ebay price for new polk speakers

sapphire9800

how is it someone is able to sell NEW IN BOX speakers signifanctly BELOW polkdirects REFURB price for a pair of speakers on ebay? How is that even possible?

be83663

sapphire9800 wrote: »

how is it someone is able to sell NEW IN BOX speakers signifanctly BELOW polkdirects REFURB price for a pair of speakers on ebay? How is that even possible?

I don't know how it is possible either; but if you don't mind waiting for 2-4 weeks to receive yours cheaper too, then it is one way to buy NEW POLK SPEAKERS. I got entire series of my 7.1 LSi speaker system online for 1/2-2/3 the MSRP price. They are working fine, and were NEW of course.

mmadden28

But with NO warranty. Just keep that in mind.

sponger

If I'm not mistaken, Polk backs their refurbished products the same way that their new products are backed.

I can't think of any Ebay sellers that are going to stand by their products for 5 years. Some of them offer their own 1 year warranty, but who really knows how efficient or friendly that warranty really is.

Polk is just a phone call away and from what I've heard, it's a very friendly and open minded phone call with customer service reps who are paid to put a smile on your face, not to just live up to a contract.

It all depends on what your priorities are I suppose.

sapphire9800

where is it these resellers get their polk products from for cheaper then msrp?

mmadden28

sponger wrote: »

If I'm not mistaken, Polk backs their refurbished products the same way that their new products are backed.

Although its not obvious, only the new speakers (ebay or not) have the full warranty.
Refurbs are only 180days.

sponger

mmadden28 wrote: »

Although its not obvious, only the new speakers (ebay or not) have the full warranty.
Refurbs are only 180days.

If that's the case, then it does seem a little strange.

sponger

mmadden28 wrote: »

Although its not obvious, only the new speakers (ebay or not) have the full warranty.
Refurbs are only 180days.

I think I was thinking of Harman Kardon's refurbished items on Ebay, which come with the original factory warranty. My mistake. Thanks for pointing that out.

mmadden28

Honestly the several refurb products I bought from Polkdirect on ebay, to me, were like new. You could have fooled me if you told me they were new.
It is my opinion that in reality the product is likely new, but Polk likely wants to blow some of thier old stock out, and by selling them as refurb-they sell with the shorter warranty. What better way to limit thier liability on a new product than to sell them as refurbs shortening the warranty period?

be83663

sapphire9800 wrote: »

where is it these resellers get their polk products from for cheaper then msrp?

These online dealers get their Polk speakers from Polkaudio manufacturers. Their speakers come with serial numbers on the box with a sticker label saying that they are "NEW".

Eric W

Can happen a few ways. It can be backdoored, stolen, transshipped, B-stock or refurb'd. We've even seen our stuff copied and cloned! Much like the sellers selling Rolex watches for $50 or Oakley sunglasses for $10.

In the end, it's a gamble. You may actually wind up with genuine product or it may be a cheap knock off. If you have any issues though, you are own your own.

Here's some more reasons you should only buy from an Authorized Retailer:
http://www.polkaudio.com/dealerlocator/authorized.php

heiney9

Generally there is a high margin on speakers. What happens is 1 of 2 things. The NIB Polks offered on e-bay are either a factory authorized company selling them at close to cost OR the same authorized Polk dealer has sold to a third party (at a discount) and they are now being offered by the third party who is not an "authorized" Polk dealer.

I every case the serial numbers are removed so Polk has difficulty tracing the speakers origin. Authorized dealers can be "punished" for this type of behavior as it goes against the standard business practices established between wholesaler and retailer. Is it illegal? no! But companies can make the retailer's life difficult or pull the line entirely; rightly so.

Selling out the back door is a shady business practice that companies like Polk don't care for. They are in business to control the distribution and the image of the company based on who they authorize to sell and service their products.

H9

dkg999

If an eBay seller advertises the Polk speaker as "new", "sealed", "new in box", or similar verbiage, and you receive them with the serial #'s altered or removed, take on the seller through eBay and PayPal. I bought a pair of supposedly "new" Polk speakers via eBay from a supposedly "authorized" dealer, and the speakers had no serial# tags on them. I wound up keeping the speakers and keeping my money. Your mileage may vary!

BjornB17

Have you guys heard of the sellers the_e_warehouse or get-electronics-now on ebay? They advertise in their product title that they are Polk Authorized, and their products come with serial numbers. Eric, could you tell me if they are authorized?

Tracy

dkg999 wrote: »

If an eBay seller advertises the Polk speaker as "new", "sealed", "new in box", or similar verbiage, and you receive them with the serial #'s altered or removed, take on the seller through eBay and PayPal. I bought a pair of supposedly "new" Polk speakers via eBay from a supposedly "authorized" dealer, and the speakers had no serial# tags on them. I wound up keeping the speakers and keeping my money. Your mileage may vary!

No offense meant - But weren't you supposed to send the speakers back to the seller if you got your money back from Paypal? Again - no offense meant.

lakesailor

I can’t speak for Polk however I know of a case with Pioneer many years back where a huge regional dealer made a “special” deal with Pioneer USA to purchase a massive amount of DVD players at a very discounted price due to the huge volume (this was back in the days before DVD’s players were a dime a dozen in places like Wally World as they are today)

Long story short this huge “authorized” regional dealer; sold a ton of these units out the back door to unauthorized Pioneer dealers in Canada. These Canadian dealers sold these DVD’s players for less than the landed cost to legitimate Pioneer dealers. And yes; identification numbers were removed form shipping boxes and the units themselves.

