Thanks Robert, that's a great thing to hear. That's more how I feel. Believe me, if I ever show how we started it'll look like some serious incentive to most people.
Another route to go.... minimum investment and sell later for big return.... Invest, hold and sell. All you need to do is know what to buy that will be worth more later.
Just look at these old muscle cars going for outrageous prices now. Modern muscle cars run circles around them and are distend to be high ticket sellers later.
Or dabble in art if you have knowledge or who to trust for advice. I bought a painting for 1000 usd and 15 years later I sold it for 150,000 usd. really. No employees and head aches. Enjoy it and then sell it.
-Richard
Just look at these old muscle cars going for outrageous prices now. Modern muscle cars run circles around them and are distend to be high ticket sellers later.
Or dabble in art if you have knowledge or who to trust for advice. I bought a painting for 1000 usd and 15 years later I sold it for 150,000 usd. really. No employees and head aches. Enjoy it and then sell it.
-Richard
Last edited:
Amen to that. Just make sure it's aa lean oerhead, but not shoe string. Too much worry about the price can kill a produsct just as dead as going overboard with the price.
You will be facing a double problem, how to stand out in sound quality AND be avaiilable with a reasonably well put together ptoduct, above all in terms of fit and finish, which may well force to you took for external packaging in China or some such.. I know this from personal experience, it took me two years to get it right.
Sure but why would that help you? Don't forget it's the mediocre stuff at the shows that sells. Did JC get rich from great products?
You make the classic mistake to think that if your product sounds better than the other guys' product, customers will beat a path to your place. They wont. They don't even know, UNLESS you invest heavily in an expensive marketing campaign. And so we are back to square one.
Jan
Last edited:
While that is no doubt a freqnt case, it is not neccessarily so.
At the time my French distributor had excellent connections to one of France's premier magazines, Son, and through their connections had my product previewed by none other than M. Jean Hiraga. The review was thorugh, well done and covered the product very well indeed. That was enough to let it fly on the French market.
Later on, another friend had it tested in a Danish magazine, against two other contenders, one of which I forgot and the other from Nordost. Their coclusion was that it did as advertised roughly the same was as the Nordost, but at one half the price. AS expected, the sales went up, still via the internet.
Obviously, it pays to know people and to have hard working representatives.
Right up to the end, Jan, your own Holland was fighting it out with big Germany for my No.1 place of busness. Both countries have outstanding reputations for buying over the Internet and having open minds to new manufacturers, much to their credits.
At the time my French distributor had excellent connections to one of France's premier magazines, Son, and through their connections had my product previewed by none other than M. Jean Hiraga. The review was thorugh, well done and covered the product very well indeed. That was enough to let it fly on the French market.
Later on, another friend had it tested in a Danish magazine, against two other contenders, one of which I forgot and the other from Nordost. Their coclusion was that it did as advertised roughly the same was as the Nordost, but at one half the price. AS expected, the sales went up, still via the internet.
Obviously, it pays to know people and to have hard working representatives.
Right up to the end, Jan, your own Holland was fighting it out with big Germany for my No.1 place of busness. Both countries have outstanding reputations for buying over the Internet and having open minds to new manufacturers, much to their credits.
Based on my reading, you are getting as many sales due to your impeccable customer service and returns policy. In your case and your sales model that's actually more important as people are happy to take the risk.
Compare that with the blowtorch, which even at $10k (correct me if I'm wrong) made a loss on each one sold, even I believe on the upgrades. But like the Vendetta it has a legendary status and will probably make more money for its owner than for its creator when they come to sell it. Like Richards painting.
Well we need to start a DIYInvest Thread.
We need to have a group of folks who want
to invest, share their knowledge and make money.
Anyone?
We need to have a group of folks who want
to invest, share their knowledge and make money.
Anyone?
I don't necessarily recommend that making a small audio company is practical or lucrative, because it usually isn't. Like others of my experience, I have found 'consulting' to pay more with less time and trouble. Running a successful company requires a different kind of person than I am, someone more people oriented. Once you have to run a company, especially if you are design oriented, you find many problems with taxes, employees, etc, and few real design challenges that you have time for. That is why I was almost glad to divest myself of Vendetta Research back in the early 1990's.
Now what did I do wrong? Mostly, I depended entirely on audio magazine reviews, and did no significant advertising or promotion of my products. I think that this kept demand lower than the product's quality should give it, so it meant that the orders coming in could barely support my technicians and myself. I also personally suffered a few real set-backs that shut the door forever.
First, I got a bad review from HP at TAS. He actually lied to me in advance, and he had some political agenda as well. I should never have loaned a Vendetta for him to try. I was warned by my more experienced associates in this business not to give him one. (one must realize that virtually every other competing audio magazine had given it high honors already) Afterward, HP would not let me respond, or any of his reviewers (who owned a Vendetta already) come to my defense either. So my volume dealers in NY, you know 5 pcs for example, cancelled their orders, and stopped ordering, and never came back
Still I went on, but when the firestorm in 1991 destroyed my inventory of solid state and passive parts, I finally gave in to closing shop.
I found that going back to consulting with Audio Illusions, and Parasound gave me much more income, a bigger design challenge, and less headaches, and I have never looked back.
Now what did I do wrong? Mostly, I depended entirely on audio magazine reviews, and did no significant advertising or promotion of my products. I think that this kept demand lower than the product's quality should give it, so it meant that the orders coming in could barely support my technicians and myself. I also personally suffered a few real set-backs that shut the door forever.
First, I got a bad review from HP at TAS. He actually lied to me in advance, and he had some political agenda as well. I should never have loaned a Vendetta for him to try. I was warned by my more experienced associates in this business not to give him one. (one must realize that virtually every other competing audio magazine had given it high honors already) Afterward, HP would not let me respond, or any of his reviewers (who owned a Vendetta already) come to my defense either. So my volume dealers in NY, you know 5 pcs for example, cancelled their orders, and stopped ordering, and never came back
Still I went on, but when the firestorm in 1991 destroyed my inventory of solid state and passive parts, I finally gave in to closing shop.
I found that going back to consulting with Audio Illusions, and Parasound gave me much more income, a bigger design challenge, and less headaches, and I have never looked back.
But then you have to contend with bean counters. I've had a butt full of hassle with bean counters over the years. I'd rather struggle with multiple hats and hang with one hand off of a shoestring.
Last edited:
I think Blowtorch was more like $40k wasn't it? The customer service helps but first impression photos of a name recording engineer or such really helps to grab web surfing eyes.
I had the pleasure of playing vinyl through my preamp to some heavy hitters (Lenise Bent, Michael Boddicker, Ken Perry...) of stuff they tracked or mastered. It went well. Now I just have to see if I can get some of them to allow a picture and a line or two of Lounge praise.
The CTC Blowtorch usually costed about $10,000 in the early years sold direct in the USA. Later we tried for more.
Yes they are, and are also highly motivated by their music, specially composed for maximum enjoyment of a Blowtorch preamp and a Wavac power amplifier, no wonder they are willing to pay 250k for the combo.
https://youtu.be/ylDuOmEoZx0
- Status
- Not open for further replies.