Policy changes at The Music Room TMR Audio

They have to stay in business, and I’m sure perhaps some individuals were taking advantage of returning equipment. I’ve purchased from them before and they are a reputable company. Sounds very reasonable. 

Have said this before, TMR & Holt Hill Audio are my go to shops. It's pretty great when the owners list their cel phones as the company contacts. Can't get more personalized than that. TMR appears to have a wider selection of hi-end gear but HHA has incredible vintage speakers & compnents. I don't know where they source them but most everything on their website is beautiful. Last year I purchased an Innous, Zen from TMR - as always, easy transaction all around and this spring I purchased a spotless Sansui, AU-9500 for my summer place from Holt Hill, came in three days from purchase, as described & looked like it was storred for 45yrs. Just my experience but so far, I believe you cant go wrong with either of these options. There are however posers out there (no negatve energy here and wont list anyone in particular) so take your time, do your research and pick the right spot to give your business to.

You people make me laugh.  I would like to see anyone here own a business.  The policy changes seem pretty reasonable to me.  Doesn't eBay charge 10% on sales?

Happy Listening.

@gregdude et al.

If you’re balking at a 5% restocking fee perhaps you should reevaluate your purchasing process.

What I said in my post was this:

Their rationale for this makes sense and seems reasonable. It would be nice if there could be exceptions to the restocking fee, such as cables and other products which don’t need extensive checking for quality control.

So, we agree. I was wondering about exceptions, not the overall policy.

The point made about credit card transaction fees and their restocking fee being pretty low compared to other vendors (mostly) were good ones. I’m thinking about that as more or less defusing my initial concern. Maybe spending a few hundred to try out a couple good used cables is worth it after all.

N.B. Here are some other policies I found out there. None make TMR seem unreasonable, but they do vary a bit. All policies below apply to used, closeout, and refurbished gear as well as to new gear.

• Echo hifi is 3% after 3 days (to cover credit card transaction) and then 20% for any return after that (up to 30 days).
• Paragon Audio has a 15% restocking fee.
• Upscale Audio has no restock fees up to 60 days and (as far as I can tell) no credit card transaction fee.
• Crutchfield, Audio Advice, Audio Classics, and Music Direct can opt to charge restocking but does not have it as an across the board policy.
• Hawthorne stereo does not mention restocking on used gear.

FYI: Kurt is retiring and looking for someone to buy Echo Audio.