Although we don't actually work in one, we are still a "cottage" industry. All of our components are assembled by hand in our own workshops, not mass produced in a factory or out-sourced overseas. We typically build to order and rarely maintain an inventory of finished pieces. In addition, we like to run every unit for about 100 hours and evaluate it prior to shipping to make sure the sound is as it should be. That way, when it arrives, your component is already burned-in and ready to play.   Prices for all products are listed on their respective pages. Because we don't have a formal order form, we ask that you contact us by eMail or give us a call to initiate a purchase. We'll be happy to answer any questions and explain the upgrades and options.   When you're ready to make a purchase, we'll send you an itemized invoice, including the cost of delivery. We can usually give you an approximate delivery date at that time, too. A 50% deposit is required before we can begin fabrication, with the balance due prior to shipping.   Major components are usually sent by FedEx Ground, with any special crating or preparation included in the shipping cost. Small items, such as cables or power cords, as well as orders whose destination is outside of the US, are sent via Priority Mail or EMS (Express Mail Service). Items whose value is $500 or greater will usually require a signature upon delivery. Depending on where you live and what you purchase, we will suggest the safest, most secure method available.   Deliveries to addresses within New York State are subject to local sales tax for the total amount, including shipping. Pick-up at our workshop in Troy, NY, is also subject to an 8% local sales tax.   Customs duty and broker fees for overseas sales are the responsibility of the purchaser and shipments can only be insured for their declared value.   Payment Methods   Payment can be made by: Personal check on orders from the US and Canada. Canadian cheques can be in $CDN at the current exchange rate, without conversion charges added. However, all goods may be held for up to 30 days prior to shipping until your check/cheque clears our bank.   Certified check, money order, or bank draft in US Dollars payable on a US bank. Outside of the US, worldwide branches of CitiBank offer this service.   Credit Card charges through PayPal. Please add 3% to your total order to cover part of the additional fees that PayPal charges us. If you pay by direct withdrawal from your bank account through PayPal, that fee can be waived. Contact us for additional details.   In the near future, we will be able to accept VISA and MasterCard payments directly.   Electronic currency transfer from Canada or Mexico or bank draft from all other countries (including Canada and Mexico) via XEtrade. XEtrade provide an international currency transfer service, but requires you to open an account first (it may take several days to set up). Bank drafts are free, but wire transfers may be subject to a $20 fee at your end.   Located in Canada, XEtrade is the home of the Universal Currency Converter and is a service that we've used for many years to make purchases around the world. While it may seem complex at first, it is a secure means of transferring funds across international borders at little or no cost to either party.   Direct wire transfer from your bank to ours. The additional fee that our bank charges us to accept direct transfers (about $50), will be added to your purchase. Because of an increase of fraud eminating from Africa, Indonesia, and certain other countries, we reserve the right to refuse sales to certain countries or individuals whose method of payment appears to be dubious or illegal. Under certain circumstances, we may ask you to send verifiable proof of identity or address.   Satisfaction Guaranteed!   Because we feel our components are the best you can buy, regardless of price, we offer them with a 30 day money back guaranty, no questions asked, beginning on the day they arrive at your door. Audition them at your convenience in your own listening room for a month and if you're not fully satisfied, return them in the original condition and we'll even refund the cost of shipping both ways.*   *Continental USA only. For off-shore orders, including Alaska and Hawaii, we'll give you a shipping credit of $100. Repair or replacement charges apply to items returned in damaged or blemished condition.   Warranty   Our normal warranty is 10 years for parts and labor, 90 days for vacuum tubes.   Price Policy   Because we sell directly to you, our prices are wholesale to all. Typically, 40% of your purchase represents our actual cost of materials, including OEM and/or quantity discounts. Another 20% covers labor, 20% goes toward overhead and advertising, and the remaining 20% is the profit which we share.   If our products were offered in a high-end retail environment with traditional markups, supported by a major advertising campaign, and featured at prominent trade shows, they would sell in the $12,000-$20,000 price range, perhaps even higher. For a direct comparison, the well-regarded (even by us) Lamm ML2.1 SET mono amplifier retails for $29,290 per pair. By all appearances, the circuit and parts quality are all on a level with our own Model 302 SET amplifier, which we sell for about 2/3 less. The price difference is mainly due to Lamm's higher overhead, including advertising and markups. Consider this: a double-page, full color ad in Stereophile can cost up to $15,000 per issue. That expenditure doesn't come out of a company's profit -- it's simply added to the cost of manufacturing and folded into the retail price. We could take out those ads, too, but they would easily add several thousand dollars to the price of every component without adding any real value.   In addition, even if you could duplicate our components on your own, you would still spend the same amount. Why? Because many of the parts we use can only be sourced business-to-business with a 100 piece or $1,000 minimum purchase per item. Most of our component parts are custom made and are not readily available from DIY or electronics retailers. Those that are will often cost you double what we pay for them. While nominally equivalent parts might measure the same, the sound would be completely different and would most likely be inferior. Add in assembly time, including your learning curve, and it could easily take you several weeks, working full time, just to build the 1.1 Control Preamplifier. After all that effort and expense, there would still be no warranty on the finished product.   Because we offer our products for less than half of what they would retail for under a conventional business model, we regret that except for the occasional mailing list special, we cannot offer any further discounts.   Tempo Electric LLC PO Box 770 Saratoga Springs, NY 12866-0770 USA   (518) 542-7004   If you reach our voice mail, please leave the best time to return your call. You can always contact us by eMail instead and we will try to reply within 24 hours.