Jump to content

Caselabs is shutting down.

Hyperwerk
1 hour ago, Lathlaer said:

TBH I got the impression that they were basically making the cases to order and the wait time was always at least a week if not longer.

Way, way longer, depending on your order, of course.  It took 4 months(!) for me to get mine.

 

Editing Rig: Mac Pro 7,1

System Specs: 3.2GHz 16-core Xeon | 96GB ECC DDR4 | AMD Radeon Pro W6800X Duo | Lots of SSD and NVMe storage |

Audio: Universal Audio Apollo Thunderbolt-3 Interface |

Displays: 3 x LG 32UL950-W displays |

 

Gaming Rig: PC

System Specs:  Asus ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme | AMD 7800X3D | 64GB G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO 6000MHz RAM | NVidia 4090 FE card (OC'd) | Corsair AX1500i power supply | CaseLabs Magnum THW10 case (RIP CaseLabs ) |

Audio:  Sound Blaster AE-9 card | Mackie DL32R Mixer | Sennheiser HDV820 amp | Sennheiser HD820 phones | Rode Broadcaster mic |

Display: Asus PG32UQX 4K/144Hz displayBenQ EW3280U display

Cooling:  2 x EK 140 Revo D5 Pump/Res | EK Quantum Magnitude CPU block | EK 4090FE waterblock | AlphaCool 480mm x 60mm rad | AlphaCool 560mm x 60mm rad | 13 x Noctua 120mm fans | 8 x Noctua 140mm fans | 2 x Aquaero 6XT fan controllers |

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, jasonvp said:

Way, way longer, depending on your order, of course.  It took 4 months(!) for me to get mine.

Even worse then. 

 

I doubt that they were able to literally send dozens of cases every day - if we take that into account then the business model was hardly sustainable. I'm assuming that at some point they got an unexpected influx of orders and since then they have been on a constant backlog, sending probably one case every two weeks (that was ordered months ago).

 

It may sound weird but for a merchandise that had such a slow turnover they probably were not charging enough for them :D

 

The worst thing is that it's easy to say that they should've diversified and made one line of numbered limited edition high quality cases that would build them a brand and make revenue on something good quality but approachable in the cost ($100-200 tops) but I don't think they even had the infrastructure to commit to such scenario.

 

It takes additional space and machines and people to build a case fast and they did not have that. Not when they were struggling to catch up to their usual orders. 

CPU: i7 6950X  |  Motherboard: Asus Rampage V ed. 10  |  RAM: 32 GB Corsair Dominator Platinum Special Edition 3200 MHz (CL14)  |  GPUs: 2x Asus GTX 1080ti SLI 

Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 1 TB M.2 NVME  |  PSU: In Win SIV 1065W 

Cooling: Custom LC 2 x 360mm EK Radiators | EK D5 Pump | EK 250 Reservoir | EK RVE10 Monoblock | EK GPU Blocks & Backplates | Alphacool Fittings & Connectors | Alphacool Glass Tubing

Case: In Win Tou 2.0  |  Display: Alienware AW3418DW  |  Sound: Woo Audio WA8 Eclipse + Focal Utopia Headphones

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Look at what Harley is doing and why

The tariffs are having an affect 2 ways

Materials to make and on shipping out of The us 

@mr moose

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Lathlaer said:

I remember when Jay was talking about visiting them sometime in 2015 - it was a +- 10 man operation with a machine shop, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't have a single case ready for next day shipping. 

 

TBH I got the impression that they were basically making the cases to order and the wait time was always at least a week if not longer.

Their parent company is also going bankrupt.  It has also been reported that they have been having supply issues for more than 3 years now, which is why blaming the tariffs (especially to the degree they have) is disingenuous.

 

8 hours ago, Lathlaer said:

 

The worst thing is that it's easy to say that they should've diversified and made one line of numbered limited edition high quality cases that would build them a brand and make revenue on something good quality but approachable in the cost ($100-200 tops) but I don't think they even had the infrastructure to commit to such scenario.

