Ordering a Bokrand Tonearm

[kodomo]

hope all is resolved now then

No, nothing sadly...

 

[alfredbokrand]

Call me heartless but being opaque with customers, regardless of personal circumstances, isn’t professional. Mr. Bokrand may be an artisan running a small business, but it’s still a business, one that clearly has working capital issues. Unfortunately it appears most customers learn this after the fact.

I don't have a business or a business. I do it all as a hobby and, given the prices I pay for the tonearms, I don't even earn as much per hour as a cleaning lady, but she can't make tonearms.

Haven't you read my open and honest letter here on the forum? But you should do this before you accuse someone of something: allegations have no place in a correct conversation. How can you prove your allegations? I have all my information in mine statement and can prove everything in writing if requested.

You could also accuse someone of sneaking around houses at night and looking into bedroom windows or of being a child molester.

So please no comments with insinuations or: I mean
or I believe.

I've never done anything like this in my 10 years of making tonearms.

I have verifiably never made a statement on eBay about my abilities, my person and certainly not about my tonearms.

I always advertised: the best 12" tonearm?

but always with a question mark, so no claim from me personally. I always wrote:
That's what my customers say about my tonearms and that's why I've only ever published the positive feedback from some customers in written form.

I would be happy if my customers would play music with my tonearms and accuse correct people of bad things.

I am not a dealer or a seller with a business.

Therefore, customers should inform themselves carefully and not expect the usual as in a shop or company.

I am 74 years old and do this for joy and as a hobby.

I have all of this here in my honest and open statement
published. I don't have to hide

 

[alfredbokrand]

No, nothing sadly...

Dear Sami,

It's now 2:30 at night here and I'm still working. The first series of the IMPROVED tonearm had to be changed, something like that can't be done in a few days. Large tonearm manufacturers have a whole team for this, but I'm solely responsible for everything.

I was only able to assemble a sample of the 2nd series today, the parts weren't available before.

I will send you pictures of it tomorrow and make a video on YouTube. Then I can also tell you when
first delivery can be expected.

So please be patient, thank you

 

[alfredbokrand]

Hi Alfred. This is Sami Okan Soylu. I have sent an email to you with my bank account details and I am waiting for the refund.

I respected your situation for over 10 months. There are many emails in between with many excuses and some where you say you are going to send me my tonearm in a week... I will complain until the situation is corrected. I will include these emails too in future complaints and I will do it not just here but in all audio forums I know of and send emails to paypal and ebay as well.

For the rest of the forum members, If Alfred refunds me I will let people here know about it. Also for everybody to see, here is the email confirmation that he sent on 21st of January 2023, stating he has received the funds.

if I had enough money available (but I don't have this with my low prices for my tonearms) or I would get a bank loan, I would be happy to immediately send their money back to all customers who are still waiting for their tonearm.

Then all the often inaccurate and assumed things about me would finally stop here.

At the moment there are only a few nasty comments here


But I can prove that I have over 600 satisfied customers all over the world, before I got so sick that I couldn't work for a long time and that's why these enormous delays in delivery occurred.
I have saved around 22,000 emails over the years and can always provide written evidence of everything I write and say

Does anyone here really believe that this current situation isn't bothering me? I've had to go to the emergency room several times because of heart problems.

 

[Salectric]

If he can’t deliver product within a reasonable time after an order is placed and paid for, he shouldn’t continue to advertise. Soliciting new customers in order to get cash to make good on previous orders is just plain wrong.

 

[cuntigh]

if I had enough money available (but I don't have this with my low prices for my tonearms) or I would get a bank loan, I would be happy to immediately send their money back to all customers who are still waiting for their tonearm.

Then all the often inaccurate and assumed things about me would finally stop here.

At the moment there are only a few nasty comments here


But I can prove that I have over 600 satisfied customers all over the world, before I got so sick that I couldn't work for a long time and that's why these enormous delays in delivery occurred.
I have saved around 22,000 emails over the years and can always provide written evidence of everything I write and say

Does anyone here really believe that this current situation isn't bothering me? I've had to go to the emergency room several times because of heart problems.

Alfred,
If only you just choose to tell, from the beginning to all your customers « I have to warn you that the waiting time is xxx months long », maybe some would say No thanks : their choice, and you wouldn’t care about that because money is not your priority, but the ones you would make the choice to order wouldn’t become angry against you. Decware is the good example for that. Transparency is honesty.

 

[cuntigh]

I really can’t understand why you continue to say all your potential clients that their tonearm will be ready in the next 2 weeks as the whole audiophile community knows now this is not true, and this can’t be possible, because
- you work alone,
-with low margins that can’t make possible to stockpile tonearms to modify (as I understand from your claims)
- your health is fluctuant
- other valuable reasons.
This is beyond my understanding. If you’re a honest man (and we know, in the end, you are) : why you don’t tell the truth from the beginning ?

 

[td124]

Hello, I am new to this forum, but I ordered my 2nd Bokrand arm September 2022, first arm is the 12" Banana i bought a year or so earlier. I bought both direct with bank transfer.
Over that long period, I have spoken to Alfred several times, exchanged several mails.
While the long wait is a bit frustrating, it is good to see that some are getting delivered and hope my order will follow soon.
Hi Alfred, if you read this, my arm is the 10" J-shape for Hendrik.

Since I posted this, I have had a few more phonecalls and email exchanges with Alfred.
I did get a UPS number and my arm is supposed to be shipped today. Alfred also send me some photos of the finished arm, so I think I am good for getting it delivered in the next days.

