Says right on their website:
- Return requests made between 15 and 45 days after the order is marked as delivered will be subject to a 20% Processing Fee*.
I found it in about 30 seconds.
Caveat Emptor
I almost never post and never have submitted a bad review but my experience with Apos Audio requires me to do such.
I ordered a DAC from them and they sent wrong color. I tried to contact them via phone and the only way to get someone's attention is through email. They gave a slight refund if I wanted to keep the DAC which I accepted. Then when I hooked it up it would not work correctly. They offered suggestions on a possible fix which I tried all to no avail. I asked to send the unit back to get refund and that is when the issue on a 20% restocking fee was communicated to me due to having it longer than the time allowed. This was not acceptable to me as I had to wait for their response between emails. I sent the unit back and filed a dispute with Paypal and it took me 3 weeks from the time they received it to get my money. I will never buy from them again and will give my business to Mother Amazon where returns are much simpler and I don't have to write numerous emails to get refund.
Just a heads up to all.
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Thanks for the heads up. After reading their "defective on arrival" policy and their regular "return policy" I would not hesitate to order from them and have thus bookmarked their site for future consideration. If anything you should apologize to them for not reading the fine print and not returning the defective item immediately. They allow a 45 day return policy (20% restocking) but if the item is defective on arrival you must report it within 7 days, receive their prepaid shipping label, and they even give you another 5 days to drop it off to the shipper! Or get a full refund!
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Here is a chronological chain of events: The following is a chronological sequence of events which I believe purports to the waiver of any restocking fee: |
Welcome to the world of ChiFi. Where the products are cheap and even 1/2 of the work. I bought a Cheap ultrasonic record cleaner off of walMarts site. I just figured that they had at least reviewed this company. So I was safe..... The cleaner came with the wrong US cleaner itself. I was quite satisfied with the quality of the rest ofm the unit. So I asked them to send me the US cleaner for exchange. TI had to instead, box up the whole thing and send it back. Then I would have to reorder it. I got the $$$ back and went elsewhare Ordered it elsewhere and all was well except the plug for the record spinner motor. They sent a new one but it had to come from china so was 2 weeks getting here. they have a 30 day return but it was 25 days before I could use it. Bottom line is that Chinese customer service is NOT on par with what we used to get. Our is going in their direction though. They are used to waiting for everything. OTOH, the machine is good and works well. The only thing to replace is a motor and a US cleaner itself Those are easily replaced. |
just so folks are clear, and not conflating chi-fi and so on, with all the negativity that is often associated with it... apos is a california based stocking retailer, in berkeley/oakland specifically they retail many of the chi-fi made brands/dacs, headphone amps, power supplies, etc etc -- along with headphones, cables made elsewhere, including in the usa and europe but this retailer is american, serves the usa market, and deals with returns, info requests, warranty issues etc for all products it sells, china sourced or otherwise |
Looking at their site, I'd guess that 95% of their inventory is made in China. They say, They are "partners" with these brands. So you have an American company selling Chinese gear. Was the faulty gear that OP had made in china? Most likely. Anyone remember why Grant Fidelity quit selling Psvane tubes? They reported that the Chinese company wanted to dictate policy to them, the seller. does this happen at Apos? They have a lot of convoluted policies which seem contradictory to me. 45 day return with all sorts of stipulations. Any way you slice it, Chinese policy has its fingerprints all over this including only email communication when a telephone call could take care of the problem much quicker and easier. Two reasons come to mind. Email is much more anonymous and buys them time for these caveats so they get more of the customers $$$. Then the other possible reason for no phone calls. Could it be that this American company has very few who speak English My point is that there are cultural differences in the ways and expectations of these 2 countries. Different expectations are one of the main reason for customer complaints. However if you are willing to tolerate these differences and the problems which often arise then go ahead with the purchase. But don't come crying when the $200 saved results in $500 worth of loss, grief and irritation |
