Convoy soft top for LJ

Why don't you go do the product development for that top, invest your own capital, draw the design, make multiple patterns, work out all the bugs, source materials that will stand up to the sun, find window material more resistant to scratching than OEM, invest more time and money developing the market for the product, then find a factory to manufacture it to your standards and negotiate the morass of government regulations of multiple jurisdictions to get the product into customers' hands?

Then come back and tell us how overpriced it is.

The top isn't overpriced. You are under monied.
And you didn't even mention amortizing the development investment over the likely small demand for these tops - companies that decide to develop new products for a vehicle that's declining in numbers (and declining in the number of people willing to spend money on them) have to consider the development cost and how they'll recover that.

If he thinks he'll sell 100 of them over the next couple of years, the cost of each top has to include the money he spent on development / 100 in amortization cost, not to mention the cost of production, cost of marketing, etc.

It's a wonder we get any new products for the TJ at all these days given all the costs that go into developing a new product and getting it to market.

I talked with Greg during the development process and he's used top of the line premium materials - he's done a remarkable job on this top, it's very high quality and fits very well. In my opinion it's worth what he has to charge for it.
 
. . . If he thinks he'll sell 100 of them over the next couple of years, the cost of each top has to include the money he spent on development / 100 in amortization cost, not to mention the cost of production, cost of marketing, etc.

Now you're making me feel guilty for being on the waiting list for one of Greg's tops, then deciding to keep my hard top.
 
And you didn't even mention amortizing the development investment over the likely small demand for these tops - companies that decide to develop new products for a vehicle that's declining in numbers (and declining in the number of people willing to spend money on them) have to consider the development cost and how they'll recover that.

If he thinks he'll sell 100 of them over the next couple of years, the cost of each top has to include the money he spent on development / 100 in amortization cost, not to mention the cost of production, cost of marketing, etc.

It's a wonder we get any new products for the TJ at all these days given all the costs that go into developing a new product and getting it to market.

I talked with Greg during the development process and he's used top of the line premium materials - he's done a remarkable job on this top, it's very high quality and fits very well. In my opinion it's worth what he has to charge for it.
The dark side of that is circumventing development costs after the fact by buying one, shipping it out to get reverse engineered and then listening to all the fuckwits tell you how awesome competition is for the market.
 
I wonder how that would look on a TJ (assuming they made one for same)...
1603299586468.png
 
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"I’m not really into soft tops at all unless they provide a really fast convertible function. The American Convoy is the worst of both worlds - all the noise and leaks of a soft top AND not easy to take off or convert to topless. To add insult to injury it increases your height by an inch over the hard top"

I am just seeing this now..

The statement above is a bit misleading so I just wanted the chance to reply to this since the link above is closed to comments. I do remember this jeep well and have the texts and pics from the install still on my phone. When the top was being installed, the instructions were not followed since the base plates were installed upside down (with the 4" brackets sticking up instead of down). There was then many attempts by the owner to install the soft top (way out of order from the instructions) over top of the incorrectly installed metal framing. This incorrect install caused damage to the soft top since the hardware/hoops were sticking up 6" above where they should have been and the sailcloth was being forced to stretch way beyond the structural limits of the top. I was told the seams broke several times because of this and the installer kept having to take it to get it resewed. I asked a number of times to either facetime me or send me pics to help solve (because breaking seams did not sound right) but those requests fell on deaf ears and instead I was hearing about the frustrations and how the product was made poorly. On top of that, the Jeep it was being installed upon had a custom roll cage and so there was nowhere to tie in the steel frame to make it completely stable. When you say it is leaky and loud, that is probably because of the re-stitching and stretching of the top that did irreparable damage and also could have been a result of the lack of roll bar tie ins (if one was made custom, it's possible it was welded to the slightly wrong spot and this could be a problem). After insisting and not receiving pictures several times, I did finally get a picture and was able verify it was being installed incorrectly. I then never heard back. I would have been happy to take the top back however I tried calling and texting a month or two later to make sure everything was going well and asked for pictures but also got no response. Yes, the top is taller than the stock top (it's actually 3 to 5" taller along the length) so I am not sure why there was a complaint there since the height of the top is the whole point and part of the appeal and this should not have been any surprise since it is on the website. (It is taller for more headroom and for storage, etc.)
Also, if the instructions are not followed, the top can be very difficult and frustrating to install and take off.

