Cable Auctions by Manufacturers

>>Why not list the offending party? Cytocycle<<

(1) Because I have already bought 3 cables from them on auction - the first arrived within a week, the second 2 weeks and now the third is still not here, going into the 4th week, so, wanted to know what the consensus of A'goners was concerning this, before publicly outing them. The auction sites never say "ready to ship" or "pre-assembled and ready", so I am giving them the benefit of the doubt. The reason the 3rd is taking so long is that parts are back-ordered and "there is nothing we can do about it". but it seems that the consensus here is that they should be ready to ship by auction end.
(2) Their customer service and responses to questions are otherwise exemplary
(3) The quality and pricing of their cables is absolutely superb and I don't want to harm their reputation and sales unfairly
(4) I would like them to do well and be successful and will use the responses to notify them why they need change their auction policy, so as to be constructive, rather than destructive. It is not as though they are ignoring me - I get courteous, timely responses to all my questions but they seem to be constrained by parts availibility. They obviously dont believe that auction cables should be pre-assembled, so will inform them that most A'goners diasagree - which was the purpose of my post - to get a consensus.
Thanks for all your responses - you gave me, and the Cable manufacturer, the answer.
(5) Bottom line: They are basically an honest and hard-working company and deserve a break in a very competitive market-place - if they were dishonorable or pulling a fast one, I would have named them instantly.

Why not List the offending party? This tends to change the attitude of the manufactures or sellers?

Or at least do it after you eventually receive your cable.. kind like complaining about the food service before you get your meal (spitting your in food)..

I had an experience similar to Pilar in that I lost the auction and got an email asking if I wanted the cables at my lower price - I passed.

I did win another auction, quick communication back and forth with the mfg - while the auction didn't indicate that they had some materials backordered , the mfg was upfront about it, asked if it would present a problem and when I said no, said that they would not bill me until ready to ship. In the end I got the cable within a week.

There was another thread on this a couple of months ago. You might want to check the archives to see if you can find it to get other opinions.

If a cable is hand made with exotic parts, I think it might be expected that there would be some delay in making it since it is probably being made to custom order. However, in my opinion, an auction is for something that already exists and can be shipped immediately. If it doesn't exist, the auction should state so. If a maunfacturer engages in this practice, I think they only hurt themselves with the bad publicity it generates.

I agree with Bill, say they auction an un-made cables that they say is worth $1000 and the auction nets them $114.00 now how hard do you think they will work on making that cable? I would inquire and ask before bid if item is ready to go, if it isnt or they dont reply then run like hell.

Zu Cable cable simply does not auction cables that are out of stock....I realize this is an advanced concept for some.

A product should not be auctioned unless it is ready for immediate delivery.

Any possible delay or waiting time should be explicitly mentioned in the advertisement's text.

All of course, IMO.

If you are buying ready wear off the rack ... payment should be acknowleged within 24 hours and shipped including tracking # within 48 to 72 hours, excluding Weekends and Hoildays/Vaction closuers

If you are buying custom lenghts or product up grades extra consideration must/should be given.

My last wire purchase required hand assembling, and 3 days in cryo tank, plus transit time back and forth to tank(er), plus 6 days on C/Cooker.

Mfger stood in touch through out each and every step of the process easing the agony of anticipation.

No excuse for poor communications and not supplying tracking number.

ATB Dave

Small cable manufacturers use auctions to sell multiple cables to anyone who bids. I learned this the hard way. Got beat out on a winning bid but got an email that the winner didn't pay so I could have the cable for my lesser bid.

Of course the available cables went to the winning bidder and I was left to wait 4 wks for my pair to be made up. Either you have the product to sell or you don't. Don't try to use auctions to generate multiple sales.

PS- the cables (speaker) were absolutely horrible. If you've ever wondered if cables make a difference it was eye opening how bad these were even in a modest system.

Yes but how long would it take Zu to turn them around if they were not in stock?

In my experience also, Zu Cable turns them around usually in a day, never more than 2 (except weekends).

All hail and grovel the great Zu the infallable Zu supreme we are not worthy.

I won a Zu Xaus phono cable on e-bay from Zu Cable.
From payment to front porch was 3 days. They shipped Fed-Ex Ground included in price.

In many cases, those manufacturers whom you've won the auction have yet to make the cable. That can take anywhere from several days to a couple weeks. A friend of mine, had this experience recently. His took 2 weeks from auction to delivery. This may or may not be the case with your situation. Followup with phone calls/emails.