 

 

Infrastructure is not really the problem if everything else works (a growing business you can build slowly or get a loan to support faster growth).  But mostly the business just isn't in the right location for what they are trying to do (tax, labour cost and logistics, most of which can be offset by the exchange rate alone when importing). 

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, Lathlaer said:

Even worse then. 

 

I doubt that they were able to literally send dozens of cases every day - if we take that into account then the business model was hardly sustainable. I'm assuming that at some point they got an unexpected influx of orders and since then they have been on a constant backlog, sending probably one case every two weeks (that was ordered months ago).

 

It may sound weird but for a merchandise that had such a slow turnover they probably were not charging enough for them :D

 

The worst thing is that it's easy to say that they should've diversified and made one line of numbered limited edition high quality cases that would build them a brand and make revenue on something good quality but approachable in the cost ($100-200 tops) but I don't think they even had the infrastructure to commit to such scenario.

 

It takes additional space and machines and people to build a case fast and they did not have that. Not when they were struggling to catch up to their usual orders. 

What you guys describe sounds like the cost of (inefficient) labor was quite expensive.

The price of material is only a part of the final cost. If material's price is raised 40% by the tariff, the final price should raise by 20% or so at most which shouldn't kill their business outright.

 

I'm leaning on bad management and the tariff was a good way out for them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, mrthuvi said:

What you guys describe sounds like the cost of (inefficient) labor was quite expensive.

The price of material is only a part of the final cost. If material's price is raised 40% by the tariff, the final price should raise by 20% or so at most which shouldn't kill their business outright.

 

I'm leaning on bad management and the tariff was a good way out for them.

And that 40% figure is anecdotal and mostly in regard to steel, the actual aluminium tariff is only 10%, as calculated on the figures Pas008 gave earlier we are talking price hikes for the consumer in the vicinity of $6 a case (when their cases are $600+ that's pretty small increase).

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

To survive as a small US manufacturer, you must diversify your production resources to cater to as many consumer markets as possible. Mnpctech wouldn't have survive if we relied on sales of our custom PC parts alone. We make niche products for other enthusiast hobbies as well. 

17 years of helping you void your warranty

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I looked at caselabs, and found that the Thermaltake Core W100 and W200 was a "Caselabs rip off" yeah a rip off at $300-$400 instead of Caselabs $1,400 price.

It was very Ikea, as in Thermaltake shave some of the costs off by flatpacking it, you need to put it together yourself.

But the finished look is amazing and i bought the WP100 i think it will be my server case for many years to come, great size for all my drives and any need i'll have in the future.

 

Even as an enthusiast building a server i couldn't justify that the case would be worth more than the CPU/Motherboard together costs.

That being said i am lusting for the Spectre for my gaming machine https://www.singularitycases.com/product/spectre/

 

CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | GPU | ASUS TUF RTX3080 | PSU | Corsair RM850i | RAM 2x16GB X5 6000Mhz CL32 MOTHERBOARD | Asus TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WIFI | 
STORAGE 
| 2x Samsung Evo 970 256GB NVME  | COOLING 
| Hard Line Custom Loop O11XL Dynamic + EK Distro + EK Velocity  | MONITOR | Samsung G9 Neo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, mr moose said:

And that 40% figure is anecdotal and mostly in regard to steel, the actual aluminium tariff is only 10%, as calculated on the figures Pas008 gave earlier we are talking price hikes for the consumer in the vicinity of $6 a case (when their cases are $600+ that's pretty small increase).

Yes but what does it cost for exporting to other countries now like i said shipping to other countries became more expensive because of their retaliation tariffs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

13 minutes ago, pas008 said:

Yes but what does it cost for exporting to other countries now like i said shipping to other countries became more expensive because of their retaliation tariffs

I would be more interested to know how many products they actually ship to countries that have retaliated and compare that to when the retaliation actually occurred. 

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, mr moose said:

I would be more interested to know how many products they actually ship to countries that have retaliated and compare that to when the retaliation actually occurred. 

True

I know our exports died down recently and before because of Canadian dollar values but some Canadians come and pick up their orders themselves lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, pas008 said:

True

I know our exports died down recently and before because of Canadian dollar values but some Canadians come and pick up their orders themselves lol

Well, I can't speak for other countries but it has always cost an arm and leg to get anything shipped to Australia from the US (the UK too in many cases).

