April 10, 2020Apos Updates

Apos Audio COVID-19/Coronavirus Update - April 10, 2020

Introduction

Despite the volatility of the on-going global pandemic, we are doing everything we can to alleviate and mitigate the impact on the quality of our service. At the same time, we are also committed to being candid and transparent with the effort we are making behind the scenes.

Since our last update from March 26, in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the State of California extended the Shelter-in-Place order to May 3rd, 2020. Apos Audio’s Oakland facility will remain closed in compliance with the order.

Rest assured, with the operational changes we've made, we expect no impact on our ability to fulfill new orders on time.

Order Fulfillment

We continue to fulfill more than 99% of orders within one business day. Where possible, we have been pushing our warehouse colleagues to fulfill more orders within the same business day, just to buy us time in case of delays from the shipping network.

As we’ve stated in our previous COVID-19 updates, our Shenzhen Fulfillment Center has implemented multiple check-points to ensure the health and safety of our staff. All areas are being sanitized and the staff is required to wear masks and other protective gear while processing any orders. We’ve also included an additional step of disinfectant spray on all shipments before courier pickup.

Out of an abundance of caution, we have also been including one-time disinfectant wipes in all shipments starting Monday, March 30. We understand that shipments go through many contact points, and the wipes are for you to use as an additional safeguard should you feel the need to do so.

Shipping

We are starting to see part of the international shipping network getting bogged down as a result of the on-going global pandemic. Due to the sharp rise of the numbers of cargo flight cancellations and the increase in international shipping volume out of Hong Kong airport, DHL told us that they are seeing an unprecedented backlog in their Hong Kong hub.

Having said that, we are doing everything we can to mitigate and alleviate the impact on the customer's side. We have been proactively upgrading shipping speed on most of the orders at our expense so it will (1) be ahead of the processing queue in the DHL hubs, and (2) take a more direct/faster route with far less risk for unexpected delays.

Needless to say, we are fully committed to the shipping time of all the orders you entrust us with. And you can continue to expect the usual transit time of 3-7 business days for our Priority Shipping service and 1-3 business days for our Express Shipping service.

Customer Support

Our Support team is continuing to lead the charge of keeping our customers informed with the status of the order as well as resolving potential issues related to an order.

As always, if you have any questions about a product, an order, or a shipment, please do not hesitate to reach out to our Support Team.

Return Policy Extension

In these precarious times, we’d like to make sure our customers don’t feel the need to rush to return an order if it does not work out as expected.

Orders placed between March 1st to May 3rd are eligible to be returned within 60-days of the order or within 30-days after the Shelter-in-Place order is lifted in California, whichever occurs later.

New Products

Our product team has launched the TOPPING E30 DAC. The E30 is the newest DAC by TOPPING that in the true nature of the brand punches above its price point. It uses the AK4493EQ D/A chip and an XMOS interface to hit performance numbers way above its class.

Wrapping up new products, we are very excited about the upcoming TOPPING D90 MQA DAC launch that will be shipping out at the end of the month. In fact, it is already available for pre-order for customers that have been waiting for it.

Our regular business updates on COVID-19 have been greatly appreciated by the community and we’ll continue to provide new information as we adapt to the changing circumstances around us. We are very grateful to all our customers for the support and well wishes they have provided us. It’s always great to hear from you and if you have any suggestions on how we can improve, please feel free to contact us.