just got burned on ebay...

[zumbo]

Here is an idea for you that I would do for sure... I would find a store like Best Buy or Curcuit City, or for me future shop since it is in Canada and buy the exact same receiver for full price. Then bring it home, open the box and put the broken receiver in it. Go back to the store in the morning and bring back the busted unit saying you want a refund because the unit did not work upon arrival and you found another product you want at another store...

With there 30 day no questions asked warranty it would be no problem. I have done it myself at future shop with rear speakers that I broke and had no warranty to cover. It took about 15 mins of my time.

Hope this helps,
MAX...

Trust me, if your stores in the states are anything like future shop here, some other poor schmuck wont get stuck with it! they will send it back to yamaha for credit...

one of my best friends has worked for future shop for years, he always tells me not to buy the extended warranty and if there is a problem with whatever I bought after the 30 day return period, come back and buy the same thing and then switch it. It's not about ethics, it's about trying to help a poor college kid trying to get a receiver that works...

MAX,

you forget, you dont even need the box to be able to return an item. Only the receipt...

You can say I am unethical, but the fact is it has worked for me.

SQ Kid I didn't realize we were not talking about the current line up, Sorry for your loss if this matter does not get resolved. I was just trying to give you options.

MAX,

You suck! Plain and simple. If I get kicked off for saying you are scum, then so be it. How can you sleep at night you (*&^^*$#^*&$$*((()&&&!
It is people like you who drive up the cost of audio.

 

[MAX661]

Maybe I suck, But this is what I was told to do from my friend who has worked at future shop for years. So I did and it worked. "hate me if you like"

Like the person said a few posts ago, If the store has a broken unit they will happily sell it to you and hope you dont care enough to bring it back. Atleast my buddy sends the product back to the manufacturer so it can be repaired up to brand new "working" specs and the store is credited the cost of the unit.

And from what he has told me the store is not sent any units with an SN assigned to the store. It is up to the clerk to record the SN of the unit upon sale. A practice he has told me none of the employee's follow.

So please explain how I drive up the cost of audio equipment, let me break it down for you:

You buy a receiver for say $5000, the store pays about $2000, the manufacturer pays about $500 to make it. When the manufacturer gets the unit back they "fix" or "refurbish" the unit. Costs them less than $50 usually, they send it back to the store "as new" when it is clearly not and then sell it to a customer for full price.

This is how he explains it to me, so if I am wrong then maybe it's my source. But we have been friends for years and he helps me with most of my purchases. He tells me every salesman on the floor can discount any item in the store 10% without loosing a penny from their commish, yet they do not try to pass the savings on to you unless you pry or act uniterested. His "motto" which he has passed on to me is "Home Theater prices are so overblown that if you can save a penny, take it and put it somewhere else in your system" The mark-ups on speakers and accessories is insane. A cable I would have to pay $200 for he gets for $80 taxes included.

Forgive me for trying to help "a poor college kid" as he put it, instead of a billion dollar company that would suck your pockets dry if you let them.

MAX,

 

[sjdgpt]

You suck! Plain and simple. If I get kicked off for saying you are scum, then so be it. How can you sleep at night you (*&^^*$#^*&$$*((()&&&!
It is people like you who drive up the cost of audio.

It is "people" like him that cost you and me every time we open our wallets. Fortunately, my friends in law enforcement are aware that his kind exist, and my only hope is that my best friend is standing behind him the next time he tries one of these acts.

Like I said before... 5-10 in your friendly local prison.

 

[sjdgpt]

the store is not sent any units with an SN assigned to the store. It is up to the clerk to record the SN of the unit upon sale.

Let's see. I am the Vice President of the family business. That means I am an officer of the corporation entitled to full disclosure of confidential business information.

So a clerk, a position that does not entail the person being entitled for full disclousre of business information, has told you that the manufacturers don't record SN's?


From my experience, even when the manufacturer does not report the SN on our sales invoices {which most do}, the manufacture has recorded those SN for their internal records. Experience says the manufacturer is fully aware of the product that has been sold to our business, and has demonstrated their knowledge by recalling ONE piece of equipment sold in a group of 180, or tracing a customer complaint to our business through the SN.

