The story I'm about to tell does not reflect in anyway any purposely wrongdoing by TMR. I have dealt with TMR in the past and although there was a glitch, they went out of their way to rectify it and all ended well; so, I know they are good guys that practice good business. However, the other day I purchased, and by purchase, I mean moved into a cart and then pressed the pay button for a pair of Gallo speakers. To my surprise I received an SMS saying my card was charged on the one hand, and at the same time I've received a Message that the speakers have already been sold to someone else. This is the short end of the story; the full story shows up a few posts below. I admit at first I've been very upset and I started this post in a different way, it parked a lot of reaction, most of it in favor of TMR which I find to be great, but the real question I want to ask and this is regardless of if it happened with TMR or with any other venue, is, how can it be that once you move any product into a cart and press the pay button within a few moments the product can be sold simultaneously to another buyer? isn't there any smarter way to prevent such an incident which is obviously going to leave one of the customers disappointed and upset?
I just completed a transaction with TMR, selling them my Aurender N100H that I owned less than a year.
(I know many have praise for Aurender and its products, but my experience was not good at all: Flakey software, rocky updates, a closed system with indifferent, ineffective support - I found the product to be nothing but a nuisance.) Because my opinion of Aurender was so freakin’ low, I couldn’t sell it in good conscience here or on the other site I frequent, even though it wasn’t "defective" and was in like-new condition.
TMR responded to my initial email inquiry promptly and its offer was about what I expected. They were nice enough to hold the price while I waited for my replacement streamer to be delivered - I got a Bryston BDP-3 and think it’s fantastic - and that took about a month.
TMR paid for shipping and confirmed its receipt and condition promptly. Payment by check was virtually immediate.
I don’t replace equipment often but I wouldn’t hesitate to do business with TMR again.
I've had nothing but flawless transactions with TMR: 3 pairs of headphones, 1 DAC, 1 power conditioner, multiple cables, and one tower speaker trial. Always polite, prompt, responsive, professional.
I have had excellent results with TMR. I bought a Conrad Johnson MF2550 from them in 2017. It arrived in 3 days, looked brand new and the transaction was flawless. I bought a Marantz SA8005 SACD player and after 2 weeks returned it for a full refund. Refund was issued same day they received the unit back from me. The last time was in 2019 when I traded in my Mac MC152 power amp which I had bought from AC for $2500.00. They gave me $3000.00 in trade towards a Mac MC302 amp. My out of pocket cost was $1500.00 plus shipping. It also looked brand new. The only 2 places I buy online for used equipment is TMR and AC.
Okay EBM, here is my experience with TMR .My first experience with TMR was as follows: I purchased a Metronome CD player. it was supposed to be a 220 volt unit and they had it sent to me in Europe. when the unit arrived, indeed it said to 220v on the back of the unit, so with no further hesitation I plugged it into the AC and the unit started having a burning smell, and did not work. It turns out this unit was originally 220v, but was converted to 110v by whoever sold it to TMR. in the ad it said the unit was tested and works flawlessly!!! that probably wasn't the case ... if they have checked it they would have known that the unit says 220 but it's actually a 110 unit. Needless to say I was disappointed... in all fairness I will say that TMR was willing to do almost anything in order not to ruin their perfect score on Audiogon, so they had refunded me a full refund for the unit and paid to ship it back... I still lost some money since I did pay VAT & custom taxes that was too damn complicated to get back from the government. it's obvious that their intention was good and I'm pretty sure nothing was done on purpose, yet if they have checked the unit as they declared in the ad, they would have known that they are sending me a 110v unit and not a 220v unit as advertised... needless to say I was disappointed.... Second experience; I went shopping online three nights ago and I saw a pair of beautiful first generation Gallo loudspeakers, I immediately decided to purchase them without any argument over price or anything else... I moved them do the shopping carts and I went to check out... during the checkout my PayPal account was charged for the amount of the loudspeakers but not for the amount of shipping... much later the following day I've noticed an email, the email was from TMR automatic response saying the transaction was not complete and that I should press the link to complete the transaction... I did so immediately and found out that they are trying to recharge me for the entire deal including local sales tax and shipping ... since I wasn't sure what to do because a I already paid for the speakers and I wasn't sure why the sales tax... I tried reaching out to them over the weekend but there was no response because they don't work on the weekend and that in itself