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How I got ripped off by Monolith Loudspeakers

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#61
^ aprod, Monolith doesn't build amps. He builds a preamp, effects and speaker enclosures. He is the only builder I know of who offers a Sunn Beta preamp clone (rackmount or pedal form) it definitely is not a generic Chinese rehouse.

If people aren't getting their orders filled I don't see how rehousing chinese kits for 300% mark-up is a likely explanation anyways.

Let's get this train back on the tracks please.
 
#62
Actually he had a supplier screw up that seriously destroyed a major group buy and other orders all at once and from what I can tell he has been trying to remedy the cluster**** it caused....but your readiness to convict him in the court of public opinion by labelling as one of those guys is so much more fun....give a guy a break... We are talking about a 3-4 month backlog! I waited longer than that for my Ernie ball bass...screw Ernie ball! whats his excuse?? He's Dr. Ball to me from now on....

Edit: and while it was a supplier screw up, wade has taken personal responsibilty every time ive talked to him that he didnt catch the flaw.....

What you "know" is very little, and that fails to address the lack of decency.
 
#63
eyeballkid said:
Actually he had a supplier screw up that seriously destroyed a major group buy and other orders all at once and from what I can tell he has been trying to remedy the cluster**** it caused....but your readiness to convict him in the court of public opinion by labelling as one of those guys is so much more fun....give a guy a break... We are talking about a 3-4 month backlog! I waited longer than that for my Ernie ball bass...screw Ernie ball! whats his excuse?? He's Dr. Ball to me from now on....

Edit: and while it was a supplier screw up, wade has taken personal responsibilty every time ive talked to him that he didnt catch the flaw.....

What you "know" is very little, and that fails to address the lack of decency.
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Failing to address the multiple contacts from waiting customers and misleading them about refunds also seems to have a lack of decency to it, but I think your friendship makes you biased to that.

His website continues to tout a 2-3 week wait, and fails to mention anything about supplier issues and extended delays.
 
#64
I wouldnt call us friends. That is quite a status in my book, very few get that title with me. Just fair minded. And one who hopes he can and will pick up the little mess, recover and go on making cool toys for us all. as a disclosure fact, I, at times got a more than a little pissed at him...I was ignored (or very slowly responded to) some...I was persistent and polite and things seem to be corrected on my business. He has been very forthright and honest and has taken responsibilty for his problems which I come to find are a little bigger than I knew when I was upset, and had I known I wouldve been more patient... give the guy a chance to correct things before we start putting up a cross! Jesus! Hopefully you never go into business by yourself and have to handle everything...I have and its a big job, especially when something goes wrong. But its more fun for ya to trash his reputation without a dog in the race and cut him off at the knees... Id be proud if I were you.
 
#65
What surprises me most is that Wade hasn't posted in this thread yet. When I was looking at going pre/power I heavily considered the Magma so to see this happen is very disappointing. Wade has an account here and I know it would give everyone a lot of closure if he weighed in.

Best wishes, guys.
 
#66
I believe the OP stated his pre-order was made in November. That's five, going on six months. I don't think he's expecting the world here, but a little communication is key. Also, it would wise to have things lined up properly before making sales.

What did he actually say on FB Gonzo? Was he apologetic? I have nothing to gain from this either, but it makes me more and more wary to deal with boutique builders when stuff like this happens.
 
#68
Being nice isn't enough if you run business. If you're nice, you can get an extra credit from customers, especially if you've got personal issues.

But hiding and not responding to e-mails for many, many months can tire even the most patient customers.
 
#69
I have had a few conversations with Wade and to be honest it sounds like he is trying to get things running smoothly again, but like Eyeball said, it was the perfect storm. Having said that I do not understand why he would still be taking new orders if he is not able to complete the existing ones and I don't know for a fact that he is taking new orders. The problems probably started in November and really did not get "out of control" until late December or January. I can see him taking orders around then with the thought that the issues would be resolved and that he was going to be able to manage it. I would be surprised to hear that he has been taking new orders in the last month or two though.
 
#70
aprod said:
I don't understand why anyone would to "business" with this guy. Ther are so many great amps out there, this boutique thing is crazy. I was checking out some fuzz pedals recently and was appaled at the prices. I came across these chinese pedals for a third of the price and would challenge anyone to tell the difference between a Fulltone OCD and JOYO's od-2. I read an article about some builders buying generic kits from China and then selling them as boutique pedals at an outrageous price. I wonder if that's what's happening with this amp builder.
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Please stop trying to help. This is the most ridiculous response in the thread. Regardless of monolith's situation this does nothing but confuse people who know less than you do. Some people take the boutique industry very seriously and this sort of ignorance is quite appalling.
 
#71
bozo_lozo said:
So Wade just emailed me back yesterday saying he had some personal issues come up, which is what was causing the delay. I won't open any Paypal disputes yet as he still seems to sincerely want these orders to ship out...but time will tell.
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Don't wait too long - Paypal have a time limit on these things, I think it's 3 months, any later than that and they won't help you.

