A little advice for those buying their products online...



Especially when a multi billion dollar company like DEI is taking them to court, who knows how long that company will last.....

As I know alot of people on here buy from Etronics..that is of course one of the listed sites being sued. They could be here today, gone tomorrow. There are Many other companies with pending lawsuits against such online sellers, this one just happened to be in my newspaper. Food for thought..

--Don

 

interesting.

 

yeah that is interesting...what about crap on ebay?

 

ALL internet sales,person,Ebay,store,etc..

--Don

 

Does this count for the Alarms sold in the group deal forum as well?

 

Good thing I'm getting my siren from an Authorized Retailer

 

If sold via shipping/over the counter and no installation is included, then yes it does.

--Don

 

buahahaha.....yessir, if sold by any other than an authorized DEI dealer- DEI alarms are not to be sold w/out installation by that specific dealer

 

funny thing about this is, to be an authorized dealer its free. all you gotta do is call them up. Policy is that you have to buy from directed and no one else in order to be an Authroized dealer... ****s ****ed up..

If you guys need an authroized dealer, i am one in NY.

eddie@nyautostyle.com

edit: sorry... and also u need to have a storefront.

 

That is mostly true. Depending on the line you carry. There are territory restrictions. Also quartely quotas are typically expected. Storefront also depends whether doing dealer work or not. And buying can be through distribution, but buy-ins are required.

--Don

 

Thank god I bought mine from Don

 

How does an unauthorized retailer get DEI's stuff? Does it fall of the back of a truck or something? Couldn't they just stop selling to these guys?

 

That is definately one of the ways. Unfortunately alot of things turn up missing right at the docks before manufacturers even have their hands one them. Their was a huge scandal several years back here in NJ with Train robbing. Everything from Electronics to jewelery,clothing,etc... Typicall someone can sell it for whatever they want as it is All profit at that point.

Other methods are of course transhipping,b-stock,refurb (with new boxes) etc...

A local company in NY/NJ has been very well know for selling refurb in new boxes. As alot of the times they dont give the customer the box their product came in, rather throw a refurb in it and sell as new.

Unfortunately there is of course the worst case scenario of selling knockoffs. Yes this stuff isnt Rolexs or Fendi bags, but it doeshappen. In fact quite often. Since 85+% of electronic companies dont make their own products "in-house" it is quite simple to gain access to spec sheets from any corupt employee looking for extra money. Simply remake the product using inferior parts and sell it at your own price.

--Don

 

Also to add to that in some cases the retailers are in fact Authorized dealers of a particular product, just not for online selling. Kind of a side job for them to make a couple extra bucks. If/when they do get caught they can face penalties depending on the severity of the incident in hand.

I have personally even sold things on the HERE and only on the Org, primarily to help out other members. I have been burned once before. Hence the reason why it has cut down.

Primary reason for Manufacturers to not allow online sales is because it takes away from the "brick&morter" stores that have overhead,employees,etc with bills to pay. Also these stores do Buy-ins to be with a company.

--Don

 

The only thing that really bugs me is that the Brick and Mortor shops around me are either really lousy or they are huge chain stores. If I really want a product that isn't sold in my area, having a no online sales items policy limits my choices. That and I would do anything to NOT give CarToys my business since they are a bit like Starbucks up here and seem to push the quality small shops out of business. This whole business is really messed up and I'm not really sure if this lawsuit will hurt or help me out.

 

I can definately appreciate your dilemma. Alot of newer (somewhat/highend) companies are willing to ship to your door directly but if and only if you do not have a local dealer. This is how Arc works, and it does definately help the dealers as well as consumers.

This particular lawsuit wouldnt really affect the general consumer aside from taking away another online store and giving possibly more business to the local shops. This is also how NetEnforcers came about. Many companies have been signing up with them as their job is to "police" the internet for fraudelent sales. Once caught the company steps in and takes action. Most companies already have a dept for Ebay surfers and the such, but with the mass amounts of sales going on its very difficult to keep up.

--Don

BTW..if you ever do need anything shoot me an email/pm and Ill see what I can do. But like I said before I have been burnt before and would like to avoid that again. Ive been on here about 2.5yrs and have helped Alot of people. If I can can continue than I dont mind it...

 

It's funny how it made news in NJ and at least for me I'm local and didn't here anything about and Vista is less than a 30 minute drive from San Diego. If it did make news here I'm pretty sure it would have been on the local news and it wasn't. That sucks that stuff like this happens and the consumer is the one who takes it in the butt.

 

I remembered reading this post on another forum and at the time really didn't think too much of it, but after reading this it sort of makes sense:

http://www.caraudioforum.com/vbb3/sh...highlight=ebay

Years ago I realized that I turn my equipment over too fast to keep taking the hit for the initial depreciation. Sort of sucks shelling out 1000.00 for a amp only to have it worth 500.00 in six months. I try to buy most things used...unless there is something out that I just have to have. Just curious, what brands do you sell?

