2. misc-audio
  3. 174534-102527

Buyer Dispute

I would like to have some opinions of a remedy for this issue:

I purchased a pair of B&W 804D3 loudspeakers through Audiogon in August 2021. They were shipped in original containers by freight. The boxes arrived damaged with some holes in the boxes, but no damage to the speakers accept for one very small spot, which could be repaired with a drop of stain. However, neither tweeter was functioning. A multimeter revealed an open circuit across both voice coils. The seller said that they worked before shipping but offered to send me replacement tweeters under the previous owner' warranty which I agreed to. However, and here is the rub; Because of supply chain issues, Bowers and Wilkins did not, and still does not have the tweeters in stock. I have been waiting 6 months for the seller to provide the replacements from B&W, but they continue to be out of stock. In short, I paid nearly $7,000 in August 2021 for speakers that I still cannot listen to.

Any opinion on a path to resolution?

 

kirbymydog
homer_skins's avatar
homer_skins
32 posts
 

Dude, that Seller is full of sh$t!! Those tweeters were toast when he packed them up. He did you wrong on purpose, no forgiveness when it comes to that kind of money. Open a dispute NOW with PayPal or it will haunt you forever. Good luck! Dana

frogman
7,441 posts
 

OP, don’t mean to cause you additional worry, but have you confirmed with B&W that replacement tweeters DO NOT have to be matched in order to meet their design goal? Does B&W match the tweeters used in these speakers? Perhaps not. Some manufacturers use only matched pairs for some of their models. I went through this with speakers using Dynaudio tweeters that needed replacement. The new tweeters were simply stock replacements (not matched as were the originals) and the result was a slight but audible reduction in image stability.  

kirbymydog OP
36 posts
 

I have not confirmed that. I will pose the question to their support staff.

bheyamoto
17 posts
 

So what were/are the shipping terms?  FOB "shipping point" or "destination".  That will tell you who owned what, when.  If you own it, you probably just wait (assuming the part is on order).  If they owned it during shipment, send it back.  Two tweeters going out during shipment????  Helloooooooo! 

limomangus's avatar
limomangus
1,426 posts
 

I have bought 2 pre amps on audiogon...know what happened? I had to eat the buy....So now have to preamps which are now it the boxes they came in...Buyer Beware....you may end up with a Big Door Stopped....

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