Warrenh, in your original post you mentioned that "We negotiated through email and came up with the price of $375 NEW." What you did not mention was how you learned about the item for sale?
I assume that you learned, like we all do, by reading an ad here on Audiogon, and then responding to that ad. Unfortunately, that ad was just taken off of Audiogon moments ago (I guess because the item is now sold) but I checked the language of the ad out and the wording was exactly as Jmcgrogan2 states in his post above. I wish you could all still see the ad! The ad I read was for these same cables and was listed for $375 (no negotiation that I can see from the listed price). There was no fine print. It stated clearly that the cables were "like new" and in the description they were "rated 9.9/10" and "in absolutely mint like new condition." The ad also mentioned that all items that were in stock were either "brand new" or "like new" (implying clearly that if this item was advertised as "like new" then it could not be "brand new" since that was the only other option of the two mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive options that the seller provides). I mean to tell you folks, the ad was great and it hit you over the head several times and in big bold print. It did what I suggested above in terms of explaining clearly what exactly was being offered. Since the seller is a dealer with several other Cardas ads on Audiogon, the only logical assumption would be that these were demo cables, and as such, may or may not have come with the original packaging and literature. This was not addressed by the ad. You should have asked if it was a concern.
What frustrates me about this thread is that (like several other people) I took the time to give my opinion and advice (above) based on what was stated by the thread's originator (before reading the ad). If it were not for Jmcgrogan2's post, I would not have had the chance to see the facts for myself. Warrenh, you didn't tell it like it is, which you have to do if you want our honest feedback. You claim that this person misrepresented the product to you, but clearly (based on the ad) he did not.
You, in fact, misrepresented his representations to us! And even based on the half-truth version of the facts as they were presented to us, the majority view seemed to be that neutral feedback with an explanation was in order. Yet, despite soliciting our advice publicly, you went against it and gave negative feedback, and then made matters worse by broadcasting it, and by doing so, led us to the identity of your seller who now has received unwarrented negative feedback and is also the victim of a defamatory thread.
Clearly, you were disappointed that you did not receive new cables as you had expected. I understand your frustration, but as has been pointed out by others, you should not give negative feedback to someone based on your misunderstanding when, in fact, the ad very clearly stated the truth, or at least enough of the truth to draw out your questions about the condition of the product.
In my opinion, you should:
1. Ask Audiogon to remove the negative feedback that you have given, and
2. Issue and apology.
What a shame that the ad has been removed.
Having said all of that, I could be wrong. If you did in fact come to a different understanding with the seller in your email communication than what was stated in the ad, and if your emails clearly indicate an agreement that you were buying "New" cables (full stop), then clearly I'm wrong for being so harsh. Every point I've made above is based on my reading of the plain language of the ad. I may not know all of the facts.
