Group Buy : Chinese Stereo Ribbon Mics

[magicalpig]

Hi all!

I'm spreading the word about a group buy that's possibly going to be launched in March. It will be on a stereo ribbon mic. Please PM me for more info as a way to protect group buy from importers ban...

Thanks,
victor.

[kojdogg]

i'm interested in this. last i heard though, the manufacturers had been banned from catering to any sort of group buys by the american distributors.
how much would it basically amount to to buy one of these things (i know you said $120, but the shipping rates have seemed pretty high on previous group buys).

[timthetortoise]

Ah, just did some research. I'd definitely be interested in a couple of them.

[jaykeMURD]

I too would be interested in one.

Can you give an estimate on shipping?

[hungovermorning]

I hope this one really goes through. If it does, I will msot definitely take one.

[Caotico]

I'm also interested in one.

[undermind]

How are you guys planning on using these stereo ribbons?

[TragikRemix]

hey my names victor too!

+1 on the post count! yess!

[Ironklad Audio]

+1

tentative on more info, of course

[magicalpig]

Hi all!

After several questions ask about me poppin' here as a new member on this forum (and others), you can check out I'm a real person from forums I've participated to in the past, mainly www.talkbass.com as perytojie and http://forum.saxontheweb.net as magicalpig.

Read my bio on www.myspace.com/theonlymagicalpig . You can find some more music at http://www.soundclick.com/magicalpig

Note : if you have any question about the group buy, please PM me ONLY. Be aware that more & more people are asking for info, so please be patient, I'll try to answer within a day.

Thanks,
Victor.

[jaykeMURD]

I know you want questions PMed to you, but I'm sure many of us are wondering:

Approximatley when will this group buy come into effect? (When do we pay)

[tarnationsauce2]

Would they be shipped to you (France), then to us?
Or would they ship directly from the factory.

Because shipping from China - France - U.S.A. (or wherever) will probably make it not worth it.

Anyways, I'm totally down for a Group Buy if the price and shipping is right.

[newatthis]

Add me to the list for a purchase or two!!!

[magicalpig]

Hi!

In order to make things simpler for me, I decided to group all interested people on one forum so I can check my PMs and contact everyone more easily...
I choose the one with the most participants which is www.gearslutz.com

Please send me a PM when you've subscribed for me to know your username if you want to get updates.

Thanks for your understanding,
Victor.

[kojdogg]

It looked like Jules closed your thread there

[magicalpig]

Hi!

Yes, I've been evicted for some reason from Gearslutz.

I explained to Jules (moderator over there) that, even if I just popped up as a new member, I'd like to make this project come to life because it was a great opportunity and that I needed some help from him or another moderator or long-time trusted member, especially for gathering the money, placing the order, etc. in order to bring some confidence on the project, but unfortunately, he was not interested though there were a lot of people interested in the group buy.

In the last PM I sent to Jules I asked him a favor : adding a post in the thread about the group buy, while keeping it locked, saying "I was not welcomed to do any business on the forum" and that the group buy will not take place on Gearslutz. I told him I'd rather not do it myself by sending PMs to the guys who were intersted because it could look like I'm pissed about all that and sending PMs behind his back.

As a result of our PM correspondance, my account has been restricted. I can neither post in the forum, nor send PM or access the stored ones and my avatar has been deleted. The last time I checked on the locked thread about the group buy, no information had been added.

Am I missing something?

Anyway, I intend to hang on to that project and, while I'm disappointed after this experience on Gearslutz, I hope I'll find a bit more support over here...

Hey, by the way, do need to have a minimum number of messages to upload a custom avatar or signature? I think I understood that from the FAQ but I may be wrong...

Thanks,
Victor.

[tarnationsauce2]

I don't think you'll have any problems like that here.
These boards seem to be pretty liberal.

[zbert]

I think your issue is that there was a group buy. Another was started but the companies that do business in China took a fit. For example the pair of ribbon mics I got cost less than half of what Nady charges for one mic. Nady and other companies were not happy. Long story short China will not sell to the group I belonged to. (or any other) My guess is that Gearslutz does not want to get involed with something they know will piss off the big buyers. Can't blame them. Do a search and you will find a ton of info of what happened.