 

[BassKulcha]

I may be stirring a hornet's nest here, but does anyone have experience with the new Bokrand sand-blasted brass (and silver-painted arm tube) design? Apparently the texture reduces resonance (Mr Bokrand claims that EMT is doing something similar... )

I'm not sure I'm a fan, aesthetically, of the new overall textured mat brass coloration. Granted, I'm only looking at pictures and a video online, but to me it looks a little...cheap?

Thoughts?

PS. I must be totally nuts for even contemplating purchasing a Bokrand tonearm after reading through this thread. Addicts gonna be addicts I guess...

Oh, here's a link to a video he put out yesterday on YouTube about the new tonearm:

 

[viliuset]

Since I posted this, I have had a few more phonecalls and email exchanges with Alfred.
I did get a UPS number and my arm is supposed to be shipped today. Alfred also send me some photos of the finished arm, so I think I am good for getting it delivered in the next days.

Lucky you! But off course you've been waiting much longer than me. I only ordered a couple of months ago, Alfred promised a delivery in 7 days, then after a while promised again the next day, then again and again.
Now promised to update on delivery times, but no answer. If I knew this I never would have ordered because I do not have any tonearm at the moment.

 

[td124]

Since I posted this, I have had a few more phonecalls and email exchanges with Alfred.
I did get a UPS number and my arm is supposed to be shipped today. Alfred also send me some photos of the finished arm, so I think I am good for getting it delivered in the next days.

So today the arm arrived. As I unpacked I noticed that the pillar had been cut through almost completely. Really puzzled and unhappy about this. Compared this to my earlier 12" and there is no cut. See picture.
Does anyone else have the pillar cut? Just wondering if this is a bug or a feature, I have asked Alfred for clarification.

 

[td124]

So today the arm arrived. As I unpacked I noticed that the pillar had been cut through almost completely. Really puzzled and unhappy about this. Compared this to my earlier 12" and there is no cut. See picture.
Does anyone else have the pillar cut? Just wondering if this is a bug or a feature, I have asked Alfred for clarification.

Reply from Alfred: "Jeder weiß das meine Tonarme auf dem pillar vom AS 212 aufgebaut sind.Der Schlitz ist original von Ortofon, je nach Ausführung auch mal ohne Schlitz ,weil Ortofon dann ein kurzes Horizontal Lager eingebaut hat.Der Schlitz hat keinen negativen einfluss."

So basically this is an original Ortofon factory cut, used for short horizontal bearings. I learned something new today.
Attached picture courtesy from Alfred.

 

[Dannie Burger]

Hello,

my name is Dannie. Starting to post here because like anyone else here I'm waiting for my Bokrand tonearm. I already have one that a friend of mine will get after I receive my new tonearm.

I ordered my tonearm the 15th of April 2023

I have so so communication with Alfred. Sometimes he reply's, sometimes he doesn't at all

It surprises me that he continues to create new products, new improvements on the tonearms and doesn't put all his time and efforts in finishing orders and create a transparent system of orders and waiting times.

I know Alfred reads these posts, so please Alfred, if you read this, give some reaction to my emails.

 

[viliuset]

I have so so communication with Alfred. Sometimes he reply's, sometimes he doesn't at all

Please let us know if you get any response. I've been trying to get some estimates on when the tonearm is ready to ship but no answer. Only "when the new parts arrive". Every week there seems to be new parts arriving, no clarification, no nothing, I'm so fed up with it.

 

[Dannie Burger]

Please let us know if you get any response. I've been trying to get some estimates on when the tonearm is ready to ship but no answer. Only "when the new parts arrive". Every week there seems to be new parts arriving, no clarification, no nothing, I'm so fed up with it.

Well, like I said I already have one tonearm from Alfred, directly ordered from him about two years ago. I trust everything will be ok in the end. Such a good technician, but with such a strange way of taking and completing orders.

Let's hope he puts his health first place and second finishing orders. Will keep you all posted.

 

[MarcusD]

OK,
This thread is almost 2 years old and from the first post it is bemoaning slow delivery and poor contact, I find it hard to have sympathy for people who have ordered in the last year when this thread is so easy to find.
I have purchased 2 tonearms from Alfred, both were slow to arrive (but they did arrive) and he could be a bit patchy on communication. IF YOU DESPERATLEY NEED A TONEARM OR HAVE A NERVOUS DISPOSITION THEN DO NOT ORDER A BOKRAND ARM. If you read this thread and still believe you will get an arm posted to you after 10 business days then you know that your stupidity is more to blame than Alfred.

 

[Kjetil]

I ordered my AS-230 17. August 2022. It arrived 31. January 2023.

 

[Dannie Burger]

OK,
This thread is almost 2 years old and from the first post it is bemoaning slow delivery and poor contact, I find it hard to have sympathy for people who have ordered in the last year when this thread is so easy to find.
I have purchased 2 tonearms from Alfred, both were slow to arrive (but they did arrive) and he could be a bit patchy on communication. IF YOU DESPERATLEY NEED A TONEARM OR HAVE A NERVOUS DISPOSITION THEN DO NOT ORDER A BOKRAND ARM. If you read this thread and still believe you will get an arm posted to you after 10 business days then you know that your stupidity is more to blame than Alfred.

Can’t agree with you on this one. Many of us will order without the knowledge of this thread and with all the promises Alfred makes with his customers.

I know Alfred delivers in the end, but when, how and after how many emails you never know.

Another thing is: if you just wait there are even situations where Alfred explains he ‘forgot’ about your tonearm. So you have to keep mailing him.

 

[td124]

So who has been waiting the longest?
I ordered and paid via direct bank transfer on 20th of September 2022, package arrived 30th of November 2023. It's been quite a very long wait, but now the arm is setup and all is well.

 

[Kjetil]

Nice headshell too!