Email from Barefaced

[agedhorse]

That is not what I meant.

Then I missed your point.

 

[Wasnex]

Meh. That's (maybe) more of a long-term goal. See: Spotify, Amazon. Other times, the end goal is to be bought out by Yamaha.

"They're much larger companies", I hear you say. That ties in well with what I wrote earlier.

Essentially long-term survival is not possible without profits.

I don't think Barefaced is following the Amazon model. Early on Amazon reinvested profits into growth...from what I remember reading, this was a purposeful strategy to corner the market. The strategy was obviously successful as Jeff Bezos is now the 2nd wealthiest person in the world.

I am sure Alex Claber expects to be paid and that is not sustainable if Barefaced does not turn a profit.

 

[Boneless]

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Essentially long-term survival is not possible without profits.

I don't think Barefaced is following the Amazon model. Early on Amazon reinvested profits into growth...from what I remember reading, this was a purposeful strategy to corner the market. The strategy was obviously successful as Jeff Bezos is now the 2nd wealthiest person in the world.

I am sure Alex Claber expects to be paid and that is not sustainable if Barefaced does not turn a profit.

Strictly speaking, an employee (which the owner of a company can also be) does not depend on the company's profits to get paid. A company can earn zero profit and still pay its employees on time.

 

[mcnach]

Not sure this is the right forum, so please move if needed. Got this email from Barefaced today, prices going up. I'm no business mind, but, according to email, they are " selling plenty " of cabs, can't keep up, but prices need to go up because cash reserves are down. Someone want to dummy this down for me? Here it is:

Hello everyone - and sorry about the bad news, So Barefaced has been going for 16 years now and we've continued to be an independent business, owned by me, designing, building and selling everything direct from our factory in a small business unit in Brighton UK. And our customers thankfully seem to love what we do, and our consultative way of selling, so you get our expertise (it's usually me answering the emails but for guitar stuff I often end up chatting to the proper guitarists here - bass advice I can do totally solo) to make sure that the money you spend is on THE BEST CAB for your needs. If you've ever watched Dragon's Den (Shark Tank in the USA?) you may have come across the term "lifestyle business", which the "Dragons" define as a business that provides a job/income for the boss and staff but little else - and I guess that's what we are. There's no outside investors, no shareholder goals for profits and dividends - we make the best products we can for our customers and we try to end each month (after everyone is paid) with a bit more money in the bank than before, because a business that doesn't won't last very long. Sadly things seems to have been going the wrong way for a few months - we're selling plenty, getting the usual awesome feedback from our international rosta of owners, but the cash reserve (which finances all our material/component purchases) is getting too low to be comfortable. This mean we now need to analyse all our costs and update all our prices - it's not going to be much fun... I'm guessing we'll be seeing a 5-10% price increase on everything - we've not updated our prices in a fair while and although inflation is lower than it was, it's still been happening (and is cumulative) so everything is costing us more than it was. From a profitability perspective we really need to put the prices up now, but I don't want to annoy those of you that have been planning/saving for a purchase, so we're going to hold off the pricing revision until Monday 21st October. If you'd like a Barefaced cab at the current price, please order one now. Please understand that we do not have a choice in this: This is not "dynamic pricing" (aka screwing people because demand is higher than supply), and this is not something that can be avoided by increased production quantities - it is the cost per unit vs price per unit that is too high. To end on a more positive note, since we began all those years ago, I've been astounded and delighted by the quantity of repeat customers we get! For those of you that haven't heard/owned a Barefaced cab, please take note of how many people keep coming back to Barefaced for all their bass and guitar cab needs, and how many who've heard a cab in person then get in touch to help choose their own.​

Thanks for your understanding - and I hope that you're able to continue to support us! Alex and everyone at Barefaced HQ​

​

What's there to explain? Prices of pretty much everything have been going up fast in the past 4-5 years especially. So they're still selling cabs, but the profits are down, and as a result their financial 'cushion' to buy components, pay rent, salaries etc is being eaten away.

It's a business.

 

[mcnach]

Thanks. Serious question: When has prices on musical equipment, from any vendor, gone down?

Probably around the same time that the price of bread went down.

Remember that time?
Yeah, me neither.

 

[mcnach]

My tiny Barefaced 1x10 cab easily fills a medium sized room without breaking a sweat, and outcompetes most of the other 2x10's that I've used - not to mention that it weighs next to nothing.

I hear this kind of comments, and we must be needing vastly different levels.

I use 2x Two10 for a medium sized room, and it's not overkill by any means. A single Two10 just won't do it for me, let alone a One10.
I don't think the Two10 is particularly loud compared to other 210 cabs I've played with, I use them because of their sound (loudness and lightness being bonuses).

 

[hennessybass]

Just for a little context...
Using the Bureau of Labor Statistics calculator.

According to Google's AI, the price of an Ampeg B15 combo amp in 1960 was $355
That would be $3,144 today.

I feel like I could get a pretty sweet rig for $3k.
You can get a Mesa WD amp and 15"cab for (what?) $2500.

Quality music gear has always been expensive. I think we get spoiled by cheep stuff.

 

[Wasnex]

Strictly speaking, an employee (which the owner of a company can also be) does not depend on the company's profits to get paid. A company can earn zero profit and still pay its employees on time.