The only warranty you get is usually provided by the dealer who sells the item; and if that is over the Internet; good luck.

Kex

Tracy wrote: »

No offense meant - But weren't you supposed to send the speakers back to the seller if you got your money back from Paypal? Again - no offense meant.

I had a problem recently where I bought "genuine" Sony rechargeable batteries from eBay. The seller claimed to be located in Florida, USA, and we exchanged messages before the sale to confirm they were genuine. In the event, they were far from dirt cheap, shipped from Hong Kong (!) and didn't seem to work like the OEM batteries purchased with the charger. I did some research to confirm my suspicions and contacted Sony to confirm they were most likely fake before contesting the sale vie eBay. The seller immediately refunded my money via PayPal, hoping that I would remove my negative comment.

I never used the batteries (too risky for my equipment and/or $30 charger) and the seller did not ask me to return them. It would have cost him more to have me ship them back to Hong Kong (a suburb of Florida USA, I believe ) than they were worth.

Although these speakers could hardly actually damage equipment, the shipping cost to return them would have been prohibitive. In the case of an overtly fraudulent sale, the seller would have to pay the return shipping costs if he expects to get the product back. Why would the buyer pay for shipping when the product was obviously not "as described"?

I have no sympathy for this type of eBay seller. It's just a pity that feedback doesn't always reflect reality. My battery seller had a more than 98% positive feedback. When you checked the details though, you could find comments such as people saying "they don't seem to last as long as I thought, but ..." or "I thought they were in Florida, but the product shipped from Hong Kong". The few negative comments, frequently withdrawn (but still readable) before receiving a refund revealed more meaningful issues. That is why I always read a few of the negative feedback comments about sellers before deciding to buy on eBay. The positive comments don't always reveal the truth.

dkg999

Tracy wrote: »

No offense meant - But weren't you supposed to send the speakers back to the seller if you got your money back from Paypal? Again - no offense meant.

"supposed to" is so open to multiple interpretations :eek: I offered to send them back to him after I sent one of the partial serial number stickers that was in the box to Polk Audio to see if the original retailer could be identified. Mr Authorized Polk Seller in Las Vegas NV decided it was too much trouble to have the speakers shipped back.

RedBrave

dkg999 wrote: »

If an eBay seller advertises the Polk speaker as "new", "sealed", "new in box", or similar verbiage, and you receive them with the serial #'s altered or removed, take on the seller through eBay and PayPal. I bought a pair of supposedly "new" Polk speakers via eBay from a supposedly "authorized" dealer, and the speakers had no serial# tags on them. I wound up keeping the speakers and keeping my money. Your mileage may vary!

Can you pls tell me the procedure to make these kind of complaints? I am in a similar boat. I didn't knew before buying from a eBay seller. Now, I have realized and want to get out of the transaction and buy from an authorized dealer.

Polkitup2

If that happens and you feel your speakers are not as described in the ebay ad, you can start the ebay dispute process. Just look at the resolving buyer problems section of the help on the ebay web page.

mmadden28

Yep, some examples:
If it says New in Box Factory sealed, and you get it New in Box Factory sealed-it is as described, but still not honored by Polk for warranty-There is nothing eBay can do for you there.
If the ad states fully covered under Manufacturer warranty? Don't know if there's recourse or not
If it states NIB factory sealed, but the Serial #s are altered or removed, well there is cause. Be careful, it could be sealed, but just not original factory seal-it is after all just tape.

You simply can't take an ebay seller's word that they are an authorized reseller of a certain product or if a warranty is valid. If you're unsure contact the manfacturer (or check thier website) and ask them if the seller is authorized. Here's an example of a site showing who is authorized: (just FYI) Onkyo


Whatever you find, unless its very obviously different...If it is, you can file a complaint. I'm not sure if its the official title, but I've always known it as SNAD or Significantly Not As Described.

Then after everything else-look at what kind of deal you might be getting-it just might be worth the chance that it won't fail, and if it does well then its on you.

RedBrave

Polkitup2 & mmadden28,

Thank you so much for your replies and suggestions. I'll look at these points when it arrives.

educatedink

I've purchased Polk car speakers several times, but only from one vendor via Ebay. Everything has arrived as promised with SNs. As for a warranty, I generally use Squaretrade. Whether you like them or not, I filed a claim for phone and received a check for the purchase price within a timely manner. I've never had any issues with the Polk car audio.

educatedink

Polk also sells directly via Ebay. I've actually seen the listed items. Just a friendly FYI.

polkieintx

Might be slightly off topic, but I thought this may be of interest since we're talking about ebay. Microsoft is offering 20% cashback for many ebay items... only restrictions are that you need buy them using "Buy it Now" and pay using paypal. You need to go to live.com and search for the items like "polk speakers" and then click on the ebay link if it shows up. More details can be found here. The cashback % is known to vary quite a bit, so it may go up or down from the current 20% level.

Click here to see some polk speakers that are currently available via Buy it Now.