Verastarr

You're a patient man!

Yes. Thank you for acknowledging that.. I want to bring some awareness to anyone looking to purchase cables that hold a "lifetine warranty" and take what seems to be an eternity to be repaired.

Do you call guy? Yell at guy like he be have your toe in vice. Sometime people need hear true to wake up. Maybe guy on the bottle and depress. You never know until you go down there self wait in parking lot trunk open.

My advice, I don't recommend purchasing verastarr cables at this time.

I've had multiple emails with the owner. I have all of them. I don't like being taken advantage of. At this point I want other audiophiles to know what is going down.

I have ask. Are you talk to self above in post? You sure you not cable guy too?

I'm not a cable guy myself. I was responding to a previous post.

I’m sure Mikey @mikepowellaudio has a legitimate excuse for this unusual delay. 

@lalitk

I’m sure Mikey @mikepowellaudio has a legitimate excuse for this unusual delay

6 months? Let’s hear that excuse.
He’ll probably get to this warranty work as soon as he’s done making YouTube videos.

people have opinions and advice, negative and positive, but it seems none have had any recent experience with verastarr. I don’t know anything about them.

6 months, still not done, that’s totally unacceptable.

not to blame the victim, but to step outside, a fresh pair of eyes: you might have someone else carefully read the string of emails, looking for clues as to their motive(s) or explanations. perhaps you (or they) are missing a subtly worded .......

......................................

If they say they will fix them, and no money issue involved, it’s either lack of parts or lack of the skills needed to make the repair. or lack of funds on their end, i.e. behind payments to their supplier.

they need to answer direct questions:

1. you have all the needed parts?

2. you have the capability in-house, current employee, to make the repair?

3. any problem you are not understanding?

best of luck in these trying times.

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@elliottbnewcombjr Your post assumes that this is a company, with employees, rather than a one-man operation.

As far as I can see, Verastarr is Mike Powell.  And as other posters have said, he has plenty of time to make multiple youtube videos, entertain Jay in his listening room, etc.etc.

So what could be the possible motive for not completing a repair under warranty?  For six months?  Gosh, that's a head-scratcher.

mikepowellaudio,

What do you have to say about this? Where are this man's cables after 6 months?

lots of ’we’ from his web page

"At Verastarr we live and breathe music reproduction. We simply will not settle for half-measures. It is either "all or none" for us. First and foremost we are music lovers. Our goal is to help your music sound exactly as it was intended to sound by the creator of the piece."

There is no way 1 person does everything. I ran my Interior Design business from my home for the last 20 years before I retired. No direct employees, I had a fleet of independent consultants, Architects, Decorators, Draftspersons, Engineers, Acoustic Consultants ....  that helped me as needed on large or small projects, via hourly or sub-contracts the client may or may not know about..

In my case, a business service (no product), I billed my direct consultants hourly work on my invoices the client saw. I approved sub-consultants invoices like acoustic engineers, hvac engineers ...  before client paid them directly.

Clients may or may not have met them along the way. Products, you never knows who is doing what.

That's the royal we.

Well, he normally has plenty to say, so where is he now to explain this situation?

If you are referring about Mike P, he has forgotton many tasks you need to follow this up and get them back 

Nope.  I do that kind of work myself.  really saves on stress.  

Of course I repair flat tires myself because it is quicker than taking it in.

Jerry

I bought some silver fuse crossovers from this guy.  In his videos he seemed a sincere fanatic to me- especially with Magnapans.  In actuallity, he is a loon.  Got my order, sent the wrong thing.  That was after the "USPS has recieved your shipping request and will arrive 2 days after receipt of item".  Except it took a month for him to ship it after the USPS notice.  His excuse was he lives in the toolies and they just dont come by very often.

When he finally sent out the right item it was the same process and a few cryptic emails.  So about two months.  You got me beat.  But, I repeat: what a loon.  Seems to run in the hi-fi business.

You did the right thing by posting here. Keep us in the loop on how this develops. 
Hope Mikey will get back to you now and do the right thing.

...considering some of the above feedback, the OP may be lucky to get the same cables back at all, potentially repaired.....

Some entities, mortal or businesses, seemed to be born to die.  SNAFU'd from word one.

I received a response. I was curious if the cable manufacturing was still in operation.

Here's the response:

"I am no longer making cables. I can not keep up with orders so im shut down for 60 days as my contract manufacturer picks up. I no longer do ANY bench work at all. Do not worry however, I am happy to get you taken care of and give you concession for this abnormal and uncomfortable waiting time. 

Please let me know what length speaker cables. 

Best Wishes,

Mike Powell

Another response:

FYI this does not mean VERASTARR is through making cables, just my own hands. We will be up and running in professional fashion over the rest of the year and forward. All our cables will now be online with running inventories. whats not available is not available, and what is will be shipped within 48 hours. I am sorry for the inconvenience my growing pains have caused. 

Best Wishes,

Mike Powell

I'm not confident I'll ever see my cables again.

@rpfmusicman   Sorry to say but I think you have good reason to be concerned. This MP dude seems to be a total clown act.

