How does the old saying go?
Have you heard the story about the two Purepower companies, the one in Canada and the other in Taiwan?
Have you heard that the "###" TV that you buy at Wal-Mart isn't the same "###" TV that you buy at Best Buy?
Have you heard that if you buy a "###' faucet from Lowes or Home Depot, it's not the same "###' faucet that you buy at a plumping supply store?
Chuck
|
I wouldn't do it. Have you checked Amazon? They have a selection of Kef. |
Scamadvisor says they're based in the Ukraine.
Is that enough? |
There is another company based in the east coast that list the wholesale price of name brand audio companies. When I called them they said they could give me 20% over wholesale price listed. When I called the manufacter they told me they are suing this guy and I should stay away. |
I'm not suggesting that you should buy from these guys, but I would venture to say that you probably won't receive a fake or knockoff product if you did.
GP Acoustics, the HK-based company that owns KEF, manufactures loads of consumer electronics and other products for the Best Buys of the world. The reality is, loads of manufactured products get dumped into the secondary (grey) market for reasons that have nothing to do with product quality. Stores close, merge or can't pay their bills. Maybe some distributor took a boatload of product in order to get a higher discount on certain items and dumped the rest. Maybe there are factory seconds; generally cosmetic blems.
If you pay via CC or PayPal you will almost certainly not be harmed financially in the off chance that you don't receive what you think you ordered. |
When I called the manufacturer they told me they are suing this guy and I should stay away. Taters, what else would you expect the manufacturer to say? They are trying to protect their registered dealer channel, and rightly so. But that does not necessarily mean that the goods are compromised or other than advertised. Again, I am not advocating buying audio gear from a discounter, but the fact is that there are sme fantastic deals out there if you know where to look and how to buy. This is unfortunate consequence of life in the internet and global manufacturing age. It's the the consumer wild wild west out there, more so every day. It's not the fault of the B&M stores, or the distributors, or the internet. IMO the manufacturers are too greedy; they want to have their cake and eat it too. Until more manufacturers adopt a more sensible global pricing and distribution model, these kind of issues will become more prevalent. |
The big discount sellers are often not authorized dealers and the manufacturer will not honor the warranty if you don't have a receipt from an authorized dealer. I've even seen a manufacturer say they wouldn't fix grey market gear if you paid them.
I don't know how the unauthorized dealers get their products. You'd think the manufacturers would know where the stuff they're selling is going. |
The big discount sellers are often not authorized dealers That is not always true. Some manufacturers do sell to (or at least tolerate) web discounters, either directly or indirectly, as a way to deal with old, B-stock or overstock goods. and the manufacturer will not honor the warranty if you don't have a receipt from an authorized dealer Ah, that's a whole different kettle of fish. The so-called "Grey Market" has changed completely since I was selling camera and audio gear in my college days (early 80s). This is a topic for a separate, long discussion, but I will say that for every manufacturer who decries the unauthorized market, there is another manufacturer who uses it to their own advantage. Multi-channel marketing is a reality of life - different buyers paying different prices for the same product. The retailers do it too; google the term "dynamic pricing". But with regard to the warranty situation, this was pretty much settled years ago (in most states and in federal court) during the spate of Grey market lawsuits in the 1980s. In general, if the *manufacturer* is responsible for the repair of an object and the customer can prove that they purchased the item new, the manufacturer is responsible for the repair. If the manufacturer's distributor (can be a whole or partially owned subsidiary) is responsible for the repair, then the distributor can refuse repair for any product sold outside it's disty/retail channel. This is why many manfacturers use 3rd party distributors or set up their own. There are several exceptions to these generalized rules, and many manufacturers post rules that are simply not true or legally valid. As a consumer, I would say that this is an assumed risk proposition: how much risk am I willing to take. If I am looking to buy a pair of $600 KEF speakers, I might be prepared to take more risk than if the item was a $6,000 tube amp. Caveat Emptor! |
I thought it seemed very dubious, given the website half works, among other things. After reading the PayPal buyer protection conditions line by line I decided to go for it anyway. I ordered three Anthony Gallo Strada 2 speakers. The dispatch guy called me to check what I wanted declared for import purposes, and they were delivered to me in Australia almost exactly 2 weeks after placing the order.
The Stradas sound fantastic. |
I just wanted to add my story to this feed. I, just today, received my KEF LS50 from Newaudiovideo.com.
