Forumer you are complaining against: DAViS

Item being sold/bought: Sennheiser MX400s

Original thread link:
- https://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=711189&hl=
- http://www.lelong.com.my/sennheiser-mx-400...3-07-Sale-P.htm

Date of transaction: 24th November 2012

Details of the complaint :
Thought of buying a pair of earphones, saw Davis' post in the forum. Decided to buy the MX400 that he's selling. But since his prices are all in Lelong, I opened and saw the model there. So since its all there, decided that it would be easier to buy on Lelong than to revert back to LYN.

So, the problem began when i received it on 28th November 2012. Excited, I opened the box and plugged it in to my computer to try it out. Lo and behold, the left side was softer than the right side. Thought maybe its just still too new, so left it plugged in with music for another 5 minutes and nothing changed. Even tried 2 other devices, and the results all came back the same.

After greater scrutiny, I realised that the box stated that the earphones are supposed to have a symmetrical cable setup, but the actual earphones have an asymmetrical cabling setup instead.
Furthermore, the packaging of the earphones also indicate that there are supposed to be 'ear pads' included within the package. This however was not present within the packaging of the earphones.

I have contacted DAViS with regards to this matter, and all that he could say was for me to go settle the issue myself with the local distributor. I can't comprehend why I should be the one liable for the extra costs and time needed to rectify this problem, when in fact the earphones already arrived defective, incomplete and altogether different from the specifications printed on the packaging.

And since the manner in which he talks to his customers leave much to be desired, I have decided to stop all email correspondences with him and ultimately opted to settle this issue here.

Finally, the solutions to this problem which I deem reasonable and fair for DAViS to perform are either:-
1. to refund my purchase price in full, and for me to return the product and all else that came with it.
2. to exchange the faulty unit I received with a perfectly functioning new unit.
3. to compensate in full, all the time and expenses that will be incurred to rectify this problem with the local distributor.

I hope this matter can be resolved swiftly, as ultimately I purchased the earphones to use them, not to have them be with the distributor for another month or two.

Thanks for your time reading, and best regards.

This post has been edited by zx7177: Dec 2 2012, 10:53 PM


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Question is, why is it that I cant get you to rectify the problem for me? I bought it from you, why should I bear the costs of sending it in and waiting for it to be fixed?

If you and the distributor's stock doesn't have the text as I have shown, then why am I receiving a unit that is different from yours? The picture I posted was taken from the inside of the packaging YOU sent me.

Also, why must you keep on referring me to the distributor when you are the person who sold me the goods?

edit: Furthermore, the goods ARRIVED FAULTY. Shouldn't you as a seller be responsible for that?

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Added on December 2, 2012, 4:55 pmHi, thanks for the added input. Mine only came with the earphones. Nothing else was in the packaging.

As the seller says its the latest packaging, however his product does not match the packaging that arrived together with it. Thus I'll be referring to Sennheiser directly before I proceed with any further action, since clearly, DAViS doesn't want to be held responsible for anything after the sale was done.

This post has been edited by zx7177: Dec 2 2012, 05:16 PM

Okay, since you've said the distributor already knows about it, how about you send me the details of the person I need to contact. I also find it quite interesting that you did not inform me that the distributor is aware of the situation up until I posted this thread over here.

Oh and by the way, in your summary you seem to have missed out the elephant in the room, the malfunctioning left earbud. Just FYI.

And i'll also upload another photo to the first post to better clarify the "symmetric cable" that you speak of as well.

Thanks

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Added on December 2, 2012, 9:21 pmYup. Currently I'll wait for DAViS to pm me the distributor's details or something, and I'll try and call them by tomorrow. If all goes well, hopefully will be able to send it in on Tuesday.

In the meantime, will be waiting for Sennheiser to reply my emails regarding this issue.

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Added on December 2, 2012, 9:25 pmI guess I have no choice but to do just that. The main idea of buying the earphones online is to not inconvenience myself to go out and purchase them as I've got work, but now, it clearly seems as if buying at a shop would have been a better idea.

