Has anyone used the Onkyo Trade-In Program?

asindc

Not sure if this is the correct forum for this. Mods, please re-locate to correct forum if not.

If anyone has used the Onkyo Trade-In Program to trade in an old Onkyo receiver for a refurbished new model, please share your thoughts. I sent my old model into Onkyo USA in New Jersey almost two weeks ago and have not received the newer one yet (I live within a two-day shipping window from NJ). In fact, I called a couple of times last week and was told that my order would be processed that same day. I sent an email three days ago to the Customer Service Rep who I've been dealing with and have gotten no response. Anyone who has experience dealing with Onkyo on this program, or even Onkyo customer service in general, please share your thoughts.

Polkie2009

This is the first I have even heard of anything like this in AV gear. It sounds like some kind of "cash for clunkers" for used Onkyo gear. But you can only trade in Onkyo gear for new Onkyo equipment?

Mikey081057

call them back and demand to speak to a manager.. tell him/her your story along with the delinquent commitments and make them give you an order number and a tracking number. Have you paid them yet?

jon s

I would not consider any Onkyo product... They have been unreliable with all kinds of issues... There have been some recon units that failed as well... It appears they have not gotten a handle on their failure rate for several years. Basically, they cut corners and now its biting them where the sun don't shine....

asindc

Mikey081057 wrote: »

call them back and demand to speak to a manager.. tell him/her your story along with the delinquent commitments and make them give you an order number and a tracking number. Have you paid them yet?

Haven't paid yet. They are supposed to call to receive payment and arrange shipment. My next step is the Manager. The next step after that is the state Consumer Affairs office.

PolkieMan

I have have three and my friend has two.... no problems.

You can also file online with the Better Business Bureau in the area where they are located.
I take it you had a tracking number and show delivery of your old unit to them?
They can be reached at 1-800-229-1687 option #3.

jon s wrote: »

I would not consider any Onkyo product... They have been unreliable with all kinds of issues... There have been some recon units that failed as well... It appears they have not gotten a handle on their failure rate for several years. Basically, they cut corners and now its biting them where the sun don't shine....

asindc

PolkieMan wrote: »

I have have three and my friend has two.... no problems.

You can also file online with the Better Business Bureau in the area where they are located.
I take it you had a tracking number and show delivery of your old unit to them?
They can be reached at 1-800-229-1687 option #3.

Yes and yes. I'm going to give this until COB Monday before taking the next steps. Thanks to all for the feedback.

dbKiller

I am interested in the end result, please keep posted when you get new information.

asindc

As it happens, progress was made yesterday. Onkyo called to get my credit card info and said the refurbished unit would be shipped within 48 hours. This is consistent with what was explained to me at the beginning. Of course, this does not explain the delay (or if in fact this does constitute a delay) or the lack of communication. Update to follow.

PolkieMan

I wonder if they are all suffering from the Holidaze?
Some people at my work still haven't came back yet and there is a lot of loose ends.
Could you go into details on like how much they gave you for the old and what the new one cost?

asindc wrote: »

As it happens, progress was made yesterday. Onkyo called to get my credit card info and said the refurbished unit would be shipped within 48 hours. This is consistent with what was explained to me at the beginning. Of course, this does not explain the delay (or if in fact this does constitute a delay) or the lack of communication. Update to follow.

asindc

PolkieMan wrote: »

I wonder if they are all suffering from the Holidaze?
Some people at my work still haven't came back yet and there is a lot of loose ends.
Could you go into details on like how much they gave you for the old and what the new one cost?

If you call Onkyo USA they will send you an email of how the program works. Essentially you fill out a form they send you on which you identify which receiver you want in return for your old one and you send the old one to them. The email they send has a price list for all the available receivers, which includes some just recently discontinued models.

PolkieMan

Thanks, let us know if you are happy with your results.

asindc wrote: »

If you call Onkyo USA they will send you an email of how the program works. Essentially you fill out a form they send you on which you identify which receiver you want in return for your old one and you send the old one to them. The email they send has a price list for all the available receivers, which includes some just recently discontinued models.

teekay0007

I've had several Onkyo products over the years and still have a few of them and have never had a lemon. In fact, I've been very pleased with their products overall, but I get the impression by reading MANY reviews on Amazon, etc. that their customer service really is a VERY weak point. So, I'm interested in what your (asindc, or others) impressions will be once you've been through this trade-in process with them.

