Feeler: Chinese K47/CK12 Capsule Groupbuy

[Haberdasher]

Hi

I had originally said 1 or 2 47's, an 87 and a ck12.  It looks like the 87's aren't happening right now, so I wanted to change mine to

3x 47 and 2x ck12

good?

 

[Nikbeat]

Hello Is it too late for a last order?
I would Like 3xK47 1XC12
I'm a Noob here do I have to PM  Banzai with this order or is this it?

 

[Khron]

Just posting in this thread should do it That's how everyone else placed their order, to the best of my knowledge.

 

[Will F]

I'd like to join this group buy if it's still open. Now that it appears we're waiting to get 100 ck12 orders as well, I guess I'm not sure how the minimums apply to the orders and capsule types. What I would like to order if possible is:

3x k47 and 2x ck12

And Banzai, you are a benevolent being. Thank you so much for organizing this for the community.

 

[Khron]

Yes, we're still waiting to gather 100 CK12 orders, but at this rate, that should be covered within the next day or two ;D

 

[Rossi]

Hey, I'm in for

4x K47 capsules!

Cheers, Rossi

 

[K1TTENM1TTEN]

Hey everyone! I am new here, but was just directed here from a thread on GS. I have never heard of this site, and I am thrilled to now be a part of the community here!

I am absolutely excited about this buying opportunity! If it is not too late, I would love to add my order to the lot.

Few quick questions:
1) I have read through this thread, but I just wanted to be absolutely sure on some stuff real quick. Are these actually the exactly same capsules that Microphone-Parts.com uses, or are they just similar? I've heard great things about the capsules from that site, and just want to make sure that these would be the same ones/same quality. 

2) Also, I saw that there is a general price range of $20-30 per capsule,  is that price range dependent upon how many are ordered total, or does the price flux per model?

3) How does shipping on this group buy work? Does that "per capsule price" include shipping the capsules to my place?

 

[Khron]

Now we talking about 34mm K47 with plastic ring from ISK.
Banzai gave me information, that ISK is the same factory capsule as i buying from World Gain Trade.
Basic on my experience with World Gain Trade K47, this is exactly the same capsule as microphone parts was selling not so long time ago. They have changed rings for brass probably from marketing reasons. Except the ring everything else is the same.
I had the opportunity to compare plastic and brass and they sound exactly the same.
If you will put on the screws black paint or black marker you will get also MJE-K47 from the 3rd picture:

http://www.oktavamodshop.com/product_info.php?cPath=1_46&products_id=183

It's difficult to establish what is or isn't acceptable at $26, but quality wise, there's no reason for it to be of any lesser quality than the identical K47 capsule sold by online DIY vendors: as these factories are all about maximising profits, it's safe to assume our batch will be produced inside a much bigger commercial order for 500 or 1'000pcs., all made to the same standard.

However, because of the Chinese New-Year holidays coming up, the leadtime they confirmed is at double to triple their usual delay. What that means in practice for us, whether we order now or at the end of January, the delivery date would be practically the same.

Another colleague of mine also recommended we avoid ordering anything during the rush leading up to the holidays, as the quality of output from China usually drops quite a bit. So what I'm thinking is we wait it out, using this extra time to get more people involved, and order all three types of capsules: CK12, K87, and K47.

The capsules we'll buy are the microphoneparts.com model numbers RK12, RK47 and RK87.  The CK12 is definitely used by Telefunken for their AR-51, but for the K87/K47, the only one I can think of is Mojave (someone else might have some other commercial examples of their implementation?).

The factory pricing for each is:
CK12 – $28.80
K47 - $27.50
K87 – $26.50

Regarding shipping, considering the minute size of these capsules, there's no reason to expect anything more than a few bucks, methinks

 

[59flame]

since no k87s please update mine to 3 k47's and 1 c12.  That is just negating the 2 k87s  and adding I extra k47 from my previous order

 

[K1TTENM1TTEN]

Thanks for the help on those questions!

Do you guys order these very often, or is this like a once a year kind of deal?

So the K87 is now officially off the table?

 

[Khron]

If i'm not much mistaken, this is the first one Thanks again, Banzai!!! But, as he said, *IF* things go smoothly enough this time, there's no reason why not to do another one, later down the line.

Regarding the K87's, if you look at the totals of the capsules ordered so far (as of 16 hours ago, anyway) in the first post... You'll see why

In the poll up top you'll see that most people have agreed to wait to reach the 100pcs MOQ for the CK12's as well, because it was right around the corner. The same can't be said for the K87's though.

Granted, in theory, we COULD reach 100pcs of K87's ordered by the time we reach the same for the CK12's, but the chances are.... quite slim, let's say

 

[K1TTENM1TTEN]

Well I am super excited, four for the price of one is certainly an intriguing opportunity to say the least.

