[DecentLevi]

+1000 (as in Geek Out 1000 LOL) for the latest post from @SoAmusing777 

 

[Khragon]

  Hello guys, I just got an email from backer@lhlabs.com of LH Labs saying:
 
... "
If you've already made a reservation for your Geek Out V2 or V2+, we're asking you to confirm your pre-order by making your final payment on Indiegogo on Tuesday, May 19th at 12:00PMPacific time using a special perk called "Confirm Your Pre-order."  By utilizing the Indiegogo platform, you'll also now have the added ability to upgrade your pre-order Geek Out V2 to Geek Out V2+ and/or either of the V2 or V2+ Infinity editions.
 
By doing it this way, we'll make a splash on the first day of the campaign. This is important because we need to get into the Trending Now section of Indiegogo if we want new eyes to be opened to the awesomeness of high-end audio." ...
 
However, I recall with absolute certainty that When I originally pre-ordered the G.O. v2, it said that I will be only charged the $1 now, and the remaining balance before my item's scheduled ship date (batch 23 for me, November 25th according to their shipping date). I then checked my original confirmation email from LH Labs and it didn't say anything about the payment date, then I went to their website and it appears they have removed the section under this product's shipping dates that says when the charge will be made.
 
To me it seems this company is trying to scam us (again) with their fraudulent business practices by charging us much, much earlier than they said they will. So I responded to this email asking if my pre-order will still be valid if I don't pay tomorrow. (I wasn't expecting to pay until late November and I can't afford it yet.) I also noticed on their website the "contact us" button is not even working! 
 
So I recommend anybody who's pre-ordered to check their email (and junk folder) to see if they got this message, and if so and if this is really true then you should give them a piece of your mind, demanding that they honor their original agreement. 
 
I would like to mention that however bad this company's service is, their G.O. v2 products themselves are phenomenal and it's still worth getting your hands on these one way or another! 

I pre-ordered V2+ and got this email.  No way in h*ll am I going to pay up given I am not schedule to get my V2+ until September (if that's even will hold up).  This is shady business practice, I'm not liking this one bit.

 

[SoAmusing777]

  +1000 (as in Geek Out 1000 LOL) for the latest post from @SoAmusing777 

Lol, thanks. I mean, look at this even, From Casey Hartwell, admin on the forums - Difference with this campaign is that Geek Out V2 & V2+ IS READY TO GO NOW. July shipping dates WILL be met since this is not a crowd-designed project. What you see is what you get. No added features. No special requests. Nothing. Zilch. Nada. This makes this campaign incredibly easy to manage and fulfill.

Ridiculous.

 

[uncola]

I hope the paying tomorrow is optional since I was planning to pay when MY geek out v2 shipped in batch 21, not when the first persons single geek out v2 shipped july 1 or whenever.. maybe the incentive to pay tomorrow could be the opportunity to upgrade to the gov2 infinity

 

[SoAmusing777]

  I hope the paying tomorrow is optional since I was planning to pay when MY geek out v2 shipped in batch 21, not when the first persons single geek out v2 shipped july 1 or whenever.. maybe the incentive to pay tomorrow could be the opportunity to upgrade to the gov2 infinity

Same, but I don't think so. I don't care about what the IGG brings.

 

[DecentLevi]

I think the best way to contact LH Labs to voice your concern is through the support page, then submit a complaint ticket

 

[audiofrk]

I just replied to the email.  But I guess I will do that too.  This is ****ed.

 

[killaHz]

Yup, got it as well. I replied to that email saying, "how about you go screw yourself". So. I don't care whether it is honored or not at this point. It isn't that important. Can't fault the engineers or whoever made the product, but definitely the people behind making this move. I smell a class action lawsuit, what do you all think?

It depends on what happens to the dollar or two already committed. If LH Labs is saying "Give us the $225 (or whatever) right now, or your payment is forfeit," then a pre-ordering customer has been damaged. A class action lawsuit for such customers in the United States would probably be legally viable, but the class in question would be quite small, and thus not worth most class-action firms' time. ($2 damages x at most a few thousand people is nothing. If the damages is $2, a lawyer wants to see a few million claimants.)

I don't think that's what LH Labs is saying. They are already on shaky ground, reputation-wise. Simply seizing the pre-order money from Geek Out v2(+) would be the end of their reputation among the audio tech community.

I think what they're saying is true: they want to make a big IndieGoGo splash, so they are offering free upgrade paths to people who pay the full freight today, and only today (May 19). Given their past, it's still a little grubby, but I don't think there's any aspect of coercion to this morning's email.

