A livid Elektron "customer"

On May 2nd I pre-ordered an AR from JRR. I paid $1274.00 for the unit. JRR’s initial order was for 25 units.

On May 14th, I emailed Elektron, after being concerned that only direct orders were being given priority.

Hello Elektron,

I placed my order on May 2nd through JRR shop, Rob @ JRR was my sales person. I believe I am number 15 or 16 on their initial purchase order of 25 units. The funds have already been taken out of my bank account, so I am hesitant to cancel my order and setup a new direct order through the Elektron store.

Is it possible that Rob can setup an order based on my position in the waiting list? Or will JRR be receiving their initial 25 units in a similar timeframe as the next batch of direct orders? I am looking for the quickest solution possible.

Thanks in advance!

-Vince

Here was there response:

Hi Vince,

Glad to hear from you and thank you for supporting Elektron! The demand for our Rytm is incredible, so to the extent that we have a very hard time keeping up with orders as you might understand.

It would be highly inappropriate for Elektron to both comment nor make suggestions on how an end customer should purchase our gear, especially since you initially have chosen to support a retailer of ours. We like to keep a good relationship with both our end customers and our retailers and so, I can only recommend you to stick with your order at JRR.

We also do not reveal any shipment information to someone who is not initially and directly involved in the business aspect of a transaction so please ask JRR for any delivery times as those are the ones you are conducting the business with.

My deepest apology for the wait.

Thank you and hang in there, you will get your unit!

Daniel

So I followed their advice, and I hung in there. (I wish I had never done this, and had just ordered directly).
Fast forward the rest of the summer (75 days), and still no Analog Rytm! So on July 22nd, I sent out another email.

I ordered my Rytm 81 days ago from JRR (I paid in full). I think I am like #2 in line at this point. They haven’t heard from you guys in a few weeks, or received any shipments.

Can you PLEASE send like 3 units to JRR. I’ve waited all summer for this machine!

Thanks

On July 30th, I received this email from Benny @ JRR:

Hi Benny,
Devon here.

More Rytm will hit LA in about 2 weeks, but that could be sooner.
Let’s keep in touch about it.
I’ll have 3 that can go to JRR, maybe more, but no less.
You may pass this info along to your patiently waiting customers.

Thanks Benny,

Devon
Elektron

On Aug 19th, after not hearing anything yet again, I decided to call JRR. They tell me they have been in the dark. So I call Devon @ Elektron in LA. He apologizes and says its possible my unit will ship at the end of next week.
All this time, I could have canceled my order and received a unit by just ordering directly. Of course I didn’t at the suggestion of Elekton (just hang in there!).

Elektron was disingenuous with me. They told me to stick it out with my retailer (which I did) three months ago, and that I would have my unit! This is not the case. On July 30th, after 90 days of waiting, they then gave me the false hope that my unit would be here within two weeks. That was a week ago. They now don’t know when the next batch will ship.

I feel like an asshole for having been duped for so long. Maybe one day I’ll get a machine, but I doubt I’ll ever be, “an Elektron fanboy”. I was very patient and polite for the entirety of the summer, but that has now come and gone, and I must vent my anger and frustration in hopes that you get the message.

Did you think Elektron was going to tell you to ditch a retailer and order directly?

Do you not think that them doing that would hinder Elektron doing business with said retailer?

This is silly.
There has been so much info on this forum about JRR and time frames for the RYTM, did you just get here?

You got the machine for 275 dollars off of the Elektron store price.
Did you not think that might come at a cost?

Sure, I was stoked to get a deal, but my original intention was to get a unit as quickly as possible.

I would have gladly paid the $275 difference to have had a unit in June, or July, or even August! I feel like I kind of have to cancel my order at this point, because they stopped sending units to retailers in early July… so I’ll probably pay full price anyway (not a major concern). As I used to work in audio retail, I like to support audio retailers. JRR have been great, and the LA Elektron guys were very nice, they just all seem to be left in the dark by what is happening in Sweden.

I guess my main gripe is that I kinda feel like I was strung along by the company with a bunch of misinformation. And this was a season ago. Have they not had ample time to fill all the pre-orders for this unit?

paid in full in January from JRR, arrived in May, was first in line. got a rytm with uneven pad pressure and a wonky clap pad and was told i would be put at the bottom of the list (#19?) if I wanted a new unit.

Guess what I did? got a full refund and ordered something else. This wouldn’t be possible with Elektron directly. I will buy a RYTM in the near future from JRR when stock is more plentiful :slight_smile:

definitely sucks waiting so long vinja, I feel ya but don’t worry they won’t be this hard to get a hold of forever.

Hey I’m in the same boat I payed in full and this is week 11 of waiting. I want elektron to know they ain’t the only ones to make drum machines…

It took just a few days shy of 6 full months for me to receive my OT from JRR. Had I purchased it direct or from another retailer, I would have probably received it a bit earlier, as Elektron told me they were shipping again about a month and half before I received mine, but it would have only been about two weeks earlier based on the reports from other people online who received theirs before me. The whole time, what I was told from Elektron and JRR (by way of Elektron, who gave them very few updates in that time) is that it would be “soon”, “two weeks” etc. This definetly has soured me on Elektron a bit, and I’m more inclined to buy used over new now if I get more of their gear.

