Music Direct - Audio Hardware Seller?


First post.

I want to share a very strange exchange (telephone call) I had earlier this afternoon with Jasmine in the support department at Music Direct.

    I finally purchased a Roon Nucleus+ device from the Music Direct website on July 16, 2019 and received emails notifying me that the item would ship on July 17; Music Direct also added California tax to a later receipt. (NOTE: I purchased a Roon Life Membership in May 2016, but have not installed any software yet as I've been waiting for the "roon environment" to improve before wandering aimlessly spending thousands of dollars unnecessarily.)

    Two days later, my account indicated that the item was still “Unshipped” so I called and spoke with a gentleman in Sales who was likewise surprised that the order had not been filled because they have the item in stock – so he transferred me to Support and that’s where I had the opportunity to speak with Jasmine.

    Jasmine happily explained that for first time purchases that they will “email and call” the new customer to make sure they had placed the order. She also confirmed that while she had not emailed me, that she had called me and left a voice mail asking me to call and verify the purchase. I did not receive a voicemail message and my call log does not show any incoming or missed calls. This conversation then went from bad to worse and she offered to just cancel the order all together and I confirmed to cancel the order. I also stated that I hoped to speak with a customer service supervisor because this was a very distasteful exchange. I have received the Music Direct catalogs for a couple of years and their website looks legitimate. I do not know if they were “stalling” because they did not have the item in stock or if I just had a bad experience, so to speak.

    Has anyone else had bad experience with Music Direct? Are they a legitimate audio hardware reseller? I have a suspicion that something is wrong, but I cannot put my finger on it and wanted to share this experience with the hope of helping others or learning that my experience was not typical. Thanks in advance for the feedback. Sincerely, Mark L.

marklet
I had similar experience with another legitimate vendor on the Internet, except that I cannot say they were unfriendly in any way. It turned out that they wanted to call me and get all the credit card and my own information. Kind of a thing your parents tell you never to do when someone calls you. It was not announced in advance and I was taken by surprise just like the OP was here. Eventually, I cancelled my order ($1200) and they continued being friendly. Some weeks later I ordered something else from them ($75) and it went without any hiccup. I will continue shopping there for smaller items but will avoid anything that requires this "confirmation".

When it comes to collecting taxes in the USA, I believe that relatively recently Supreme Court decided that states can do it. I do not think it depends on the vendor’s mood anymore.
I live in Chicago, a few miles from Music Direct.  Over the past 20 years or so I have bought a few items from them, and brought a few back after a brief audition when I deemed them unsatisfactory. They are so close to me that it is just easier to deal in person rather than deal with freight carriers.  Yes, they are a bricks and mortar facility, but they like like a warehouse, not a showroom, as most of their business is mail order.
  I will say that as they have grown, their Customer Service has deteriorated.  They used to be  responsible and attuned to your needs.  Now the individual customer is just a number and the staff does emanate a Devil May Care attitude, unacceptable to me considering the price tags on the gear.  Therefore I stopped dealing with them a few years ago
Have only one purchase with them, a cdp. Was a new item and would not play. Contacted Music Direct and they had me do a few things while they were on the phone. Anyway they said ship it back on their dime and a replacement was sent. Very good to deal with.
Post removed 
Music Direct has always been GREAT so I'm surprised at your bad rap.HELLO!!