[newatthis]

And Screw Nady and the rest of the "bigger companies". If someone can buy something cheaper, no matter where it is from, or who its through, then that obviously is the better deal. If those "bigger companies" cant compete in price, then sucks to be them!! May the best deal win!!!!

Peace
AJ

[zbert]

AJ
Buying it cheaper is not the issue here. Most of the Chinese mics are branded for the buying customer. If you are the mic manufactor and someone comes to you and said I want to buy 100 of microphone X for my group buy which is the same mic you sell to a "name" buyer by the thousands. Well, do you think your "name" customer is going to be pissed off. You bet he is. ( and there are plenty of major name players who lurk these posts) So what if the "name" guy said "if you sell the same mics I buy from you to this group I'll pull my business" Are you going to sell to the group? So are you give the group a good deal on 100 mics and screw up your "million dollar" customer? Some of the Chinese manufactors tried this and there was a fallout. Bigtime fallout. It's the golden rule my friend, whoever has the most gold makes the rules.
And please don't think for one second I'm knocking a group buy. I'll be the first one there with my money if it comes through. Just seen what happened before.

[newatthis]

Understood,,,I didnt follow the last situation as it unfolded, and dont want to re-open a can of worms again either. I also follow your explaination on this.
Unfortunately the golden rule effect does come into play, even though it would appear to be between the manufacturer and the "name" distributor(s) to fight it out. I am still all for the best price though if a manufacturer says here you go guys,,,,you can get them for this cheap price, I am there.
(I surely wont say to myself "Man I dont want to buy that so cheap, and offend Musicians Friend!" LOL But I understand your point.

I guess its sorta like the "Stupid Deal of the Day" with Musicians Friend (which is cool) holds, but does that throw off the business then for Sweetwater and 8thstreet and the rest of them if they sell a product cheap? I doubt it. No one will go out of business over it. (woops here I go opening that can,,,I'll stop)

Zbert, thanks for the explanation though.

Peace
AJ

[magicalpig]

I'd rather question the ethics and legitimacy of US or European chinese mics distributors business than be afraid of them possibly losing it.
I have no problem with those who import the mics and mod them before they actually sell them. Fum from shinybox comes to mind. I know Cascades offer transformer upgrades for some of their mics but it costs 248$ for the X15 (2 of them upgraded) and 140$ for the Fathead over their original price.
I'm no business pro but I'm sure after all taxes and expenses those companies still make a huge profit, an almost fraudulous margin... If you're in charge of a company and can prove me otherwise, please don't hesitate to enlighten me.

Have you ever bought clothes, furniture or any other goods direct from the factory? There was a huge area of a town I lived next to, filled with "manufactures shops" where you could buy famous brands clothes like Kenzo, Levi Strauss... for half the price. No one ever complained and it had a legitimate aura around it. What's the difference between this and buying direct from chinese guys?

It's like we should feel guilty and outlaws for putting the effort in a community initiative, such projects becoming more and more rare nowadays.

Last, I don't think a few group buys from forums will ever threaten any of those companies. I mean, is the majority of potential chinese mic buyers hooked up on forums? I doubt it. Considering the efforts & uncertainties involved in such group buy projects it is very likely that it won't become a habit...

Just my personal views,
Victor.

[punkin]

The only thing that comes to mind in the way of an ethics problem is that if the mic maker is under some sort of contractual agreement to manufacture a specific model of microphone only for distribution through a given vendor.

Say for instance, NADY and the manufacturer agree to build/distribute a specific model with the intent that said model would be "exclusive" for NADY. But I'm not seeing this as a fit right now. There are several identical mics being sold through several brand name distributor simply having different badges.

It's a game and the big boys don't like the little guys cutting them out of the action. What's worse, we've gotten a pretty good idea on what the mark up is like. We've gotten to be smarter shoppers.

[magicalpig]

Hi!

I've created a private forum board for discussing, getting infos & updates about the group buy.

Hopefully, it will serve relative anonimity of the group buy (big names of the ribbon mics are less likely to stop us from doing it) & will avoid choosing one forum over another to display infos about it...

Please send me your e-mail address to :
theonlymagicalpig@yahoo.com

I will send you info about how to subscribe to the group.

Thanks for your understanding,
Victor.

[BAP]

Why don't you post over at TapeOp board?