[loopwhile1]

Can someone talk about their experience about buying a Yamaha (or another) AV receiver from Accessories4less? I've never bought anything refurbished except from Apple. Apple has really good customer service. How is CS from Accessories4less and Yamaha about refurbished products?

 

[jdsmoothie]

If your do a search on Accessories4Less, you'll find there are numerous threads which provide member experiences.

 

[turnne1]

Can someone talk about their experience about buying a Yamaha (or another) AV receiver from Accessories4less? I've never bought anything refurbished except from Apple. Apple has really good customer service. How is CS from Accessories4less and Yamaha about refurbished products?

dealt with them many times
First rate outfit....while sometimes not the lowest price
Service is good...I think every time I have ordered they have shipped the next business day

I have bought 3 AVR's and a set of home theater speakers ( sat/sub) from them in the past 6-7 years
All of them on my door step in 2-3 business days

Warren

 

[archiguy]

Be careful with refurbs. I bought a Marantz SR6007 from A4L and was not able to take it out of the box and install it in my new house until it was finished - a year and a half later (about a year later than I had anticipated). When I finally was able to take it out of the box and hook it up, it turned out to be a complete dud -- none of the audio out ports worked. Because refurbs only typically have a one-year warranty, Marantz refused to help me. They wouldn't even split the cost of repairs, since the unit they sent me obviously had not been bench tested as they claimed it was. They simply refused all responsibility for sending me a bad unit. A4L was of no help either, since it was a factory warranty. Needless to say I'll never buy another Marantz product as long as I live (and I've bought half a dozen over the years).

I had also bought a refurb Denon X4000 from A4L as well, to go in another room. Unfortunately, it has now failed after one month of perfect performance. The over-heat sensor is malfunctioning and turning it off (plenty of ventilation all around as it's in an open cabinet). The good news is it's only been 11 months since I bought that one so I can send it off for repairs and the factory can't weasel out of it. (Marantz and Denon are sister companies, apparently).

So, bottom line -- if you're buying a refurb, be prepared for problems. The weird thing is, I've bought dozens of refurb'ed devices over the years, from A/V gear to computers, and never had a problem before. After all, they've supposedly been bench-tested and certified as working when they're shipped out to you. But now I've had two bad experiences with AVR's in a row, and one - the Marantz - will end up costing me dearly, more that I would have paid for a new one with a full 3 year warranty.

 

[rattmobbins]

Be careful with refurbs. I bought a Marantz SR6007 from A4L and was not able to take it out of the box and install it in my new house until it was finished - a year and a half later (about a year later than I had anticipated). When I finally was able to take it out of the box and hook it up, it turned out to be a complete dud -- none of the audio out ports worked. Because refurbs only typically have a one-year warranty, Marantz refused to help me. They wouldn't even split the cost of repairs, since the unit they sent me obviously had not been bench tested as they claimed it was. They simply refused all responsibility for sending me a bad unit. A4L was of no help either, since it was a factory warranty. Needless to say I'll never buy another Marantz product as long as I live (and I've bought half a dozen over the years).

I had also bought a refurb Denon X4000 from A4L as well, to go in another room. Unfortunately, it has now failed after one month of perfect performance. The over-heat sensor is malfunctioning and turning it off (plenty of ventilation all around as it's in an open cabinet). The good news is it's only been 11 months since I bought that one so I can send it off for repairs and the factory can't weasel out of it. (Marantz and Denon are sister companies, apparently).

So, bottom line -- if you're buying a refurb, be prepared for problems. The weird thing is, I've bought dozens of refurb'ed devices over the years, from A/V gear to computers, and never had a problem before. After all, they've supposedly been bench-tested and certified as working when they're shipped out to you. But now I've had two bad experiences with AVR's in a row, and one - the Marantz - will end up costing me dearly, more that I would have paid for a new one with a full 3 year warranty.

Who buys any piece of electronic equipment, refurb or not, and then sits on it for a year and a half before even taking it out of the box to make sure it works???


And then you seem annoyed that Marantz and A4L wouldn't help you? Why should they?


OP, A4L has a fairly solid rep, and if you actually check out your equipment when you get it, they have a 30 day return policy if you happen to get something that's DOA. They're just a reseller though, they don't do the refurbs or the testing to see if the stuff works, they just sell the stuff. So don't get bent out of shape with them if you do happen to get something that is beat up or doesn't work. That's on the manufacturer.

 

[Craig Peer]

Be careful with refurbs. I bought a Marantz SR6007 from A4L and was not able to take it out of the box and install it in my new house until it was finished - a year and a half later (about a year later than I had anticipated). When I finally was able to take it out of the box and hook it up, it turned out to be a complete dud -- none of the audio out ports worked. Because refurbs only typically have a one-year warranty, Marantz refused to help me. They wouldn't even split the cost of repairs, since the unit they sent me obviously had not been bench tested as they claimed it was. They simply refused all responsibility for sending me a bad unit. A4L was of no help either, since it was a factory warranty. Needless to say I'll never buy another Marantz product as long as I live (and I've bought half a dozen over the years).

