[dBe]

 I have created a monster... and I am not complaining about it one bit.

Audio Circle has been very good to me.  I am forever greatful to John R for maintaining this site.  Also, the moderators are to be commended for their thankless job of herding all of us in a even-handed manner.  Kudos.

I am blessed with great business from all of you in very difficult economic times.  I recognize that this is largely due to the fact that I put out good products at extremely reasonable prices.  I have had many people tell me that I could charge more for my product line.  I probably should have done so from the beginning, but it is my belief that great audio should be affordable for anyone that wants to take up this addiction.  I will continue to keep my prices as low as possible in the future. That is just how I am built.

This approach has resulted in lots of orders and long lead times.  I cannot and will not change my way of doing business.  I could outsource production to China and get better looking Black Boxes at killer pricing and ship off of the shelf, but I refuse to do that.  I build every piece, one at a time, by hand and am happy doing it.  I will be building pieces and parts until I can no longer do so.  I am my own retirement plan and you all are my way of doing it.

Thank you.   

Dave 

[TrungT]

Dave
All I can say: 

[zybar]

Dave's a great guy and I love his products.

Dave, I think your customers understand and appreciate your approach - I know that I do.   

While I know it takes effort, if you can keep people informed of your backlog and set approximate delivery times, I think you will find people even more understanding and accommodating.

Keep up the good work and don't burn yourself out.

George

[Triode Pete]

Dave,
I know first hand that it's worth the wait to receive your great products! 

Patience is a virtue!

Keep up the great work & keep the faith,
Pete

[dBe]

Dave's a great guy and I love his products.

Dave, I think your customers understand and appreciate your approach - I know that I do.   

While I know it takes effort, if you can keep people informed of your backlog and set approximate delivery times, I think you will find people even more understanding and accommodating.

Keep up the good work and don't burn yourself out.

George

Thanks for the kind words.

The only problem with "approximate delivery times" is when those don't work out.  When a one man company has a backlog like I have it can grow into a ball of hair in a hurry.  I tend to be optimistic in my estimates and that is a big problem.  We had a death in the family this week and that has ended up pushing everything back a few days.  Grandchildren get sick, parents have emergency trips to the doctor - all of this takes a toll.  There is always the customer whose hair is on fire, too.  I know exactly what you are saying and take it to heart.  I'm working at it, but people hear what they want to hear when a tentative time is given.

Burnout is too scary to contemplate   

Dave

[JerryM]

This approach has resulted in lots of orders and long lead times.  I cannot and will not change my way of doing business.  I could outsource production to China and get better looking Black Boxes at killer pricing and ship off of the shelf, but I refuse to do that.  I build every piece, one at a time, by hand and am happy doing it.  I will be building pieces and parts until I can no longer do so.  I am my own retirement plan and you all are my way of doing it.

Plus, you're a damned fine person who is genuinely kind. 

That's one hard business model to beat.

Have fun,

Jerry

[jriggy]

Its all part of dealing with small one man companies. Apart from 'being in the club', I think its fun dealing with the little guys and getting glimpses, like these scheduling issues, in there life and work. 

Edit: Not that its fun for you Dave...but enjoy the sharing

[rollo]

   It works for me. Sorry to hear about your loss. May He or She rest in eternal peace.
A bit of patience is well worth the wait. If or when one decides to take the plunge the end result is a product that does as advertised.
   All good things take time, so YOU take your time and stay in good health.


charles
SMA

[dBe]

Plus, you're a damned fine person who is genuinely kind. 

That's one hard business model to beat.

Have fun,

Jerry

Jerry, thanks for this.  I'm just another small business guy out here trying to do the right thing and be open and honest about it.

Dave

[tasar]

Dave...we can only respect one as you, who provides so much in the spirit of advancement. Having this venue with one as you ?........PRICELESS !

My room can wait.....can't wait to continue the "journey"

Dave

[dBe]

Dave...we can only respect one as you, who provides so much in the spirit of advancement. Having this venue with one as you ?........PRICELESS !

My room can wait.....can't wait to continue the "journey"

Dave

Hey, Dave, too.  I'll have info for you this weekend.  I don't think that you are going to need a lot of treatment to get your room singing.  You have all of the proper ingredients, we just need to mix them up 

Don't get me wrong in all of this - I'm working away as steadily as life will allow, grinding out my wares.  I'll be shipping quite a bit tomorrow afternoon.  It is just that life has a tendancy of rearing it's (sometimes ugly, sometimes not) head and will not be denied.

This whole littany is about balance in my life.  Being driven by what I do it is very easy to put my head down and ignore the world around me.  Gayle keeps reminding me that I am one man trying to be everything to all people.  That can get to be very, very difficult.  After my Faith, my family is the most important thing in my life... I need to keep them where they should be in prioritization, and I will.

Back to work,

Dave, the elder