Members spaceshot Posted January 25, 2007 Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 Alright, so I buy a pedal from a reputable mom and pop dealer, it was part of a semi large order, I dropped some cash, and inquired about another few items that I would soon be filling this dealers cash drawer with. Well, excellent service, good price, no complaints. Something doesn't quite look or sound right with one of the pedals- my good friend has same pedal- I was impressed so I bought one. This pedal sounds like a sterile ass (which actually would be a good thing on a female) and it looks like it was spray painted in a garage, where as my friends looks like a mass produced, automated finishing process. I e-mailed the builder and asked whats up? He asks for the serial number and it turns out the pedal I just purchased as new was three to four years old. And on top of that it was indeed one of his early creations, you know, garage, trial and error, limited funds. I inform the dealer of this and he informs me "Pedals are not bread, they don't go stale sitting on a shelf." I pointed out the finish flaws and how the builder insisted any pedal with a flawed finish should be sold as a second, and appropriately discounted. The dealer came back with: who the hell cares what it looks like, its the sound that counts. And there he had it. It sounds no where as good as my friends, and being that it is designed around germanium transistors, I highly doubt the builder was using the same batch of germaniums four years ago as today. I am a quiet reserved guy, I have very little nerve, and this dealer made me feel like a complete dick, like I was being an asshole over a scratch in the paint. He must have forgotten the part where the serial# indicated it was quite a few years old. Sorry for the rant, long story short, the builder, Joel Weaver, of homebrew electronics is a stand up guy and a smart business man. He was overly willing to lose one old pedal to gain a new customer. The other dude is a loser. He took a good chunk of change, placed an order for another nice chunk of change in the coming weeks, and flushed it down the toilet by making me feel like a dick for merely telling him the flawed pedal he sold me at full price was a good three to four years old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members T3 Posted January 25, 2007 Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 it's a hard call... i mean, the pedal is new in that it has no previous owner, and isn't misrepresented... although i would agree, the after-sales leaves a lot to be desired.... i'd have thought any savvy businessman would suck up the potential profit in the pedal in a refund and put it back on the shelf to keep you sweet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted January 25, 2007 Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 Some people can't see past their nose as the saying goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wilbo26 Posted January 25, 2007 Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 If you're not happy with it, take it back and ask for a refund. If they won't give you your money back how the hell did they become reputable??? If he was a dick to you never give him your money again. Also, I'm assuming you told Joel about this...usually builders don't like their dealers treating customers like you were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members spaceshot Posted January 25, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 Some people can't see past their nose as the saying goes. Please elaborate, I have never heard that "saying" and I don't know if you're being positive or negative towards me. I'll put it this way, SO and so has been building pedals for the last four years. He started like everyone else with cheap tools and spray paint. His pedals sounded good, a few "name" players started using his stuff and he turned it around from a hobby to a business. Three years of building pedals gains much experience, and I am a firm believer in you learn the most from your mistakes. Builder is a stand up guy. As of two weeks ago dealer sells me one of his pedals full price. I bought the pedal for the sole reason of one of my clients has one that sounds beautiful. Pedal I recieve looks very home made (not at all like my friends) and when I contact the builder he informs me the serial # indicates my pedal is one of his earliest, three to four years old, and still in the process of tweaking and honing his craft. No big deal, manufacturer is real cool and will replace pedal along with apologies. The dealer on the other hand is ragging on me for "poor finish" and "non expired" shelf life. He actually compared this work of electronics to a loaf of bread. Long stoey short the "dealer" is a loaf and Joel Weaver of Homebrew Electronics is a stand up guy. So sorry, end rant. I've been hittin the whiskey..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted January 25, 2007 Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 Please elaborate, I have never heard that "saying" and I don't know if you're being positive or negative towards me.I'll put it this way, SO and so has been building pedals for the last four years. He started like everyone else with cheap tools and spray paint. His pedals sounded good, a few "name" players started using his stuff and he turned it around from a hobby to a business. Three years of building pedals gains much experience, and I am a firm believer in you learn the most from your mistakes. Builder is a stand up guy.As of two weeks ago dealer sells me one of his pedals full price. I bought the pedal for the sole reason of one of my clients has one that sounds beautiful. Pedal I recieve looks very home made (not at all like my friends) and when I contact the builder he informs me the serial # indicates my pedal is one of his earliest, three to four years old, and still in the process of tweaking and honing his craft. No big deal, manufacturer is real cool and will replace pedal along with apologies. The dealer on the other hand is ragging on me for "poor finish" and "non expired" shelf life. He actually compared this work of electronics to a loaf of bread.Long stoey short the "dealer" is a loaf and Joel Weaver of Homebrew Electronics is a stand up guy. So sorry, end rant. I've been hittin the whiskey..... I'm referring to the dealer who seems to be only thinking of the immediate sale and not all the business they will lose by being difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brian Marshall Posted January 25, 2007 Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 good for joel. I did the same thing recently. Someone emailed me saying they bought a stupid box, expecting a new one with the internal trimmers. I had them send it to me, and sent them a brand new one. The guy sent me a copy receipt from the store he bought it from at my request. I wanted to make sure he didnt get it off ebay or something. They charged him $125, which is retail for a new one. i felt like i should call the store and bitch at them... but that would just be a waste of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members whitepapagold Posted January 25, 2007 Members Share Posted January 25, 2007 I bought my Semaphore in LA and it was an older model. I talked to Nic and he gladly updated it free of charge! Nice! Sounds like the dealer wants the pedal sold. It sat there for years and it was finally gone.... Its great to see all these smaller builders showing what good customer service can do! I definitely try to read up about who Im buying from! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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