3Leaf Audio Club - Episode 2

[sumeursault]

Guess I got lucky. Crazy that they sell out so fast...

 

[fivestringgecko]

This thread gets extremely quiet before a drop.

And gets chatty after.

5sg.

 

[ericplaysbass]

 

[chiphaleonbass]

View attachment 5263760

This'll be my second so.. maybe I really needed the help

 

[PWolverine]

Was going to get up at 4:00am to try and get one, but slept through it. The downside to being in a different timezone. Next time I guess.

 

[halcyo]

It’s so obnoxious that these pedals sell out in less than a minute that I honestly sort of feel bad for saying that I got one. Feels like rubbing it in the faces of those that didn’t.

Well I’ll have the trinity now- Proton, Doom 2, and Octabvre. Pretty excited cuz the Octabvre was the one I wanted most, but has taken the longest to snag. I wasn’t willing to cave to inflated second hand prices.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

It’s so obnoxious that these pedals sell out in less than a minute that I honestly sort of feel bad for saying that I got one. Feels like rubbing it in the faces of those that didn’t.

Well I’ll have the trinity now- Proton, Doom 2, and Octabvre. Pretty excited cuz the Octabvre was the one I wanted most, but has taken the longest to snag. I wasn’t willing to cave to inflated second hand prices.

Don't feel bad; ideally even if he's making 100 at a time he'll eventually get the market taken care of and prices will come back down to what they should be. I've always been interested in the Doom 2, that'll be next for me but like you will not pay more than what I should for it. Have had my original mini Octabvre since 2018 when I got it for $170

 

[sclemmer]

I bought a Doom 2 back in 2019 straight off the website with no drama or anxiety about getting one.
I then proceeded to pay way over retail for a Proton and Octavbre.
Sold all three together earlier this year for a decent amount and then regretted it a month or so later.
I’m glad to now have the trinity back on the board.

 

[Iofflight]

It’s so obnoxious that these pedals sell out in less than a minute that I honestly sort of feel bad for saying that I got one. Feels like rubbing it in the faces of those that didn’t.

Well I’ll have the trinity now- Proton, Doom 2, and Octabvre. Pretty excited cuz the Octabvre was the one I wanted most, but has taken the longest to snag. I wasn’t willing to cave to inflated second-hand prices.

I hate it too honestly. It gives me anxiety sitting there waiting to snipe it. My automatic fill-ins on my computer make this stupid easy for me but it still sucks regardless of the dismantling of Apple pay. I mean I'm not going to question Spencer's business model but if it were me I'd rather have more pedals built up and ship out quarterly with a queue for pre-orders. It would cut the anxiety, help those who are in different time zones, and everyone would get their turn when their number came up.

 

[halcyo]

I hate it too honestly. It gives me anxiety sitting there waiting to snipe it. My automatic fill-ins on my computer make this stupid easy for me but it still sucks regardless of the dismantling of Apple pay. I mean I'm not going to question Spencer's business model but if it were me I'd rather have more pedals built up and ship out quarterly with a queue for pre-orders. It would cut the anxiety, help those who are in different time zones, and everyone would get their turn when their number came up.

Good point. If he just had a waiting list, he’d ultimately know exactly how many he needs to make, and he ultimately might sell so many more pedals.

Gotta say though, his pedals having a near mythical reputation for rarity/scarcity is kinda brilliant marketing hype. They say smart companies play this “planned scarcity” game all the time with luxury or special tech type items.

 

[enjoi1018]

Good point. If he just had a waiting list, he’d ultimately know exactly how many he needs to make, and he ultimately might sell so many more pedals.

Gotta say though, his pedals having a near mythical reputation for rarity/scarcity is kinda brilliant marketing hype. They say smart companies play this “planned scarcity” game all the time with luxury or special tech type items.

A saying I've heard in the recent exponential growth in the bourbon industry goes something like: "you want to distill one less bottle than you can sell, and that number goes down the higher/rarer up your line you go."

 

[Iofflight]

For sure scarcity does drive the scramble and increases desirability.

 

[fivestringgecko]

Good point. If he just had a waiting list, he’d ultimately know exactly how many he needs to make, and he ultimately might sell so many more pedals.

Waiting lists can be a blessing and a curse... More people are guaranteed to get [item] and it helps keep the resale price down, but a waiting list can easily get out of control if the builder can't keep up with a steady stream. Ziebek Effects comes to mind as a builder who got himself underwater and eventually just ghosted people I believe. The Analogman King of Tone waiting list is currently in the category of pointless: As of 11/17/23, they're shipping pedals from May of 2018. And Zon basses has been in confusion for a good long while now.