This post has been edited by zx7177: Dec 2 2012, 09:25 PM

Well, since you decided to post the email, let's post up the whole conversation for everyone to see shall we?


- So this is basically what I sent DAViS along with his reply. Immediately has to highlight that the box was sealed. True, but only for the top of the box, the bottom however does not have any seal.


- Email No. 2. Sent over the photo's in post #1. And his response was to immediately refer me to the distributor for me to settle the issue myself.


- Email No. 3. Me not being happy with his response, I question his actions, or the lack of it. And thus comes his reply. By this time I was thoroughly fed up with him, and decided to not bother replying.


- Email No. 4. His later reply. Again emphasizing for me to go deal with the issue myself without offering any assistance to even contact the distributor regarding the issue.

The time lapse between that final email until today was basically the timeframe I gave for him to at the very least, contact the distributor and get back to me regarding the issue.
However, as of today I realised that DAViS obviously doesn't want to be in any way responsible for this sale of his by the lack of his feedback since that final email, and that I'll need to get help to settle my issue here.

I do agree that the deal was done in Lelong, however, with DAViS' thread contents, he obviously wants buyers to go to Lelong to purchase their goods. If you honestly wanted to sell your goods listed within your thread, why do your buyers need to refer to your Lelong page to know your prices?

Thus, to conclude my post here:-
- DAViS, in none of the email correspondences with me stated that he has contacted the distributor regarding this issue, as he has stated in post #2. Am I supposed to be telepathic and know that he has?
- All of a sudden, when I post this thread here, on a Sunday no less, that he can say that both he and the distributor have opened one package each respectively, and that their packages DO NOT have the asymmetric cable setup that my unit has.

Thank you for your time reading. Good day.

edit: grammar

edit 2: DAViS, since you said you have already spoken with the distributor, may I know who did you speak to? Would make it much easier when I call them tomorrow. Thanks.

This post has been edited by zx7177: Dec 2 2012, 10:55 PM

Regarding the issue of it being a RM60 pair of earphones, it has nothing to do with price. Where are my rights as a consumer? If the thing malfunctioned AFTER I've had the thing for a while, yes, I would not bother the seller, and go back directly to the distributor.
However, any normal person in my situation, would directly go back to the seller as the product already had issues the moment I took it out of the box. Not surprising that I want DAViS to be responsible for my issues right?

Regarding the fact that DAViS is FINALLY so free to check up on my issue with the distributor, multiple times today even, why didn't he do so earlier?
Only bother to take action once I posted it here for the world to see? Very professional indeed.

Also, if it weren't obvious enough already, today is a MONDAY. Does DAViS think I have nothing better to do than to just sit here and look at this thread all day long? As with other normal people, I have to work.

@WaCKy-Angel, precisely what I thought of when he said that the 2 units they checked out were different from mine.

If the product works fine out of the box, I don't think you'll have any issues with him. But if anything were to happen to it, I'm guessing you're out of luck and will have to settle the issue yourself.

And yes, I paid for a working product, not one which is defective, need to waste time and money to go and solve the issue and also unhelpful customer service from the seller. Imagine my disappointment.

Worse still was that I was actually eagerly awaiting the earphones as my old pair of Sennheiser MX500's have failed on me after many years of faithful service....

I am aware that you have updated them. Yet when I call them, the person you named wasn't in during working hours. Am I supposed to be responsible for that as well?

Oh, and thanks for your well mannered speech.

You can be on a beach in the Bahamas or lying in a hospital ward, it doesn't matter much to me. The fact that you're still actively bumping your threads means you're still healthy enough to conduct business. So why should you not be fit enough to reply to this thread here?

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Added on December 3, 2012, 4:15 pmI do understand what you mean. Appreciate your feedback.

The main reason why I'm posting this here is basically as my form of feedback on what I've experienced during the course of these few days with regards to this matter.