I don't profit from these tops but this is a passion of mine. I do this on the side so that people can have the top I built and love to use for themselves. I am sorry that you did not enjoy it- I really am because I am only interested in putting smiles on faces. I felt I did everything I could to help but there seemed to be a "go it alone" or "I don't need instructions" attitude. I know it is not possible to please everyone but I always try my best. This top isn't for everyone, of that I am sure.
With that said. I am glad it was able to go to a good home. If you have that person's info, I would love to make sure they are happy with it, answer any questions, or help with anything they need.

Thanks,
Greg Donohoe
American Convoy
 
"I’m not really into soft tops at all unless they provide a really fast convertible function. The American Convoy is the worst of both worlds - all the noise and leaks of a soft top AND not easy to take off or convert to topless. To add insult to injury it increases your height by an inch over the hard top"

I am just seeing this now..

The statement above is a bit misleading so I just wanted the chance to reply to this since the link above is closed to comments. I do remember this jeep well and have the texts and pics from the install still on my phone. When the top was being installed, the instructions were not followed since the base plates were installed upside down (with the 4" brackets sticking up instead of down). There was then many attempts by the owner to install the soft top (way out of order from the instructions) over top of the incorrectly installed metal framing. This incorrect install caused damage to the soft top since the hardware/hoops were sticking up 6" above where they should have been and the sailcloth was being forced to stretch way beyond the structural limits of the top. I was told the seams broke several times because of this and the installer kept having to take it to get it resewed. I asked a number of times to either facetime me or send me pics to help solve (because breaking seams did not sound right) but those requests fell on deaf ears and instead I was hearing about the frustrations and how the product was made poorly. On top of that, the Jeep it was being installed upon had a custom roll cage and so there was nowhere to tie in the steel frame to make it completely stable. When you say it is leaky and loud, that is probably because of the re-stitching and stretching of the top that did irreparable damage and also could have been a result of the lack of roll bar tie ins (if one was made custom, it's possible it was welded to the slightly wrong spot and this could be a problem). After insisting and not receiving pictures several times, I did finally get a picture and was able verify it was being installed incorrectly. I then never heard back. I would have been happy to take the top back however I tried calling and texting a month or two later to make sure everything was going well and asked for pictures but also got no response. Yes, the top is taller than the stock top (it's actually 3 to 5" taller along the length) so I am not sure why there was a complaint there since the height of the top is the whole point and part of the appeal and this should not have been any surprise since it is on the website. (It is taller for more headroom and for storage, etc.)
Also, if the instructions are not followed, the top can be very difficult and frustrating to install and take off.

I don't profit from these tops but this is a passion of mine. I do this on the side so that people can have the top I built and love to use for themselves. I am sorry that you did not enjoy it- I really am because I am only interested in putting smiles on faces. I felt I did everything I could to help but there seemed to be a "go it alone" or "I don't need instructions" attitude. I know it is not possible to please everyone but I always try my best. This top isn't for everyone, of that I am sure.
With that said. I am glad it was able to go to a good home. If you have that person's info, I would love to make sure they are happy with it, answer any questions, or help with anything they need.

Thanks,
Greg Donohoe
American Convoy
I did a bit more digging around and just noticed the the original owner actually sold the whole Jeep a few months ago. He did post on this site that his top was one of his favorite mods so I guess it must have worked out for him. Apparently that was the new owner selling the top itself, which now makes sense about the complaint of it being too tall and not meeting his requirements since it came with the Jeep and was not something he picked originally. Again, I am glad he was able to sell it to someone who wanted it. Please contact me if you are that person and you need any help with your new (to you) top. Thanks
 
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