I know at one point he had hired a guy for the help, and thought output would improve. It didn't last long, and I am not sure why. I have seen him mention he would sell it off.
Hi all - a little update. There is no clear solution here and the wait times have gotten worse not better. if you want your money back just let me know.
"So what's the problem!?" Its this. It is not economically viable for me to make speakers, its that simple. My consulting business has exploded and I'll be honest with you speakers don't make me anything like what consulting does.
"So hire someone else!" Been there, done that, doesn't work, its not that simple. There is nothing that I do making my speakers that is "typical" (Except cutting boards on a table saw.) Mixing plastics and casting them in molds - this is not something that you find someone on the street doing. Key parts have to be machined on a lathe - anybody can do that! Not! It takes a lot of training to bring someone on board and I don't have the time for that. I also don't have the room. My shop is so small that two people can't work at the same time and I can't make more than a pair or two at a time. A very slow process.
"So get a bigger place!" Well that would push my overhead up by about a factor of two and the speaker prices commensurate!! I am not sure my market can bear that. You know what kind of permits and OSHA approvals you need to open a shop that spays paint? Did you know that anyone spraying in such a place has to have a OSHA approved certificate? The local requirements are excessive and costly (I'm not complaining, compliance is necessary, but I do have to consider the costs if I am to move to a permanent location.)
Bottom line here is that I have three options 1) stop making speakers, or 2) make them at a rate and a cost that is attractive to me, i.e. use them to fill in what "free time" I might have or 3) sell the whole thing and get out from under it.
Option 3) is not up to me, although there might be some interest. Option 1) is, well, not really necessary as long as there is a viable option 2) - option 2) is what has been and what will continue to be the only one that I can see working for the time being.
I make no oppologies for the long wait times, it tells you something about the product. Consider that someone who waited from a year ago paid about 50% less then someone would pay today. Could you get a better better rate on your investment from a bank?
My biggest bottle neck is paint. I am having a test run as we speak on shopping that out. If that works then thoughput will jump up quite a bit. I can only use water based paints because I paint in my home. In this weather I am lucky if they dry in a week. At the shop they can use two part paints that dry in an hour or so - big difference.
Again, if you are tired of waiting for your Geddes speakers then just let me known and I will gladly give your money back. If you think that you can get better speakers elsewhere then by all means go buy them. I have no interest in doing something that is not in my own best interests.
Then there is the fact that three of my speakers fell off a truck in shipping and got destroyed. I had to redesign the woofer mounting because this kind of thing does happen. FED-EX says that you have to be able to withstand a freefall from 36" - thats a big problem to a 30 lb woofer. I had worries about the initial mounting change and now I can see that my wories were well founded. The mounting if fine, even excess, for normal use, but a free fall drop from 3 feet!! Thats something else. SO blaim Fed-Ex and UPS for much of the price increases and ALL of the shipping and handling increases.
To the guy who sold his "Geddes" speakers - wow thats a first! I'm curious who you are and when you bought them (your name does not ring a bell) - I have records of all my sales and I'd like to know what you bought.