EDIT: Actually, although I'm in line for a Geek Out v2, and could really see the benefit of getting a v2+ Infinity while they're going for cheap, I may still not do it. At this point, I'm starting to worry that LH Labs is devolving into a Ponzi scheme, where they're paying for the really good deals on Product X by pre-selling a bunch of features on Product Y. The $60 bucks I might save by upgrading now is offset by the possibility that maybe the buyers of Product Y are going be the ones left holding the bag when the money runs out.

 

[SoAmusing777]

It depends on what happens to the dollar or two already committed. If LH Labs is saying "Give us the $225 (or whatever) right now, or your payment is forfeit," then a pre-ordering customer has been damaged. A class action lawsuit for such customers in the United States would probably be legally viable, but the class in question would be quite small, and thus not worth most class-action firms' time. ($2 damages x at most a few thousand people is nothing. If the damages is $2, a lawyer wants to see a few million claimants.)

I don't think that's what LH Labs is saying. They are already on shaky ground, reputation-wise. Simply seizing the pre-order money from Geek Out v2(+) would be the end of their reputation among the audio tech community.

I think what they're saying is true: they want to make a big IndieGoGo splash, so they are offering free upgrade paths to people who pay the full freight today, and only today (May 19). Given their past, it's still a little grubby, but I don't think there's any aspect of coercion to this morning's email.

EDIT: Actually, although I'm in line for a Geek Out v2, and could really see the benefit of getting a v2+ Infinity while they're going for cheap, I may still not do it. At this point, I'm starting to worry that LH Labs is devolving into a Ponzi scheme, where they're paying for the really good deals on Product X by pre-selling a bunch of features on Product Y. The $60 bucks I might save by upgrading now is offset by the possibility that maybe the buyers of Product Y are going be the ones left holding the bag when the money runs out.

That's initially what I thought was going to happen by reading the email, but then I was like hmm, I'm not sure. Yeah, a class action really wouldn't be too profitable for a lawyer. 

That's fine if that's what they want to do, as I don't really care about the upgrade path. I do wonder what the return/refund policy is for those going through IGG since the terms are different. 

I am wondering and worrying the same thing myself. 

 

[SoAmusing777]

On the forums from admin Casey Hartwell - You'll need to pay the remaining balance before we wrap up the IGG campaign. We'll give you plenty of notice on the final date.

That wasn't the original plan. The plan was pay prior to shipping, not when the random IGG "wraps up".

 

[killaHz]

On the forums from admin Casey Hartwell - You'll need to pay the remaining balance before we wrap up the IGG campaign. We'll give you plenty of notice on the final date.


That wasn't the original plan. The plan was pay prior to shipping, not when the random IGG "wraps up".

No bueno.

They must really be hard pressed for cash to even think about doing this.

 

[SoAmusing777]

No bueno.

They must really be hard pressed for cash to even think about doing this.

From Casey's post about it being ready to go now - Also, there is not and never has been a cash crunch. I'm not sure how many times we have to reiterate this to people.

So.. no. 

 

[SoAmusing777]

Just got this email - This is Stephanie at LH labs, thank you for your time. At this time I am unable to process a refund of the pre-order for the Go V2/GO V2+ as the money has been allocated to the production of the unit. You do not have to pay the remaining balance on the indiegogo campaign page right away, you are able to pay for the remaining balance at anytime during the campaign. Thank you again for your time and support. At this time I will be closing this ticket. Please feel free to open a new ticket if you have any new questions.

My email said - Do not and will not support this paying in full with not even 24hours notice, especially on a different platform than originally. I care nothing for what IGG offers. 
10231

 

[audiofrk]

Just got an answer to my refund request this is what they told me


This is Stephanie at LH labs, thank you for your time. At this time I am unable to process a refund of the pre-order for the Go V2/GO V2+ as the money has been allocated to the production of the unit. You do not have to pay the remaining balance on the indiegogo campaign page right away, you are able to pay for the remaining balance at anytime during the campaign. Thank you again for your time and support. At this time I will be closing this ticket. Please feel free to open a new ticket if you have any new questions.

So I guess it'd lose $2 dollars or $277. My advice is to lose $2 now as a company that refuse to issue a refund on a product that they claim to have already built and simultanously havent yet built will not honor any other agreement.

 

[killaHz]

From Casey's post about it being ready to go now - Also, there is not and never has been a cash crunch. I'm not sure how many times we have to reiterate this to people.


So.. no. 

Well, it would be pretty poor Ponzi-scheme technique to tell people you're running out of cash and need to sell another wave of investors in order to cover your current commitments.