Elektron claim that they don’t prioritize retailers, but it seems obvious that they do when JRR gets 2 units and Sweetwater gets 40. That, and especially the lack of communication, is frustrating. I can understand that they are in a really tough position right now to meet demand, and from the outside it does look like they are making efforts to improve these areas. Hopefully they will be sorted out in the next year or so.

I ordered from JRR as well on April 9th, received mine August 5th (right before a 2 week camping trip with no electricity, lol).

I’ve now bought my A4 and AR from JRR, and wouldn’t consider buying anywhere else, including my local Moog Audio; yeah, long wait, but in my case it was well worth ordering from JRR both times.

I ordered from a retailer in Japan (no direct orders allowed here) and paid a premium price of ¥174900. That’s over $1800 dollars. I did have to wait around a month but I got it and am happy with it so far. I would have loved to save $500 myself. I ended up selling my OT for the rytm.

I called one store in Amsterdam on August 1st. They had just received 2 rytms. I went there, bought one… And someone else came in at the same time and bought the other. Within a day both were sold. Didn’t realise i was luckey… I didn’t even know it was just released.

sounds very frustrating but problems seem to be related to retailers advertising units for sale or advance order that they have no certainty that they can actually deliver.

it is hardly elektron’s fault if retailers jump the gun on what units they will actually receive and be able to send to customers.

If JRR had a firm commitment from elektron to deliver X units by Y date and elektron failed to do so, then JRR might have a case to make that they’ve been let down on a contractual obligation from elektron.

However if JRR were just speculating on receiving supplies but gave the impression to customers that they are a sure thing, then that is a problem with JRR trying to get customer cash without any certainty of when they can re-send them to the customer. elektron should be unhappy with retailers doing this as the end customer might blame elektron because the retailer over-promised.

I’ve been lucky to have a good experience both directly with elektron and with retailers that genuinely had electron units in stock ready to ship when I called.

Regarding JRR, they only took a 10% deposit from me when I first ordered, and asked for the balance when my AR was due to arrive to them. So funds weren’t held up over the waiting period. I’ve only had positive experiences with these guys.

Yeah this is really a problem with JRR. Taking the whole amount down on product that you’re not sure you have isn’t exactly a straight business practice. Not sure what elektron has to do with this.

This thread should be re-titled ‘A livid JRR customer’!

I realize that this may not be feasible for everyone, but I have always strived to build a strong, lasting relationship with my local music shop.
This alleviates most problems like the one you’re talking about.
I got the AR as soon as it came out. I told my shop that I wanted one, they got a few, gave me a call, put one in a cab, end of story.

Also, my first OT was defective. I simply brought it back to my shop, they gave me a new one and took care of the rest.

In your case, it seems like JRR is the main culprit, not Elektron. JRR are the ones keeping your money, getting interest on it, and not supplying you with the product you’ve paid for. I would be really pissed off, just like you are, but I’m not sure how Elektron could speed up the process in your case. They most certainly have a long waiting list of shops, and there is only so many units they can crank out at once. Clearly, it’s up to the shop to decide who gets the units first. I’d make sure that they’re aware of your discontent.

its not just JRR. when retailers are given an expected date to receive some units and they aren’t delivered, its not the retailers fault. its called pre-order for a reason. it gives you priority when the units finally do arrive. ive been waiting for a few months now and it seems elektron keeps promising shipments but not delivering.

Let me suggest this: never pre-order any piece of musical gear from any retailer, ever. Why? Because this is the kind of thing that always happens. Even though JRR is a great seller, glitches like this happen – other retailers get machines ahead of your retailer, and there you are stuck waiting for months and months.

I didn’t preorder my RYTM. Instead, I waited until an online retailer actually had a unit in stock, and I bought it. My cash wasn’t tied up, and I waited, at most, a week for it to be delivered. I got mine way back in May, I think.

This!
If you give someone your money for something and they can’t tell you when you’ll get that something, you are just asking for trouble.

I don’t understand why the original poster didn’t just cancel his/her order with JRR?

I had pre-ordered the AK with them, but when it became clear that they weren’t getting one for a while, and the Elektron store had them in stock, I cancelled no problem and a refund was issued promptly.

This!
If you give someone your money for something and they can’t tell you when you’ll get that something, you are just asking for trouble.[/quote]
OK: bought from JRR, $130 deposit, and had to wait 4 months, so why would I do that? By my calculation I saved CDN $300-500 over buying it locally or through Elektron. No-brainer decision in my case… :confused: :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I go even further, try a unit in a shop, so I know what it can do
(basing a purchase on others opinions and online demos is :confused: )
and then wait a day or 2 to make sure I want one
(saves buyers remorse :zonked: )
then go buy a new one and open it up and test it in the shop.
(testing the actual unit you buy is paramount to me, saves a lot of hassle :sob: )
Being the first kid on the block to own ‘one’ is for exactly that ‘kids’