I had also bought a refurb Denon X4000 from A4L as well, to go in another room. Unfortunately, it has now failed after one month of perfect performance. The over-heat sensor is malfunctioning and turning it off (plenty of ventilation all around as it's in an open cabinet). The good news is it's only been 11 months since I bought that one so I can send it off for repairs and the factory can't weasel out of it. (Marantz and Denon are sister companies, apparently).

So, bottom line -- if you're buying a refurb, be prepared for problems. The weird thing is, I've bought dozens of refurb'ed devices over the years, from A/V gear to computers, and never had a problem before. After all, they've supposedly been bench-tested and certified as working when they're shipped out to you. But now I've had two bad experiences with AVR's in a row, and one - the Marantz - will end up costing me dearly, more that I would have paid for a new one with a full 3 year warranty.

Your experience is unfortunate. Two comments - always use and test A / V gear when you get it - that includes projectors and receivers. If you can't use it, don't buy it until you can use it. Also, I just don't like refurbished receivers. Save your pennies and try and buy new, with a full warranty. Use an AMEX or other card that gives you an additional year of warranty if you can. And always call us at AV Science for pricing - you may be pleasantly surprised !

 

[rboster]

Can someone talk about their experience about buying a Yamaha (or another) AV receiver from Accessories4less? I've never bought anything refurbished except from Apple. Apple has really good customer service. How is CS from Accessories4less and Yamaha about refurbished products?

I put the accessories4less in advance search, title search only. Here's one of 27 threads talking about the company:


http://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-receivers-amps-processors/1410500-accessories4less-good-shady.html

 

[archiguy]

Who buys any piece of electronic equipment, refurb or not, and then sits on it for a year and a half before even taking it out of the box to make sure it works???


And then you seem annoyed that Marantz and A4L wouldn't help you? Why should they?

I could list a hundred reasons why my house wasn't finished on time, none of which I had any control over, but that's not really the point. The point is, as with all refurbs, the machine was supposed to have been bench tested before it left the factory. Clearly it wasn't, as it would have taken a tech about 2 minutes to discover the entire audio output section was non-functional. Furthermore, the warranty given by Marantz says that the unit was guaranteed to "perform to factory specifications". Unless the factory specs mandate a dead audio section, they were in violation of their own warranty. They sent me a dud. That's why they should help me, regardless of the time frame. And a first-class company concerned with their reputation would have done just that. But thanks for the sympathy.

I do not have a bunch of surplus gear and loudspeakers lying around so that I could just hook the thing up and test it anyway. I would have had to dismantle my existing A/V system and take the old receiver out, put the new one in and re-hook everything up to test it. Then reverse the process to put the old AVR back in. And my setup was not easy to access. Basically, once I put a receiver in, I don't take it out until it's time to upgrade, about every 7 years. And why would I do that if the darn thing had just been bench tested at the factory? Who does that??

 

[rboster]

I could list a hundred reasons why my house wasn't finished on time, none of which I had any control over, but that's not really the point. The point is, as with all refurbs, the machine was supposed to have been bench tested before it left the factory. Clearly it wasn't, as it would have taken a tech about 2 minutes to discover the entire audio output section was non-functional. Furthermore, the warranty given by Marantz says that the unit was guaranteed to "perform to factory specifications". Unless the factory specs mandate a dead audio section, they were in violation of their own warranty. They sent me a dud. That's why they should help me, regardless of the time frame. And a first-class company concerned with their reputation would have done just that. But thanks for the sympathy.

I do not have a bunch of surplus gear and loudspeakers lying around so that I could just hook the thing up and test it anyway. I would have had to dismantle my existing A/V system and take the old receiver out, put the new one in and re-hook everything up to test it. Then reverse the process to put the old AVR back in. And my setup was not easy to access. Basically, once I put a receiver in, I don't take it out until it's time to upgrade, about every 7 years. And why would I do that if the darn thing had just been bench tested at the factory? Who does that??

I can understand your frustration. AND, I understand your logic. It would seem your situation "fell between the seams" of the intention of the warranty. As we all know warranties have an expiration date for a number of reasons, but they don't take into account ppl who (for goood reasons) store their (newly purchased) receivers, which if we are being honest is a very small percentage of consumers.

As you probably know since you are a very active member...are the majority of members aren't typical, and would take the time to "bench test" (for any better term) their newly acquired receiver when they get it in their hot little hands.

