Martelli Rotary Cutters

[newellyn]

Hi Everyone,

Normally I would not post a negative review about anything but I am really surprised with the Martelli Company's backing of their product.

Last year at the NW Quilting Expo I purchased both the 60mm and the 45mm rotary cutter and extra blades. I loved the ergonomics of the product and my bum shoulder really appreciated them too. Within a couple of months the 60mm unit began to break. There is plastic surrounding a brass part. The plastic ultimately broke completly off and the blade guard would no longer activate to cover the blade. Then the same started happening with the 45mm unit. I sent and email to the company and received no reply. I sent a letter to the company, again no reply. I sent another email, still no reply. I finally waited for NW Quilting Expo to arrive again. Yesterday I went to the Martelli booth with the cutters in tow. I was told they could not exchange them there because the company told them it screws up their inventory??? I guess there must be many people needing replacements.

Anyway, I was told someone would call be today.

Sure enough, bright and early this morning I got the call. Unfortunately I didn't get the name of the person on the other end of the line but she said she is the one who does all the corresponding for the company. I explained the problem and she wanted to help. Then the kicker. She told me I needed to send both cutters to her (at my expense) and include $5.00 per unit for shipping new ones back to me(she said the fee is usally $10.00 per unit but she was reducing it because of the problems I had contacting them, HUH!?!).

I was shocked and appalled. I have never heard of a company charging someone another exorbitant fee to ship a replacement for defective merchandise. I declined the offer.

I am writing this off as a new and unpleasant experience and

I would caution anyone from doing business with Martelli.

Sorry this is long, but thank for letting me vent.

[JoleneK]

Martelli's is about 2 miles from my house - when I owned the LQS I carried little to no merchandise of theirs. Sorry you're getting a bum deal.

[meg_marsh]

Hi Lynda - I bought one quite some time ago - didn't last and was glad I had only bought one and no replacement blades at the time......... didn't bother with replacement since it was only the one smaller unit. Not a good product.

[Quilting Heidi]

Lynda I'm sorry that you had this experience. I've had a few friends that had the same problem.

[rrteach]

I had the binder attachment and the curved seam tool. Both broke rather quickly. They are made of cheap plastic.

[AbigailE]

Glad, very glad to know I'll save my money for a better way to get easy, sharp corners on my quilts. I appreciate the heads up.

[Rita]

wow -thanks for the heads up -over the weekend I saw a Martelli cutting matt...$60 for a smallish...$80 for a medium...holy crap! you could bend it over and step on it...haven't done that yet, so what's the point?!

[yankiequilter]

Good to know about the quality of Martelli products, and their customer service! I got the current issue of "American Quilter" this week and see they are now offering a longarm and frame, called the LaCresta. If they don't stand behind the small things how could a person expect they will stand behind the big ones Don't they know quilters talk to each other about the tools they use in their craft/hobby/business and word gets around?

[quiltmonkey]

I;ve not used their stuff before but well, if they sell a bunch of junk that falls apart and breaks after a little bit of use they won't be in business long. Good customer service means they stand behind their product with guaranteed satisfaction. That means they also would cover the return costs of shipping for broken or defective items.

[LauraJ]

Having repetitive pain in my lower right thumb - I'd be out of luck without the ergonomic rotary cutter. I have both Olfa and Martelli. I seem to always grab the Olfa - it feels sturdier and I NEVER have any issues with fabric cutting, etc.

[LeeAnn]

I also bought the Martelli ergonomic rotary cutter at Houston about 5 yr ago. It only lasted a month. I contacted the company and got no response so just wrote it up to experience. I had bought their replacement blades too but, thankfully, they fit my old cutter.

I still see them on sale at some stores and wonder how they stay in business.

[Bonnie]

Originally posted by rrteach

I had the binder attachment and the curved seam tool. Both broke rather quickly. They are made of cheap plastic.

Linda, I too have this outfit and though it hasn't broken, I HAVE YET to get the $300 paper weight to work....I bought it over 12 years ago when they first came out and yes they were still very expensive, BUT its still brand new, I have only tried to use it twice and both times I couldn't get it to work at all.

Decided then I would NEVER buy anthing from the Martelli company....they would just say you aren't reading the instructions corrrectly or you need to adjust your needle or some other reason why I couldn't get it to work. Not stupid here...so it still lives in its box, mostly because I moved and and just forgot to throw it away.

[newellyn]

Wow I sure wish I had known all of this BEFORE I bought these darn things.

Thanks for the validations.

[Beachside Quilter]

Gee, Lynda, so sorry to hear about this, but thanks for the heads-up so we know. This is one of the reasons why I hate to impulse buy at shows! Sometimes you win and get a fabulous find, and other times you get stung, big-time . Sorry for your trouble, but thanks for sharing your experience.

Vickie Oliver

Beachside Quilter

APQS Rep SW FL

[dbz98236]

How come I always have to put a space in here before I can type, otherwise it goes all the way back out to the menu.

