I ordered an amp kit from these guys and have been flabergasted at their almost non-existant communication .
I never got a confirmation email after my paypal payment.
I had to send several emails after payment to get someone to respond.
They never let me know when (and if) it shipped.
They don't respond to my emails.
It's sad because the chipamp thing is going to keep growing and Chipamp.com SEEMS like a great setup.
They will surely fail if they continue in this manner.
I never got a confirmation email after my paypal payment.
I had to send several emails after payment to get someone to respond.
They never let me know when (and if) it shipped.
They don't respond to my emails.
It's sad because the chipamp thing is going to keep growing and Chipamp.com SEEMS like a great setup.
They will surely fail if they continue in this manner.
You guys do realize chipamp.com is run by one guy as a hobby don't you? It was started as a way for people to get group buys on the parts. Its not really a business for him, its just a way he can help people out, I doubt he's making much if anything on the boards he sells.
Cut the guy a break, and have some patience, judging from other comments in other threads, it sounds like he's been very busy lately.
Cut the guy a break, and have some patience, judging from other comments in other threads, it sounds like he's been very busy lately.
Schaef said:
A response to all emails, saying "tentatively busy so cannot response promptly" would take more than a few min. by using broadcast mode. Every customers would understand. No response is not good.
Busy is NOT an excuse. If he is busy over long period of time then it would be better to stop doing it because everyone suffers.
AFAIK Brian does this as a service to the DIY community and I imagine there are thousands out there that have benefitted from his willingness to run chipamp.com.
It's a thankless task that most would not take on but Brian has been generous to start from a group buy and keep it going.
Keep this up and one the best and most experienced sources of chipamps will be lost.
I have done a similar thing in the past and there is not enough hours to maintain a normal life, provide the service, so email communication which can be very time consuming gets put to the side. If his site is up an running assume no email replies means he is too busy.
Patience grasshoppers.
It's a thankless task that most would not take on but Brian has been generous to start from a group buy and keep it going.
Keep this up and one the best and most experienced sources of chipamps will be lost.
I have done a similar thing in the past and there is not enough hours to maintain a normal life, provide the service, so email communication which can be very time consuming gets put to the side. If his site is up an running assume no email replies means he is too busy.
Patience grasshoppers.
rabbitz said:
I am not trying to degrade or criticise him, I believe he is running a business and not a community service, evidence is 1. he advertise here, 2. his website does not state that it is a commuinity service, 3. his products are not cheap ie sold at near cost.
I am not saying this from an ivory tower, i use to run a hi-fi business, I could attend to it and make money I stopped.
Guys -
I am grateful for his efforts, including his contributions to this board.
But yes, if he is not running a business he should say so on his site, like this...
"Order your amp parts but I am doing this as a favor to you so don't expect me to tell you I have gotten your money or if and when your stuff ships.
Thanks for your patronage!"
We all know there are other very good kits available. I only ordered from Brian because Rawsonte recommended him. Being somewhat of a newbie I really like and need some customer service.
I guess now that I know the deal I can make better purchase decisions in the future, when I will be building more amps, and spending more money.
I am grateful for his efforts, including his contributions to this board.
But yes, if he is not running a business he should say so on his site, like this...
"Order your amp parts but I am doing this as a favor to you so don't expect me to tell you I have gotten your money or if and when your stuff ships.Thanks for your patronage!"
We all know there are other very good kits available. I only ordered from Brian because Rawsonte recommended him. Being somewhat of a newbie I really like and need some customer service.
I guess now that I know the deal I can make better purchase decisions in the future, when I will be building more amps, and spending more money.
I was confounded by similar things during my order a year or so ago... But really, it doesn't matter in the long run. He's a stand-up guy and does his best as ONE person trying to serve this DIY community. It really is more like a community service and if you look at it from that angle, you'll be glad that he's offering what he does in the first place.