is not okay; if TMR runs multiple ads on multiple venues 24/7 365 days a year they should really have someone for emergencies like this to respond to, even over the weekend!!! come Monday morning I wanted to resolve the issue and complete the purchase but to my surprise they have already sold the pair of speakers to someone else claiming they advertised on several venues and therefore they double sold it, or something like that. They did Apologize but that does not make me any happier, I think that once I've clicked that button purchasing The Gallos, they should have been mine and any issues could be straightened Monday. If someone was on duty during the weekends for issues exactly like this , it would be resolved and the speakers eould be mine. So as I said I'm not very happy with the way they've conducted this business ,I'm very disappointed that I didn't get the speakers although I followed all the rules and regulation to make them mine. Now that you know my story you can post your opinion and don't get me wrong : I'm not looking for everyone to take my side, on the contrary, maybe I'm on the wrong side of things and maybe my expectations we're too high and therefore my disappointment is not in place... thanks for reading
People make mistakes. It’s what is done about it to make it right that matters.
Just saying. Sometimes, things happen. Buying and selling expensive used hifi gear as a business can’t be easy, but I am glad there are some apparently reputable companies out there doing it.
Seems to me buying expensive used gear from a reputable professional who is in the business is lower risk than buying direct from total strangers. Its all relative. Nothing's perfect.
Dear TVAD.. The speakers were to be send to my home in New Jersey [I never wrote anything about overseas concerning the loudspeakers] not only that but also, I did pay for the speakers I didn't just click and move them to my cart but I actually paid the full amount they ask for with my PayPal account and that went through so I guess everything you just wrote takes a little bit of a difference perspective , doesn't it?
Dear tvad You are obviously not being objective here and I'm not sure why you are making assumptions that are based on nothing. On the one hand you say my post is very long on the other hand you are unhappy with me not giving all the details. If you checked on me and went to my feedback page you would find that my default address is in New Jersey. If you went to the second page of the feedback you would find the actual transaction between me and TMR mentioning this is a 230 volt unit. If you ever read any of TMR's ads you would know they always declare that what they're selling is fully tested and functional except for very rare occasions where they will declare it was fully tested and not functional. So you see you are a being very aggressive and you are hinting at me presenting the story in a false way. I suggest that you try to take my word that everything I wrote so far is exactly the way things happened and I wish Tia TMR would respond to this post because then maybe something good we'll come out of this post and when I say something good I mean they have to change their online system so that a double sale cannot happen. For example, on audiogon once you've pushed the button that you want to purchase something it will immediately show up as a "pending" sale for anyone else trying to purchase the same item and that is to avoid the possibility of a double sale. I don't know where you get the assumption that I paid directly with PayPal... that is not even possible through their system, the only way to pay with PayPal is to go through the system and to purchase the product .... so you see most of what you're writing is so wrong I don't even know where to begin to describe what I feel when I read a respond like yours...
CD issue: Resolved by refund. So that's done, water under the bridge, let it go.
Speaker issue: For whatever reason, you were the number two buyer. It happens. It happens all the time. There is no possible business solution, the product is sold. The deal is done. I can't think of anything the selling company would need to do at this point.
I don't see why this thread needs to get heated. TMR seems to have made a mistake with the cd player and rectified it. As for the speakers, I would be frustrated too if my PayPal account had been charged and the speakers were then sold to someone else. They apologized. The speakers are now gone. The only thing to do is let it all go. There's too much stress in the world these days as it is; I can't see that there's anything to do about this except move on.
thank you all for responding... it is obvious TMR are basically good guys who has made a mistake... unfortunately they did not apologize or offer any kind of a symbolic compensation in a future s purchase, something that I would have done as a business owner, even if just in good faith and for the purpose of keeping customers happy... you understand that if you go through the process of buying something just to find out that it was sold to someone else..... as a customer I would be very disappointed, as i was. I have no problem letting this whole thing go... I just think TMR needs to better their system and perhaps to apologize... thank you all and let's hope that 2021 will be a better year..
