A Great Retailer Story IMHO

A couple of months ago I got that itch we all know too well. I started wondering if a new set of tube amps would be better than my Hegel H30 mono blocks. I love my H30s but reading Audiogon tends to plant doubts. Could I really achieve a substantial improvement in sound quality? At least half of you seem to think so. Well, I stumbled onto an offer for a set of BAT REX 3 mono blocks. These were “open stock” items and that can mean many things. I emailed the company to express interest. I won’t name them, but it took two emails over a couple of days to get a response. Then it was very slow. Ask a question, wait a couple of days. My patience grew thin, and I found a second company, Music Direct, also offering some open stock REX 3s. I emailed Brian Lickel (blickel@musicdirect.com) and he responded within the hour. Over a couple of days of back and forth, I worked out a deal on a set of amps that had been used as demo equipment but never retailed. I was assured the amps were like new and they came with the full 5-year BAT warranty. Brian then handed me over to Allyson Rupe (arupe@musicdirect.com) to arrange payment and shipping. I live in Canada so it’s a bit of a process. Buying from the U.S. requires the engagement of a customs broker and a lot of paperwork. Allyson stayed on top of the direct money transfers and then offered to have their shipper handle all the customs clearance, at no cost to myself. Shipping was free and not having to hire the broker saved me another $350. Five days later the amps arrived at my door. As Brian promised, they were in perfect condition. But that’s just the beginning.

I had the amps in service for 55 days. I set them up so I could easily go back and forth between the REX and my H30s. I really wanted to hear the difference. I brought others into the room to listen. I played everything from Classical to Rock. Blues to Bluegrass. But there was no noticeable difference between the two sets of amps. Well, there was one difference. The REX 3s put out a tremendous amount of heat. The cost difference between the two amps was $26K for the H30s vs. $40K for the REX 3s. That’s CDN dollars and the discounted price I paid for both sets. Full retail would have been $34K vs. $70K.

So, I contacted Brain and let him know I wanted to return the REX 3s under the Music Direct 60 day, no questions return policy. Brian just asked if I was sure and handed me back to Allyson. I received the RMA number the same day. Allyson then helped me secure all the paperwork the American customs people need to get something back across the border. Really going above and beyond to help me get these amps returned. Three days after they landed at Music Direct, the accounting department wired a full refund back into my bank account.

I can’t say enough about the professionalism and courtesy shown by the people at Music Direct. Nowhere in the entire process was there anything but concern for what I wanted. To be fair, any retailer can be as helpful when it comes to taking your money and shipping the product, but the rubber really hits the road when you ask for all your money back. Music Direct has earned my respect and a customer for life.