It'd be cool if Spencer would adopt an approach like Taylor/Iron Ether, but I don't think that would work given 3Leaf's track record. Spencer very much strikes me as someone who 100% would NOT do well with a waiting list. Whether you agree with his approach or not, it seems to work great for him... He drops a batch of pedals and then goes skiing.

5sg.

 

[StayLow]

Waiting lists can be a blessing and a curse... More people are guaranteed to get [item] and it helps keep the resale price down, but a waiting list can easily get out of control if the builder can't keep up with a steady stream. Ziebek Effects comes to mind as a builder who got himself underwater and eventually just ghosted people I believe. The Analogman King of Tone waiting list is currently in the category of pointless: As of 11/17/23, they're shipping pedals from May of 2018. And Zon basses has been in confusion for a good long while now.

It'd be cool if Spencer would adopt an approach like Taylor/Iron Ether, but I don't think that would work given 3Leaf's track record. Spencer very much strikes me as someone who 100% would NOT do well with a waiting list. Whether you agree with his approach or not, it seems to work great for him... He drops a batch of pedals and then goes skiing.

5sg.

And I, for one, really like that 1. he plays bass well, and 2. marches to his own drum.

Insightful post.

What’s Iron Ether’s method?

 

[fivestringgecko]

What’s Iron Ether’s method?

Taylor has it set up that you can get notified about individual pedals, and when he's ready to make a batch of that pedal, he'll send out an email saying the preorder is open. Ship date of the pedals is 5 months from when the preorder closes. Simple. It's a bit of a wait, but it's a much less stressful system than "here's a batch, good luck" that sells out in less than a minute.

5sg.

 

[Matt Call]

I'm sure Spencer is trying to figure out a system that works, and will keep trying things until something feels right.

Between the preamp bundles, and the current eBay listings... a number of people are gladly spending $500+ on a $333 pedal. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a price increase or another "off-the-wall" idea in the not-too-distant future. If prices go up, that could give him more capital for larger runs, new designs, or any number of things that'd be mutually benefical for 3Leaf & customers (after he initial grief of a price increase, that is).

 

[shon]

I actually like this eBay approach. Seems like this is taking money away from the flippers in the best way possible

 

[silky smoove]

It's a bit of a wait, but it's a much less stressful system than "here's a batch, good luck" that sells out in less than a minute.

Doesn't this just shift the stress of placing an order to being the first to send an email? If the queue for these pedals is sufficient to sell out in minutes, wouldn't it functionally be the same? Either you place an order first, or you send an email first.

 

[Admiral Chew]

Doesn't this just shift the stress of placing an order to being the first to send an email? If the queue for these pedals is sufficient to sell out in minutes, wouldn't it functionally be the same? Either you place an order first, or you send an email first.

That’s my expectation. The Nimbus SE drop on the IE website broke the ordering system for about 30 minutes when word got around there had been a release. Cog offer something similar too. My assumption though is that once the preorder slots are filled (maybe with a little flex) the order book closes again. I would expect 3 Leaf demand to close the order book more quickly than most other manufacturers. It then puts the builder under a lot of mental strain (as seen with Cog and 3 Leaf before, and as a few builders have mentioned on the No Gods No Master volume podcast).

 

[Grahams Groove]

Doesn't this just shift the stress of placing an order to being the first to send an email? If the queue for these pedals is sufficient to sell out in minutes, wouldn't it functionally be the same? Either you place an order first, or you send an email first.

Not exactly. For one, I don't think Taylor (IE) specifies the number of slots that will be available for pre-orders. So there's not this real-time tracker for orders and there's not that drive to get 1 of 50 immediately. You don't know the speed with which people are submitting orders or the number of orders he's willing to fulfill. Sure, those who have been waiting to get one for themselves will sign up asap, but people who are not 100% committed may not feel as urgent as they would if it's a real time sale.

Also, the wait time is often 4+ weeks. So you are investing money up front, and don't have that instant gratification. I have to imagine this is less attractive to scalpers/flippers in some respect. You have to 'invest' a few hundred bucks that will be in limbo for a month or more. Likewise, you can't take immediate advantage of the market that was hungry for the pedal. With 3Leaf, you can get the pedal within a week or two and then pop it on the market for people who just missed out. Maybe it looks different in a month or two. Maybe the pre-order slots were more than you thought and the overhead on flipping isn't what you hoped. It's more of a gamble.

I don't know that it would be a night-and-day difference. That said, saying 'there's 50 of these and you won't have another chance for one of this until ~3 months later' is an easy way to ensure that they're scarce and people are buying them immediately.