The internet is full of little bitty sites that look commercial and sell products, but they're run by a hobbyist. Scant communication is a small price to pay when everything else about the deal is very good. The prices are reasonable, considering the support available on this forum in the huge chipamp.com thread, the time and thought to design the boards, etc. and the flexibility they offer for experimentation.
The internet is full of little bitty sites that look commercial and sell products, but they're run by a hobbyist. Scant communication is a small price to pay when everything else about the deal is very good. The prices are reasonable, considering the support available on this forum in the huge chipamp.com thread, the time and thought to design the boards, etc. and the flexibility they offer for experimentation.
Brian is probably burnt-out dealing with all the newbies asking the same questions over and over.
However, it can be risky doing business on the internet, and his customers are entitled to a sitch rep.
If Brian accepts payment for ordrers that he solicites, he should
at the very least acknowlege payment and inform his client of the shipping status.
He is advertising. He sells for profit. It is a common courtesy to respond to paying cistomers, even if it is a community service.
When money exchanges hands, it becomes a business deal,
whether there is profit or not. And regardless of how he "feels", business deals come with certain expectations, however minimal.
If Brian doesn't feel obligated to extend the simplest form of common courtesy of notification, then he should find someone else to handle his transactions for him. Or, if he can't be bothered, then he should just cut his losses and give it up.
Otherwise, threads of complaint, like this one, are well justified.
Cause and effect. Sh!te or get off the pot.
However, it can be risky doing business on the internet, and his customers are entitled to a sitch rep.
If Brian accepts payment for ordrers that he solicites, he should
at the very least acknowlege payment and inform his client of the shipping status.
He is advertising. He sells for profit. It is a common courtesy to respond to paying cistomers, even if it is a community service.
When money exchanges hands, it becomes a business deal,
whether there is profit or not. And regardless of how he "feels", business deals come with certain expectations, however minimal.
If Brian doesn't feel obligated to extend the simplest form of common courtesy of notification, then he should find someone else to handle his transactions for him. Or, if he can't be bothered, then he should just cut his losses and give it up.
Otherwise, threads of complaint, like this one, are well justified.
Cause and effect. Sh!te or get off the pot.
Nordic is right that you do get a record of the transaction at Paypal and also their transaction protection.
Most online companies do not advise when an item ships and payment is received / processed. An example is RS Components (not knocking them) which is a very large operation and they only give a summary of the order (the same as Paypal) and no acknowledgement of payments processed and shipping advices.
Usually the only places you do get that type of service is small operations where the operator has chosen to do it as well as a lot of eBay sellers. Yes, I did it when I ran online sales but I don't expect it from other sellers as in the end I've always received the goods. So for 1000's of online transactions I've done, not one has never arrived.... same take a while, but that's another story.
Most online companies do not advise when an item ships and payment is received / processed. An example is RS Components (not knocking them) which is a very large operation and they only give a summary of the order (the same as Paypal) and no acknowledgement of payments processed and shipping advices.
Usually the only places you do get that type of service is small operations where the operator has chosen to do it as well as a lot of eBay sellers. Yes, I did it when I ran online sales but I don't expect it from other sellers as in the end I've always received the goods. So for 1000's of online transactions I've done, not one has never arrived.... same take a while, but that's another story.
Brian is a golden guy, who has provided a great service for countless DIY-ers.... I have experineced great service from him.. so I am sure his just busy with other things besides helping out fellow DIY-ers..
Don't consider yourself as a customer...he is just a guy from whom you are asking a favor.. in turn we give him a tiny bit of money to compensate his costs...
Don't consider yourself as a customer...he is just a guy from whom you are asking a favor.. in turn we give him a tiny bit of money to compensate his costs...
1.) He advertises here to make a contribution to the support of diyAudio.com.
2.) Correct.
3.) I disagree. If you factor in his time in ordering all the parts...shipping costs for the parts... Sorting parts...Packing and shipping it...paying the fees for the website...advertising costs...and all of this in time between his real work and family life...he is essentially doing it below cost.
I have received great service from him. Then again, because he is such a great guy I don't want or expect an order confirmation, payment confirmation and shipping confirmation.
