2. amps-preamps
  3. 146419-53619

What responsibility does a seller have to tell a customer an item has been serviced?

A few months ago I bought an expensive pre-amp from a dealer here on audiogon. This is a long time known dealer with an 100% approval rating.

I went to his home to listen to it and there was one quirk about the design I didn't like about it but I thought I could live with it. I had spent so much time and effort to get it. A pretty long drive. When I brought it home and within 24 hours by the afternoon of the next day I realized I couldn't live with it I called him to return it. 
He didn't want to take it back. On his website he has a 30 day return policy. Unfortunately not being an experienced buyer I did not know there is a hidden tab on audiogon saying no returns. Why is this not stated on the main page?!

I was furious and he said he would take it back if I forced him to but he already had another buyer for it. I felt bad and there was a (hidden) no return policy so I let it go.
I had given to him two excellent pieces, the pre and an integrated, and cash for it so I lost quite a bit of money on the deal. I'm obviously not an experienced savvy customer.
I asked him to just give me the pre back for the piece he sold me and keep the rest but no deal. And he told me the pre I gave him in perfect condition, the one I wanted back, wasn't working so he had to send it in for repair. But I shouldn't worry about it. What?!!! I drove it to him I didn't ship it! And why shouldn't I worry that I gave him a non working component when I told him it was in perfect condition?!

Then about a month later I saw he had it listed for sale. This was about 2 AM and I immediately wrote him asking for it in exchange for the item I bought being that the sale he had fell through. Early the next morning hours later he told me it was sold and he had taken it down.

He did list my item he sold to me on audiogon for a couple of months at his expense but no sale. I finally at an extreme loss as I said was able to use it for credit towards another item being sold by another audiogon dealer. This dealer told me he spoke with the American distributor of the brand who told him the first dealer had sent it to him for repair. This was not told to me. Of course I was outraged. But I hadn't asked. If I had known I would never have bought it.

So this is my question: What obligation does a seller on audiogon have to tell a client an item has been serviced if a dumb customer doesn't ask?


Still burned by the loss of so much money and the jerking around and what seems to be a couple of lies.

roxy1927
chrshanl37
835 posts
 
For me it depends on the circumstance. If the item was dropped or mishandled and needed to be repaired I would want to know that. It would also matter to me who performed the repair. If someone had their buddy who thinks he’s handy with a soldering iron fix it to try and save a buck or two vs sending it back to the manufacturer, I would certainly want that disclosed. But that is not what happened.

Personally, I always disclose if an item has been in for service while i’ve owned it as well as who did the repair. However, if I purchased something and later found out it had been sent to the factory for a repair I doubt it would bother me that much. In fact as others have said I would probably feel much better that it had been in for the repair instead of having to deal with it on my dime later on down the road.

minorl makes a very good point about tire kickers and I get a sense that is the case here. Had you been happy with the preamp I find it hard to believe the repair would be an issue here.


markalarsen's avatar
markalarsen
649 posts
 
“he said he would take it back . . . .”  I doubt you would ever be satisfied. 
Ag insider logo xs@2x
biketony
93 posts
 
if I buy a used piece of gear, it’s mine.  Especially if I got to hear and see it before I bought it. I would not even consider returning it. If I sold a item to a fellow audiogoner, I would expect that they would feel the same way. 
But I would also let the buyer know all I had done to the unit. But this is used equipment, who knows what the previous owners had done to it. 
celander's avatar
celander
1,503 posts
 
As a seller where I’m the original owner, I point out if the gear up for sale has been serviced, explaining the details of the service. For example, getting a CD transport serviced for a routine tune-up (e.g., lubercating the sled mechanism, belts and the like, and cleaning and calibrating the laser lens assembly).
celander's avatar
celander
1,503 posts
 
roxy1927 OP38 posts02-12-2019 10:04amYou do realize that if a component has been repaired it's trade in value is less? How can you all not know this? 

I wholeheartedly disagree with this proposition. Folks want to know what they are paying for. Disclosure about service work is more important to evaluating the value of the component in terms of updates and tune-ups. For example, nobody wants a sqeeky transport—it’s annoying. That alone would reduce its value if not addressed, because the eventual new owner would need to spend some $$ to get the piece up to an acceptable status for them.

Obviously, a piece with a lengthy service history raises red flags. But most pieces don’t have such service histories. 
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