I have a question for anyone with experience, and that is what is most people's opinions on purchasing products off of e-bay and the likes. I figuring out my system for my 250 and I added everything up on Crutchfield. Wanted to go with them because of their support and instructions and what not. But the price came to about $2800. Then I went on e-bay and added things up mainly coming from those stores that sell on e-bay and it came to about $1300. Now the dollars and cents part is obvious but my concern is with warranty type stuff. I know that some audio companies don't honor their warranties if their product isn't purchased from licensed dealers. Do the warranties that the online stores advertise usually pan out to be legit??? I plan on buying quality brand name items....Pioneer, Infinity, etc. but don't want to not get it replaced if it breaks. All opinions and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

judging from your post and signature, if you have the money, just buy it from your local audio shop. that way you are able to drive over there if something breaks and get it replaced on the spot. alot of the internet dealers arent authorized to sell cetrain brands, therefore you do not have a warranty directly from the manufacturer. used and refurbished items are known to be called "new", when you receive them your out of luck. you get what you pay for, even though i dont have much money the 2 grand if put on my system has been spent at my local audio.

 

Judging by my post and my signature??? Now should I take offense to that statement???

 

My local Audio shop had my Head unit $100.00 cheaper than Crutchfield's SALE price for the same item, and installation was free.

You usually get a better warranty if installed by an authorized dealer.

I'm leary of E-bay personally.

 

Could you give a list of what components you were thinking about purchasing?? Just curious as to what you were planning on running that totaled 2800...
Ray

 

Ok first off let me say that they were products that I was considering, and none of it was set in stone, also let me say that it was a test shopping experience to see about how much I was gonna be looking at with that set-up. With that said.....Pioneer 9400MP....Infinity Kappa 5.25 components up front.....Infinity Kappa 5x7's in the rear....those powered by a RF 700X amp.....2 Infinity Perfect 10.1d's powered by a RF 601s and then I think there was a couple of wiring kits thrown in there also.....

 

You'll like the perfect 10's, I ran two of them in my 2000 CC for about 8 months. I assume you are going to have a box built for behind your rear seat, be careful that you leave enough room for the excusion of your subs. The first box I had built was too close to the seat to allow for proper excusion.

Good Luck.

LH

 

By it local. You can wheel and deal w/ most audio shops on price in this area.

 

ha ha.....thanks Hef.

 

Although some peoples experiances are different, i have only had GOOD transactions with online retailers. (believe me, ive done a bit of business as you can see by my sig. =)
Although many online retailers are not authorized by the manufacturer, MOST of them will provide a warranty that matches the manufacturers. Check this at the site your interested in.

Some online retailers ive used that are very good and reliable are:

www.onlinecarstereo.com
www.carmedia1.com
and ive also EBAY'ed quite a few items.

Lemme know if you have any questions about the gear you want to purchase =)

Steve

 

Here are some really great (and cheap) audio sites.


CBR Stereo
Etronics
6th Avenue Electronics

I bought a Pioneer Premier DEH-P640 cd player (one of the really nice ones) that retails for $315 from 6th Avenue Electronics for $177.77 and it totalled $190.24 after shipping. NOT BAD! That was a steal. Best Buy and Circuit City have the non-Premier DEH-P6400 model of this radio for like $250 - $275. Try Etronics for everything. Its a really cheap site also.

 

I'd just like to state the old "if it's too good to be true, it probably is"... buy with caution, use your head, don't be reactionary is all.

Ebay can be a very dangerous place to buy, and it can be a great place at the same time. You have no choice but to be careful.

There are definitely scammers out there... everything ranging from people with complete fraud auctions, to people selling refurbished product as new, to people mis-stating the condition of used gear, to people with good intentions but no follow-through.

and do be aware that the feedback system is flawed... it is really easy to jump on, make a ton of small-dollar purchases, or have pseudo-id's, or friends pump up your feedback, etc..

Anyways, you also need to consider that you will almost never purchase a product online and end up with a warranty. That might be a big consideration for you.. where's your protection from gear that arrives DOA? You might have saved $5, but wouldn't $5 be considered pretty cheap insurance?
You have to seriously consider the balance.

There are several companies now, with a sort of "new age" business model (like mine.. heh, too bad most of our product is too big to fit in most trucks! ), manufacturers who sell direct. So it's not impossible to get good prices over the web, AND end up buying from an authorized dealer -
... but IMO you should try to understand where your cost savings are coming from - is it from the elimination of several traditional profiteers in the sales chain... or is it due to something shady?

I'd hate to see people stuck with product that wasn't as advertised, or were left unsupported, or were just left out money, with nothing delivered.

Be careful, and good luck!