[warrior05]

earwicker7 - I know this is going to sound like one MOT sticking up for another but I'm going to attempt this anyway.

I think you are painting an inaccurate picture of Justin/Headamp. You paraphrased his response that he couldn't keep to your requested 30 day turn around in a rather negative manner. He was up front about not being able to guarantee a 30 day build time and you paraphrase that as "I don't know, sometime"? That is leaving out a key piece of information.

Also, after Justin posts clarification and mentions providing you a refund right away you do reply that he did just that (another piece of info that would've been helpful in your original post) but then you add the comment " I guess it's possible that my junk mail filter caught some of your emails but not the others, but it would be unusual." That last bit "... but it would be unusual" is implying you are doubting him. Again, painting a negative picture.

This may all seem picayune, but I get kind of sensitive when unjust criticism is directed at a person or business. As mentioned, when dealing with small businesses such as Justin's who can't keep large amount of stock at hand and is at the mercy of vendor's turn-around times (and being a victim of it myself), a bit of patience and understanding goes a long way. Especially considering the top-notch kit Justin builds.

If you don't want to wait and take your business elsewhere, absolutely no problem. And you want to post about it - again, absolutely no problem. I just hope if there is a next time that you are a bit more thorough on presenting pertinent facts.

Peace out.

 

[upstateguy]

Hey guys, chill out...

I know Justin from the meets as well as having a GS-1 and you're not going to find a more straight forward honorable guy, whose gear is well worth the wait.

Regarding the "wait" some of you talk about, as often as not, you can hit it right, like I did with my GS-1, (after a large shipment of cases arrived), and have your amp in one week.

From what I can see it's mostly the impatient guys who post, so I want to post as one of the satisfied guys who didn't have to wait at all.

Don't be A-Hats. Cut him some slack. He's one of the good guys and the quality of his amps are worth waiting for even if case delivery happens to be a little slow sometimes.

USG

 

[mercman]

I don't see any problem with earwicker7 or Justin. Earwicker7 wants an amp, Justin can't deliver. Justin refunded the deposit.

I think where Justin gets himself into trouble is when he quotes a delivery time that cannot be met. ( November in the case of the KGBH SE) I'm not complaining, but not everyone wants to do business like this.

Warrior5, earwicker7 was not out of line as I see it. He has been civil and not unreasonable. Justin again is an honest guy doing the best he can.

Ands so it goes.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mercman /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think where Justin gets himself into trouble is when he quotes a delivery time that cannot be met. ( November in the case of the KGSE BH) I'm not complaining, but not everyone wants to do business like this.

At least part of the issue is that Justin quotes delivery times based on delivery times that are quoted to him (by vendors for things like the chassis, knobs, etc.). When those people blow their deadlines there's exactly zero that he can do about it. Sure, he could pre-order more chassis but then the cost of maintaining that inventory would have to be passed onto the customer in the form of higher prices. So he tries to strike an even balance by finding good, reliable vendors wherever possible but the fact is that when it comes to high-quality chassis like the ones that he uses choices are extremely limited and in fact are limited to one once you've selected a design aesthetic like he has.

 

[warrior05]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mercman /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't see any problem with earwicker7 or Justin. Earwicker7 wants an amp, Justin can't deliver. Justin refunded the deposit. I think where Justin gets himself into trouble is when he quotes a delivery time that cannot be met. ( November in the case of the KGSE BH) I'm not complaining, but not everyone wants to do business like this. Warrior5, earwicker7 was not out of line as I see it. He has been civil and not unreasonable. Justin again is an honest guy doing the best he can. Ands so it goes.

I was trying not to sound like I was really put off by earwicker's comments and tried wording my post carefully. It really meant to be constructive criticism when calling out someone or a business. I just felt there were some key pieces of info that he left out that would've presented a more complete picture. I didn't read any real animosity into earwicker's posts and if I appeared to have - my apologies.

 

[mercman]

Guys,

I have no problem with Justin. He is building a unique piece of equipment. I believe the KGBH SE will be very special and worth the wait. If it shows up in June, that will still be fine with me.

