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Sladei
5
Jun 21, 2018
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Bad support for this when it breaks
Jun 21, 2018
ctbarker32
38
Jun 21, 2018
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SladeiYeah, I bought an M8A here and it came with a bad power supply ($2 part). Zero support from MassDrop. SMSL to their credit mailed me a new power supply. But, months later the LED display burned out and I emailed SMSL again and got zero response. The products are quite competitive but buyer beware that they don't seem to last for the long run.
Jun 21, 2018
PeteMtl
441
Jun 21, 2018
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ctbarker32« Zero support » from « Massdrop » : that is what we call a pleaonasm, a redundancy.
Jun 21, 2018
legobatman
93
Jun 22, 2018
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ctbarker32the M8 is not a MD product, what should they support?
Jun 22, 2018
ctbarker32
38
Jun 22, 2018
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legobatmanOkay M8A https://www.massdrop.com/buy/45581 Who do you suggest I go to for the broken OLED display? Twit
Jun 22, 2018
BlueSkies
89
Jun 22, 2018
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SladeiThis is the conundrum people are put in today by the flood of poor-quality products from China. Let's assume you can't afford the better gear and you purchase this cheap junk. When it breaks in a year or so and you throw it in the trash, is that still better than never having had anything at all? How does having it break and throwing it out leave you feeling about he whole experience?
Jun 22, 2018
PeteMtl
441
Jun 22, 2018
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legobatmanIf Massdrop was a responsible company, they would support all the products they sell, by either repair, replace, refund, at the customers satisfaction. That is what responsible companies do.
Jun 22, 2018
legobatman
93
Jun 22, 2018
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ctbarker32based on the link you provided the M8A is still not a MD product. given MD had no part in design or development of the product (versus a MD collab or something), what exactly should they support? should they take a crash course in how SMSL designed and developed their DAC? should they buy spare parts and swap out faulty components?
as for the broken OLED, i would suggest you reach out to SMSL but it seems you are well acquainted with their service
Jun 22, 2018
legobatman
93
Jun 22, 2018
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PeteMtlthis a group buy site for people who want to get products on the cheap... or cheaper. the model revolves around Price x Quantity. once the Quantity starts including spare parts for repair, extra units for replacements, extra employees to handle refunds etc. then the model is essentially just another online retailer and the product pricing will likely upward adjust to reflect that
if you want full-on product and customer support then buy from Amazon (or whichever store you prefer) where the model aligns to what you are demanding
Jun 22, 2018
PeteMtl
441
Jun 22, 2018
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legobatmanWhen a company proposes exclusive products such as the SDAC, O2, Cavalli amps, R2R DAC, then it’s a lot more than a reseller or group buy, it becomes a manufacturer, even though they actually subcontract to el cheapo chinese plants the production and assembly of their products. When you become a manufacturer, you must support your products. When your products happen to be assembled with the wrong parts and are flawed (O2-SDAC), then you should stand for your products and service then, repair them to specifications or enter in a agreement with a sub contractor, a service repair compny, that will service them in the same way. That is what responsible companies do, el cheapo group buy or not. And by the way, if they act solely as a group buy for a product that they don’t own, such as those chinese DACs, the fact that they are just a group buy doesn’t excuse them for doing nothing. If they sell flawed products, or products with the wrong accessories, they should also stand for what they sell, be responsible, and find solutions, not vouchers. In this example, they should take the trouble of finding and sending the right electrical power supply, either by ordering it from the manufacturer in China or finding a compatible spare part. If their business plan makes it difficult to open themselves a customer satisfaction department or a full service and repair shop, then they could enter into a long term agreement with a service company that can provide the service for them as a subcontractor. It makes no difference to the customer, as long as the after sale service is provided. It’s time for Massdrop to evolve and rethink its after sale service strategy. Recent events show that Massdrop is not standing for its customers for after sale service, and in the context of more and more Massdrop exclusive proposed products it’s only going to get worse for them and for their customers if they don’t care to change theur strategy soon.
Jun 22, 2018
legobatman
93
Jun 22, 2018
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PeteMtli agree with you on the first part, SMSL should stand behind their product. but that is a separate issue than the one i was addressing - the M8A is not a MD product so i do not understand what / how / why there is an expectation of product support from a retailer
on your second point, yes a group buy model does excuse them from everything you listed. MD provides a platform that connects OEMs to a group of buyers. eBay provides an auction platform that connects sellers to buyers. i can see the argument for MD needing to perform due diligence for OEMs, payment issues, shipping issues, but after sales support (outside of collabs) do not make sense
every request you listed is pretty much provided by traditional retailers (internet or brick and mortar) or OEM direct to customer sales (e.g. Noble). if you want product warranties, full on after sales support, then you need to buy directly from those channels that offer what you are looking for
some other proxies to use here are Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and Huckberry. none of the companies using this crowdfunding / group buy model are structured to take on after sales support for other people's product
Jun 22, 2018
PeteMtl
441
Jun 22, 2018
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legobatmanI hear you but I don’t agree with you. Retailers should stand by their products and provide assistance, repair, replacement, refund depending on the issue. In my country, retailers must provide such assistance, and are bound by the manufacturers claims, warranties and specifications. We have laws that state this in all Provinces and a famous Supreme Court decision (GM vs. Kravitz) has recognised such obligations that bind Retailers, distributors and manufacturers together, jointly and severally. Massdrop is a US company, I agree, but I expect such service nevertheless From a responsible company like what should be Massdrop.