So a clerk has told you that the manufacturers don't record SN's? How would he/she know? I have in my business files copies of manufacturer's invoices that are to the contrary. What does your clerk friend have to support his/her claim? Maybe the clerk fails to record the SN of the unit sold by him/her. But do you think a responsible business would maintain their own internal inventory without actually recording the SN of the goods in their possession?

they send it back to the store "as new" when it is clearly not and then sell it to a customer for full price.

If you know of one instance that a manufacturer has removed a SN, altered or repaired the goods, and attached a new SN to the item, and then proceeded to sell the item as "A" goods, PLEASE let me know. In many jurisdictions that would be considered a criminal act.



The next time you want to state facts that a clerk has told you, maybe you want to check with your brain before you open your mouth.

 

[MAX661]

The next time you want to state facts that a clerk has told you, maybe you want to check with your brain before you open your mouth.

As I said in my post, I do not work for the store my friend does so I take his word since he handles all of my transactions there. I also said if I am wrong maybe it is the info I received from my source. People ask me how I sleep at night, yet I continue to reply polite while people call me scum and insult me. How do you guys sleep at night treating people the way you do with the words you choose to structure your sentances with?

Once again I am not making you guys pay anymore for your products then you already do, The fact is prices go up because we will continue to keep paying them and companies know there are many "early adopters for the latest and greatest" equipment. Add to that the fact of inflation costs added in everyday life.

Once again all I did was repeat advice that was given to me from a friend when I was in a similar position. Maybe it's different for me since he handles the transaction from the sale to the return, I dont know! I never meant any ill intent, I just wanted to help a poor college kid because I have been in the same positions before.

Maybe my advice wasn't the best, but I only gave an option to someone that was given to me and helped me out of a jam. You can continue to call me names or whatever makes you happy, but once again I ment no "Ill Intent"

MAX,

 

[rgriffin25]

I think the point Max is missing is that two wrongs do not make a Right. I hate to say it, but when you make a purchase on ebay getting a defective product is a chance you take. I hope I don't sound unsympathetic sq kid, and this might sound kind of weird, but when I buy something on ebay I make sure I am saving enough on the price to cover any repairs. Have you considered taking the receiver to a repair center? Often the cost to repair is far less than buying another receiver. If anything you can get an esimate on what the repairs might cost. (It might even help you find out if the receiver was damaged during shipping. i.e. dropped)

Sorry to hear about your misfortune!

 

[SQ Kid]

well, i checked with an authorized Yamaha repair center, and the very minimun is $80 for labor, plus whatever the parts cost. i ran across a couple of people (and they were a minute percentage of owners), and with them it was the dsp board and cost much more than i paid for the entire reciever. but, if it comes down to it, i may have to bite the bullet on this one if things dont work out with ebay and paypal.

 

[crashguy]

Hey MAX661, that's what I call FRAUD. It's a crime. Just a hint for the future. The next post you add to this thread should read "What a dumb idea that was, it sux to be ripped off on ebay." That will make the flaming stop.

I future, don't suggest someone commit a crime to deal with a problem. I don't believe that's the kind of advice anyone is looking for on a legit forum like this with intelligent people. I know you fell like an idiot for posting that (or you should). Instead of trying to defend the dumb suggestion, suck it up, and admit it was dumb. Then change your user id so we can forget you said it.

I'm a cop (yes cops can be audio nuts), and what you did, I call councilling an offence. That too is a crime. Give your head a shake dude.

 

[WorkerBee]

Maxx,
Some people will disagree with this but avoid eBay. If you are looking for stereo equipment your chances may be better at Audiogon.com or other forums classified ads. There are no promises you won't get ripped off but in "my opinion" it is a bit safer. Take a bit of advice from me
Right now there is a killer deal on a used Harmon Kardon 7200 over at home theatre spot that I would like to have. I think you will find much more honest people at the forums.
I also always heard you get what you paid for.

 

[woodman]

So please explain how I drive up the cost of audio equipment, let me break it down for you:

You buy a receiver for say $5000, the store pays about $2000, the manufacturer pays about $500 to make it. When the manufacturer gets the unit back they "fix" or "refurbish" the unit. Costs them less than $50 usually, they send it back to the store "as new" when it is clearly not and then sell it to a customer for full price.

