But then you're back to the whole "supporting a company who screwed the community" thing we've been discussing this whole thread.
Actually, if all is True, people would be supporting an enterprising arcade fan who is looking to make some side cash on his hobby.
And actually David was quite amazing. He got Starwars yokes reproduced in small quantities, with extremely high quality, for a seriously low price. (compared to equivalent arcade quality equipment)
Today, you cant buy something half as complex, in cheap Plastic, for the same amount of money... and thats in MASSIVE quantities.
Take a look at the Race Sim scene. Small companies make Pedals, Wheels, and Shifters of the same kind of high quality machined parts, with even less complexity, and charge +2x what he was charging.
Even when he ran into production issues, which cost him a lot of money, time and effort... he never raised the prices for the pre-orders. I would have had to raise them. But then again, I never would have taken pre-orders either.
The people that got messed over the most, were the well-to-do. No poor person is gona drop several thousands on a video game remake... especially from a company that doesnt even have a remade vector monitor in stock. And when the delays started to roll in, any one of them could have pulled their money back out. Some did. A crook wouldnt have allowed that... nor would a crook actually build starwars yokes, in addition to sinking money into about 10 other controllers (that each required a Ton of custom parts each)
And even as things soured, he ALMOST got the tv mfg. plant to make the brand new vector monitors. Its pretty much a historic moment that the yokes came to be remade.. but new vector monitors would have been monumental.
Look at Gene Cunningham. He started he was going to produce Bing Bang Bar (pinball machine). It took him YEARS, lots of complaints and poor communications, project setbacks that ended up costing him more money than he was to make... and yet he Still pulled it off. He could have packed it in, taking others money to cover expenses... and disappearing under bankruptcy.
It really sucks that these people may have lost their money. Its equally sucky that people had to endure all the lies and bs that dave layed down, as well as several years of torment and frustration. However, in the end, there are people that got something that never would have been made by any other company had it not been for dave.
You wont see Randy or Andy making SW yokes. Its simply too costly. And if they did, it probably wouldnt be of the same caliber of quality. (to save money / costs. not that they are not capable of it) They also dont seem to want to invest in the low quantity, low popularity, custom specialty controllers like 720 or Frontline. Theres too much money to produce, too much risk, and probably low returns on investments even IF sales were good, AND if there were no complications in manufacturing.
It would scare me a bit to order from Ram Controls,.. but, by using paypal, one should be able to get the funds back if needed. Most especially with ebay purchases.
Still, I think it would be nice to get out a camcorder, introduce yourself Dan, and show us the inventory via youtube. A great way to put your face to your reputation to instill confidence. The all-black website needs an overhaul too. .. as well as fixing all the 'no picture' place-markers, and poor part browsing / ordering layout.
Ebay sales would also be a good option, because they are all handled with ebay & paypal protection combined, as well as a good feedback system, which makes people feel much safer about things. Even if it costs people a few more dollars , people will pay for the added security.. at least, till your reputation gets well established.
I really hope you can turn the game around, and furthermore, get those vector monitors made as well... before theres no possibility for them to be produced at all. (are there even any tube crt mfg. left???)
Finally, I dont know if it would be a good thing or not.. but you might get more orders with slight 'part' cost reductions. Imop, $25 for a single 14 tooth gear is very hard to swallow... even for a specialty part.
You get stuck in a sort of limbo. Do you spend a possible 150$ in parts and time fixing your existing used assembly... or buy a brand new one? What do you do with the broken one? Cant sell it with a broken gear & deformed spring. Cant recoup the costs already lost on it.. if its going to cost a lot to repair, PLUS the time and energy restoring it.
Finally. to be clear, I dont agree with what Dave did. Hes a poor business man, and has poor understanding about the meaning and value of Honesty and good communication.
I agree that people should be suspect and cautious. However, I dont agree with constant trolling. Unless its towards someone like David Foley, cause he deserves it 1000x over. DF is also a predatory snake in the grass... who had no problem cheating/using others, for personal gains... where as David Adams just tried to use the money towards furthering reproduction efforts. Theres a huge difference between the two.
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Topic: The current status of Ram Controls: (Read 117659 times)