I have had only the best dealings with TMR and their pricing is very fair and not inflated like many other folks. A sale is not final if you got a notice saying there was a problem. It is what it is.
So they made an error on the CDP voltage and did a pretty good job with a refund although not 100% but still not bad. Seems like they should have gone on step further and checked if the unit was 220v set-up.
Next I am not sure how the checkout move to the cart works? In buying parts weekly from different manufacturers, I know that you have to add to the cart and then complete shipping details, and go to the checkout to complete the transaction and choose your payment method usually credit card or PayPal. Then typically I get an email conforming the order almost immediately.
While you feel the transaction was completed and it was yours, for whatever reason, it did not turn out that way. I'd be a little pissed off myself but I have also come to understand that there is no one great deal out there and another one will show up again in time.
Is all this TMRs fault? Some of it but not all of it IMO.
As far as working 24/7/365 I don't answer every email for my company in a timely way always. I get about 100 emails a week. All kinds of questions that don't turn into sales. In the beginning I was on top of all of this but now I want to be responsive to everyone, but it is just not possible. There is never enough time in a day unfortunately.
No retailer is above criticism. I’m sure TMR does a good job most of the time but everyone screws up from time to time. There’s no need to gang up and shout down someone who has had a bad experience with TMR. Listen to what he says and draw your own conclusions about TMR, but we should allow people to express opinions that run contrary to the majority. Differences of opinion are healthy in public discourse and should be encouraged.
I had an exchange with a guy about an old McIntosh integrated that they wanted too much money for. I told him it looked like it had been beaten with that axe in the Shining, and it wasn’t worth asking. He stopped communicating with me, as I probably would have. Responsive outfit nice people.
I have had multiple dealings with TMR. Both selling to them and purchasing from them. All transactions have been fair and any issues that did come up were handled properly.
Had similar experience with different company, Audioemotions uk, whereas I bought a pair of used Tannoy eatons at a great price on-line from their website, 2990 british pounds (about 3850 us dollars at the time). A day later I heard back from them that a salesman had sold them to someone in scotland in store. However, they felt terrible about it and decided to place an order with tannoy for a brand new pair of the Tannoy eatons (including 16 inch atacama stands!) For the same price as used, 2990 british pounds! So I guess my ending was a happier one. These speakers are $5500 per pair, so I’d say I got a terrific deal.
I have had numerous dealings with TMR involving new equipment with both trades and outright purchases. All handled perfectly. I think they did do right on refunding your $$ for the CD player. Who knows, it might have got damaged in shipping that caused the smell.
As for the speakers, I don't think TMR handled this correctly if you successfully purchased them. Basic online sales would flag the item sold and would have updated the inventory as soon as the PayPal transaction went thru. Pretty simple process. They could have validated your sale against the other buyer to see who hit the buy key 1st. Since they probably didn't ship the speakers out yet when you called, if they found out that you were the 1st buyer, they should have sold them to you. If you were the 2nd buyer, then the PayPal transaction should have never gone thru.
Shitt happens. One usually has the chance of a better outcome with PayPal on your side. Of course import/export has it's own risks. If I were in Europe I think I would avoid electronics from USA no matter what they are marked
My experiences with TMR have been perfect and have included them shipping some very heavy and somewhat expensive monoblocks to the midwest - excellent packing and the amps arrived in perfect shape. I initially was not sure I wanted to keep the amps and they said, "no problem, we have a return policy," but I ended up keeping them. A return policy on used equipment is pretty much the gold standard, IME. Sorry your experiences did not go as well.
