I sat on this for weeks. I wasn't going to write this because I have nothing to gain from doing so. After thinking about it for a while, I have to give feedback out of duty to the rest of the forum members. I have thoroughly enjoyed this forum and its members over the last couple of months and want to protect its integrity.
I bought two zapco dc1000.4 amps from Joey. One he described with cosmetic issues, sent pictures and I accepted. The other he described "as new". Didn't send pictures, and I didn't ask for any. My fault, lesson learned. I also didn't ask about the function of the amp, because he said it was "as new". He still claims to this day that it was "as new". Here is the text from the thread:
"
SS 18w Illums, Zapco DC1000.4(x2), DC750.2, DAT/ETON DA6.6 HEX, Audiocontrol Model 11
MUST SELLLLLLLLL
DC1000.4 as new- $775"
The first little issue was Joey told me that he was missing one of the din cords and would refund me $20 since one was missing. Not a problem, but it might be relevant to the rest of the story. :worried:
Joey gave me a tracking # on march 4th. On the 6th UPS still had not picked it up. On the 7th, still not picked up. Later on the 7th Joey said that the amps were on the way and I shouldn't worry. On the 9th, UPS still says that they have not seen the amps. I called Joey and said that I needed something proving that UPS had the amps that day. He wasn't at work. Amazingly he checked and found out that they were still at his work, even though he had stated before that they were on the way. Maybe this all went down the way that Joey said that it went down. I don't know, but taken in context with the rest of the story, I have a hard time believing it. If I was shipping out $1200 worth of amps, you can guaran-freakin-ty that I would know whether the amps were sitting in the shipping department or not. I would at a minimum check with the shipping person and make sure that they confirmed that they went out. Joey confirmed at one point that they did go out, only to find out two days later they were still sitting at work. Again, I have all of the email exchanges to prove this.
The amps arrived several days later, each in separate sealed boxes inside a master box, separated by lots of paper. Well packaged.
The pictures show the condition of the "as new" amp. Joey claims "it must have happened during shipment". That simply isn't possible. There was nothing metal inside the box with the amp to gouge the finish in that way.
deep scratches (no way this happened in the box)
scratches and discoloration (no damage to the box that it was in)
Worse than the scratches is the fact that the amp sometimes doesn't turn on, or takes several minutes to output sound. I talked to Robert at Zapco and, after checking the serial #, Robert says that it is possible that this amp did not have the mod to the pcb for the dsp. They had some early amps that would stay in protection mode. The mod includes swapping out a cap and one other component on the dsp board. It was an intermitten issue. It is going to cost about $120 with shipping to get the amp modded. Not what I expected for an "as new" amp. Joey claims that it never did that when he used it. Ok, maybe. I don't know. I would give him the benefit of a doubt if he wasn't out to lunch on the "as new" description as it relates to the appearance of the amp.
Finally, the amp shuts down way before it gets to clipping. The Zapco DC's have lights that show you when the output is clipping on a very dynamic passage. This amp shuts down well before that. Who knows how much it will cost to fix that problem. My old Alpine MRV-F545 played way louder than this Zapco that costs 3 times as much. In comparison the other Zapco amp, which is supposed to be identical, blows it away.
I tried to deal with Joey on this and he refused. I went so far as to say that I would keep the amp, but could he work with me on the cost of the mod. He basically said that he is remodeling his house and can't afford it. As a last resort I told him that I would file a paypal claim if he refused to work with me. To my surprise, Joey asked paypal to make a judgement before I did and they judged in his favor. The deal with paypal is that they refuse to make judgements on the quality of the product. I paid for a DC1000.4 and received one, and that is all that paypal cares about. Since this is the first issue that I have ever had with a claim with paypal, that was news to me.
Apparently, it wasn't news to Joey, because he knew that if he filed the claim it would be in his favor. Seems like he has been there before.
Ironic that Joey was also involved in the great "Robot Undergound" scandal.
Bottom line is that I am not playing the victim here. This is all my fault for not getting a clear description of quality of the amp appearance and functionality. I trusted that "as new" means looks and works like new. I was wrong. That won't happen again. Live and learn. At the same time, there needs to be consequences for Joey on this deal.
I don't have the time to get into a he said/he said on this. I have pages and pages of emails that I exchanged with Joey. I can back up every single thing that I have said here if anyone needs to know.
