[TeamHiFiMAN]

To our friends in the United States:

Team HIFIMAN Electronics is all too familiar with your current situation , and we are thinking of you at this challenging time.

As a token of our appreciation, we will send you a package of Medical Surgical Mask for free. All we ask is that you cover shipping. Please contact us if you are interested. Supply is limited to 20 pieces for 1 person. The total amount of masks is limited. Please kindly understand we can not provide to all of you but send by the time we receive your request.

http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/surgical-mask.html

Stay safe, be well, and listen to music.

Best Regards,
Hifiman Team

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

....texted me occasionally during all of this, just to check in to ask me if we're safe and healthy over here, and had asked me personally if I needed masks. I told him we had a couple 20-count boxes so were okay. He later asked me about the idea of offering to send masks to members of the community. Seeing as they're virtually impossible to get (at least where I live, and based on what I've seen online), I told him I thought that would be a nice gesture.

Anyone suggesting that this is a profit-seeking move has obviously never been in business before. Fang cares deeply for this community, and struggled with the idea of doing this at all for the reasons we're discussing in this thread.

As for whether or not masks may help, here's a story I just read today:

You have to decide for yourself.

When we run out of the small supply we have here -- and if Fang still has any left then -- I'll likely place an order myself. If you feel you don't need masks, you can choose not to order them.

Some context from Jude further down the thread (for those that don't have the time to read through the chatter)

 

[ISOLordByron]

It's not often we see any company do something this kind. Damn. Bravo to you, HiFiMan. You trying to sway me into the susvara?

 

[fiiom11pro]

That's being nice Hifiman. Just bought one hifiman product to support this good deed.

Thank you.

 

[Andrew DiMarcangelo]

This is awesome, @TeamHiFiMAN! Thanks so much for offering this.

 

[maxpudding]

I think this is a good effort from hifiman, we need more kindness in this world! Best of luck and stay safe everyone.

 

[glassmonkey]

To our friends in the United States:

Team HIFIMAN Electronics is all too familiar with your current situation , and we are thinking of you at this challenging time.

As a token of our appreciation, we will send you a package of Medical Surgical Mask for free. All we ask is that you cover shipping. Please contact us if you are interested. Supply is limited to 10 pieces for 1 person. The total amount of masks is limited. Please kindly understand we can not provide to all of you but send by the time we receive your request.

http://store.hifiman.com/index.php/surgical-mask.html



Stay safe, be well, and listen to music.

Best Regards,
Hifiman Team

HiFiMan's heart is in the right place, but it is definitely true that whatever masks are being produced need to go to health workers. My sister works in Washington as a nurse and they are making DIY masks and reusing.

These masks will make next to no difference for an American that is doing what they should be and staying home. Health workers can't stay home. They need this more than any HiFiMan customer. A face mask to a private consumer is far less likely to save a life than a facemask to a health worker.

 

[mochill]

Ordered it

 

[defbear]

It's not often we see any company do something this kind. Damn. Bravo to you, HiFiMan. You trying to sway me into the susvara?

That's being nice Hifiman. Just bought one hifiman product to support this good deed.

Thank you.

That’s it in a nutshell.

 

[Soundsgoodtome]

These masks, if used by the public, should be by those who are sick to prevent transmission. If used as a protection mask, you'll need this surgical mask to be worn over an N95 and reuse the N95 while discarding the surgical. This is the protocol for emergency responders as well as health workers (at least here in WA).

In short you'll need an N95 for protection while these surgical masks may be good to stop the bug from spreading. Your best protection is 6ft/2m distance from the next person not from your home, washing your hands often or sanitizing (don't forget to moisturize or you may end of with skin conditions with continued use of sanitizers), and don't touch your face. Steer clear of gatherings/busy places if possible. Wipe down/sanitize all objects you bring into your home and keep them above toddlers reach, have a set of outdoor clothes that you take off right after entering your home specially shoes. Shower when coming home from public places and lastly stay hydrated and take your multi-vitamins.

 

[AxelCloris]

We’ve removed some posts that were getting too personal and argumentative from the discussion. Thank you to everyone who helped keep the conversation civil, we really appreciate it.

 

[Philimon]

HiFiMan's heart is in the right place, but it is definitely true that whatever masks are being produced need to go to health workers. My sister works in Washington as a nurse and they are making DIY masks and reusing.

These masks will make next to no difference for an American that is doing what they should be and staying home. Health workers can't stay home. They need this more than any HiFiMan customer. A face mask to a private consumer is far less likely to save a life than a facemask to a health worker.

Agreed. This is why I dont give homeless people money. Much more practical to give to a local charity that specializes in helping the homeless as you know the money will get better utilized.

 

[xcom]

Thank you HiFiMan. I am going to place an order and hand deliver them to the front lines. My neighbor is a firefighter and another one a paramedic... With that said... People some times can be harsh.... If HiFiMan has decided to do this for the community than it is in your hands to do something about if they are thinking of YOU. Take it and pass it forward if you want to help. My 2c.

 

[upsguys88]

Great Deed!

 

[cpzzy]

Deleted post, negativity is still negativity. Sorry in advance.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts (and BTW you really have an amazing collection of gears!), I tried figuring out what hifiman really has done, and here are some thoughts that came to my mind:

I believe hifiman is mainly focusing on those who need surgical masks but do not have quick access to them, mostly because many stores that sell these may not have any in stock. At least hifiman has provided a great way to get these masks in a relatively more timely manner without spending too much.

Also, it's undeniable that these masks are dirt cheap in China, but keep in mind that hifiman has put effort AND money into getting these masks and preparing them for distritution in the US, which most likely added significantly to their own cost. I certainly would not reqeust that they add even more to their own expense by offering free shipping for every order in the US. BTW, shipping in the US is quite a bit more expensive than in China, so I'm not surprised by the fact that getting these "for free" in the US could be more expensive than buying in China.

Anyway, regardless of other people's opinions, I will offer my sincere appreciation to Hifiman for making this kind move. Hope we all stay safe and healthy through this together