For too long now high end cables and the increased profit margin that this business model offers has appealed to a consortium of bad actors.
Luckily, there are a few good folk still in the business, but not many. Question becomes whether this vendor had scruples or not…I think we probably all know the answer!

“Please continue to hold,your call is important to us”………………🎶🎶

Sounds like "I'm not making cables, I am making cables."

@rpfmusicman yup I wouldn’t hold my breath but anything is possible. He might send you a replacement. The tone of his response doesn’t show a lot of concern for your situation though.

 OP got a response not to worry, sorry for the inconvenience and that he will make it up to him in some way. Doesn’t seem that bad. Definitely enough to have some worry but let the company try to fix the problem. I’m sure you will see your cables again and this experience is a good reason to gauge whether you buy from them again or not.

also why was he asking about length of speaker cables? Was he thinking about sending you out a pair because of the long waiting period?

I wanted/needed to know if his business was still producing cables. I mentioned I was in the market for a set of speaker cables. At this point, I will not invest in Verastarr. I’m closing the door on this. I appreciate the support from the community. Hopefully, this brings some awareness to others. Time to listen to some music!

Regards,

RPF

rfpmusicman

If "closing the door" means letting him get away with this, I would reconsider.

Of course it is your prerogative, but I would do whatever I could (BBB, local Consumer Protection Agency, Internet, etc.) to get the cable back - repaired.  Or get a commensurate replacement.

He probably lost your cable.

Thanks maxima95. I'll take those recommendations into consideration.

Take legal action then kick ass ASAP!!!!!

@rpfmusicman 

If you like foil cables, consider silversmith speaker cables. There are some positive reviews on his speaker cables from both users (here) and professional reviewers. 

https://silversmithaudio.com/fidelium-1/

Mike Powell ( OCD guy) is a bum. I bought a pair of AGD gan amps and sent them back two weeks later ( 30 day trial) as they were not a good match in my system. 
said he spent my money and I would have to wait 60 days for a 9k refund. Took him 10 weeks to piece mail the money back. He called me names and called my system shitty and wasted his time. Dude is a real POS. Unprofessional as they get. Stay away!!

"You reap what you sow"

It will catch up with MP.

This is a very sad story. How do people sleep at night?? 

One problem of not purchasing through a reputable audio shop is not having a relationship with a person who will interface between you, your issue and the manufacturer. I purchased a cable through the shop I purchase most of my equipment through and they told me bring the cable back and gave me a new one, no question asked and no wait. They dealt with the warranty issue themselves. I purchased a tube amplifier through them and in a short time one of the tubes went noisy. They told me how to determine which pair then when I isolated the pair I brought them back to the shop and was given a new pair. Again no questions asked or wait. Mail order can be a problem then you have PayPal or your credit card company to represent you. I prefer the shop I bought my equipment through. This is not to say I haven't mail ordered, of course I have, but there is a bigger risk this way.

You picked the wrong “ Mike “! Had you done business with Mike Morrow, you never would have been jerked around. Thanks for letting the entire AGON community know to avoid an irresponsible vendor. Respectfully, Mike B.

LOL, Here are the hens squabbling again... pissy party isn’t it here ?... dang I feel sorry for you guys that sit and complain here as if its gonna get something done.

So for those needing clarity Ill accommodate you ...

4 years ago my Mother died and she was my closest friend. I was non functional for 2 years. No bottle , I’m sober 22 years this Jan. Try repairing some guys old mishandled foil cables when nothing in life has any importance. When she got sick my contract MFG closed their doors and I took cables back in house. The death of my mother put the kibosh on my renewing the line and updating it . So 2 years ago I did. COVID control experiment time on the unsuspecting public. My workers no longer came to work and I took it into my own hands. During COVID all I did was work... 12 hour days making cables, running business, leading the family and providing content for my Ten Thousand subscribers of supporting enthusiasts. I became very unhealthy from lack of sleep, stress, poor diet, no exercise. BECAUSE I WAS SACRIFICING MY LIFE FOR WORK. and sitting at the bench just to deal with one or two unappreciative people that bought my cables used or got them for free wanting me to cut them in half and/or repair cables they had purchased that were inoperative. I pulled the plug before I had a heart attack. COVID meant supply shortages... VERASTARR is CLOSED for 2 months at this point, (not even new sales being accepted) and I go outside to exercise these days so I dont end up giving my soul to guys like you complaining on this thread. IF my cables were so crappy, it would not be important to people would it ?

The people complaining here are trying to sully my name and not telling the whole story in typical scoundrel cheap skate dishonest fashion.

Heres the fact. THERE IS STILL NOT EVEN ONE PERSON THAT HAS BEEN RIPPED OFF BY ME. THESE PEOPLE ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT TIME FRAME. NOBODY HAS COMMENTED ABOUT WHY MY CABLES ARE SO IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO HAVE BACK IN THIER RIG FAST. THIS ACTION SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.

If you buy VERASTARR cables from LalitK you will get perfect examples of how to take care of a cable. Lalit had ALL VERASTARR cables and Lalit and I were VERY close friends at one time. He wore VERASTARR T shirts and championed my brand. When we had a falling out due to differences of personal opinion, he sold my cables off and decided to pretend to you all like he does not know me. He refused to accept when I offered to buy for CASH all my cables back for perhaps a 15 point loss.