I just bought a new lamp from a member. I don't need to replace my current unit for a number of months, but the price was too good to pass up. What will I do this week....install the new lamp and let it run for the paypal warranty period just in case it goes belly up...I've tested it prior the paypal period expires. Pain in the butt...yes, with my set up I have to un-mount the projector. Worth it for the deal I got, yes.

 

[archiguy]

Your experience is unfortunate. Two comments - always use and test A / V gear when you get it - that includes projectors and receivers. If you can't use it, don't buy it until you can use it. Also, I just don't like refurbished receivers. Save your pennies and try and buy new, with a full warranty. Use an AMEX or other card that gives you an additional year of warranty if you can. And always call us at AV Science for pricing - you may be pleasantly surprised !

I've always done that, actually. I've never built a house before, so I've always put a piece of gear into service as soon as I bought it. This was the one time that was different, and it wasn't supposed to be different. At the time I bought the Marantz, I honestly thought I'd be in the place within 6 months. Everything about this experience was different, including the fact that the company sent me a dud without bench testing it first. They should have accepted some responsibility for that, perhaps splitting the repair cost with me. But they've refused. And that's why I'll never buy anything else from them.

In any event, I think I've bought my last refurb. I bought a Denon X4000 about a year later (I have one month left on that 1-year warranty). It was supposed to go in the dedicated Theater Room which I have yet to finish. So I put in the Living Room where the Marantz was supposed to go. It worked fine for about a month and this morning it just started to switch itself off after a few minutes, the red power light blinking on & off as if to indicate an overheating problem. But since it's barely warm to the touch, I'm concluding that it's the heat sensor that's quickly gone bad, or maybe that's what it was returned for in the first place. So I'll be in the unenviable position of sending both these beasts off to the same repair company at the same time, one of which will be covered (Denon) and the other I'll have to eat.

Not a good day. I did buy the JVC RS4810 projector through AVS, but about the same time as the Marantz. I'm just praying it works when I finally finish the theater and hook it up. Fingers crossed for that.

 

[archiguy]

Just to say something positive for the OP, however, my experience with A4L has always been good. And I've always had Yamaha receivers, for the last 30 years, upgrading about every 7 years or so. They've always been bulletproof in my experience. In fact, the Marantz I've been kvetching about was intended to replace my last Yamaha. Thought I'd be moving up in the AVR world.

Wish I had bought another Yammi instead, though. I think you'll be fine.

 

[rboster]

I've always done that, actually. I've never built a house before, so I've always put a piece of gear into service as soon as I bought it. This was the one time that was different, and it wasn't supposed to be different. At the time I bought the Marantz, I honestly thought I'd be in the place within 6 months. Everything about this experience was different, including the fact that the company sent me a dud without bench testing it first. They should have accepted some responsibility for that, perhaps splitting the repair cost with me. But they've refused. And that's why I'll never buy anything else from them.

In any event, I think I've bought my last refurb. I bought a Denon X4000 about a year later (I have one month left on that 1-year warranty). It was supposed to go in the dedicated Theater Room which I have yet to finish. So I put in the Living Room where the Marantz was supposed to go. It worked fine for about a month and this morning it just started to switch itself off after a few minutes, the red power light blinking on & off as if to indicate an overheating problem. But since it's barely warm to the touch, I'm concluding that it's the heat sensor that's quickly gone bad, or maybe that's what it was returned for in the first place. So I'll be in the unenviable position of sending both these beasts off to the same repair company at the same time, one of which will be covered (Denon) and the other I'll have to eat.

Not a good day. I did buy the JVC RS4810 projector through AVS, but about the same time as the Marantz. I'm just praying it works when I finally finish the theater and hook it up. Fingers crossed for that.

That JVC is a nice projector. Fingers crossed, hope the rest of your theater build etc goes smoothly. Do you have a build thread, I would love to see what you are doing?

Take care
Ron

 

[lovinthehd]

I recently bought a refurb Denon 4520 from A4L. DOA. A4L was awesome in getting it replaced while return was underway. Unfortunately the replacement lasted only a bit beyond 30 days before going crazy. A4L stepped up (beyond their obligation) and took it back but at that point I opted for a new one, had no patience for another D+M Group refurb. Apparently D+M Group's refurb checker (as D+M apparently has no facility for repair/service of their own in the US) does either a lousy job or these units do not stand up well to individual shipping back and forth around the country (think about how much more abuse a single unit takes being delivered by the likes of Fedex/UPS, especially a refurb as it takes several trips between original consumer, the D+M contracted refurb/service facility, reseller, etc). A4L deserves props....D+M not so much.

 

[archiguy]

That JVC is a nice projector. Fingers crossed, hope the rest of your theater build etc goes smoothly. Do you have a build thread, I would love to see what you are doing?

