AE Group buy 2013! - Page 7

I guess I should have placed more emphasize on the little longer. Actually, as I said before, I'll just be happy to get my two phase plugs, no matter what the color, so I can put this issue to rest. I'm amazed that John has shown a willingness to offer black as an option because of the added complications to GB 2013.

Any drivers delivered yet? According to the schedule on AE's site 27 drivers should have been shipped by now.

I think Jakes shipped.

I just emailed Jana and she stated mine should be shipping by end of next week. That is about a week or so past the projected ship date. Not a huge deal as I've still got a bit to wait before my CD's are in.

ChopShop1, are group buy people who want to wait for black phase plugs going through you, or contacting AE themselves?

Not trying to get you to do more work, just hoping to eliminate confusion by going through the same channels as everybody else.

Good enough, I'll work directly with AE on that. Thanks!

FWIW
I placed my order with AE right before the group buy and it shipped yesterday UPS will be here tuesday. Even though I changed my order from the X model to the M it still took less time than EXpected.
I have had a VERY GOOD experience with AE Speakers so far.
Chris W

im pretty sure thats a first.

The reality is that most people don't bother posting good experiences but they scream to the top of their lungs on bad ones. Those bad experiences echo on AVS forever.
AE seams to be rolling quite well now so get it while the getting is good.
Chris W

To those unable to switch to black plugs, you could always buy them separately and sell your polished plugs to those looking for fancy speaker spikes.

I just checked through my system. Estes does have a tracking system but it doesn't show anything. Through my system it shows a delivery date of 3/21/2013 and shows status as "available for delivery". You may want to call the local terminal. Phone Number: (860) 632-1590 with the PRO number. I forwarded the little tracking info I have to your email.

As far as the black plugs go, please email Jana if you would like to get those and pay the additional fee. Her email is info (at) aespeakers.com.

I'm glad to hear that you got your order fulfilled so quickly. I've deleted the rest of my post for the time being. I hope I can get some communication going and get my order fulfilled.
Edited by rajacat - 3/25/13 at 7:51pm

Please answer your email, John. I have sent multiple asking a simple question with yes/no answer. Thank you.

That's par for the course.

I guess it is a matter of who emails her.

I slather my emails in Sex Panther by Odeon. They've done studies you know...

I don't know if that's the case, Raul. I just emailed Jana about the status of my tiny little 2 TD12X order from the GB, and she responded within the hour. Then, she replied within 15min to a followup question.

Also, pursuant to that reply, John will be on here in a bit to update the thread with the current status. Seems like pretty good customer service to me!

So far, AE has been pleasantly responsive and helpful, though, besides today's inquiry, I have only contacted them regarding the invoice and payment. I hope they can keep things rolling!

I think it's the inconsistency that bothers me. I've emailed Jana and she has replied back the same day. I've also had times where I've emailed on more than one occasion with nary a reply. John is the same way. Initially he responded pretty quickly to questions; but after my order was placed I've PM'd and called and never heard back.

I'm interested in an update as mine were due to ship last week. They should definitely be going out this week, along with some others.

Please realize that I am extremely busy right now and it is not my intent to ignore anyone. The sales for the first quarter of 2013 have already surpassed those from the first 2 quarters of last year. My first priority has to be put on shipping product to those who have paid for it. All of the last minute changes to the previous group buy orders as well as numerous changes to some of the new group buy orders have disrupted the production and shipping flow. As a result we are out about a week from what was originally anticipated.

As mentioned, I had not intended to offer black phase plugs at this time due to the additional financial expense, but I am doing what I can to accommodate everyone. I am sorry that some feel it is unfair to have an additional charge for the black phase plugs. The reality is that even with the additional $15 charge for the black phase plugs, a TD15 is still being sold at $49 less than the retail pricing. Keep in mind that retail pricing is also going to increase soon as well. The new group buy orders are shipping within approximately the same lead time as orders purchased at the full price point as well.

As far as the wrong phone number goes, there was a mistake in the signature from the sales email. This was corrected as soon as it was brought to our attention.

So you do you have a complete update on the shipping/build status for everyone?

It is very hard to determine any realistic build/shipping status when I do not know what I am building. As some people rushed to get orders in before the deadline, I have tried to accommodate them by allowing a few changes to orders after payment was made. This is outside of standard practice and will not be repeated again. The Paypal invoices clearly state that there will be no changes allowed to orders once payment is made. People are free to take as much time as necessary up front to determine their needs and request changes or advice prior to making payment. Those who had taken the time to determine their needs prior to ordering will see their woofers ship in the order expected. As mentioned, we are running about a week further out than originally anticipated due to the previous group buy orders, but that gap will be closing shortly. Those who requested changes should realize that they had to be pushed further down the list until their orders could be verified.

Well that's the difference between good and great companies. I have to make last minute accommodations quite often with our customers, that's the nature of the business. It's not very realistic to think you will place an order for over 100 drivers, and there won't be any changes that take place.

Once again that's great, but when customers call and/or email for advice without any contact, it's hard to blame them for last minute changes.

For example. I placed an order for 4 TD6 drivers in 4 ohm config. This was to be used in a bipolar arrangement and I needed an 8 ohm final load for ease on my receiver. Not a thing was mentioned about the fact the drivers were offered in 8 ohm only. That completely changed my plans for what they were to be used for. So is it my fault that I wanted to make a last minute change? And when I did I was told I couldn't, once an order was placed it was finalized. So I took it like a man and kept my order anyways, even though they weren't what I'd ordered (or thought I had ordered anyways).

I'm still confused why you can't update the shipping list. Regardless of last minute changes you should know the shipping order. If people are out there and haven't emailed you with final config, then we understand that.

I don't mean to call you out here, and that's certainly not my intention. It just seems like there is a lot of side stepping going on in relation to nailing down a shipping order and date. I was told mine would ship this week, and they very well probably will. But there are quite a few on here that might not have this information, and I'm sure they'd like some updates. In fact the original link that Chop posted that was supposed to show the order of everyone, and build times and dates has fallen by the wayside. So you might understand the concerns that some have had.

Edit: Here's what we were told in the original thread, and in one shortly after.

And the link.
http://www.aespeakers.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3196
Edited by bass addict - 3/26/13 at 4:35pm

bass addict,

Don't forget that all the Group Buy 2011 orders need to be fulfilled, including the phase plugs, before shipping begins for GB 2013.

That falls into the: "Don't bite off more than you can chew" category.
If you also read my above post; John committed to shipping the first 2013 GB drivers in 3 weeks, with 20 going out per week. Has this happened? I don't know as there have been no updates communicated.

I'm merely playing devils advocate, but there is a lot of validity to what I have mentioned. That updates on his website haven't happened, and the communication has not been there. I don't mind a little delay in the shipping process, hell I expected that going into this based on the companies track record. I don't like the dancing around that seems to be happening lately, and pointing fingers at the customer as to the reasons behind all the delays.

I think the lack of communication is the single biggest complaint. I'm more than understanding when things go awry; believe me, it happens in my business more than I'd like. But keeping everyone updated on the situation goes a long way in customer satisfaction.