Limited Edition Weber Original Kettle Premium 22" in RED!! Order by May 12!


 
Chris has a valid point, not many people who receive their item in excellent condition will jump up and say " I received mine and it's perfect" but those who received damaged goods will more than likely speak out about it.
With eight older Weber's I have interacted with Weber on numerous occasions. Some of those were not so pleasant, but most were excellent and I was completely satisfied. And yes I did post one occurrence that I thought I was treated very rudely, but not the ones where everything went well.
Overall I think Weber is no different than any other company that has gone to off shore production. To stay competitive and profitable they are doing what lots of others are doing and sometimes it doesn't work as well as they would hope.
 
Chris Allingham said:
No, you're not the only one. We've had posts from people that aren't happy with the color or are not big fans of red or have concerns about the quality. That's OK.

But let's put this into perspective. We're seeing complaints from dissatisfied customers about finish issues, and I don't blame them for complaining--Weber needs to do better. Dissatisfied customers always complain the loudest. However, there are undoubtedly many more customers who are not posting about their satisfaction with these grills.

I bought two of them, both arrived in great shape. I like the color a lot. A few *tiny* imperfections in the finish that most buyers would never notice unless they were pointed out. I'm happy with the two I bought, I'm giving one away as part of our Christmas Prize Drawing, and I hope the winner enjoys it!

Hopefully Weber learns a few things as a result of this venture and is not scared away from trying other limited edition colors in the future. Would love to see a colorful WSM at some point in the future. :D
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I agree with this...it's a fair assessment. I would jump into some sort of limited edition Performer or better yet...a LE 26"....oh wait, there is one already its called a Summit....I wish I could afford it....I love that charcoal Summit!!! Well a man can dream..in the meantime I will enjoy my 26".
 
I hope no one takes offense to this; I admire those whom purchased the LE and received one without defects. But it does seem apparent from posts on various sites that there have been a sizable number of defective units, regardless of the overall percentage of defects. But this is advertised as a collector's kettle; so help with my illogical thought that it would seem appropriate for production to take place locally--commanding a heftier price tag--or to somehow perform a 100% visual inspection? I get that people are not going to write a post that they received a unit with zero defects, but there are also those whom do not discuss receiving defective items.
 
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BFletcher said:
I hope no one takes offense to this; I admire those whom purchased the LE and received one without defects. But it does seem apparent from posts on various sites that there have been a sizable number of defective units, regardless of the overall percentage of defects. But this is advertised as a collector's kettle; so help with my illogical thought that it would seem appropriate for production to take place locally--commanding a heftier price tag--or to somehow perform a 100% visual inspection? I get that people are not going to write a post that they received a unit with zero defects, but there are also those whom do not discuss receiving defective items.
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No offense! No offense! :D

I'm not sure how to quantify "sizeable". 1% defective units? 5%? 10%? 25%? Only Weber knows and they won't be sharing that info with us.

It would be great if Weber treated these grills like proof coins (super shiny collectible coins struck multiple times, carefully inspected and packaged by hand, and sold in small numbers for a premium price). But in my opinion, at the end of the day it's a red grill with a special badge and terms like "collectible kettle", "gift of a lifetime", and "limited edition" are marketing fluff used to promote sales.

As for price, people are so sensitive to price. Several comments in this forum and on Amazon Q&A wondering how Weber justifies a $50 higher price for this grill just because it's red? Would they pay another $50 for "perfect" finish? I dunno.

As for production taking place locally, I'm not sure the bright red color can be made here in the USA due to environment restrictions. That's the reason we've always been told that production of red grills ceased in 2000, and why I suspect red had to be made in China.
 
FWIW, I finally saw one yesterday at Lowe's. They had one set up, and a handful in boxes right next to it. The unit was really, surprisingly solid with no defects that i could see. The side handle was even installed right-side-up. :p I was genuinely tempted.
 
ChangL said:
Tremendous research! I stand corrected. And perhaps the ~.2-.5lb difference is caused by the new LE emblem.
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0.2 lb = 3.2 oz.
0.5 lb = 8 oz.

The assembly consists of thermometer, bezel, badge, and wing nut. The thermometer and bezel weigh 1-5/8 oz. The badge weighs 1-1/2 oz. So the badge itself does not account for the entire difference in lid weight.

