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?

 

kirbymydog

First cordial discussions, Paypal dispute, notify A’gon and IF after all this a successful resolution fails and things get UGLY.

The picture that MAY be emerging, worst case scenario, is that this individual knew exactly what he was doing, selling defective speakers that he obtained cheaply from his place of employment. Thinking you are a newbie and won’t notice the bad tweeters. If he gets really nasty about this, maybe the best course of action will be to go over his head directly to his place of employment.

Many years ago I bought an expensive pair of monoblocks on eBay (before it went totally to sh*t) advertised as and I double checked with the seller that they were as new, pristine, never repaired. Someone I knew had purchased an item from this guy before without a problem. One of the monoblocks ran scary hot for an A/B amp, the case had discoloration signs of having been overheated. Opened it up and saw a hack of an amateur repair job, totally obvious. Wrote to the seller who lived on the other side of the country and his reply was "tough luck, you bought it". This particular character had used his (nonaudio related) work email in his correspondence, and I said I was going to call the president of his company, who I named (thank you internet) telling him I thought his company was guaranteeing the product he was selling since he was using his work email which had the company name in it..

Money paypaled back to me literally in 20 seconds. The next email from him was that I was a prIc*, all I had to do was ask for a refund in the first place, which of course I had. What a jerk.

Unfortunately, I did eat the shipping cost back to him. I was just so glad to get a refund I failed to consider shipping back.

Advise the seller of your intention to seek legal advice. Its a small claims dispute.

Consult with a lawyer after about a week (time for seller to respond). This is what they are trained to deal with - they will cut through any confusion and advise appropriately. 

For example - it will be noted that replacements are acceptable and offered but due to circumstances its simply a waiting game.

The lawyer will ask you lots of questions, so *be prepared* with a detailed timeline amongst other relevant matters and documents. The technical things you will explain to them in human words.

You paid for what is known in the car industry as a lemon. Happens sometimes, you know.

Not to take this thread in a different direction (and without prejudice to the merits of the argument about the sellers obligations), but it's worth commenting on the matter of the unavailability of the tweeters from Bowers and Wilkins. We're taking very expensive speakers here and we are not talking about an ancient/obsolete model. It is entirely unacceptable that Bowers and Wilkins does not have spares. Supply chain issues is a lame excuse - the company should have a stockpile of spares available off the shelf. If one needed a critical part for your recent BMW or Mercedes, would it be acceptable for the car to be grounded for 6 months plus?...

I may invite him to join the conversation first, which was suggested by Onhwy61. But will hold off naming names for now.