Tvad, at this time the price of the Caravelles includes the pair of dedicated "latticework" Sistrum-design platforms(stands) that come with the Caravelles at the $5k price. They are designed as a package, and the stands are included in the price, as part of the package.
However, I must advise that these stands went really far over budget, and it is quite possible in the near future that we will be forced to raise the price because of this. We are contemplating a less-costly pair of Sistrum-designed stands as an alternative. The purchaser could then select which stands he wishes to purchase along with the speakers, depending upon how much he wishes to spend.
At this time, we are "eating" the difference in price, just to hold our predetermined price point for introduction. But I don't think we can do this for long. At this time, there is very little profit margin in these speakers/stands, and if we used "normal" pricing structures that included "normal" dealer markups, the Caravelles/stands would have a retail cost of nearly double what we are selling them for now.
Truthfully, the early purchasers of the Caravelles are getting a fantastic deal for the price, because of this unusual low profit/high manufacturing cost ratio. As I said, I'm not sure how long we can go on at this price point. We're trying everything possible to streamline the production to keep the cost down. Right now, with the low production and complexity and cost of manufacture, these Caravelles are essentially "custom hand made" speakers. That's why we are perpetually behind schedule on these.
If we get enough orders in, perhaps we can take better advantages of "economies of scale" in manufacturing larger numbers. This would help us to hold the price.
However, they can still be had for the $5k price including the stands. We will announce any upcoming price increases, but I'm giving a fair "heads-up" advisement about it right now. We'll keep the $5k price, but it may be with the less costly stands for that amount in the future. The fancier "latticework" stands that we have now, will likely be an option at added expense at some relatively early point down the road.