First off, yes, it took a week and two days (with the weekend) to get my speakers from Los Angeles to San Jose, but yes, they did arrive. They were packaged from KEF with the KEF embossed tape that was wrapped all around the box. The packaging had never been removed and it was even the newest production of the speaker (without the Anniversary Model silk screened below the driver).
In reference to the comment about the surliness of the person who answers the phone. Yes, he isn't always in the best of moods, but he delivers good customer service. When I received the speakers I was concerned about the the fact that the silk screening was wrong and thought perhaps just maybe they were old production, or God forbid, bootlegs. He took the time to surf with me on the web to find out exactly what was going on and we discovered a blurb by the marketing director of KEF who said that yes indeed the wording had changed on the newest production run.
So, I cannot say anything bad about this dealer. The price was unbelievably good and the customer service was just fine and in the end I have beautiful new speakers. So I say, go for it and enjoy some new equipment! |
I used this dealer as well to order some Monitor Audio Silver 10 speakers. I called them a few times to order the speakers in a different finish than they listed on their website ( I wanted Walnut, they only offered black oak on the web).
The guy was a little surly but he did offer very good overall customer service and got me exactly what I was looking for. Was direct, to the point, and had no time for "niceties."
The product took a few weeks to actually ship, but was brand new. All original packaging and perfect condition when it arrived.
Couldn't be happier with the speakers. |
New Audio Video is listed on the "DO NOT BUY FROM THESE DEALERS" list on Monitor Audio website: http://www.monitoraudiousa.com/dealers/search |
I would not go with a speaker company telling you not to buy from another discount speaker company. They are probably just trying to protect the people who did pay royalty/authorization fees. i would however trust users, who bought. The only negative comment I found regarding NAV was a complete mistake, and buyer gave rebuttal/apology. I am skeptical as well, b/c the speakers are $100 less than anyone else. The site is very detailed, a red flag to me usually comes with a lax web site. They do charge enormous amounts for shipping, but still comes out $100 less. We shall see. |
The problem is when it comes time to honor a warranty repair, the manufacturer may not honor the warranty. I was in contact with another retailer on this site who also offers discounts on equipment that is not usually discounted. I asked him about the warranty and was told that if there ever was a problem, I should send the product back to him for repairs and not send it to the manufacturer. With that information, I decided not to take the chance.
|
I'm rather surprised that no-one has bothered to ask them if they're an authorized dealer for whatever specific brand of equipment they're looking for. I've sent them an email asking if they're an authorized dealer for RBH but haven't heard back yet - probably because it's the weekend. |
I have the same issue with the purchase. It's not Monitor Audio but JBL 4312E speakers. I was told that JBL won't sell them their speakers because
they are 30% cheaper compared to other dealers. It's still on stand by. Will see. NEWAUDIOVIDEO.COM IS NOT AUTHORIZED DEALER.
|
Called New Audio, spoke to the character people have described as rough around the edges, he said they had the Rel sub in stock. Placed my order online. 1 week later, still no sub. Called into their customer service, then got the "ah, we don't have that item in stock, but we can sell you something else?". Said no, please cancel the transaction (I purchased through PayPal). Several days later, transaction still pending... seems shady to me. Wouldn't purchase unless through Paypal, and don't hold your breathe you'll get what you've purchased, even if they verify it is in stock before hand. |
Look at all the folks in here commenting; most have 2 posts or less............. |
Here is a perspective from an authorized dealer, we are factory authorized to sell close to 60 brands and we are a displaying dealer to boot.
You have to ask yourself why would anyone be allowed to sell products at next to 0 margin and why would anyone want to do it.
When you look at profit you need to consider all the factors, for example credit card processing takes 3% if you have to pay incomming freight that also affects you.
Then you have the cost of a warehouse and people to stock it add in advertsing etc and you can see why these are fradulent businesses.
The only business that can run effectively is a supermarket which sells thousands of items a day even with low profit the profits add up.
High end audio by defination is a low volume business, higher profits are required to keep the stores even open.
Add to that if you want to have a store where people can come and listen then you have to pay money for display stock.
If you think that a store can survive on really low profits due to volume you have another thing comming.
Most of the stores that run this model are fradulent opperations.
Support a real store and get the service and support that you should receive and know that you are getting real products with the real warranty support and service that an authorized dealer can provide
Troy
Audio Doctor NJ
|