P.S. If your thermometer and badge do not appear properly aligned with the lid handle, you can correct this. The thermometer has a pin that fits into the bezel to keep the thermometer from spinning around in the bezel, and the bezel has a pin that fits into the badge to keep the badge properly oriented and passes through the lid to keep the whole assembly from spinning around on the lid. Each has some wiggle room for adjustment.

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Chris Allingham said:
Inquiring minds want to know! :D
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Chris,

I have really appreciated your work in conjunction with this thread and special Weber product. In looking at some of the comments and bad experiences, my heart sank at the thought of this being almost a scam rip-off or at least an affront to long-term Weber fans. Your follow-up gives me hope that it isn't that at all - though maybe not without teething problems. A lot can be said about work being exported to China. I hate it, too. But, it isn't fair in my opinion to totally blame Weber when, really, there aren't any US grill manufacturers making products for us normal people. Moreover, issues like what you mention about red porcelain possibly not even being legal to make in the US bring more justification. Finally, while I am inherently suspicious of Chinese made products, I do think a lot has to do with the oversight of the manufacturer here in the US (Think Apple iPhones maybe?!!!)

As others have stated, in spite of the sadness that it is now made in China, from my direct observations the new Genesis II grills are heavy and solid, with BETTER frames than most of the original Genesis we all love and more like the classic Platinum Genesis that used the old Summit frame. I can understand making a decision to not purchase a new Weber as a conscientious objection, but it wouldn't be fair to slam the product without a fair and full inspection.

As to this red kettle, I for one am very tempted. I just wish I could see one in person first. (Keep trying to find one in vain so far:mad:) If it looked as good as the pictures I would then order through Ace if I could justify spending the $. It doesn't look like buying on Amazon is a good option for this item.
 
Jon Tofte said:
It doesn't look like buying on Amazon is a good option for this item.
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Good, respectable comments. But in my feeble mind I cannot imagine how any workmanship issue(s) could be tied to a particular retailer. As for Amazon, it could simply be a numbers game in that they might represent a significantly higher percentage of overall sales compared to some other retailers.
 
BFletcher said:
Good, respectable comments. But in my feeble mind I cannot imagine how any workmanship issue(s) could be tied to a particular retailer. As for Amazon, it could simply be a numbers game in that they might represent a significantly higher percentage of overall sales compared to some other retailers.
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I didn't mean to imply that Amazon had inferior copies of this grill. Rather, it sounds to me that this is, to a great extent, a product handling and shipping problem. I know sometimes Amazon goes overboard with packaging and then the next thing you get is drastically under-packaged. Maybe if they had shipped with more padding or maybe their robots are too hard on them. I don't know. It just sounds like this is a hard product for them to get to your home without an issue. I order from Amazon a lot and with only a very few issues, so I am not calling them out. Thanks for bringing attention to this because I wouldn't want to be misinterpreted.
 
Amazon is shipping these grills as they come from Weber in original packaging. No "box in a box" shipping.

I got both of mine from Ace, one box was dinged on one corner, the other was not, and both grills are in great condition inside the box. The packaging looks typical and adequate, and when shipped in bulk from Weber to Ace or Amazon they arrive in pretty good shape as a group. At Ace, you carefully place the box it in the back of your car and drive it home. But when ordered from Amazon, they're putting an individual box into the UPS/FedEx system and they can get man-handled, shipped on edge when the box says "This Side Up", etc. So you have a better chance of getting a clean unit from Ace or Lowes than from Amazon, unfortunately.
 
Over the past 2 years I purchased 7 Weber kettles and smokers. One came from Amazon and others came from local retailers. The one that came from Amazon had nothing more and nothing less than original factory packaging. Of the 7, one had a defective lid and it came from a local store. But for those more familiar, some of my Weber purchases from, say, Lowes or Target I ordered them online and shipped to my residence. In such an instance, do they sometimes drop ship directly to us from Weber?
 
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Here's what I've been wondering.
Did Weber stamp the lids and bowls here and ship them to China for the red treatment?
Or does a factory in China now have the machines to do the manufacturing of the bowls and lids?
If the latter is the case, and if I worked at the factory here, then I'd be worried about my job.
 
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