Could you give us a better idea of how good the program is? I mean, how much are they reducing the price of their discontinued models, or their refurb's, whatever the case may be, and how much are they giving you for your unit? ie. what model (age?) are you trading in and what are you getting for how much?

Some of these things sound A LOT better on the surface than they really are once you dig into the details. For instance, a while back Best Buy introduced a "Buy Back Program", or something similarly named, saying that they didn't want to leave you with outdated, obsolete gear, so they'd buy it back from you when you wanted to upgrade or exchange. Well, in the details of the program, I found out that they were offering you "Up to 50%" of what you paid for your item for UP TO SIX MONTHS after the purchase date and that at a year, they were willing to give you up to 10% of the purchase price. These figures also applied only if the gear was in excellent condition, by their definition. There was also an enrollment fee for the program of about $50.

Given these parameters, you could get $150 back on an excellent condition $1500 TV that you'd bought from them a year ago!!! That leaves $100 net after subtracting the enrollment fee. I don't know what happened as far as the taxes paid goes. Sales tax on $1500 here would come to $108.75. So, I think once it was all said and done, you paid $1658.75 for the TV, tax and the Buy Back enrollment fee originally and between six months and a year later, they would graciously give you $150 (assuming excellent condition) back for it - AS NOT TO LEAVE YOU WITH OBSOLETE GEAR!

Yeah, you'll notice that program no longer exists.......I wonder why!!

begbie

My recent model Onkyo still going strong after 2 years. Tons of features.

Had a Harmon Kardon before but I'm not impressed with what's offered today from H/K

asindc

Well, I received my receiver today without any advance notice, despite the fact that Onkyo said they would send me an email with the tracking number once it shipped. The package had to be signed for, so luckily I did not leave my house 15 minutes before it arrived, as I had originally planned. The receiver, the TX-NR828, is performing very well so far. Can't say the same for Onkyo's customer service, particularly the lack of communication. I would not have minded the wait if I had been properly informed at the beginning. They were diligent in answering emails when finalizing the trade in process, but after I shipped the old unit... nothing except the phone call to get my payment.

As far as whether or not it's worth the trouble, here is the price list that was sent with the initial email on Dec. 5:

Trade In Price Listing:

TX-SR 309 $85
TX-NR 509 $115
TX-NR 609 $160
TX-NR 709 $270
TX-NR 809 $400
TX-NR 1009 $500
TX-NR 3009 $800
TX-NR 5009 $1100

Newer Models:

TX-SR 313 $145
TX-NR 414 $135
TX-NR 515 $175
TX-NR 616 $205
TX-NR 717 $400
TX-NR 818 $500
HT-RC 330 $75
HT-RC 360 $175
HT-RC 370 $270
HT-RC 440 $155
HT-RC 460 $175
HT-RC 470 $300
TX 8050 $135
TX 8255 $80
DX-C 390 $80
TX-NR 525 $205
TX-NR 626 $300
TX-NR 727 $424
TX-NR 828 $550
PR-SC 5508 $1000
PR-SC 5509 $1200
TX-NR 1010 $950
TX-NR 3010 $1100
TX-NR 5010 $1500

If you find a super deal for a new or refurb, I'd recommend going that route and avoiding dealing with Onkyo directly. Otherwise, depending on what you're trading in and getting back, it might be worth it.

teekay0007

So, asindc, you got the TX-NR828 for $550 with a trade-in of your unit? Was that for a new, used or refurb'd 828? What did you trade in to get that price? Is this price list the same regardless of what level of a receiver you trade in? ie. could I get a receiver for the same price if I traded in a TX-82 (25-yrs old, 40 wpc, 2-ch) as I would if I traded in a TX-SR705 (6-yrs old, 100 wpc, 7.1-ch w/zone 2)?

asindc

teekay0007 wrote: »

So, asindc, you got the TX-NR828 for $550 with a trade-in of your unit?

Yes.

teekay0007 wrote: »

Was that for a new, used or refurb'd 828?

Refurb.

teekay0007 wrote: »

What did you trade in to get that price?

TX-SR808.

teekay0007 wrote: »

Is this price list the same regardless of what level of a receiver you trade in? ie. could I get a receiver for the same price if I traded in a TX-82 (25-yrs old, 40 wpc, 2-ch) as I would if I traded in a TX-SR705 (6-yrs old, 100 wpc, 7.1-ch w/zone 2)?

I was told yes in an email when I asked Onkyo USA this same question.