WCP part numbers

[Thor5090]

Has anyone else noticed WCP changed their part numbers after all of the fallout from Vex? The part numbers used to have the first 3 characters different if it was a Vex produt or a WCP product. WCP part numbers were WCP-xxxx and the Vex products were numbered 217-xxxx. Now all their part numbers start with WCP. I guess i can’t blame them for not wanting to get stuck with a bunch of Vex parts no one wants to buy. Just thought i would put this out there for people to know.

[Thor5090]

When buying 15mm belts from WCP, the tooth count ending in 0 was a Vex belt and the belts whose tooth count ended in 5 were WCP belts. Can’t say for certain its the same way but my guess is it is.

[Jon_Stratis]

I guess that’s one way to let everyone know you’re ignoring the problems happening in one of your partners…

[FrankJ]

I have no insight on WCP management… But I expect a large amount of their inventory for these sort of products were ordered months ago. No idea if current events sparked the number change or a general desire to dissociate their part numbers from the origin of the part. There really is not a large source of hex drive products outside of the FRC environment.

[Nick.kremer]

I think this is a misread on the situation. On the unofficial FRC Discord RC has stated numerous times that:

• A good number of WCP original parts (resold by VEX) are sold under the 217 sku schema simply out of convenience so customers don’t see 2 different SKUs when looking at the same part across VEX and WCP websites
• They will be putting out a statement regarding their continued (or not) relationship with VEX soon, but that’s obviously taking some time to go through the proper channels (aka Lawyers) since their business is so closely tied with VEX

[Jon_Stratis]

I certainly look forward to some more clarity on what is and is not a Vex part in that relationship - the old SKU’s certainly gave one impression, and changing them like this does not leave a very good impression without that statement… will be interesting to see what they say.

[rich.varone]

So @R.C has stated that anything with a WCP part number is manufactured/sold by WCP and no proceeds go to Vex.

[R.C]

We will have a public post this Friday going over new products and other info. Please hold tight with us!

[tim-tim]

That’s a bold assumption

[Jon_Stratis]

Really glad to see that I was wrong.

WCP 2022-23 - Product Release & Updates

The last few weeks have been tough for me both mentally and physically as I’ve reflected on the past decade of West Coast Products. Charlie is glad that we’ve been hanging out more than normal! [cd3] I started the business back in 2011 as a 19 year old college student with the goal of making the coolest parts in FRC! Our first items were gears for 1323/973, Raw Blanks, black production gears with this website! We went from my parents garage, to a 2,000 sq ft rental, to our current warehouse. …

Specifically this part applies here:

@R.C

• We have converted some VEX skus to WCP skus that are either currently produced by WCP, bought at cost or purchased from the factory/supplier directly. All skus with the WCP part # do not share revenue with any company; however, some WCP skus do pay royalties to individuals such as GreyT.

I want to apologize to WCP for jumping to a bad conclusion yesterday. The allegations we’ve seen leveled at IFI are obviously very concerning, and it’s a situation I care deeply about. Like the OP and most of us, I wasn’t aware of how the finances behind each product worked, and made assumptions based on the historical part numbers that were provided - assumptions that, while years in the making, were clearly wrong. I hope this change helps all of us move forward with confidence in who we’re ultimately giving our money to when we purchase items!