They were..I was told it was no obligation, invoice had ZERO terms on it that would suggest I’d be on the hook for these chanrges. Then the product didn’t work, then he got salty and blamed my Turntable, instead of the Geppetto manufacturer who makes the phono stage who couldn’t figure it out either, at which point I politely said I am sending it back. It wasn’t until he received it back he credited me and deducted the charges. The expectation was NEVER set, not verbally, or on the invoice. Hence why he lost the dispute.
Not sure why it ever got to the point it did, but he complicated alot of other parts of the transaction as well. Too many good dealers to deal with rather than one who doesn’t have policies in place and doesn’t set expectations and ultimately alienates a customer.
I ultimately took my business elsewhere, sitting in front of a $40K plus system. End of the day that business could have been his.