This issue is very much the same with most small outfits like MOTM et al.
The truth about taking 100% payments in advance can only be about funding the business operational and development costs IMO.
I may be wrong but in my experience this is usually the case and not surprising really as most small business have little if any operating cash. Your payments, patience and support keep it all alive so you either keep the faith or they go out of business. Paul S of MOTM has some very loyal customers (including myself it seems) which keep him going and with Cynthia’s circumstances this year, I ‘m sure this situation is very challenging.
If this was the cut and thrust world of the corporate’s then we would all walk away (Read Korg, Roland etc) but then we don’t get the quirky/unique products and concepts to play with. Might be worth mentioning that I am also an owner of a Korg OASYS that, to date, has had very little in the way of product development that was promised from Korg 18 Months ago. When you spend £5400 + UKP on a synth from a giant like Korg then you definitely expect better but even these people drop the ball.
Be patient guys but maybe some updates from Cynthia (like Paul S is now doing) would help stem the dissent. Sometimes a little communication, even if its bad news, just keeps us enthusiast at bay for another month or so and makes us feel valued to some extent.
Richard
-----Original Message-----
From: The_Cyndustries_List@yahoogroups.com [mailto:The_Cyndustries_List@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of cuari7
Sent: 26 October 2006 15:19
To: The_Cyndustries_List@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [The_Cyndustries_List]
Re: Dotcom ZO's? or when does a delay get so long it just becomes a memory
This same problem
has been seen with other analog modular
manufacturers, not just Cynthia's.
It would have been interesting if Gino Robair had made a strong
emphasis about this issue in both his EM review articles.
My personal take on the issue is: a small enterprise like theirs
should be expected to be slow. Understandably.
What is not acceptable is consistently promising lead times that are
not met. This very quickly leads to frustration and anger in
customers.
I paid for my ZO fully, with the expectation of a 6-wk lead time.
It's now been 4-plus months, and nada.
I think we should be given a realistic lead time from the start, as
frequently this becomes part of the equation used to decide to go
with brand X vs brand Y or even Z.
Paul Schreiber's MOTM is, in my opinion, one of the best-quality
modulars (if not the best) in the market today, and yet his promised
lead times were so consistently not met that I finally decided to
give up on his brand altogether. Now, looking back, I wish I had kept
my MOTM, but at the time I sold it out of anger and frustration.
On the other hand, Blacet, Modcan and DOtcom always meet their
promised lead times with chronometric precision. And they're also
excellent brands.
Bottom line? Word to the wise: if you really want a modular system,
be willing to accept some of the idiosyncracies of the manufacturers.
Fairly warned, be thee, says I!
Nobody else is making a zeroscillator, right? If you're tired of
waiting for this, ask Cynthia for a refund, then order a 261e from
Don Buchla.....then that will set off a whole new set of frustrated
threads on the fora.
Or better yet, get an Evolver. Or an Access Virus. Or...
Me? I'll just wait.
Cynthia, pleeeeeeze.....
;-)