SEmy2K2go

iTrader: (10)

I ordered my JL Audio VR650-CX 6.5" rears Sunday night/Monday Morning and today (the day they were said to arrive), I call them for status. Apparently they do NOT have them in stock which is not what the site stated when I placed my order. I asked the rep when they found out about the conflict with my order and she said "right now". In other words, they wouldn't have known or made me aware of this unless I would have called (great service). I requested they replace them with the next model of JL Audio 6.5" above at the same cost, but they refused. I requested to speak with a manager, but once again was refused (again, great service). Avoid buying from this company if you can. Now if anyone can find me a great deal for the set of VR650-CX 6.5'' speakers for my rear doors, that would be greatly appreciated. BTW the price they had on the set was $139/pr, sadly the best price I could find online for them and now they're not even in stock.

Tony Fernandes

Try infinitecaraudio.com. They have them for $139. I personally try to avoid purchasing car stereo equipment online for warranty reasons, so I can't vouch for them. I've had about a 50% success rate and have learned the hard to way to pay a little extra for local service & warranty.

Good luck.

Tony

SEmy2K2go

iTrader: (10)

Even if purchasing online you still get the manufacturer's warranty if I'm not mistaken. Thanks for the link.

SEmy2K2go

iTrader: (10)

After doing some searching on the web, I have read countless reviews of this company where the buyer ran into the same issue as I when dealing with onlinecarstereo.com. I have sent the following email to the customer service department to be ignored most likely, but they won't change the way they do business unless they are made aware.

To whom it may concern,
My name is ___ and recently made an online order for a pair of JL Audio VR650-CXi 6.5" speakers. When I ordered them, your website stated you had them in stock. I did not receive a tracking number as "the item(s) were shipped from an alternate warehouse. The day my items were to be delivered, I contacted you via the phone. I was made aware that there was a problem with my order and that it had not been shipped out. The reason for this was that the item was not in stock. I requested a replacement of the next model made by JL Audio in the same demensions, but was refused. I requested to speak with a manager and once again was refused. If you are claiming to have items in stock for the public to buy per your website which you do NOT actually have in stock, you should do the right thing and provide such an upgrade as I requested or at least give the consumer a chance to speak with a manager. Needless to say, I canceled my order and will not order from your company in the future. I am a member of a 28,000+ auto-enthusiast forum and have posted to avoid buying from onlinecarstereo.com at all cost. I hope for other consumer's sake, that you find a way to remedy this problem in the future.
Thanks,
-Tim
Gahanna, OH

Tony Fernandes

Great letter.

But beware. Several car audio companies strictly prohibit their products from being sold online. I can't recall if JL Audio is one of them. Anyway, when you buy such an item online what you get is a warranty by the seller, NOT the manufacturer.

So your warranty in these cases are only as good as the company you buy from.

Brands allow their products to be sold by authorized retailers. Ask an online retailer if they're an authorzied dealer and chances are they're not.

Tony

filtor1

iTrader: (7)

Noted. Thanks for the warning. Posts like this help the rest of us avoid these consumer traps. Sorry to hear about your experience. Let us know how it turns out.

Pearl96Max

iTrader: (151)

Definately avoid from buying online. Onlinecarstereo.com actually has litigations pending from several companies including but not limited to JL and Diamond Audio for selling their products. As Tony stated there is no "real" warranty when products are sold online and they arent supposed to be. The only thing you Might get is a warranty from the seller themselves. Manufactures limit their products to actual stores because they are trained and experienced with the product (most cases) also to avoid price wars between store owners with a large overhead and online sellers with virtually no overhead. Another thing that goes on with online sales alot of time would be Fraudelant products,stolen,refurb,etc. Sorry to hear about your incident, but your are not the first, and certainately will not be the last. Sad to say, but alot of people will cintinue to buy until they get shafted, then unfortunately its too late.

-_Don

image

iTrader: (6)

hell yeah they screwed me! put me on backorder for a JL Audio 300.4 AMP! I told kristen to take me off the list! I bought dynamat from them once and it took forever.. this isnt the second time they did that.. so i will not ever buy from them again.. hoever i have bought from ikesound.com and sounddomain.com

Tony Fernandes

For what it's worth, here are some of the online retailers I have dealt with that I recommend. I'm sure there are many others out there.

The Autophile
Ultra high-end. Excellent customer service. Not a regular click-and-buy site. I usually deal with the owner, Paul Lufrano personally.

Crutchfield
Huge selection. Very imformative on features, pics, etc. Decent customer service. Okay prices.

McMaster
This company sells a wide selection of industrial equipement that has nothing to do with car audio, but they are an excellent place to buy non name-brand sound damping materials at a fraction of the cost. The site can be a little overwhelming if you don't know what you're looking for.

Parts Express
Capacitors, speaker components, and gazillions of other electronic parts and equipment that I have no idea what or how to use.

Sound Domain
Somewhat limited selection, but a little of everything. Has some user reviews and hosts picutres of peoples' systems similar to Car Domain. Fast shipping.

The Zeb
I've only purchased kickpanels from them, but the owner is quick to reply and the prices are very competitive.

Tony

SEmy2K2go

iTrader: (10)

So onlinecarstereo.com still had not refunded my dough or even sent me an email notification of the refund (like they said they would when I cancelled the order...last Friday). She told me then that my funds would be refunded no later that Monday 11/17. So I call them up and the chick is like "we show your order has been shipped" AHHHHH This is the same person I worked with on Friday as well. So I strongly request that this be taken care of today 11/18 and she says the will get me my refund today sometime. I got an email from them, but still haven't seen the funds. Will check again tomorrow I guess.

Kojiro_FtT

That is unfortunately the trade-off of getting good online deals, poor service. They can't afford good service because they sell you the stuff so cheap. That's just the way it works. That's also why Crutchfield is so expensive, they have the best service you can get from an online store. I personally had a good experience with onlinecarstereo.com, but that's because they had my stuff in stock.

Pearl96Max

iTrader: (151)

[QUOTE=Kojiro_FtT]That is unfortunately the trade-off of getting good online deals, poor service. They can't afford good service because they sell you the stuff so cheap. That's just the way it works. That's also why Crutchfield is so expensive, they have the best service you can get from an online store. I QUOTE]


Dont forget to metion that Crutchfield is actually Authorized to sell everything that they carry. Also following the strict guidelines set by the manufacturers of selling at MAP and/or Retail prices. Not their "choice" to sell at that amount, but rather demanded on them by the manufacturers.

--Don