[Uncle Erik]

Dr. Audio:

I read your responses with interest. First, why not obtain a UL certification? As you state, most of the aftermarket power cord industry does not carry the rating. Why not Virtual Dynamics? The cost would be fully deductible, so you could, possibly, keep even more of your profits.

Further, UL is an internationally recognized testing lab. Having their certification would be an absolute advantage over your competition. If you had UL certification, you would be able to advertise it to your advantage and, hopefully increase sales and increase market share. Isn't that what you want for your business? Personally, I've sought certifications and degrees to put myself at an advantage over other people in my field. In my business, I do what I can to put myself at an advantage over the competition. I cannot understand why you would not want to give Virtual Dynamics an absolute, internationally recognized, advantage over considerable competition in aftermarket cables.

As for your profit after overhead... well, that's a slippery figure. You can build all sorts of cost into overhead, such as your own salary. You could even put your salary high enough so that the company makes only a slight profit. Or you could roll your car, housing, meals, various expenses, and so on, into the company. Wise moves for tax reasons, but not definitive proof that you're putting X amount of dollars into a product. How are we to know you're not expensing every meal and your morning coffee into the product? Like I said, the profit is a slippery thing... if you ever notice, no Hollywood movie ever makes money. Yet they keep making them.

Please tell us about your test equipment, testing facility, and methods used for testing. Please do not reveal proprietary information. I can't reveal information about my clients, but I can tell you that I do work for them with Microsoft Word and a Pentium 4. So, please tell us the makes, models and other associated equipment used for testing your cables. Photos would be great. If you use an outside lab, please tell us the name of the lab, where it is located and a contact who can confirm that testing was performed.