[gsferrari]

My only concern is this :

If you stop group buy activities or regulate them to make them in-effective compared to before (in terms of savings for the participants) - and therefore - more sponsor friendly - then there could well be a big problem here. Im not sure I would like to be forced into buying from HeadRoom just because the group buy regulations make it less "attractive" to move away from these sponsors. Who I give my business to is not HeadFi's prerogative.

I am sure Jude has his ideas about what this policy will regulate. I hope it regulates WHO can start a group buy and HOW the process should be executed. Standardization is never a bad thing. However if it places restrictions on the PRICING and if it necessitates donations to HeadFi then things get a little uncomfortable and tricky.

All speculation until Jude posts his "policies" for the public to see.

The group buy mess and the DIY crap has left a bad taste in my mouth

 

[PinchyCM]

this has become a headphone geek soap opera.

 

[vranswer]

Clearly there is risk of unscrupulous behavior regarding 'group buy' concept. Whilst no one can fully protect someone else from being duped, it is patently obvious that some type of guidelines should be in place to prevent the less cynical of us from buying the snake oil. The more cynical of us (myself, et al) simply look at any proposition in which our money/credit is exposed with extremely wary eyes. But even for us non-trusting types, some sensible guidelines would help in making intelligent decisions.

 

[james3shin]

All in all, I support Jude's concerns and reasoning for this upcoming draft. As someone above stated, one of these days, if a group buy were to go awry, there would be alot of fingers being pointed at Head-fi and so on. Better safe then sorry. I've been burned by trolls and it is not a pleasant experience one bit. Lets just get these E4/E4C's in our ears, sit back and enjoy the show.

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinchyCM this has become a headphone geek soap opera.

A soap opera does not cause anyone in real life, to get hurt, and doesn't have thousands of dollars, exchanging hands by it's viewers. The situation was starting to get out of hand, and while the idea was for Head-fier's to save money (which is always good), it is important that no one is getting hurt, and no one is doing things that are not moral. Let's all just take a step back, see what Jude will come up with, and as with all new ideas, we will get through the growing pains, and all honest people involved should be able to enjoy some benefits.

 

[gsferrari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james3shin All in all, I support Jude's concerns

Absolutely! No doubt about this...

I was VERY concerned about members falling into potential traps.

The chinese dot-amp thread comes to mind.

The Alessandro MS2 thread comes to mind (it worked out but it was a bit scary in the middle when the organizer disappeared for a while)

The recent spate of group buys by people with 1-10 posts also scares me.


Aah well...gnite

 

[james3shin]

indeed! The cans are not even released at this moment so no need to hurry, its not like they are going to run out

 

[jude]

You guys, I'm behind schedule, and just too sleepy to finish this now, so it'll have to wait until tomorrow.

 

[PinchyCM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker A soap opera does not cause anyone in real life, to get hurt, and doesn't have thousands of dollars, exchanging hands by it's viewers. The situation was starting to get out of hand, and while the idea was for Head-fier's to save money (which is always good), it is important that no one is getting hurt, and no one is doing things that are not moral. Let's all just take a step back, see what Jude will come up with, and as with all new ideas, we will get through the growing pains, and all honest people involved should be able to enjoy some benefits.

yeah, the one that rahul kid proposed just emailed you the code. i don't see how people get "hurt." it's not like he's paying for any of it. you buy what you want. simple as that...no? but whateva.

 

[vranswer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PinchyCM yeah, the one that rahul kid proposed just emailed you the code. i don't see how people get "hurt." it's not like he's paying for any of it. you buy what you want. simple as that...no? but whateva.

Simple. You send someone the money -- you subsequently don't get the goods -- you get hurt.

 

[Daroid]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james3shin All in all, I support Jude's concerns and reasoning for this upcoming draft. As someone above stated, one of these days, if a group buy were to go awry, there would be alot of fingers being pointed at Head-fi and so on. Better safe then sorry.