 

Plain and simple buying from these guys might save you a few bucks but your best and safest (warranties) method is to go to the authorized dealers. I only buy my stuff from Don now, and I wouldnt waste my time or money buying stuff from anywhere else at this point, why not spend the extra money for that peace of mind, and not to have to worry if the company you buy from will still be here tommorow or not.

 

if you purchased it over eBay and used Paypal, wouldn't you be safe?

 

Just because you bought over ebay your already unsafe, there is no warranty for almost anything that you buy from ebay thats from a major brand that would normally sell something with a standard warranty. Would you rather save yourself 50 - 100 bucks with no warrantee, have something go wrong with the item within a month or two and have to spend the same amount you paid for the item again just because you can't get any warranty on the item you spent so much money on in the first place? The issue here isnt with the consumer though its the companies doing the selling that are in trouble.

 

Yup, learned the hard way on this also. The warranty is worth it even if you don't use it, just simply for peace of mind.

 

Very interesting...damnit.

 

Why damnit John?

 

LOL.

Actually in one way this is a good thing, this way authorized dealers will make more sales off their products. Warranties will no longer be a big hassle for the dealers & the company itself. Not to mention quality will be increase (hopefully )

However one downside I could possibly see to this (not sure though, only time will tell) is the prices might increase a bit since their will me less places to purchase the product. You know the whole deal with supply & demand, that doesnt need to be explained

The other thing that doesnt exactly settle too well IMO is that the authorized dealer that sold the product has to be the one to install it. Im sure this will play a role as far as warranties are concerned, so if I install the amp myself & something goes wrong (defective amp for example, not an install error) im going to have to worry about DEI & if they are going to cover it under warranty? or are they going to give me a hard time about it because an authorized dealer did not install it. I dont trust any of the local shops in Phx because they are all pretty much full of crap.

The thing that bothers me is I will not go to a local shop, buy something and have them install it. If thats the only way to get the warranty, then yes that sucks. I hate to give local audio shops business, I used to work next to one and was shocked at the crap they pulled, the ****ty installs, all to make a few extra bucks? I cant say ever single audio shop is run by thieves though, that would just make it a biased opinion and plain incorrect, there are a few out there that are actually honest but I just dont know were the hell they are.

As long as every company doesnt pull this, I guess I can live with not buying DEI products again but you know were im coming from.

 

I can understand where your coming from. But as far as the dealer installing it..Yes it Must be installed by the dealer you purchased from. However the warranty coverage is for Anywhere in the country. Realistically speaking noone really keeps their car for the rest of their lives, but if they did, or just had it a long time and happened to move, then they still have coverage.

Buying from some of these online stores even if they say "our warranty", who knows how long theyll be there. Especially with lawsuits popping up more and more often now. If theyre getting hit with a lawsuit from a Multi Billion dollar company, who knows if theyll even be there the next day.

And Yes I can definately understand about shops being theifs and doing crappy work. Its all to make a buck and thats why I left some of my previous employers and decided to work for myself. Theres Tons of scams they use just for the extra couple of dollars in their pockets.

 

John, thats the dilemma everyone faces when they are goin to drop a few hundred on an alarm, and they want the most reputable security brand-

But the same way, people 'shop around' online looking for the best deal while still dealing with reputable companies, you have to do the same when it comes to 'local' shops-this was the case BEFORE the internet, and should still be the case when using the best (i.e.restricted brands) Its the only way these companies can keep themselves honest to the consumer and not let junk out that will defame their name

I'm in westernNJ and have to drive 40min to see Don
and I see why some many orgers drive from all over the East Coast just to have an alarm put in, drive 3-5hrs- the effort is worth it to have your vehicle in good hands
I'm sure there has to be quite a few reputable places in Phx, just gotta base a relationship with one that you can trust your car will be in good hands and looking out for your best interest

BTW ....DON....you are a psycho if you are up this late on a Sat night doing my Pathy's remote start!...lol

 

....Its the truth tho. I really finished at 3am But when ya come to get it, just remind me to you



--Don

 

Don:
The warranty issue I understand quite well, but its still a bit of a nuisance IMO. Its one of those things were im right in the middle, I understand how the company is looking at it, but I also understand how the public that purchases the products look at it as well. Im just dont know which 1 I agree with more


Manny:
The thing is in Phx, there are two main companies that dominate. Kustom Kar Sound & AudioExpress. There are a few other stores that arnt chains, but I know most of them and dont trust them. There is just 1 shop here that knows what they are doing, only about 8miles from my place. Downside is they are in the area were all they do is installs on cars like high dollar Benz, Bimmers, Porsche, Ferrari, Austin Martins, ect... They do mostly $10+ jobs all day long.
Call me crazy, but I dont want to pay their $80/hr rate either.

Last time I took my car there for them to pull my HU (warranty issue) and it took them about 30+ min. When I came back I didnt feel like waiting so I just grabbed my HU from them, and installed it in well under 10min. Went back inside and got the paperwork done with. Needless to say the owner looked at my kinda strange due to how long it took my to hook it up because he was there watching me pace around last time for 30min.

I know a local installer that knows his stuff, but hes not exactly and authorized dealer of anything

What can I say, im not gonna worry about this much. When time comes to deal with DEI ill worry about it then.