little too overpriced now for what they are worth.

However it wont be long before a uk manufacturer decides to cash in and produces an equivilent type trap at a sensible price.

Good for you steve A but you have now shafted us in the uk with the price. £6.36 + Vat + delivery fee, Cheers mate!!

[Steve Albano 21]

Sorry that some feel they're getting shafted here, but the fact is that it's just not practical for a manufacturer to try to distribute a product directly in a foreign country. Shipping, customs, and payments all become more complicated. Very few manufacturers are going to attempt to distribute their products directly in foreign countries. For example, Fenn, Flatpak, and Talpex do not distribute their mole traps directly in the USA. If I want to buy those traps here, I wind up paying a pretty penny for them.

 

Also, you have to understand that aside from the practical difficulties of distributing across international boundaries, we as a manufacturer benefit enormously by tapping into the distribution and marketing network that a distributor like Killgerm has to offer. That's a huge benefit to us, but it comes at the price of the distributor wanting an exclusive arrangement--why would they market our trap if we were going to undercut them and sell directly? That wouldn't make sense from their perspective.

 

Anyhow, I'm sorry some of you in the UK see this as you getting slighted or shafted, that's certainly not my intention, just trying to make good business decisions, as other companies do. I do agree that our traps do wind up being a bit pricey in the UK by the time we make them here in California with relatively expensive labor, then add shipping, customs, and a distributor markup.