This is how he explains it to me, so if I am wrong then maybe it's my source.

His "motto" which he has passed on to me is "Home Theater prices are so overblown that if you can save a penny, take it and put it somewhere else in your system" The mark-ups on speakers and accessories is insane. A cable I would have to pay $200 for he gets for $80 taxes included.

Forgive me for trying to help "a poor college kid" as he put it, instead of a billion dollar company that would suck your pockets dry if you let them.

MAX,

Well, MAX not only is your friendly advice to the original poster to commit what as others have already pointed out is a crime in order to resolve his "problem" ... from what I've quoted from you here indicates that you are totally clueless about the realities of C-E pricing (or your friend is and is feeding you very misleading info on the subject). Whatever you think about BestBuy or CircuitCity or FutureShop is your perogative, but you can put any thoughts that they're out to "suck your pockets dry if you let them" right out of your head. They are merely trying to survive - and hopefully make a profit in an industry where profitibility is a very scarce commodity! Believe me ... I've spent my entire lifetime in it, and I know that the C-E industry teeters precipitously on the brink of being a non-profit enterprise a good part of the time!

Sure, cables are often exhorbitantly overpriced - especially the product bearing the name Monster. But beyond that, profit margins are not what the retailers would like to have to work with - mostly far less than what most people believe them to be. Your example of a receiver that carries a pricetag of $5,000 is purchased by the retailer for $2,000 is so far off base as to be laughable. Boy, how they wish that they had margins like that to work with. Additionally, a returned product is never refurbished and then sent back into the retail pipeline as anything other than "B" merchandise ... ever. To do so, would put the mfg. in the very awkward position of being guilty of perpetrating fraud on the public. This is something that I wouldn't expect any mfg. to do. FUGGITABOUDIT!

p.s. Your friend is also being overcharged when he pays $80 for that $200 cable. The margins in those products are far greater than that - especially if the brand name that's attached is "Monster".

 

[MAX661]

If the profits aren't as large as you say, then please explain how I saved over $5000 on my speakers alone and the store still made money? or the $2000 I saved on my RX-Z9 receiver? How about the other $3500 I saved on my TV and the $1100 I got discounted from my subs?

Speaker stands that I paid $34 for, retail for $149.99... And the list goes on.

On my entire system I saved close too, if not more than $15K on TV, Stand, Speakers, Subs, Remote, Cables, DVD player, Power Center, Voltage Stabilizer, Speaker Stands and light dimmers.

But yet the store is still happy to serve me and make a very nice profit on top...

The only things in my system that weren't discounted are the game systems, other than that you would be amazed how low they can go... and all of this except for the Monster stuff was done on my own without my friend. Just talking to a salesman I had never met before at a more high-end store.

 

[Rob Babcock]

What kind of speakers did you buy that you got $5k off the price? And what kind of TV?

 

[MAX661]

I have the:
Def Tech BP7000sc Cdn MSRP = $6999.99+tax = $8049.98, paid = $5000
Def Tech CLR3000 Cdn MSRP = $1499.99 +tax = $1724.98, paid = $1150
Def Tech BPVX/P Cdn MSRP = $1999.99 +tax = $2299.98, paid = $1500
Total = $12074.94, paid = $7650

The TV is:
Sony KDF60XS955 MSRP = $6499.99 +tax = $7473.85
SUGW12 cdn MSrp = $1149.99 +tax = $1322.38
% year warranty = $579.99 +tax = $666.98
Total $9493.21, paid 6K flat

 

[Audioholics]

Maxx,
Some people will disagree with this but avoid eBay.

Maxx, I would ask you to avoid eBay simply because if you are willing to rip off a storefront, who knows what you'd be willing to do to an anonymous buyer.

Please refrain from posting "suggestions" on these forums that are flat-out illegal. I am not interested in your flexible moral reasons or excuses - this has got to be one of the dumbest things I've heard anyone admit in a long time.

Doing what you did is bad enough - advertising it and telling others to do it is incomprehensible. Please try to refrain from defending yourself.