09/11/2026
🚨IMPORTANT UPDATE — AMERICAN HARD BAG / HERTZ SUBWOOFER ORDERS🚨
We owe everyone waiting on our new American Hard Bag modular subwoofer enclosures with Hertz subwoofers an update — and first and foremost, an apology.
This shipment has taken considerably longer than anyone anticipated. We’ve had estimated arrival dates change multiple times, and we know how frustrating that is when you’ve already spent your money and are waiting on your system.
We want to be completely transparent about what’s happened, where the product is today, and what Volunteer Audio is doing about it.
IT STARTED WITH TYPHOON DOLPHIN
Our container was originally scheduled to be loaded aboard its ship around August 21st.
Earlier in August, Typhoon Dolphin disrupted operations around the major Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan shipping ports. Ships were delayed, port operations were interrupted, and a significant backlog developed that continued affecting vessel schedules after the storm itself had passed.
By the time we reached our original August 21st loading window, the shipping system was still working through those delays.
Our container ultimately wasn’t loaded in Shanghai until August 25th — approximately four days later than originally planned.
Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.
THEN CAME TYPHOON SAUDEL
Just as our container was finally getting loaded and underway, Typhoon Saudel created another round of severe-weather disruptions in the region.
According to the shipping information we’ve received on our particular shipment, after getting out of port and into the South China Sea, the vessel encountered additional severe-weather restrictions and was held up for approximately 10 more days before being allowed to continue its voyage.
So this wasn’t one simple delay.
Typhoon Dolphin disrupts the ports → the backlog pushes our original August 21st loading back → our container finally loads August 25th → Typhoon Saudel and additional severe weather create another disruption → our ship loses approximately another 10 days.
And unfortunately, the problem doesn’t end when the weather clears.
When large numbers of ships are delayed, all of those vessels still have to get back into the shipping schedule. Then they begin reaching destination ports later and closer together, where they still have to be assigned berths, unloaded, processed and transferred.
It creates a domino effect across the entire supply chain.
That’s why the estimated arrival date we’ve been receiving has changed multiple times and continued getting pushed farther back.
A shipment we originally expected to have around the first week of September is now showing an estimated arrival at the Port of Long Beach around September 24th.
It’s honestly incredible that a shipment that should have been here during the first week of September can end up arriving at the West Coast near the end of the month.
We are frustrated too, and we’re truly sorry that our customers have had to wait through it.
IF YOU ARE WAITING ON HERTZ SUBS, THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT:
Volunteer Audio purchased every production Hertz subwoofer that was available for these systems.
There isn’t another batch of Hertz subs sitting at the factory that we can simply put on an airplane.
We bought the available production inventory. It’s ours. And it’s on this container.
We’ve asked about air freight. We’ve looked at expediting. We’re currently working on the possibility of diverting product directly to our supplier’s location in Southern California once the container reaches Long Beach and then air-freighting or second-day airing product to Volunteer Audio in Tennessee.
We’re willing to spend a substantial amount of additional money to shorten this delay wherever we possibly can.
But when it comes specifically to the Hertz subwoofers, there simply aren’t any more available to air freight.
We cannot air-freight something that doesn’t exist.
The production Hertz subs we’re waiting for are already on the water, and unfortunately, there isn’t anything Volunteer Audio, Hertz or American Hard Bag can do to make that ship move faster.
That’s how limited the Hertz inventory situation is right now:
Even Volunteer Audio doesn’t have production Hertz subs in our own demo bike.
The Hertz subs currently playing in our demo bike are the original PROTOTYPES.
We have 100+ customers currently waiting on Hertz systems, and when the production Hertz subs arrive, those customers are our priority.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR SMOKY MOUNTAIN BIKE WEEK?
This delay has significantly affected our plans as well.
Volunteer Audio will be working Smoky Mountain Bike Week, and our crew has to begin setting up on September 24th.
The rally begins September 26th and runs through October 4th.
We have been extremely excited about bringing these new American Hard Bag modular subwoofer systems to the rally. Our original plan was to have inventory there so people could hear them on our demo bikes, purchase them, and even have systems installed during the event.
Unfortunately, our container is now showing an estimated arrival at the Port of Long Beach on the same day we’re supposed to begin setting up for the rally — September 24th.
So we’re making some changes.
We are currently looking at air-freighting Velocity subwoofers into the country because additional Velocity inventory can be produced and shipped by air.
Our goal is to have the Velocity version of these modular subwoofer systems available at Smoky Mountain Bike Week so people can hear them and, hopefully, purchase and have them installed during the rally.
But we want to be very clear about the Hertz version:
We do NOT plan to have production Hertz subs available for sale or installation at the rally.
If that container arrives as currently projected and we begin receiving Hertz inventory during the week of the rally, those subs are not going into show inventory.
They’re going into boxes.
Every Hertz subwoofer we receive will immediately begin shipping to the 100+ customers who have already ordered and have patiently waited through these delays.
We believe that’s the right thing to do.
We’re not going to take Hertz subs to an event and sell them to someone who walks up to our booth while customers who trusted us with their money weeks ago are still waiting on theirs.
Existing Hertz customers come first. Period.
PLEASE STILL COME SEE US AT SMOKY MOUNTAIN BIKE WEEK!
We should still have our Hertz demo bike at the rally — but remember, even that bike is running the original prototype Hertz subwoofers because we don’t have production inventory sitting here.
Come hear it.
And hopefully we’ll also have the new Velocity subwoofer systems there for demonstration, purchase and installation.
We’ve been incredibly excited about these systems, and while we’re disappointed that these shipping delays have changed our plans, we genuinely believe these subs are going to be worth the wait.
Most importantly, to every customer who has already trusted Volunteer Audio with your money:
THANK YOU.
Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your understanding. And thank you for continuing to trust us while we’ve worked through something that has largely been outside of our control.
We’re spending additional money, making the phone calls, looking at expedited freight, air freight, second-day shipping and every reasonable option available to shorten this delay.
We will continue giving you the best information we have at the time we have it.
If the September 24th estimate changes, we’ll tell you.
If we find a way to get them here faster, we’ll tell you.
We’re not going to hide from a delay just because it’s outside our control. We’re going to keep you informed until every one of these orders is fulfilled.
Thank you again for your patience and for trusting Volunteer Audio.
— Jay & the Volunteer Audio Team