Take care
Ron

Thanks Ron. I need to start one, but haven't had the time to do any more work on the theater since we moved in. Have some more painting to do plus acoustic treatments for the walls, as well as buy the Falcon 120" AT screen. I should start a thread anyway, just to document how I built the room. Designed it specifically for this house (I'm an architect), so it's not a bonus room or basement refurb.

I recently bought a refurb Denon 4520 from A4L. DOA. A4L was awesome in getting it replaced while return was underway. Unfortunately the replacement lasted only a bit beyond 30 days before going crazy. A4L stepped up (beyond their obligation) and took it back but at that point I opted for a new one, had no patience for another D+M Group refurb. Apparently D+M Group's refurb checker (as D+M apparently has no facility for repair/service of their own in the US) does either a lousy job or these units do not stand up well to individual shipping back and forth around the country (think about how much more abuse a single unit takes being delivered by the likes of Fedex/UPS, especially a refurb as it takes several trips between original consumer, the D+M contracted refurb/service facility, reseller, etc). A4L deserves props....D+M not so much.

By D+M, do you mean "Denon + Marantz"? I figured they probably farm (subcontract) their return/refurb work out to somebody else. If they do it in house, there's even less reason for what happened to me.

 

[lovinthehd]

By D+M, do you mean "Denon + Marantz"? I figured they probably farm (subcontract) their return/refurb work out to somebody else. If they do it in house, there's even less reason for what happened to me.

D+M Group owns the Denon and Marantz brands currently. As I mentioned, they apparently have no repair/service facility of their own here in the US, Panurgy has been mentioned as the likely service center handling refurbs but don't know if that's true....

 

[rboster]

Thanks Ron. I need to start one, but haven't had the time to do any more work on the theater since we moved in. Have some more painting to do plus acoustic treatments for the walls, as well as buy the Falcon 120" AT screen. I should start a thread anyway, just to document how I built the room. Designed it specifically for this house (I'm an architect), so it's not a bonus room or basement refurb.



By D+M, do you mean "Denon + Marantz"? I figured they probably farm (subcontract) their return/refurb work out to somebody else. If they do it in house, there's even less reason for what happened to me.

Yes, please would love to see (read: steal) some of your ideas for the room.

 

[M Code]

I recently bought a refurb Denon 4520 from A4L. DOA. A4L was awesome in getting it replaced while return was underway. Unfortunately the replacement lasted only a bit beyond 30 days before going crazy. A4L stepped up (beyond their obligation) and took it back but at that point I opted for a new one, had no patience for another D+M Group refurb. Apparently D+M Group's refurb checker (as D+M apparently has no facility for repair/service of their own in the US) does either a lousy job or these units do not stand up well to individual shipping back and forth around the country (think about how much more abuse a single unit takes being delivered by the likes of Fedex/UPS, especially a refurb as it takes several trips between original consumer, the D+M contracted refurb/service facility, reseller, etc). A4L deserves props....D+M not so much.

As I have posted previously...
Refurbs are a gamble...
Basic issue today is that the refurbs are farmed out to a 3rd party..
The 3rd party sets up a mini line, they push the units down the line check to see if they lite up and operate very basic functions. If yes, they are boxed up while adding any missing accessories. Any intermittent or temporary technical issue will not be found... Also many units sent back for refurb, being returned by the seller there is nothing wrong with it...

• User didn't want it
• User didn't like certain features/sound
• User couldn't pay for it
• Wife said take it back
• Seller was adjusting his high inventory

Just my $0.02...

 

[lovinthehd]

As I have posted previously...
Refurbs are a gamble...
Basic issue today is that the refurbs are farmed out to a 3rd party..
The 3rd party sets up a mini line, they push the units down the line check to see if they lite up and operate very basic functions. If yes, they are boxed up while adding any missing accessories. Any intermittent or temporary technical issue will not be found... Also many units sent back for refurb, being returned by the seller there is nothing wrong with it...

• User didn't want it
• User didn't like certain features/sound
• User couldn't pay for it
• Wife said take it back
• Seller was adjusting his high inventory

Just my $0.02...

Yes, I can appreciate all that, especially now. I've had refurb computers a few times with no issues. I'd think the extra handling/shipping has an impact as well...

 

[turnne1]

. Also, I just don't like refurbished receivers.

Have you noticed that when you see a complaint of this nature with a refurb its typically a D&M product?
I think there is something here to take note of

Warren

 

[turnne1]

D+M Group owns the Denon and Marantz brands currently. As I mentioned, they apparently have no repair/service facility of their own here in the US, Panurgy has been mentioned as the likely service center handling refurbs but don't know if that's true....

Bain capital owns D&M

if what you say is true about Panurgy doing D&M refurbs that is not a good thing
I had horrible issues with them a few years ago trying to fix a 4308 multiple times...hopefully they have improved
though if they are responsible for these D&M refurbs then perhaps not

Warren