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New buy, no return policy

I am negotiating a sale with a reputable, but small dealer for a pair of new Acora SRC-2 speakers. I have heard them in the showroom with comparable electronics to my own and loved the sound and design. The show room was only slightly acoustically treated.

I'm ready to throw down, but the dealer does not have any kind of return policy if, for some reason, they dont work out in my own space. I dont feel comfortable with this policy but wondering if I am just being too entitled?  Other dealers from which I have purchased new speakers  have had 30 or 60 day returns, no questions asked. 

I also have the opportunity to buy a used set of these speakers from TMR with a return policy (minus 5% ,restock) if not satisfied. Of course the used price is considerably cheaper but there is no factory warranty and although they are stated to have had own owner, their age and provenance are unknown.

Any guidance, opinions or advice?

mintakax
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
2,224 posts
 

A $50K speaker is a different ballgame than $5K. That’s "special order" territory, and a small dealer is going to have a hard time eating the loss of a return. I don’t blame him for sticking on that point.

The TMR deal doesn’t look too bad. This model isn’t that old, and what could go wrong other than over-driven drivers (damaged voice coil), which would be immediately apparent on a test listen. TMR would be my route, in your shoes. Only Acora or TMR would attempt to ship these beasts. You won’t find them for sale used often, on shipping logistics alone. 

The SRC-2 is a very nice speaker. That said, think I preferred the smaller SRC-1 based on a listen to both at my dealer’s. It has the silk dome tweeter. Musical as hell! Of course it depends on the room and equipment - the SRC-1 was in a smaller room with lower ranked (but still quite spectacular) gear behind it. 

rsf507
2,445 posts
 

Curious what are the shipping charges from TMR to and back if needed? Seems if that cost is reasonable then buy from TMR. Or why will your local dealer not bring over his in-store pair to your home for a short demo. If you like them maybe work out a deal to keep them and the dealer can buy a new set for the store.

thecarpathian's avatar
thecarpathian
5,142 posts
 

@rsf507 ,

Shipping to customer is $900.

It seems to me that being a high priced speaker, your dealer would be happy to bring them to you for a demo to make a potential sale.

mintakax's avatar
mintakax OP
59 posts
 

Thanks all, so nice for folks to take the time to advise on this. I forgot to mention that TMR is in my town and they would deliver and set the speakers in place for no charge. If I had to return them, that would be on me.

@mulveling -One other issue I have with the used pair is the spikes in the TMR photos appear to be bent. I suppose that could be by design but I can't imagine why. These speakers are close to 250lbs apiece and I wonder what activity (besides gravity) might cause the spikes to bend? I have a call into Acora to ask about this but AXPONA might delay a response.  I have a very large listening room and my sense was the SRC-2 was a better fit. And my wife loved them also!

 

@rsf507 This particular store doesn't sell their demos and doesn't do home demos. I wish they did, that would be ideal! 

 

stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,531 posts
 

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