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How to select soundproofing suppliers!
When we put up this website in 1998, we were the only
company specializing in sound control materials, even though there were several
companies selling professional sound studio acoustical materials.
These established companies, observing our success over the
years, began adding sound control sections to their websites to take advantage
of the growing awareness of noise pollution by homeowners and the general
public. They began to actually talk sound control with customers, breaking
their long standing rules of only dealing with noise control professionals.
Unfortunately, much of the info they give is couched in specialized, engineering
terms and may not be very practical in the field. Do you really care about "Sabins",
"NRC" and "IIC" terms?
Recently, there has been a explosion of companies wishing
to "cash in" on the soundproofing phenomenon and have studied ours and other
websites and now try to "talk the talk" by selling the same or similar
materials. Some have copied the information from our website virtually
word-for-word! (Even with our spelling errors!).
Because they have very little in the way of costly
overhead, (working from apartments, garages or cheap offices), they try to sell
product for a few pennies cheaper than established reliable companies.
This article is to help the user try to differentiate between their hype and the
real tested resources of practical sound control and reliable suppliers.
Points to consider
before buying sound control materials from ANYONE! (This
applies to dealing with contractors, too!)
Are they established and reliable? (Or just
out for a quick profit?) You can tell if they don't answer the phone and ask
you to leave a call-back number.
Do they just simply agree with your plan or idea and not
offer constructive alternatives or criticism to make sure you get the proper
materials and install it correctly?
Will they just sell you whatever kind of material you
want without any kind of comment as to whether it will do the job?
Are their "Technical Experts" commission salesmen?
Do they hype their
material, offering glowing testimonials?
Do they offer to guarantee results, but have onerous
return policies? (Tell you anything to make the sale).
Do they actually STOCK material or are they just
"Drop Shippers"?
Are they a VERIFIED member of the Better Business
Bureau? (BBS symbols must be clickable).
Do they have a outstanding privacy policy? (Some
don't even have one or a "canned" one forced on them by a web hosting service!
Or don't even know what it means!) Is it hidden? Is the type big enough to
read? Does it actuallyoffer privacy?
Do they have phony "Trust" and "Award" emblems on their
site that do not work for verification? (Not clickable, or send you
around their own site).
Do they wildly extol their own wonderful virtues of
integrity and conscientiousness to allay your fears? (To make a sale, they'll
even tell you they are devout Christians and call you "Brother"!)
Do they give themselves impressive meaningless titles,
such as "Soundproofing Director" or "Sound Conditioning Expert"?
Do they make ridiculous claims as to their
qualifications? (One of our former employees was asked some questions
about sound control by a newspaper, who then mentioned our company and his name in
a general article. He quit and started his own business around the
corner from us in
competition with us, calling himself the "Doctor of Soundproofing, ADVISOR to
the New York Times"! (And several other newspapers who carried the article about us).
Do they knock their competitors with sincere sounding
criticism of them or their products "for the protection of the public"?
Do they offer products with characteristics that cannot
meet specifications? (For instance: "Rubber Expanded Foam"- FAA Approved
for Aircraft). Or "Closed Cell Foam" (Just cheap ineffective neoprene).
Do they offer products that sound and seem the same as
other sound control products but are not? (Neoprene: "Same as mass loaded
vinyl").
Do they offer products with low quoted prices on the
site, but wildly differ when the order is placed?
Do they hit you with exorbitant shipping and handling
charges?
Do they offer low prices and then hit you with a "Order
Processing Fee"? (This fee is proportional to how bad you want it!).
Do they try to add a charge for using a credit card
instead of a money order? Or give you a discount for cash. because they
can't qualify for a credit card merchant account and thusly a shopping cart?
(Or use some other merchants account).
Will they give you specifications of their products and
the Materials Safety Data sheets (MSDS)?
Will they sell you flammable packing material or mattress foam as
acoustic products?
Do they give you copies of their
own approvals and lab burn
tests?
Do they meet shipping deadlines or do you have to keep
calling?
Will they cheerfully accept back your unused product for
credit?
Will you have to worry that you'll not even receive your
order, nor your money back? (Or the correct materials for the job).
If you have problems will they help you or your
installer or just blow you off?
Will you have to contact us after buying from them to
find out where you went wrong?
We offer free, informed, practical and impartial advice.
While some people have taken our time, information and detailed instructions and
shopped elsewhere for materials, they are in the minority. (Probably it
was these competitors calling us for help! We are the ones they turn
to!)
If you like what we do and the way we do it, please
patronize us and become one of our many loyal customers! (You won't be
sorry!)
Some would say you'd have to be nuts to
deal with anyone but us!
Dealing with someone else? Make sure you haven't been
"Doctored"! Call us for a second
opinion!
Careful attention to certain details (not mentioned on the site),
could mean the difference between success and failure of your sound reduction project!
(You'll get these vital details
when you become our customer!)
The Super Soundproofing Staff. We're
real people at a real store! Read
about us in the New York Times and other syndicated newspapers. See our
products featured on the DYI Network: Talk2DYI Episode 414 and now also in
Sunset Books, Tech Living and the GLT.