It seems like the majority feel pretty good about TMR. Your expectation about an apology, or something symbolic is understandable. You’ve obviously been looking forward to adding this particular component to your system for some time. When it went up in smoke and they treated you like you got the wrong color pair of shoes- I can see why you would start a thread looking for some reconsiliation. Did you ask if they would repair it and send it back? Maybe you don’t want a fried product for resale value? I was suprised that I couldn’t be put on a list and notified when a particular product appeared. That’s not so much a complaint as a suggestion that I made. Here you have a lead knocking on the door with cash and they can’t put you on a list- simple spreadsheet or even a big white-board?
I have done only one transaction with TMR and I couldn't be more satisfied. I traded in a PS Audio P10 for the P15 and the shipping was fast and the transaction was handled quickly and smoothly.
I also think that the OP has a reasonable attitude here. He had to bad experiences with a reputable company. His initial post acknowledges that his experience may be an outlier and he is asking for feedback. It is a service to the rest of us to have others share their experiences with vendors. My only mild criticism is his labeling his second experience an “emergency “. Buying an audio component is never an emergency. It would not be my expectation that CS be available on the weekends. Of course, a dealer that exceeds expectations will tend to get more business, but that is their choice.
I have had one experience with TMR. A few months ago I bought a set of kef bookshelf speakers represented as fully tested excellent condition Etc. Quick shipping easy transaction overall but when I plugged them in it was obvious they weren't tested at all. The sound that came from these speakers would make your ears bleed obviously there was something wrong with the voice coils. They said to return them for a refund but didn't give me a return label. When I pointed this out they reluctantly provided one and then when I got the refund it was short the original Shipping cost. I essentially got to pay $30 for a bunch of aggravation and disappointment
I too had an experience with TMR that made me think that they did not fully test (as prominently advertised) before selling. Bought a preamp whose remote function was dead on arrival. Turns out that a necessary ground connection was MISSING. They did take care of the problem after shipping back to them, etc. but it was a big hassle (that could have been avoided).
People do make mistakes...but this kinda left a bad taste in my mouth....mostly because they imply they do extensive testing before reselling pieces (their premium prices also presumably take this into account). They could NOT have successfully tested the remote functions worked before shipping to me.
re. 100% positive feedback...for these high volume vendors...take it with a grain of salt...as in my almost 20 years of Agon experience....I’ve seen negative feedback come and go for some of them. I can’t be sure ...but suspect it would be harder for us individuals to “correct” negative feedback issues...
The OP has every right to post his experience as long as done factually and respectfully. Turns out his (and others) experience matches mine.
TMR cranks out a lot of used gear every week. Testing it all comprehensively would be very time consuming. I’d be shocked if nothing ever slipped through the cracks, so as a buyer I would always be leery and be sure to check things out thoroughly to confirm you got what you were sold no matter who the source. How often issues sneak through and what happens afterwards is what always matters with any vendor.
Buying used is always risky business, especially with older gear. I expect some sources to be more reliable than others especially when asking top dollar, but not perfect. One can only hope. It’s always perfectly reasonable to expect what is delivered is what is advertised.
I had my first TMR transaction last week. The Pass INT 25 arrived yesterday. Flawless condition. Well it is too much to expect the remote to be cleaned I suppose. Their double boxing the Pass box impressed me. They are apparently too busy for same day shipping. Not Amazon after all. On a scale of 1 to 100, with one hundred being the unobtainable perfection no merchant can achieve but should always strive for, I will give them a 94. Soundman I dare say you were a bit unlucky. Also why not buy your gear over there? Prices are lower and freight would also be a savings.
Mapman...as always, much respect...but, unless I inferred improperly...they represent themselves as a premium purveyor of used equipment...and stress that they test every piece.
If you look at my posts(e.g. cap replacement estimate), you’ll see I’m very much a pro-vendor...”cost of doing business” advocate...probably to a fault...however, to me, their prices seem an additional notch higher than a brick and mortar business selling used goods. The only reason I would pay more is getting that QC added value...else, why not wait for a reputable private seller.
Bottom Line...if they say they test used equipment before selling...they MUST do that...every single time.
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