I agree, but I also wonder, when AV123 was doing its best, was there enough to satisfy the obligations?
IMO, yes if there was proper fiscal responsibility.
I said...
Well, he was living high and mighty. Weeks or months in China and Russia on the stupidest of reasons that no one questioned. Bills that came due on all sorts of things. The amp(s) fiasco(s), Cali was stupid but sort of hard to walk away from if someone's going to float you net 30's and net 60's.
Why are you posting crap like this..
It speaks to matters concerning money and the ability of AV123 to meet its obligations.
Mac, most of the trips to my understanding were taken for extended periods of time. Weeks and months at a time. That's been stated as a matter of fact by MLS and has been corroborated by employees and close assosiates as well as business partners. Whether it's obvious or not, I'm stating that Mark in that respect essentially told the truth. Even with a place to stay and a car provided (not owned by MLS), that consumes significant money.
The amp thing, and that's not just the MFW's, were a fiasco and AV123 and/or Mark had to eat a signficant amount of monies as well as lost revenues across the entire product line. That's a matter of fact too.
I said...
Well, he was living high and mighty. Weeks or months in China and Russia on the stupidest of reasons that no one questioned.
What has this to do with anything about the charities or raffles..Do you have any right to question why the man was there...no..you don't...Do you know if he was there conducting other business..no..you don't...Why is it he has to check in with folks like you to do these things..?
AV123/MLS's problems are not solely limited to charities and raffles. Apart from what's owed, I posted the fact the raffles were illegal in Colorado with penalties that due to the amounts and frequencies are quite substantial. That's not me outright wondering and imagining things. You don't honestly think that's not going to play a role in a future that looms increasingly closer?
The larger picture is cash, cash flow, and other financial obligations. Gonk has mentioned that at least 72K is owed for the dead in the water RS-II project. To that you have the substantial store credits, coupons, refunds, undelivered but paid for product and certain employees/contractors who have not been compensated in a timely fashion. Don't forget to add the $100K Notice of Election and Demand he has on his primary residence.
Right to question? I have every right to question their frequency and duration as anyone. You have the right to not question them at all. Mac, I've worked for companies that by no stretch can be considered as small businesses and taken trips overseas. Month long trips? If his reasoning was as he has stated which was to oversee operations and bring American concepts of quality control, just how did that work out? Bum amps in more than one product line, poorly assembled speakers, people having to measure spacings in order to get the right grills, miswired crossovers, drivers that needed replacements, veneer issues, nail pops, etc. How successful were those trips? If anyone here went away for those periods of time for those stated reasons, they'd be fired for those results. When the president of the company comes back with those results, where does the buck stop? What does it tell anyone about how successful he is at implementing a quality product and a quality operation?
As to checking in with me? Nope he doesn't have to. He's the president. Care to give him a grade on how he did and is doing?
I wrote...
The amp(s) fiasco(s), Cali was stupid but sort of hard to walk away from if someone's going to float you net 30's and net 60's.
You state this as facts Chu...do you have the paper to back this up..or is this just another way of putting out numbers some some will take it as facts?
The amps for the MFW and other subs were a fiasco. You've read about it. As to Cali being stupid, consider that Cali and Santiago had no experience in the commericial production of wood based furniture products. I consider speakers to be a form of furniture. They were a business involved in things like metal and concrete. A CNC machine(s) came later and there was 0 years experience in its use. But you need this kind of stuff if you're going to crank out lots of something reproducibly and save on labor costs.
I'm going to assume that you don't know what something like a net 60 or 2% net 30 means. These are payment terms. In the first case it means you order a product and you get a bill. You've got 60 days from receipt to pay the bill in full. In the second case, you've got 30 days to pay the bill in full and if you pay within 15 days, you get a 2% discount. There are of course variations on this. If you pay late, you've got to pay an additional percentage more and that goes up as the time increases in pre-defined increments. So, there are incentives and penalties. The upshot is that when you can strike terms like this you can improve your cash flow. Mark had such favorable terms (fact) with Cali. It's common in business. The utter willingness of someone to provide space, workers, equipment, take care of the boxing and shipping, pay the salaries, and everything else including favorable terms was a compelling reason to go with Cali.
I say Cali was a mistake. Rejects were high. A lot of B & C product came in. There were the documented issues with cement dust contaminating the speaker area. There was the documented issue of a screw up by one of Santiago's relatives when it came to incorrectly determining the cost of goods. Mark was selling speakers at a loss! There were the documented issues of the wrong kind of glue being used. They allegedly wound up trashing all the RS-II prototypes they made because they were defective. This sounds like it wasn't a mistake?
I said...
I know I don't have all the numbers, the profit margins, and all that.
No kidding...then why are you trying state things as facts then...I am just trying to figure anything why this is important or pertinent with regards to any of this..
I didn't state them as to the penny facts, Mac. I'm coming up with what I consider reasonable estimates of current sales. We all know Mark exaggerates. Curtis said he's been told take what Mark tells you and cut it in half. From what I see, it's more like 1/3. We all know there haven't been many shipments. Mark has said so himself. We all know sales are in the shitter. He's laid off or fired sales people. He basically has cut any advertising to zero. Can't find an AV123 ad except maybe on The Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
It's said the relationship between what it costs to make a speaker and get it out the door compared to what it sells is maybe 1:4, 1:5. Maybe Mark makes them for even less. Let's be really generous and say 1:8. That'd be remarkable. So, if he's selling $500,000 now, it's costing him a little over $60K. He's got to pay things like the lease or rent on the building, utilities, commissions, health care, local/state/federal taxes, salaries for himself & Suzanne (she's the VP after all), put cash aside for operating expenses and to fund new purchases of product, insurance, etc.
Yet you say why is all that relevent to the issue at hand which you state are largely raffles/charities (I say there's far more)? Mac. Do some ballpark math. Start subtracting from that very generous $500,000 in sales and very favorable cost to sell a product. What's left? There's a reason why Mark is incredibly vague and evasive.
I said...
But even if I crank them favorably (very large profit margins), I just don't see enough money to satisfy the obligations in a timely manner
See above...you admit you don't know..but you still try to make assumptions and estimates..You can't...you can only guess..
This is the type of crap that is pure BS...Sure..I can see how it might entertain some here..but I can also see how it is slanting everything against the man as well..This may give you credibility with those that hate and despise Mark for the things he's done..but not in my book..nor in many others eyes
If you have facts Chu..post them..Don't post conjecture..or BS just to slant things as you have in the past and how you are currently doing..This is my opinion of what I see you doing..and why..
I know this won't set well with many here Chu...and I am sorry if it offends anyone..but..this type of stuff needs to have a disclaimer on it..
Django1...why should folks step up and defend Mark here..? Most folks don't want to get raked over the coals..that's why..
Mac, I'm making some very kind and generous assumptions. The monies he needs aren't there. There's no BS. The conjecture I think is reasonable. There's no slant. As to a disclaimer, I've already said my amounts were estimates. Call them guesses if you will. I sure as hell don't see anything to indicate vigorous sales.
As to other matters, Mac, with all due respect, get off your *** and make some private inquiries on your own and see what you're told. Evaluate accordingly.