Ditto, a guideline is a good idea and offers protection for everyone participating. Didn't look at it that way earlier - always pessimistic

 

[Volpino]

Just to clarify for those who may not be aware and in Rahul's defense, he simply e-mails you a coupon code which you then provide in your order at earphonesolutions.com, an authorized and reputable Shure dealer. The coupon knocks $20 off of your total order. Simple and safe. Unless of course you have reservations against earphonesolutions.com as an internet retailer. Rahul is never provided with funds, credit card info, social insurance numbers, astrological charts, sexual preferences, or shoe size. All you provide is an email adddress. Perhaps this makes some uncomfortable. I was ok with it, call me a fool.

Just out of curiosity, were the pre-Rahul group buy(s) being co-ordinated only with Head-Fi sponsors?

On second thought, I don't really care to have that question answered. I simply wanted to offer some information that may help counter any "Rahul conspiracy theories". The way I see it, he was an enthusiastic chap trying to contribute to the community, neophyte or otherwise.

In the end, I think all the tension and frantic posting stems from a real concern about the health of the Head-Fi community. This is definitely a good thing - people care. Jude's formalizing of group buys will certainly patch a potential weakness now made apparent and we can return to be being an unusually friendly and informative bunch of folks.

 

[vranswer]

Very good post. I was not familiar with this. My fear/concern is with the aforementioned "how to make $2,000-$3,000 off of Head-fi" that Jude referred to.

 

[viator122]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Volpino In the end, I think all the tension and frantic posting stems from a real concern about the health of the Head-Fi community. This is definitely a good thing - people care. Jude's formalizing of group buys will certainly patch a potential weakness now made apparent and we can return to be being an unusually friendly and informative bunch of folks.

Exactly right.

 

[bLue_oNioN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vranswer Clearly there is risk of unscrupulous behavior regarding 'group buy' concept. Whilst no one can fully protect someone else from being duped, it is patently obvious that some type of guidelines should be in place to prevent the less cynical of us from buying the snake oil. The more cynical of us (myself, et al) simply look at any proposition in which our money/credit is exposed with extremely wary eyes. But even for us non-trusting types, some sensible guidelines would help in making intelligent decisions.

I don't think the guidelines are set in place so much to prevent fraud, as to maintain structuring of sponsoring dealer versus non-sponsoring dealer versus member. Financial information never passes through the group buy coordinator, it always goes directly to the dealer itself.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vranswer Simple. You send someone the money -- you subsequently don't get the goods -- you get hurt.

VR, james -- Like many other members here on Head-Fi who chimed in, I have personally purchased from EarphoneSolutions before and found their service to be exemplary. I would not hesitate in recommending them again; they have consistently been able to pull off the perfect balance between rock bottom prices and first-class service. The use of coupon codes with EarphoneSolutions is nothing new, nor is the sharing of said coupon codes.

To be frank, I was disappointed by the actions of many in the thread that is now hidden away by Jude. A few Head-Fi members made the assumption that the Original Poster was really an agent planted by EarphoneSolutions to promote business. This assumption was made without ANY backing information whatsoever, not even an IP address to trace the OPs location with. The assumption was then acted upon ruthlessly by multiple parties; the OP was slammed time and time again for (supposedly) suspicious, shady practice.

This is what I saw: A well-intentioned Indian Head-Fi'er posted about a newfound low price that rivaled group buy prices and asked members to get in touch with him for the coupon code. This person did not have to go through so much trouble and share, he could have used the coupon code himself and gone on his merry way. But instead of being rewarded by 'thank yous' for his good intentions, he was burned at the stake by members who knew absolutely nothing about him.

Let's think about this for a moment.

If I worked at EarphoneSolutions, wanted to make some quick business, and signed up for a bogus account at Head-Fi to do so, why would I ask Head-Fi members to contact me for the coupon code? Wouldn't it be much more effective to simply post the actual coupon code up in plain view so that I can take advantage of the number of thread views? Every so often we get a member with 1 post who makes a thread about freeiPods.com or something of the like that contains some sort of referral link. These posters never ask you to get in contact with them -- they slap their message and referral link as visibly as possible to take advantage of the curious who can't help but click and see what the thread is all about.

And why the poor English? The poster in question had atrocious English, was it all an act? Wouldn't a dealer seeking to make a few quick bucks ensure that their post makes reasonably good sense so that those who view the thread (1) know what is being talking about and (2) have more confidence in pursuing the deal itself?

None of these questions were asked. Instead, what we had was a mob without just cause, forging dangerously ahead on a lynching bandwagon.