Nothing wrong with expecting all those things. But if you know the nature of chipamp.com... I'd turn this thread subject into Chipamp.com best value and service to the diy community ever?
OK, I can accept this, it's very likely.
The gainclone phenomenon is going to continue to explode. Its appeal however is reaching outwards further and further towards the less technically adept (i.e. people who've never built amps before).
Look at Pointzero. They have a sustainable concept (potential for profit). Vets here think the prices are high, but newbies will not. Especially since your chances of success are high when you can get everything you need and good service.
I predict Pointzero will flourish, check their forum out in 12 months and see if its flooded with newbie questions.
Can Brian shift his paradigm to adapt to the current trend? Can he shift towards a higher-priced (profitable) model from the current "just a service for the diy-ers"???
The vets here have all built Gainclones, they have moved to BPA and multi channel chip amps and servos and all other types.
But the newbie just now hearing about the gainclone is traversing totally new ground. Probably knows how to solder but doesn't own a DMM. He/she's the one Brian is now selling to, like it or not.
steveline said:
Steve,
I have checked in to this. Here is what I show from our communication:
Received e-mail 8/27 in the morning, I replied that evening to it. I received 3 the next day, and sent you a reply that evening.
We received the order from you on 8/30. My partner Joe e-mailed you stating that were backordered on some parts for your order, and that it would be a delay of 2-3 days. Joe's e-mail (chipamp.shipping@gmail.com) shows that he replied to all of your mails. The order was shipped out as stated, and the tracking shows it as received on 9/8 in the morning. Paypal automatically e-mailed you when the package was shipped.
As for not receiving an e-mail stating that the payment has been received, this is correct. The transaction however, will show in your paypal account. I added this to my to-do list, to add a feature to the website to send out a payment received e-mail.
As for Chipamp.com, I have been running this operation in my spare time for the past 3 years. I teamed up with my close friend, Joseph Lau back in February and we have been running this together since. I handle the technical questions, and he handles the shipping questions. About once a week, we get together, and put together the components necessary for the kits. Joe then handles all of the shipping of the kits, with the orders typically going out within 3 days from when they were received. We both really try to put in a solid effort to reply to all e-mails received. There are times when I don't always keep up to date on this forum, but I will try my best to put more effort into this.
I am sorry that you were not satisfied with your service. I wish you the best of luck with your project, and feel free to drop me e-mail if you have troubles along the way, and I will try my best to assist you.
--
Brian Bell
ttan98 said:
I have no problem with criticism, as all feedback is appreciated, and lets me know what I need to improve on.
You are right on the fact that this is a business, and not just a community service. I must legally declare it as a business, and pay taxes on it as such. I am running this business in my spare time, and try to keep the prices as low as possible, yet still allowing me to sustain the operation of Chipamp.com.
steveline said:
I have been running Chipamp.com for over 3 years now, and I don't have plans to shift paradigms for Chipamp.com. I started this whole operation to provide a solid kit to this community for people to build their own chip amps at an affordable price. Drastic price increases wouldn't make sense to me.
It has been a stable business for 3 years. I know that I could grow it into something much bigger if I started offering new products, but that isn't what I have planned for it right now. For every negative comment that I receive, I receive 20 positive comments expressing appreciation for the goods and services that I have offered.
You are right on the kit that I offer being a great starter kit. It was created so that a novice would be able to purchase it and build their own amplifier that works well with a variety of speakers. It is a great way to get started in this great DIY community. I won't deny that there are newer innovative ideas out there, and I have built some other projects myself, but at the end of the day, I am really satisfied with the current kit.
--
Brian
To Everyone,
I just spoke with Brian, who was eager to sort out my order.
We discovered 2 problems with email that may have caused most of the problems with communications.
Brian I hope you can see by my tone on this board that I am not trying to ruin your rep or business, I do want to be a happy customer and enjoy your kit.
I think this thread has been useful and am glad it hasn't turned into a flame fest.
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