I got a cutter and haven't had problems with it other than the blade. So when I saw the guy at Sew Puyallup that says he designs all this stuff I told him and he gave me a package of blades. I don't use it exclusively though.

I almost got the binding kit, it looked so nice and easy when she did it but now that I hear all of this I'm glad I saved my $80.

Too bad we can't send this thread to there company.

[craftyfox]

I live fairly close to the Martelli Co. as Jolene does and thought twice about buying the rotary cutter. My church group had a demonstration of all their products. Very pricey and I did not care for most of the. I did buy their binding tool, the one that just clamps on the edge of the quilt for the binding. It cost $29.95 and I do love it, but that is probably the only one I will buy from them.

[DoryJM]

I havde the ergonomic cutter as well; used it once, didn't like it and threw it in a drawer. I just gave it to a woman who wanted to try the ergonomic cutter and noticed that the spring to hold the blade cover in place was disconnected. Luckily her husband is an engineer, so I'm sure he can rig something. After reading this, you can be sure I won't be buying their products either.

[Sparkle]

Gee, I feel the odd one out on this discussion. I've had the Martelli Ergo cutter for years and never had problems with it. Maybe the first editions are better than the currant ones?

I like to use it when I cut with my June Taylor "Shape n' Cut" slotted cutter as the blade seems to fit down in the slots so much better than my Olfa. It does take a few weeks to get used to using it.

This is the only Martelli product I have---no complaints.

[Katydids]

Wow, this is really great to know! I saw them at the Jacksonville Quiltfest last year and purchased their rotary cutter. I used it about 3 times and put it away, not that I was dissatisfied, just haven't had time to do any piecing.

I also saw their LaCresta longarm which was no where near ready to introduce at the time. When they found out I was an APQS rep they tried to recruit me to sell their machine :P They didn't have any kind of support network built up. They were at the show this year as well and still didn't have any kind of system set up for laser work or any kind of gadget use. I tried to tell them they need these things but they weren't interested in listening. I sure feel sorry for anyone that buys the LaCresta!

Jolene.... missed seeing you at the show Guess you decided not to come.

[jebm]

I bought the ergo cutter several years ago, liked it so much I bought a second one for my daughter. They are the only cutters I have and I haven't had any problems--but I also bought their cutting mat-several years ago--a big one....and it's worthless. I probably was just lucky with the cutter--they have quite the speel at shows and always a big crowd watching. I hope the cutter lasts forever as I have more blades and I think I got lucky! Jane

[Rita]

oh brother -out of curiosity I went to Martelli's site -reading their warranty info was interesting...enough pressure and they'd probably have to either change or pack up! Rita

[PattyC]

My rotary did the same thing. Very unhappy.

Pat in SE GA

[Gator]

Guess I'm one of the lucky ones also, I've had my cutters for about 4 years now. However, the binding thingy (200.00 or more) sucks. I tried it a couple times and couldn't get the thing to work. I now fly by their booth at shows. If you look close most of their stuff is cheap junk, a couple dollars more and you get get the good stuff from other vendors. I do wish someone could invent a good binding tool/machine. I hate binding!!!

[LME]

Wow, my friend and I thought we were the only ones. We've both had problems with both cutters. I do have to say that, I believe it was Valerie, was very good about servicing my cutters but I too had to pay. Then had the same problems, skipped areas. Took it to a show booth where they tried it and had the same problem. They replaced the blades and gave me another "lesson" in how to correctly use the cutters. Well, of course it cut wonderfully, it was a new blade. My blades never lasted. I too have the binding tool and am totally frustrated. It's sitting in my cabinet because I don't have the time to invest in "making" it work. I need something quick and reliable. Maybe I'll offer it up on Ebay if someone wants to take it on as a project. I went back to Olfa's, which I have about everywhere I would think of cutting.

Don't want to rip on them, but obviously there are issues here.

LeAnn in WI

[Valarie]

Hi Everyone,

I had several ladies email me concerned about the postings on the APQS forum. They were not very happy about all the criticism they were seeing about the Martelli Cutter. For them the Ergonomic cutter has changed their lives on how they cut for hours, pain free. And yes, I have literally thousands of emails and letters of testimonials on how they just "love" their Martelli Cutter and even our Custom Service. My first response after reading the posting was to fill the forum with hundreds of emails I have received. But on second thought, I realized what a great opportunity for me to thank you all so much. Also to let you know that I don't take your criticism lightly. In fact, I do consider it very constructive. I want to thank you again. You can be sure that I will take the constructive criticism to heart and will do what I can to correct any issue you may have with the Product or the Customer Service.

That means starting with you Lynda Newell if you will call me directly at the office, I will personally handle your problem and you will not be disappointed. To the others, I also invite you to call and I will be happy to work with you. It is my goal to always listen, and strive to continue to make better products for a world of quilting we all love.

Thank you all.

Marsha Martelli