Jun 22, 2018
ctbarker32
38
Jun 22, 2018
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legobatmanYou twit. Massdrop is a retailer. If I buy from B&H, Amazon, Best Buy, Costco, etc. and have a defective product I can often exchange for a working product or at the very least put me in contact with a company representive to resolve my issue. There are implicit warranties and consumer protection in various states (e.g. lemon laws). MD did nothing to assist me. Maybe MD hides behind some Enduser notice I haven't read? Answer this. When you buy a product that becomes defective in a short time do you just eat the cost or do you try to reach someone to resolve? So according to your response to PeeMtl then Massdrop can ship me an empty box and I have no recourse. Also, I recalll MD proactively notifying buyers about a Coffee machine I bought that had cracked carafes. I think they orffered to resolve somehow? So MD is inconsistent at best how they handle these issues. I asked MD for a contact at SMSL and they couldn't be bothered to help. I had to track down my own contact and got lucky once but not the second time. Another time with an O2 product it was supposed to come with a power supply but did not ship. They later shipped out replacement power supplies. Again, very inconsistent. You go on and on about the overhead for customer support. MD knew going into this that there would sometimes be issues? At the very least, they should be prepared to give a manufacturer contact for the end user. Twit.
Jun 22, 2018
gtb75
340
Jun 23, 2018
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ctbarker32The Massdrop return policy is clearly documented; " We only offer returns for items that arrive damaged, defective, not as advertised, or missing components. " Their warranty policy is also clearly documented; " Some products purchased on Massdrop include a manufacturer's warranty. These products will have the warranty listed on the drop page. Products that don’t come with a manufacturer's warranty will be subject to a 30-day return policy. " If you don't like the policies then don't buy here - simple as that. I have been shopping with Massdrop since 2015 and have spent nearly $4K here over the last few years. Whenever I have had to deal with their support they have been fantastic, responding quickly even on weekends. That being said, I have no problem understanding that stuff I buy here is essentially non returnable - and I'm fine with that. If I buy from a more traditional retailer (Amazon, etc) I expect a 30 day return policy if I don't like it, but that isn't the case here. I think I had one order missing components and Massdrop made it right with no issues. If an item breaks after I get it I fully understand that I need deal directly with the manufacturer for warranty service. The same would be true for something purchased from a traditional retailer like Amazon outside of their 30 day return policy, and that makes perfect sense. As for Massdrop providing manufacturer contact info, I can find that on the web on my own. And don't resort to name calling ("twit") if you to respond to this - I will flag your comment for removal if you do. Again, if you don't like Massdrop's clearly documented return and warranty policies then don't buy stuff here.
Jun 23, 2018
legobatman
93
Jun 23, 2018
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PeteMtlfair enough :) with the context you provided i can see where you are coming from
Jun 23, 2018
ctbarker32
38
Aug 12, 2018
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gtb75Just a followup to this thread for anyone that cares.
I finally reached Kelly again at SMSL and he offered me the chance to return my DAC to China at my expense for repair. I did so using USPS priority that cost about $23. That's the cheapest way I could find? Amazingly, it arrived in about two weeks and was repaired. My unit did suffer a small ding in one corner (probably dropped). I could have packed it better but I was worried about weight and cost of shipping. Given this little device has now traveled back and forth from China to the US twice, I consider it a badge of honor!
My DAC arrived back to me about a month after I first shipped it and now appears to working once again.
So, SMSL does stand behind their products and it is possible to do repairs/returns to China.
By the way, I believe based on all my purchases here at Massdrop I might be in the upper 10% of customers? I have also turned on a lot of people to Massdrop in my local HiFi group (100 strong). So I don't think my comments were out of line given this is the first time I actively complained about a product.
Finally, calling someone a "silly or foolish person" hardly rises to the level of invective venom? But given the hyper sensitive times we live in I will refrain from even that mild moniker.
Aug 12, 2018
Smugmug
64
Aug 19, 2019
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gtb75They should list it on every applicable product drop page - for this drop in Aug 2019, no, screen shot taken.
Aug 19, 2019
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