Woofersetc Bad Experience
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Woofersetc Bad Experience
For anyone thinking about buying from this place....
I bought a new Zapco 1000.4 amp from these guys, it came with one channel not working. I've now been waiting almost 40 days for a replacement since I shipped it out to them. I ended up filing for a chargeback as they just keep giving me the run around. I really doubt they'll send me a new or repaired amp back. Even if they do, waiting this long is ridiculous. Though their prices are good, its not worth it for this kind of headache and no radio for over a month
I bought a new Zapco 1000.4 amp from these guys, it came with one channel not working. I've now been waiting almost 40 days for a replacement since I shipped it out to them. I ended up filing for a chargeback as they just keep giving me the run around. I really doubt they'll send me a new or repaired amp back. Even if they do, waiting this long is ridiculous. Though their prices are good, its not worth it for this kind of headache and no radio for over a month
Last edited by dan6712cc; Apr 18, 2009 at 04:07 AM.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Oh I forgot, they actually asked me if I wanted to pay $150 for a new amp... yeah that sounds good, get a new defective amp and pay more money to get another new amp, maybe defective too.
Here's a list of actual things they told me since I've been calling them:
-rep:warranty center did not call you back because Monday and Tuesday are their busiest days (today was Thursday and no one called me back yet so I ask why no one called me Wednesday) rep: no reply.
-rep:you never told us what was wrong with it (well that requires reading the paper taped to amp, this was after a rep took down this information over the phone a few days before)
-rep:we'll send you out a new unit but you have to wait a week or so and then call us back (yeah that makes sense, because they"ll probably "forget" to send it if I don't call)
-(I call woofersetc 213-239-8822), rep: I don't know the status, you have to talk to the warranty center to get the status on your amp, (ok what's their number I'll just ask them myself), oh its 213-239-8822 (so you are the warranty department?), rep:yes.
Here's a list of actual things they told me since I've been calling them:
-rep:warranty center did not call you back because Monday and Tuesday are their busiest days (today was Thursday and no one called me back yet so I ask why no one called me Wednesday) rep: no reply.
-rep:you never told us what was wrong with it (well that requires reading the paper taped to amp, this was after a rep took down this information over the phone a few days before)
-rep:we'll send you out a new unit but you have to wait a week or so and then call us back (yeah that makes sense, because they"ll probably "forget" to send it if I don't call)
-(I call woofersetc 213-239-8822), rep: I don't know the status, you have to talk to the warranty center to get the status on your amp, (ok what's their number I'll just ask them myself), oh its 213-239-8822 (so you are the warranty department?), rep:yes.
Last edited by dan6712cc; Apr 5, 2009 at 03:33 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
Likes: 6
From: Sacramento CA
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
I don't understand what they get out of giving people the run around, do they think they'll just forget about a $700 amp? Eventually doesn't everyone end up doing a chargeback? They'll loose more with the chargeback as the amp is worth less than $700 to them if they can make a profit on it.
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2000
Posts: 51,504
Likes: 6
From: Sacramento CA
Well, the warranty comes out of their own pocket. Your product doesn't have a real warranty, and they can't fall back on the manufacturer, either.
and maybe some people do just give up :/
its total crap though.
and maybe some people do just give up :/
its total crap though.
Pro
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 615
Likes: 2
From: Los Angeles Ca.
I've actually been to the store on 11th St. in Los Angeles.
The entire block is stereo stores, kind of like an audio bazaar or audio mart.
Banners and sub enclosures line the street.
I don't think any of the "MERCHANTS" are authorized dealers.
It is a bit shady, to say the least.
The entire block is stereo stores, kind of like an audio bazaar or audio mart.
Banners and sub enclosures line the street.
I don't think any of the "MERCHANTS" are authorized dealers.
It is a bit shady, to say the least.
Safety Car
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 4,364
Likes: 408
From: Greer, SC
I have bought from them before and luckily had no issues with the order. Since they are often 50% or more off of retail I knew I was dealing grey market. You take a chance sometimes for the huge discounts. I"ll bet in the end they will make it right but I'm not surprised it is taking a long time. Good luck.
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Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
Yeah unfortunately because I already wired the car with Symbilink wire instead of RCA's I'm pretty much stuck with getting a Zapco amp and I don't know of any other place that sells them at a discount except for eBay. I think that amp retail is around $1300... I sent them an email yesterday saying I'm not going to bother calling them anymore and they can respond to me if they're going to ship the amp or I'll just accept the chargeback, didn't get a reply today so I guess I know what to do. I can't believe I'm saying this but eBay actually sounds like a better option .
