Getting what I paid for - gut check please!


All - I purchased an expensive (for me) DAC a few weeks ago from a small but well known high-end manufacturer close to where I live.  It was a previous-generation model made available at a price significantly lower than the current generation model.  I paid for the item in full prior to pick up.  Upon pick up, I discovered the item’s faceplate and remote were a different color than what the manufacturer had indicated prior to purchase.  Upon getting it home, I learned by reading the materials that the warranty period had started at the date of manufacturer, not the date of sale, meaning the warranty period was about one-third the length it would normally be.

The manufacturer is offering to replace the faceplate with the correct color for a fee.  He says the warranty "is what it is."

Is any of this standard practice?  This was not advertised as a used or demo unit when I agreed to purchase it, and there was no mention of a different warranty period than what would accompany a normal retail sale.  Was I wrong to expect that a previous-generation model would be sold with the same warranty as a current-generation unit?  Am I wrong to expect that the manufacturer replace the faceplate free of charge to make this unit the color that I agreed to prior to sale?

I’d appreciate a gut check before I press the issue or ask for a return.  Thanks!

lousyreeds1

Did you pay by credit card, and is there a return policy?

Also, did you demo it? If you like what it does, I’d negotiate a free faceplate. If they don’t budge, tell them you’ll happily return it, especially since it's not as advertised. A new faceplate is costing them zilch extra. They should have been willing to change it out for free for the sale. Don't wait to move on it.

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