06/20/2025
**Ordering Policy Change**
Effective July 1, online ordering will be turned off on the website. We will be going to a contract based system with direct invoices sent via PayPal or WISE, along with scheduled production weeks. Emailing [email protected] will still be good way to contact me. I will also have a form going up on the website soon. This form will ask details about your application, other drivers in the system, amplifier power, crossover, DSP, etc. All details that I can easily review to make sure you get what best fits your application.
There are several reasons for this change. The new process will make sure each customer gets the right woofer for their application, they know when they will get it, and I can verify they are a real person. The rest is long, but explains more if you'd like to know the details.
Many people may not realize, but Acoustic Elegance is myself, and my daughter. Every step of each woofer is done by one of us. There is no mass production. There are no woofers in inventory. There are many custom options. When you order, we are building your woofer for you. It even has your name on it.
As a result, there are a limited number of woofers that can be built each week. Lead times always change depending on how many woofers are ordered. When an OEM customer places a larger order, it may take weeks or even months to fill, pushing out all other others. The new tarrif situation has also created significant delays in getting parts. I have been machining t-yokes and top plates for most woofers from scratch for several months. It's expensive. I lose most of my profits. It is the only way to keep things going out the door in an attempt to keep customers happy. I don't have an expensive CNC lathe or mill. My 1956 Warner & Swasey #3 turret lathe and 1940's Cincinnati mill still hold great tolerance and do everything they need to. But they don't run themselves so it takes time. Machining motor parts by hand adds over an hour to every woofer made. When hundreds are ordered, you can see how that increases lead times. With the contract based system, your build will be scheduled based on how much I can build, and you'll know which week it will be built. No more surprises.
In addition, we get hit with fraudulent charges off the website by "customers" I have never had a conversation with. Stolen cards are used to order and ship to other addresses. When the real card holder disputes the charge, I am out the money and the woofers. There are also customers that impulse buy, change their mind, and dispute charges within hours or even minutes. If your significant other will divorce you for buying woofers, please think about that before ordering. When a dispute happens, I have no choice but to refund the charge. Paypal doesn't return the fees though so I lose money every time this happens. Over the past 20 years, I could have bought a new car with the amount of money lost on those two things.
The change in ordering also makes the eventual transition to distribution easier. Aespeakers.com will be set up better to include product data, but not function as an online store. There is a goal for strategic distribution in the US, Europe, Asia, and Australia within the next 18 months as well. This is a step to help make that happen.
- John
