XPCamper goes out of business, files for bankruptcy?

adam88

Explorer
I read on facebook that XP Campers has gone out of business. Apparently they closed their doors in June, and apparently their assets were auctioned off on August 5th.

Sources:

 

adam88

Explorer
According to the above thread on Wanderthewest, one person says:

"Yup. I had dinner with Marc a couple of weeks ago. Couldn't make it work and he lost everything. A damn shame."

That is incredibly sad if true. I know Marc was very passionate about XP and I met him at Overland Expo. Nice guy.
 

adam88

Explorer
Well, I found the auction site listing the assets:


ABC Auction & Appraisal Service (“ABC”), Agent for Stephen G. Mills, (“Seller” or “Secured Party”), holder of a note and security interest covering the personal property assets described herein for a loan to XPCamper, LLC (“Debtor”) is soliciting competing offers to sell all of Seller’s right title and interest in its collateral (“Assets”) of the Debtor, which was engaged in the manufacture and sale of lightweight fiberglass composite off-highway truck camper shells with a unique pop-up design. For more information on XPCamper, LLC, visit their website at http://xpcamper.com/why/the-concept/

All Assets are being sold IN BULK to the highest qualified bidder at a public sale pursuant to California Commercial Code §9610, which includes all of Seller’s right, title and interest in his collateral as described in the NOTIFICATION OF DISPOSITION OF ASSETS AND PUBLIC SALE, which is subject to the Secured Party’s security interest as follows: all inventory, chattel paper, accounts receivables, equipment, trade fixtures, general intangibles, finished goods, and works in process, and as more fully described in the Security & Pledge Agreement between Debtor and Secured Party. For a more detailed description of the Assets, contact the Auctioneer below.

The sale will be a public sale, by auction, with reserve. At the present time, the Debtor is obligated to Secured Party in the amount of approximately $250,000. The Purchase Price must be paid by cash, wire transfer, certified check, or a cashier’s check in lawful money of the United States no later 4:00 p.m. on August 19, 2019, except Secured Party may credit bid as set forth above.

All assets will be sold by order of the senior secured creditor at 9:30 am (PDT) on August 19, 2019. The sale location will be at the law offices of Parkinson Phinney, 3600 American River Drive, Suite 145 Sacramento, CA 95864. Any person desiring to submit a bid at the auction will be required to deliver an earnest money deposit, submit proof of ability to pay the current loan balance, sign the Bid Procedures and Agreement and execute a temporary lease agreement with the Landlord governing the removal of assets at 180 Clydesdale Ct., Grass Valley, CA no later than 2:00 pm on Friday, August 16, 2019. All of these documents are located in the Share File that can be accessed by clicking the SHARE FILE link below.

For More information call:

Charles Klaus

ABC Auction & Appraisal Services

949-922-1211 or by email

chuck@abcservices.group
 

Regcabguy

Oil eater.
So sad. He had a passion for building a superb camper.
I spoke to him on the phone once. He said he got into the business after being burned big time by one of the major poptop manufacturers.
My good buddy had the same experience. Lousy canvas fit,the fiberglass siding is bubbling up. Piss poor job.
Somebody should scoop this guy up. It's tough owning your own business with all the draconian taxation coming out of Sacramento and municipalities.
Best of luck Marc!
 

AbleGuy

Officious Intermeddler
Robert Browning said that men should have a reach that exceeds their grasp.
But only the most adventurous souls seem to risk that.
So.......Major Props to Marc for having the courage to try a bold experiment.

R.I.P. XP

The outdoor expedition industry in general seems often to be an unpredictable niche industry.

We, the end users, are lucky to live in a country where sometimes bold men and woman willingly take on the risk of personal financial ruin to pursue the development and production of inspired concepts of great gear for the rest of us

Sad story, more broken dreams, wishing Marc strength and stoicism.
 
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Magnificat

New member
Yes, they’re expensive, but the other expedition vehicles I’d be happy to live in for months or years at a time cost way more.
 
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plh

Explorer
All about price point. Not many buyers for anything above 6 figures. Some friends and I was discussing this point before the release of the "sticker" price of the new C8 Corvette. GM makes a relative lot of Corvettes compared to similar sports cars as its competitors. Generally I think they are planning to make 3,000 per month. If you search out other mid-engine new cars (or old for that matter) you will find that the monthly volume falls to a trickle for those. Lots of them sub 100 units monthly - why? They all cost $100k plus. Your buying consumer pool gets really small when laying out that amount of cash.
 

Roger M.

Adventurer
They were built like a top of the line boat, with every single component being the finest available in its class.
That kind of quality doesn't come inexpensively, and the price reflected that exemplary level of quality.
The boating world (from which Marc borrowed extensively) lays out this kind of cash every day of the year, but ultimately the concept of the worlds most expensive truck camper didn't resonate substantially enough in the overland world to support XP as a business.

Personally, I liked the idea of possibly the finest truck camper ever constructed and having a completely free choice of what chassis (and power) to mount it on.
Hopefully we'll see Marc elsewhere in the overland field ... the guy is extremely talented.
 

JamesY

New member
All about price point. Not many buyers for anything above 6 figures.

Well, that's not strictly correct. There was a line up of people who had all paid deposits. The number of people wanting an XP was way more than they were producing with some waiting around 18 months or more from paying their deposit, a fact which put people off way more than the price. I know several people who, if the waiting time was smaller, would have added themselves to the line up.

A lack of customers was not the issue. It was a product that had little in the way of direct competition. There are other campers, but not many like that one. The price point was irrelevant in this instance.
 

Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
I have been friends with Mark for a long time and saw his operation grew from an idea on a board in his attic. One thing that was surprising to me is the insane amount of manual labor that was required to build each one of these campers. I never realized that fiberglass work was so hard. Mark has lost of lot in this venture (both personally and financially).

That probably explains why the Bigfoot camper shells have not changed in like 30 years.
 
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plh

Explorer
waiting around 18 months or more from paying their deposit, a fact which put people off way more than the price. I know several people who, if the waiting time was smaller, would have added themselves to the line up.

A lack of customers was not the issue. It was a product that had little in the way of direct competition. There are other campers, but not many like that one. The price point was irrelevant in this instance.

I think you summed it up. Amazon influence, perhaps other contributors: Bank pulls credit line, upside down margins, major buyer defaults - its a sad story no doubt. Will be interested to see if Go-Fast (GFC) makes it - different league of camper, but similar delivery waits it sounds like.
 

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