Grammar and spelling is not indicative of intelligence/knowledge.  Not having the same opinion does not always mean lack of understanding.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, mr moose said:

Well, I can't speak for other countries but it has always cost an arm and leg to get anything shipped to Australia from the US (the UK too in many cases).

Pretty sure it costs almost the same price of a case to be shipped here, and it comes in a flat box to save some $ with dimensions.

Now, if you order in bulk. You will have to pay for the pallet too, let alone the insurance. ggwp. 

|EVGA 850 P2| |1440p PG279Q| |X570 Aorus Extreme| |Ryzen 9 3950x WC| |FE 2080Ti WC|TridentZ Neo 64GB| |Samsung 970 EVO M.2 1TB x3

 |Logitech G900|K70 Cherry MX Speed|  |Logitech Z906 |  |HD650|  |CaseLabs SMA8 (one of the last ones made)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Not surprised to hear this. Its hard being a small operation in the US. Especially when you dont have the economies of scale on your side. Im sure there were many factors besides the tariffs that lead to this. Firstly the supplies of the materials used probably went up, do the the tariffs choking the supply. But if you add in shipping costs which have been increasing. Due to the lack of truck drivers in the US. I live in Metro Detroit. You need a job and your a truck driver, some companies are offering $5000 as a sign on bonus. But if you dont have the Truck drivers to deliver goods, it means those costs also go up. Insurance costs are always increasing. 

 

Case labs only choice would have been to increase the costs to the consumer. Ive seen how much their cases cost. Increasing prices would have not helped as they already were some of the most expensive cases out their. They had a product that only few would buy due to cost.  Thats why Im not surprised to here the news. 

I just want to sit back and watch the world burn. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

On 8/17/2018 at 10:50 AM, Donut417 said:

Not surprised to hear this. Its hard being a small operation in the US. Especially when you dont have the economies of scale on your side. Im sure there were many factors besides the tariffs that lead to this. Firstly the supplies of the materials used probably went up, do the the tariffs choking the supply. But if you add in shipping costs which have been increasing. Due to the lack of truck drivers in the US. I live in Metro Detroit. You need a job and your a truck driver, some companies are offering $5000 as a sign on bonus. But if you dont have the Truck drivers to deliver goods, it means those costs also go up. Insurance costs are always increasing. 

 

Case labs only choice would have been to increase the costs to the consumer. Ive seen how much their cases cost. Increasing prices would have not helped as they already were some of the most expensive cases out their. They had a product that only few would buy due to cost.  Thats why Im not surprised to here the news. 

At that level of cost, another $500 would have been absorbed by the target market easily.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, KarathKasun said:

At that level of cost, another $500 would have been absorbed by the target market easily.

The issue is, they dont have the customer base. They have a few people who like the quality of their product and are willing to pay the price. But for what they were selling cases for, most who bought probably are keeping those cases long term, meaning that Case Labs have less people to market their product to. While I liked the features of their case, I would never spend that kind of money on a case. 

I just want to sit back and watch the world burn. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Just now, Donut417 said:

The issue is, they dont have the customer base. They have a few people who like the quality of their product and are willing to pay the price. But for what they were selling cases for, most who bought probably are keeping those cases long term, meaning that Case Labs have less people to market their product to. While I liked the features of their case, I would never spend that kind of money on a case. 

Sounds like a terrible business model then.

 

They should have focused on accessories and the like that people can afford.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

It is true that the new trade tariffs are destroying a lot of smaller companies. I will not be surprised if many other small companies will close and be forced into bankruptcy. Moreover, I'm sad because Caselabs will not be able to manufacture and sell any of its PC cases.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Maria Phene said:

It is true that the new trade tariffs are destroying a lot of smaller companies. I will not be surprised if many other small companies will close and be forced into bankruptcy. Moreover, I'm sad because Caselabs will not be able to manufacture and sell any of its PC cases.

I'm not seeing that here in the states TBH.  Caselabs failing was Caselabs fault, not a problem brought about by tariffs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now


×