 

[Jaska]

This thread is a great example of diplomatic and healthy/constructive discussion. I am a wishful HeadAmp customer myself, and have to admit that I canceled a Gilmore Lite order not too long ago because I got frustrated with the waiting time. I trust that Justin will not disclose any details concerning my transaction here (or anywhere else). I've definitely noticed the lack of a Gilmore Lite on my desk. When my eyes open, they want to see it there, but all that appears is a bare area of table surface the exact size and shape of the Gilmore Lite + DPS footprint.

I also want to say that I truly do value that Justin builds all his amps personally, and hasn't resorted to farming the production work out to factories in China and other "cheap labor" market areas. That alone is worth some additional waiting time as far as I'm concerned.

Ultimately, I do want to buy a Gilmore Lite + DPS, and I'd prefer to buy it new, directly from Justin. Perhaps I'm alone in my way of thinking, but I would be satisfied enough if I could just place the order and get a personal response within, say, 24 hours indicating a TARGET shipping date (even if the order page always says 3 weeks). Then, it would be nice to get a follow-up e-mail on the day the package has been shipped (perhaps this is what Justin does anyway, and I just didn't wait long enough to find out). Otherwise, I would appreciate getting a follow-up e-mail on the target shipping date to let me know that the item isn't ready for shipping, but should be ready by some new target shipping date.

Alternatively, I think I could live with just having my contact information on some waiting list and informed by e-mail or PM that what I want to order is available for purchase and immediate shipment--no worries about money being tied up that way.

 

[Dreadhead]

I placed the order for my GS-X (fingers crossed for March) without prepaying but I must have bugged Justin 5 times with phone calls and emails so it's possible that I got him on a good day... I doubt it though.

Just contact him and I'm sure you can work something out too.

 

[mikeliao]

Everyone's got different expectations. My worse experience (with a well known manufacturer who shall remain unnamed) was prepaying $1500 for a custom amp, waiting 12 months, receiving an amp built way off specs, returning it for rework, another 6 month wait, and then finally a working amp.

So, a 3 month wait for a Justin-made amp seems like a good deal to me.

To add to the overwhelming rep of Justin, he's makes an excellent product and doesn't ship till he knows its perfect. I'd rather have a high quality product that's possibly delayed rather than average quality product that's shipped to me on time.

 

[kamal007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeliao /img/forum/go_quote.gif Everyone's got different expectations. My worse experience (with a well known manufacturer who shall remain unnamed) was prepaying $1500 for a custom amp, waiting 12 months, receiving an amp built way off specs, returning it for rework, another 6 month wait, and then finally a working amp. So, a 3 month wait for a Justin-made amp seems like a good deal to me. To add to the overwhelming rep of Justin, he's makes an excellent product and doesn't ship till he knows its perfect. I'd rather have a high quality product that's possibly delayed rather than average quality product that's shipped to me on time.

damn.. thats a long wait. i know for sure that i wouldn't have the patience to wait that long

 

[poo]

I guess each persons experience is slightly different...

I have been lied to about how long it would take to receive my amp, despite having paid for it, and am now awaiting reply to a four day stale email.

Yep he's busy, yep - he builds them himself, yeah - there's worse out there, and yeah - they're probably great once you get 'em...

Still looking forward to receiving my amp...

Not the way I like to do business though...

 

[wolfen68]

I think all of us can appreciate that in this niche business, items are handmade and don't appear out of thin air overnight. However, everybody wants to know what to expect as far as generic timing when they lay out $500 US.

I respect what Justin's done at the age he is (I know I couldn't achieve what he has)...but the comments in this thread and my own failure to contact him recently pushes me towards the predator.

 

[vcoheda]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif At least part of the issue is that Justin quotes delivery times based on delivery times that are quoted to him (by vendors for things like the chassis, knobs, etc.). When those people blow their deadlines there's exactly zero that he can do about it.

sorry, but that's a lame excuse.

there are other amp manufacturers who order parts from vendors, yet still get their amps out on time.

 

[grawk]

Almost every other amp vendor deals in much larger numbers than justin does. And have a much lower standard for what's good enough to have their name on it.

 

[Dorito123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vcoheda /img/forum/go_quote.gif sorry, but that's a lame excuse. there are other amp manufacturers who order parts from vendors, yet still get their amps out on time.

This is a reality of small production runs, just like the runs Justin does. You act as if it is because of a lack of diligence on his part. You could do better?