Secondly, its because much of the action on DAViS' part was only taken after I posted this matter here. Prior to this all DAViS did was to tell me to contact the distributor myself, settle the issue myself and essentially not hold him responsible for selling it to me in the first place.

This post has been edited by zx7177: Dec 3 2012, 04:15 PM

Sorry, but I have no idea what I'm supposed to be seeing in your signature.

Do re-read the emails you've sent me. I suppose you have forgotten its content.

Also, I have no idea what is this 'magic' you're referring to. All that I've been seeing from this matter for the past few days have either been disappointment or plain frustration.

I have contacted them, however they have yet to revert back to me regarding this issue.

Also, I have spoken with the person from the distributor, and she'll check up on the issue of the cable and ear pads.
Regarding the faulty left earbud, I have completely given up hope on DAViS, and will settle this issue myself with the distributor.

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Added on December 3, 2012, 5:30 pmAnd regarding the bolded part, as per my conversation with the distributor, the person stated that all their units have an ASYMMETRICAL cable setup.

Whether it was a typo mistake or whatever, I let everyone else decide.

This post has been edited by zx7177: Dec 3 2012, 05:30 PM

Already sent it in to the distributor today. Since they accepted it, I'm guessing the wrong cabling isn't DAViS' fault. I'll definitely let the dealer have a piece of my mind regarding this issue.
But as per the distributor, it can only be settled after the unit returns from the service centre in Singapore. So until then, I still don't have what I've paid for.

On a side note, went to Cap Square for lunch today, and I realised that there was a Sennheiser shop there. Dropped by and saw that the MX400s they had in stock had:
- a symmetrical cable setup
- had the model number printed on the side of both earbuds (which mine didnt have)
- the 3.5mm jack was silver in colour (the one I received was gold)

All those details almost match exactly what my old pair of MX500 had. The best part is, it was on sale for only RM59 .
Whats even more interesting was, the shopkeeper said that they stock their goods from the distributor that DAViS referred me to....

So I'm guessing that this confusion would only be settled once the earphones are back from Singapore.

To be honest that's what I was most afraid of. But I'll wait for the distributor to get the earphones back before making any conclusions. Until then, it's too early to claim that they're fakes.

Thanks a lot for the link though, really appreciate it!

Will have a detailed look at it again when its back to see if it matches any of those points detailed in the article.

Thanks!

That's a good question. But since I don't really use those cases anyway, I'm not that concerned about the absence of it. Possibly was done as a means to cut costs on the manufacturer's side I suppose.

Regarding the sponge, my old MX500's did have them. Another means to cut costs I presume?

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Added on December 6, 2012, 9:25 pmThen I'll definitely be busy filing lots and lots of complaints.

This post has been edited by zx7177: Dec 6 2012, 09:25 PM

Got the replacement from the distributor already.

2 weeks ago when I called the distributor after dropping by the Sennheiser shop at Cap Square, I asked the person I was liaising with whether or not I could have my unit replaced with one that had an symmetrical cable setup as displayed in the shop. The person said I could, but since the unit I sent in was faulty, they would have to have that unit return from Singapore first before they could send me one with a symmetrical cable.

So on Friday, I came home to a courier package from the distributor. In it was the exact same plastic box I sent the faulty unit in, but with a completely different set of earphones. This time it had:-
- symmetrical cabling;
- Sennheiser logo and model on each earbud;
- a nickel coloured plug as opposed to the gold one the old pair had;
- a cable that had a texture consistent with that of my old MX500 (the faulty pair had cables that felt a little rubbery, a bit like those on a Creative EP630).

All in, I'm quite happy that I finally got what I paid for, albeit with the trouble of having to get someone to go to the distributor on my behalf as I had to work.

Though the representative from the distributorship had promised to contact me 2 weeks ago regarding the cabling, sponge and other questions I had regarding the earphones, I have yet to hear from them since that day I called them after visiting the Sennheiser shop.

I'd like to thank everyone for their opinions throughout this debacle. I hope that what I have experienced here can be of use to you whether as a seller, buyer or even distributor.