Insolvency

Those mail-in warranty cards usually have one purpose. All those questions they sometimes ask are for gather marketing intelligence. Even a simple name and address is useful to marketing.

sugarbrie is quite right on the marketing questions, which i rarely answer. some companies, tho, send you gifts when you register. i got a dvd, for example, when i registered my loewe crt.

as to "insolvency sales" : that's a rarely used description in the us. i've seen such sales advertised in the uk and canada. generally, a "true" insolvency sale would be held in conjunction with a bankruptcy. in such cases the trustee or debtor-in-possession hires an auction company to conduct these sales. they are usually open to the public but many have restrictions on bidding, requiring, for example, "lot" bids rather than individual "piece" bids. more and more liquidation sales are done on the internet. there are at least a couple of federal gov't approved sites used for specifically for this. the "insolvency" sale your dealer is advertising, slawney, may be a simple "going out of business" sale. such sales may, BTW, be subject to local gov't regulations, usually prohibiting the kinds of stores that "go out of business" for a period of a year or more. i would try to get your warranty cards from this dealer before he shutters his place for good. -kelly

Please disclose the name and address of the store you refer to. If it's within commuting distance some audiogoners might take advantage of the sale. Always an opportunist.

The store is in Europe. The electronics is all 220/230 volt. The value added tax is 16% in this country. There are huge customs fees to pay if you want to transport back to the USA. It will cost you a few hundred dollars to book a flight from the USA. Who knows if the causes for the delay of the liquidation sale will cease (prospect of eternal postponment). Do you really want to know the name of this store?

I would like to say what happened at the insolvency sale. Like kelly anticipated, it was a 'going out of business sale' with an external institution supervising the sale of the merchandise. Everything was discounted the same 40% irrespective of condition or other considerations. Nothing had a guarantee or a return policy. One of the sales personnel from the store ran around helping a thick crowd of customers. Needless to say, amidst the chaos there was no chance for a listening test of anything. It seems the good, expensive components were the first to go (Avalon speakers, Audio Note equipment, NBS cables, etc.) and the rest was sort of sold randomly. The owner of the store was mysteriously not present. There were many frustrated customers wanting cash for coupons and vouchers the store had given on trade ins. The external agency denied them any cash returns. They were all given an address to write to in order to be put on a list of creditors. There were also many people expressing surprise and disappointment that the store was closing. Reasons for its bankruptcy ranged among a number of different explanations. The salesperson present does not have plans to go into audio retail again. He gave me his telephone number and we will remain in contact on a private basis.