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
I have bought from them before and luckily had no issues with the order. Since they are often 50% or more off of retail I knew I was dealing grey market. You take a chance sometimes for the huge discounts. I"ll bet in the end they will make it right but I'm not surprised it is taking a long time. Good luck.
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 7,035
Likes: 134
From: North Augusta, SC
I had a similar experience with HiFiSoundConnection on ebay. I figured they'd be safe since they had a web store also. Wrong! I ended up filing a claim with paypal and getting my money refunded, but then the bastages filed a non-paying-bidder claim against me after being forced to give me the refund 
From now on for anything that costs over $50 I'm sticking to local shops, forum vendors, or large well known internet stores. Now that I can actually afford nice toys, the few dollars saved here or there aren't worth the risk of getting ripped off any more.
From now on for anything that costs over $50 I'm sticking to local shops, forum vendors, or large well known internet stores. Now that I can actually afford nice toys, the few dollars saved here or there aren't worth the risk of getting ripped off any more.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
I agree if this was just a few hundred dollars more expensive I definitely would buy it from an authorized dealer but $700 vs $1300 is a big difference. At least with eBay you get things resolved a little faster, the credit card company takes up to 90 days to decide on a chargeback and woofersetc has been jerking me around for about 40 days now. I've been looking on eBay and I can't find any 1000.4s, there were quite a few of them when I bought my amp, maybe these new feedback policies have scared sellers away.. its too bad I got a great deal on my JL amp and 12W7 on there (and those work which is a plus lol).
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
I'm still amazed they asked me for $150 to get a "new" amp, that's the day I did the chargeback. If that's not a signal these guys are scammers I don't know what is.
Last edited by dan6712cc; Apr 7, 2009 at 01:10 AM.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 1,527
Likes: 2
From: Lucas, Texas
You roll the dice with gray market stuff. I bought my AVIC Z1 from a gray market place and got lucky and saved a grand to boot but they push their extended warranty hard because they are the ones covering it.
Some things it's just better to buy from the authorized dealers. I've bought a few Zapco items and got them from authorized guys and the support was great, it was worth the piece of mind.
Jay
Some things it's just better to buy from the authorized dealers. I've bought a few Zapco items and got them from authorized guys and the support was great, it was worth the piece of mind.
Jay
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
I received a very assuring phone call from Woofersetc today basically saying that the employee I spoke to did not handle the situation well and they would be sending me out a new Zapco amp today. They also said that the $150 charge they were asking for was Zapcos fee to swap out the defective amp for a new one but was not necessary. At this point if what they are saying is correct it looks like some bad communication issues. Either way they are owning up to the warranty so a 
for Woofersetc.
for Woofersetc.
Safety Car
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 3,566
Likes: 4
From: Mt Laurel NJ
St. Jude Donor '06-'07
I received a very assuring phone call from Woofersetc today basically saying that the employee I spoke to did not handle the situation well and they would be sending me out a new Zapco amp today. They also said that the $150 charge they were asking for was Zapcos fee to swap out the defective amp for a new one but was not necessary. At this point if what they are saying is correct it looks like some bad communication issues. Either way they are owning up to the warranty so a for Woofersetc.
for Woofersetc.This what happens when you post problems like this on a forum. In this economy, no company wants attention like that.
Glad it worked out.
Randy
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
The new amp should come in tomorrow, the only thing now is I got an email from Woofersetc saying they are sending the new amp in my old box. Obviously I don't care what box it comes in but that is just weird. First if my original amp is at Zapco being repaired why wouldn't they send it in it's original box? Also why not just send the new amp in its box? It just sounds weird but these are the kind of responses I've been getting from them all along. I just hope the amp I'm getting works, I really don't care if its new or a repaired amp, we'll see. Only thing I can think of is maybe this new amp's box got damaged but that still doesn't explain why they held on to my old box if it's being repaired now.. oh well, I'll just be happy to finally see what these Rainbow Germaniums sound like.
Last edited by dan6712cc; Apr 13, 2009 at 11:47 PM.
Thread Starter
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 1,455
Likes: 2
From: East TN
OMG, I can't believe this, the "new" amp that I got in my old box worked for about 30 minutes and then died completely! I'm so glad I didn't close the chargeback case like Woofersetc kept hounding me to do (duh, of course I have to wait for the new amp to come in first and verify its operation). I thought something was fishy with them sending the unit in the old box.