RUSSELL GLIDE not only are you a Liar, you are a CHEAP SKATE. This is what I called you and its TRUE. Lets ask anyone that knows or has done business with you GOD forbid. Here’s the other side of the story for the thread followers. RUSS bought a pair of AGD amps before a Party he had with Audiophiles. He did not consult with me like most people do, regarding his rig holistically, he wanted amps and that was it ... I gave him a $2,000 discount on amps that are strictly price protected. $9K for $11K monos. Right off the cuff RUSS told me the first amp had "puss watts" in his exact words. Off on the wrong foot with me since I know the power spec of the amps. He was setting up his return is what he was doing. After his party, he called to return the amps. I have maybe one return per year so its a red flag. even though I have a bona fide return policy, it rarely happens. I could see what happened so I decided Id test something and told him 60 days for a return. He about screamed his head off yelling at me and while he was unglued let it slip that he did not want to pay the interest on his credit card if it went past the 30 day payment cycle. What honest person is worried about that ? It was clear to me at that point RUSS GLIDE wanted to take advantage of me and use me to fund his audio party’s center of attention components. Mind you , I cant return the amps to the MFG, so now Ive got to go out of pocket $9K for this guy to make his party interesting for others. So.. what do I do ? RETURN $4500 IMMEDIATELY and tell him Ill get his the other $4500 in 30 days. RUSS says this is fine (because half is all that went on the credit card) Next thing RUSS tells me he wants the $165 PayPal fee back. But PayPal no longer returns fees. The last guy that made a return a year ago in gentleman like fashion offered me $500 for the time I took to ship him the product back and forth and consult with him on his rig. He changed his mind on a piece after talking to the know it all hens in the henhouse. RUSS offered not one damn dollar for all my time, and was even worried about his $165 PayPal fee... sorry RUSS GLIDE I’m in no hurry for you for the second half.. He was paid $1K a week later and the rest by the 30 days I agreed. NO RESTOCK FEE, NO CONSULTATION FEE. RUSS you are a CHEAP SKATE. I would not wish you as a buyer for anybody.. You are the epidemy of a dishonest. buyer.

So warning to anyone wanting to play games and treat a seller like he’s your abused child.. GET LOST..

LOL Morrow.... Different class of cables... if its rapid delivery you are after... buy Morrow...Sorry Eric Buell is out of Harley Racing bikes... Did they ever even enter MOTO GP ? I prefer my Ducati and Aprilia.. (yep, im a bike elitist too)

For the guy complaining about the repair... why dont you tell the people I offered you NEW $1500 replacement cables for $300 because I knew I could not repair them and I’ve got a built pair ?

Do you guys understand what I mean when I say these threads are half-truths with the complainers ?

I’ve got plenty of return clients happy as anything with my service and the quality of my cables and my premium gear for them.. I promote American Brands like Jeff Rowland and Playback Designs.. These are premium brands that nothing short of the best dealers in the USA can get.. The proof is in the pudding ...

There are two sides to every story as you say, but you still should have let him know what was going on during those 6 months.

Anyway, how was the OP supposed to know anything about what was going on in your life if you didn't communicate that to him?

Seems like this joker Powell lives in his own bubble, and it is too bad other people need to deal with him. What an incompetent business person and a complete jerk.  He needs a nice trip to the woodshed.

I recommend people read all MP's recent posts in this thread and in other threads.  I think they speak for themselves.  If after reading them you find his prose persuasive and want to enter into business dealings with him, then go right ahead.

Wow. 

One of the things that struck me was the complaints about people purchasing items second hand.  I do that a lot, and when I like them it often leads to purchases of new gear from the same manufacturer.  As an example, I bought some used Herron Audio monoblocks and liked them so much that I also ordered the Herron preamp and phono stage. 

I happen to have some Verastarr speaker cables that I purchased... you guessed it, used.  I bought them from a reputable dealer that I have purchased many items from and know that they stand behind everything they sell new or used, so I would not have had any problem getting a refund if they were defective.  They weren't and worked great.  

Before reading this, Verastarr would have been in consideration if I needed new cables.  After reading that diatribe and all the rationalizations it contained... no way, even though I think the Verastarr cables I have are pretty decent.

There are a number of ways to respond to public complaints, but I wouldn't recommend following that template.  I've seen others (Josh from TMR comes to mind) respond very professionally when their business practices have been questioned.  When I see that type of response, it makes me much more comfortable sending business their way, which I have on a number of occasions. 

@twoleftears + 1 - What an unpleasant fellow who seems to be unclear on the concept of the roles of 'retailer' and 'customer'. 

I'm not sure this is directed towards me or another person.

"For the guy complaining about the repair... why dont you tell the people I offered you NEW $1500 replacement cables for $300 because I knew I could not repair them and I’ve got a built pair ?"

I never received an email with the above offer. If you still have a copy please send/or post it. I have never "complained" about the repair. I've always been the one to reach out to you and inquire about the status of the cable repair.

If you'd like me to refresh your memory with all the emails I have, I most certainly will.