Do check the time limit though don't take my word for it, it could be shorter.

I can appreciate that the guy might be struggling to keep his business turning over if he's got problems with his suppliers - especially in the current economic climate - but he should at least communicate with his customers when there is a problem. His silence is the most worrying thing.
 
#72
Supplier screw-ups or no (which is totally understandable), why would that prevent the seller from contacting people who have pending orders? Why would a seller have a communications blackout for several months, unless he's ducking people? This definitely makes me wary. I'm certainly not ready to put him in the Dr. Bass Or DHuff realm, but this at least reminds me a bit of the Os/Zeibek situation a bit.
 
#73
eyeballkid said:
I wouldnt call us friends. That is quite a status in my book, very few get that title with me. Just fair minded. And one who hopes he can and will pick up the little mess, recover and go on making cool toys for us all. as a disclosure fact, I, at times got a more than a little pissed at him...I was ignored (or very slowly responded to) some...I was persistent and polite and things seem to be corrected on my business. He has been very forthright and honest and has taken responsibilty for his problems which I come to find are a little bigger than I knew when I was upset, and had I known I wouldve been more patient... give the guy a chance to correct things before we start putting up a cross! Jesus! Hopefully you never go into business by yourself and have to handle everything...I have and its a big job, especially when something goes wrong. But its more fun for ya to trash his reputation without a dog in the race and cut him off at the knees... Id be proud if I were you.
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Now, this is interesting. I'm sure your friend is trying to do the right thing, but when I emailed him last night, I got an almost immediate response as found below:

Hey man, currently our shipping time is approx 2 weeks. If you would like to order give a call and we can take payment over the phone. We are moving from paypal for the time being, they are causing some problems with purchases. Where is it shipping too? Thanks.

Best wade

--
Best, Wade
Click to expand...

Now, we know that his response time isn't two weeks, so that part is a lie. Now, he's moving away from paypal, too.
 
#75
kevteop said:
Don't wait too long - Paypal have a time limit on these things, I think it's 3 months, any later than that and they won't help you.

Do check the time limit though don't take my word for it, it could be shorter.

I can appreciate that the guy might be struggling to keep his business turning over if he's got problems with his suppliers - especially in the current economic climate - but he should at least communicate with his customers when there is a problem. His silence is the most worrying thing.
Click to expand...

Can someone clarify on this? I'm trying to find out for sure how long I would have but the only thing that has come up says 45 days...which if I ordered January 31st means I'm too late.
 
#76
Also, since others are posting their interactions:


Hey man, nothing to worry about. We have this on the chopping block. This week we are assembling 5 more. I will be in touch. I unfortunately have gotten another severe eye infection but it is getting better. Been a really stressful past few months and I understand if you are concerned but have no worries please. Updates, this week!

Thanks!

--
Best, Wade
Click to expand...
 
#77
I'm saddened that this is the second thread in a few days where a customer paid in advance for a boutique item and has not received their product in a timely matter and even worse, not at all and had to fight to get a refund.

I have been in Monolith's situation before, and on a much larger scale. I'm not talking $500.00, I'm talking orders up to $75,000.00 on trucking equipment. The backstory isn't important, but I was juggling to finish units, pay suppliers, keep customers happy and keep the bank from literally crushing me financially.

The one thing I always did was talk to the customer. I was yelled at, threatened, I had orders canceled. There were some customers who believed in me, and other who never came back.

But they all got to say their peace, I always responded and above all, I was honest.

If i were to go back into that business again I could likely have half my customer base back in a month, simply because I never lied to them or avoided their calls.

I will say that I always took orders when they came in. It looks good to the bank when your WIP (Work In Process) has depth. I have no idea as to his process whether he has an inventory or buys as he goes. I would say that personally if I didn't have the items on the shelf to build what was ordered I would disclose that to the customer immediately and give them an estimate as to their wait time.

But I'm not the one under the microscope right now, and thankfully so. My vague point is that I sympathize with both the OP and with Monolith (and the others in similar threads), and that right now communication is crucial for the businesses in question. You don't have to air all the dirty details, but simple explanation and a little humility goes a long way.
 
#78
Although I'm not making any excuses for a lack of communication, I think that there are risks in dealing with any of the small builders. They often work on tiny margins, with little if any help, and no backup suppliers. When something goes wrong, it can go really wrong.

This is not a knock against all small builders as I've certainly sent a lot of money to them over the years and will continue to do so. I'm only pointing out that there are risks involved in dealing with someone who makes 10 basses/amps/pedals a year that you don't have when dealing with Fender.

I would urge the builder in this case to communicate with his customers. I've found over the years that the customer is usually much more understanding than you expect if you are honest and keep in touch.

Good luck to the OP AND Monolith.
 
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