Buyer Dispute
I would like to have some opinions of a remedy for this issue:
I purchased a pair of B&W 804D3 loudspeakers through Audiogon in August 2021. They were shipped in original containers by freight. The boxes arrived damaged with some holes in the boxes, but no damage to the speakers accept for one very small spot, which could be repaired with a drop of stain. However, neither tweeter was functioning. A multimeter revealed an open circuit across both voice coils. The seller said that they worked before shipping but offered to send me replacement tweeters under the previous owner' warranty which I agreed to. However, and here is the rub; Because of supply chain issues, Bowers and Wilkins did not, and still does not have the tweeters in stock. I have been waiting 6 months for the seller to provide the replacements from B&W, but they continue to be out of stock. In short, I paid nearly $7,000 in August 2021 for speakers that I still cannot listen to.
Any opinion on a path to resolution?
Hoping for a positive outcome for you. You have been too nice, too understanding and too flexible and by doing so, it ran out the clock for your remedies. The seller was and is behaving inappropriately in this transaction. You should only purchase in the future from nice people like yourself. You may miss a deal here or there but you won't have to erode/suspend your character or who you are in the process. Best wishes. |
Did he tell you they were covered by manufacturer's warranty? You can't expect him to be involved if some problem should arise in the future within the warranty period. Some manufacturers only honor the warranty for the initial purchaser. They work with their dealers to resolve the problem. IMHO if something is DOA, you get a full refund and seller pays shipping both ways. Warranty or not. Personally, I would not buy something at this price level without some dealer involvement, even if he is selling it on consignment for someone, you have an assurance that everything is in working order. It's worth the extra 20% for the peace of mind. Better yet, if possible, buy things that are within driving distance so you can check them out and drive them home yourself. Also avoid any possible shipping damage. |
We have been selling new and used audio for over 4 decades and have seen speaker drivers damaged in shipment more than we can count. If we put you in a crate and shipped you across the country in a non cushioned tractor trailer and the whole time slamming around the inside of the trailer how do you think you would fare? Even new speakers are not immune to driver damage from shipping no matter what their cost. In this case it appears that a salesman at a B&W dealership was just doing a customer a favor and selling his speakers that were under warranty for him, that is not unusual since most people do not possess the knowledge and skills to undertake such a task. Their may have been a chance the speakers were never checked prior to being boxed up by the dealership and were assumed to be in perfect working order and the sales person was innocent of the fact that the tweeters were bad. We never take anyones word on the condition of their equipment, we check everything before we buy or trade When faced with losing thousand of dollars many people are less than honest about what they are selling. It is amazing how many times we hear " I did not know it was bad" right after the half hour speech on how great it sounded last night and what perfect condition it is in. If you have any kind of knowledge at all about the audio industry right now you would know that 6 months for parts or service is not unusual, the OP should be elated he did not have to wait longer. If you have any knowledge at all about B&W diamond tweeters you would know they are very fragile and have been known to break often ( yes even in transport) Why do you think they are out of stock so often? We normally do not stock parts, but when it comes to B&W we stock pile their parts because they are so hard or near impossible to come by most of the time. In this case the seller should have supplied the buyer with new tweeters (yes they are available through other avenues than B&W) and paid for them to be installed professionally and sold the other tweeters when they came in or we would have paid for return shipping and given the buyer a full refund so we could do a first hand investigation on what caused the damage to the tweeters and checked to see what other damage may have occurred. We have seen many circuit boards in crossovers crack during transport which can cause very serious damage and expensive repairs if not corrected. |
@arrowheadrss ok fine. Speakers sometimes break in transit. One or both....ok. Tweeters only....ok
Its all white noise. The seller owed @kirbymydog working speakers delivered to him in working order. They didnt partner up and share the repsonsibility of delivery, the seller contracted for the delivery and it is the sellers responsibility to ensure they get there operable. If he didnt accept that responsibility solely, he could have sold them as is where is and had the buyer arrange for shipping. |