That is absurd! The 20% restocking fee is designed to enable one to audition equipment in their own home w/ their particular equipment to see if it sounds good. We know some equipment requires breaking in to sound its best. If the equipment is defective, a full refund or replacement should be honored at no additional cost! I’ve owned successful businesses for over 40 years & would never treat one of my customers so poorly. |
Thanks for posting. I think what is important is that it appears you alerted them to issues with the unit within the time frame they outline for no restocking fee. They had you try fixes, instead of immediately shipping another, which were unsuccessful. I am surprised that they even attempted a restock fee when it appears you alerted them timely of a problem and it was defective. Plus, restock fees are not applied to defective products, in my experience. Heck, I hope they don’t ’re-stock’ it or resell it at a discount, which is how sellers cover selling opened stock. It can be tricky when a seller does not use phones and I am unsure if my email or online for went through. Glad it all worked out. |
Thanks. I tried everything in my power to make it work so I could enjoy and not send back and miss listening to music. It would be nice if possible to pick up the phone and discuss with someone but when I called the number listed on their website all I got was a recording and not even able to leave a message. I am happy others have had good experiences with them but once they made an error in sending me the wrong color I thought they would have taken the extra steps to make this right instead I got push back during the whole process. I can't recall the last time something like this rose to the frustration level this did. The have lost a customer for life.
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with all due respect, this is speculation on your part, and painting with a very broad brush i have had no problems with apos, bought, item delivered, returned within return period, full refund in 2021, their 20% restocking may not have been in effect since then, but even so, within 15 days it does not apply... of course my good experience does not mean apos is perfect, hasn't changed for the worse in the meantime, and others haven’t had a bad time, but my data point is just that, a real data point other points to note - iirc when i have gone to apos’ website during business hours there is a chat function, you get a live person i dealt with a person at apos when i returned my dac by the name of john soriano (john.soriano@apos.audio) - maybe this is really a chinese guy named chang who doesn’t speak english, using a fake email name... 😂 |
It isn’t speculation at all. Grant Fidelity wrote of their experience when they announced they would no longer sell Psvane tubes anymore. The other parts are my personal experience in buying an ultrasonic cleaner. The 1st one sent the wrong thing and wanted me to reorder, instead of replacing the wrong cleaner. You could tell by the writing that English was not their customary language. I just sent it back for refund. The 2nd company was better. They even had a tel # to call. However the cleaner came with the wrong power module for the motor. The people were friendly when I called and informed me in broken English that the part had to come from China and would be 2-3 weeks (thus making the 30 day return of no value) Normal customer service would have sent that piece right away, not 2-3 weeks I also read apos audio terms and would not deal with them. But I’m glad you had a good experience. |
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i am sorry you had that bad experience with the ultrasonic cleaner... but just so i am clear, you bought those cleaners, and had the negative experiences ( folks with bad english and all) with apos? sorry if i missed it if you posted this clearly earlier ... my point about the ’broad brush’ is that if your experiences were in fact not with apos, and you are assigning these negative traits and factors to apos and this thread (given the op’s beef with apos) just because they sell chi-fi gear... doesn't seem fair to me not that i am invested in any way in protecting apos - i just bought a topping mqa dac from them last year, tried it, then returned it, and that is all i ever had to do with them.... but the person i dealt with to handle the return authorization was an american dude, and return shipping was to oakland ca... so i think, in this particular case at least, the folks at apos and the chi fi brands that sell through them to usa customers are in fact trying to improve on the kind of situations you allude to - to be sure, there are pitfalls to buying straight from a china vendor in say, shenzhen, then the awkwardness of returning it or needing support when the product arrives another separate, interesting, positive example is alvin chee at vinshine, based in singapore of all places, selling denafrips dacs, and supporting customers in the usa excellently (see the other live thread on denafrips, with plenty of happy, appreciative customers) - his responsiveness as a retailer is well documented by many and the product is good - alvin has also set up two usa service centers in the usa to support that brand... |