Last set o' questions:
How do we do the money when the time comes?
Do these come with saddles as well? If not, is there a place that you recommend getting capsule saddles from?

 

[Khron]

Wanting to keep everything as affordable as possible, we should discuss the best way to proceed with the next step:

The payment to China for the capsules will be in USD, paid by bank transfer. The bank account connected to my Paypal is in CHF, so that would mean putting all of your payments through 2 unnecessary currency conversions: the first USD to CHF when withdrawing the funds to my account, and the second CHF to USD when transferring to China. Paypal's spreads for currency conversions being terrible, this will have a noticeable impact on our costs.

Is there anybody with a USD bank account connected to their Paypal who could receive all of these payments instead? If we can avoid even a single conversion, then that's what we should do.

If we can't figure out a better way, we'll have to go for payments in CHF through Paypal. Then a single conversion to USD.

I don't know if this help, i can always send my payment with bank transfer in euro.

Yeah, that's no problem. If everyone needs them, we should definitely do with.
I'm guessing it'll be between $1-$3 more per capsule.

Is it possible to get mounts with these?
If not, what do you suggest for the mounts?

Cheers.

Both 

Mounting post or plastic pedestal?

 

[onday]

Hey,

I'm keen for these.

Please count me in for:
2x47's
2x12's

Cheers,
Andre

 

[ln76d]

Update of my order

If there is a chance for K12 i would ask for:

(2 x K12)  and (5 x K47)

If we only stay with K47 order then i ask for:

(6xK47)

 

[Khron]

There's more than a chance for CK12's, we're just holding off the ordering until we reach min. 100pcs of those too

PS: Your inbox seems to be full

 

[fsalter]

So no 87 for now. Damn shame.  Then please change my order from 2X47's and 2X87's  to  3x 47's and 1x C12.
Thanks again for this.

 

[K1TTENM1TTEN]

I am down for eight ( 8 ) K47 and four ( 4 ) C12s. If the K87's make their comeback, I would also like two ( 2 ) K87's. 

I apologize for all of the questions, I am just trying to still get what is going on, I've never been a part of an online co-op styled order. Just a few more -

I saw something earlier about needing someone with a USD Paypal account from page 9, and then you just posted the quote. Did that issue get resolved yet? (I have a USD linked Paypal account, and I certainly would not mind helping if I can).  But is the company that we are ordering from reputable, as with this much money being wire transferred from a bank, wouldn't that be more risk prone to being ripped off and non-reimbursable coming from a bank transfer rather than just sending the payment from Paypal itself?  Also wouldn't everyone's money go through a conversion to USD  (I am assuming that a majority of people here are not in the US, hence this issue) and thus lose some money via Paypal conversion - so is the difference going to be made up by the person needing to convert the money, or is the costs of the conversion going to be split all ways and part of everyone's costs? And I guess I am still a little confused about how the items are going to be paid for/shipped out when the capsules come in. Who/where are the capsules going to be shipping from? I assume everyone's caps are going to one person's place straight from the factory, and then the caps will be redistributed from whoever is receiving the order, right? If so, would each person then be individually responsible for paying shipping costs from the location of the person who is redistributing them?

Again, sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to get all of my ducks in a row on this one

 

[Khron]

As far as i know, we've pretty much settled on Paypal-ing Banzai the money (in CHF), which he'll then send via bank transfer to the factory.

From what i've read on the first few pages, initially the K47's (only) were going to be ordered from the Shuai-Yin factory, shortly before they discontinued them. Then, the decision was made to place the orders with ISK (who, apart from bare capsules, also make several own-branded mics, as well as OEM/rebranded ones), and it's been generally agreed that the sound and the quality of them should be fine.

From that, i'm guessing they oughtta be a serious-enough company What exact "difference going to be made up" do you mean, though?

Since Banzai organized this whole shindig, he'll be placing the order and then redistributing the capsules - he's based in Switzerland (hence the CHF mentioned above). And yes, i think the shipping costs will end up being a few extra bucks on top, but shouldn't be much

No worries - "the only stupid questions are the ones that are left unanswered" I'm just sorry if / that i don't quite have all the answers you'd need/want

 

[Banzai]

To answer some of the remaining questions:

– We're still open: the more we are, the cheaper it gets for everyone.

– All capsules come with mounting hardware included (mounts and screws) at the prices listed:
    CK12 – CHF 28.80
    K47 - CHF 27.50
    K87 – CHF 26.50

– Everyone pays their own Paypal fees. If you have a Paypal balance, you can transfer the money for free.

– I'll pay for the shipping from China to here and then split it equally between everyone participating. We'll add that to the individual shipping cost, charged as a second payment.

– Shipping from here (insured priority shipping w/tracking):
France/Switzerland – under €10, will check
Rest of EU - €16,00
Rest of world – CHF 20,00

– K87 looks pretty dead, not enough interest.