Again...consider the economics definition of profit.

It's true that a company may be able to operate at a loss and pay the owner, but not indefinitely.

In order for the owner to take a regular return (salary) the company needs sufficient reserve to cover operating expenses...which include the owner's salary.

I believe the email stated:

we're selling plenty, getting the usual awesome feedback from our international rosta of owners, but the cash reserve ... is getting too low to be comfortable.

If the cash reserve is depleted, financing could possibly be used to temporarily cover operating costs. But financing further increases operating costs and must be paid eventually.

Additional profits are required to correct the situation.

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Just to reiterate what other people have said, I love my Barefaced cabs. Bought a Compact 15" that was a floor model (iirc) from them about 12, 13 years ago and it's not skipped a beat since that day. Reliable, light, sounds great, and was plenty loud enough for any venue we played that wasn't using FOH support

So, of course, I got a Super 3rd 12" last year to sit on top of it. It's plenty for rehearsals by itself, and the two together pack a ridiculous punch. Especially considering I can carry one in each hand.

A 10% price increase does sting the wallet but honestly, if I had to buy new cabs tomorrow, it'd be Barefaced and I'd be happy to hand over that new higher price for them. Nothing short of getting an 8x10 on the backline makes me smile the way these cabs do.

 

[agedhorse]

Strictly speaking, an employee (which the owner of a company can also be) does not depend on the company's profits to get paid. A company can earn zero profit and still pay its employees on time.

Where do you think the owner's salary or money needed to live (call it what you want) comes from? Without profit, the owner starves.

 

[Chris_will_do]

Refreshingly honoust. Love it!

 

[mcnach]

Strictly speaking, an employee (which the owner of a company can also be) does not depend on the company's profits to get paid. A company can earn zero profit and still pay its employees on time.

You should email Alex and tell him where he's going wrong.

 

[Boneless]

Where do you think the owner's salary or money needed to live (call it what you want) comes from? Without profit, the owner starves.

Strictly speaking, the salary of the owner (if he is registered as a regular employee) can come from the operating costs of the company and result in net zero profit. This can actually be advantageous in some situations.

 

[Boneless]

You should email Alex and tell him where he's going wrong.

I'm not saying he's doing anything "wrong".

 

[musicman556]

Thanks. Serious question: When has prices on musical equipment, from any vendor, gone down?

I've seen it at least twice in MI this year. Fender went nuts last year and early this year with big price increases. American Performer Ps, for instance, peaked around $1500 and are now back to $1350. Additionally, Behringer/MusicTribe rolled back their covid-spike pricing across nearly every sku back to the pre-spike levels. Those are just 2 biggies off the top of my head.

I don't know when BF last had a price increase. Did they go up in the covid madness?

At the same time, I completely understand a boutique builder needing to raise their prices every few years. When the margin you make on every sale shrinks over time, you need to get back to the "comfortable" margin again. That's about the most transparent and honest letter from a business I've seen. I'm not exactly in the market for another cab right now, but clear communication like that makes me appreciate Barefaced and bumps them up on my list.

 

[Pilgrim]

Very decent of them.

 

[CryingBass]

One of the best pieces of advice that I got from a customer once is that I needed to increase my prices.

Why would a customer say that? Because they needed me and wanted to be sure that I was going to be around for a long time.

I did, and I think it added another 10 years to my business ( now going on 35 years! ). Being greedy is not good, but neither is not covering payroll.

 

[moon-bass]

I hear this kind of comments, and we must be needing vastly different levels.

I use 2x Two10 for a medium sized room, and it's not overkill by any means. A single Two10 just won't do it for me, let alone a One10.
I don't think the Two10 is particularly loud compared to other 210 cabs I've played with, I use them because of their sound (loudness and lightness being bonuses).

Most likely. When I say "can fill a medium room" I am not doing it with a rock band I use a GR One 350 and the 1x10 as my portable rig. It easily keeps up with a jazz drummer, guitarist, horn players, etc.

When I had a pair of the 1x10's, I used them in situations that I would normally use 2x10 cabs - I used to have a pair or Markbass cabs, the Barefaced pair easily kept up with them.

But, I hear you and agree, we're most likely playing different volumes, etc. In any event, they are great cabs!

 

[rapidfirerob]

Thanks. Would it be correct to say that his business is similar to Bergantino, small business, small staff, etc.? His prices, for example, are a tad higher for a basic 112 with tweet, than Bergantino's, but are going up even more. I was considering a lightweight 112 from Barefaced, but maybe not so much now. BTW, inflation, according to him, is lower than it was.

You have until October 20 before prices rise on October 21 should you decide to order.

 

[rapidfirerob]

Yeah, it's just inflation, but, as he notes, the prices haven't changed in a loooong time, so the price increase has to make up for that. I appreciate the transparency. Wonder when the price increase will take effect (not that I need or can afford another BF at the moment).

Alex said in his email the price increase takes effect October 21.

I had to have below the knee amputation two years ago, which I've said before. I had to go very light and small. I bought two
Trace Elliot 10" cabs, which were very good. I kept reading about Barefaced and bought a One10T and One10 a year ago. These cabs are
crazy great sounding, with light weight and insane volume. Alex cares about quality as his number one priority. They're pricey cabs and
worth it. Barefaced rules!