Maybe Joey is a stand-up guy most of the time, but got into a pinch working on his house and did some things he wouldn't normally do. I don't know. I am wondering if maybe Joey flipped the "as new" amp to me from someone else, and that is the reason that they didn't ship for so long... because he was waiting for it himself. That would explain the late shipping, the questionable condition of the "as new" amp, the missing din cord, and the fact that the amp shuts down before reaching rated output. He hooks them up and they appear to work OK, and he ships them out.
I don't know and I am just guessing, but it all just seems fishy to me.
When Joey sees this I am sure he will defend himself. I won't get into another RU thread battle, I can promise you that. I just have one question to ask a doubter: "Why would I spend all of this time writing this up if I was making this up?" I have nothing, absolutely nothing to gain by doing this. I really don't have the time. I would rather be finishing my never ending install! :laugh: The only reason that I am doing it is out of a sense of duty to the other forum members. I want anyone else considering buying from Joey to do their homework.
Lesson Learned. You can take this to heart, or ignore. Your choice. I am done. Thanks for listening.
Tony
I bought two zapco dc1000.4 amps from Joey. One he described with cosmetic issues, sent pictures and I accepted. The other he described "as new". Didn't send pictures, and I didn't ask for any. My fault, lesson learned. I also didn't ask about the function of the amp, because he said it was "as new". He still claims to this day that it was "as new". Here is the text from the thread:
"
MUST SELLLLLLLLL
DC1000.4 as new- $775"
The first little issue was Joey told me that he was missing one of the din cords and would refund me $20 since one was missing. Not a problem, but it might be relevant to the rest of the story. :worried:
Joey gave me a tracking # on march 4th. On the 6th UPS still had not picked it up. On the 7th, still not picked up. Later on the 7th Joey said that the amps were on the way and I shouldn't worry. On the 9th, UPS still says that they have not seen the amps. I called Joey and said that I needed something proving that UPS had the amps that day. He wasn't at work. Amazingly he checked and found out that they were still at his work, even though he had stated before that they were on the way. Maybe this all went down the way that Joey said that it went down. I don't know, but taken in context with the rest of the story, I have a hard time believing it. If I was shipping out $1200 worth of amps, you can guaran-freakin-ty that I would know whether the amps were sitting in the shipping department or not. I would at a minimum check with the shipping person and make sure that they confirmed that they went out. Joey confirmed at one point that they did go out, only to find out two days later they were still sitting at work. Again, I have all of the email exchanges to prove this.
The amps arrived several days later, each in separate sealed boxes inside a master box, separated by lots of paper. Well packaged.
The pictures show the condition of the "as new" amp. Joey claims "it must have happened during shipment". That simply isn't possible. There was nothing metal inside the box with the amp to gouge the finish in that way.
deep scratches (no way this happened in the box)
scratches and discoloration (no damage to the box that it was in)
Worse than the scratches is the fact that the amp sometimes doesn't turn on, or takes several minutes to output sound. I talked to Robert at Zapco and, after checking the serial #, Robert says that it is possible that this amp did not have the mod to the pcb for the dsp. They had some early amps that would stay in protection mode. The mod includes swapping out a cap and one other component on the dsp board. It was an intermitten issue. It is going to cost about $120 with shipping to get the amp modded. Not what I expected for an "as new" amp. Joey claims that it never did that when he used it. Ok, maybe. I don't know. I would give him the benefit of a doubt if he wasn't out to lunch on the "as new" description as it relates to the appearance of the amp.
Finally, the amp shuts down way before it gets to clipping. The Zapco DC's have lights that show you when the output is clipping on a very dynamic passage. This amp shuts down well before that. Who knows how much it will cost to fix that problem. My old Alpine MRV-F545 played way louder than this Zapco that costs 3 times as much. In comparison the other Zapco amp, which is supposed to be identical, blows it away.
I tried to deal with Joey on this and he refused. I went so far as to say that I would keep the amp, but could he work with me on the cost of the mod. He basically said that he is remodeling his house and can't afford it. As a last resort I told him that I would file a paypal claim if he refused to work with me. To my surprise, Joey asked paypal to make a judgement before I did and they judged in his favor. The deal with paypal is that they refuse to make judgements on the quality of the product. I paid for a DC1000.4 and received one, and that is all that paypal cares about. Since this is the first issue that I have ever had with a claim with paypal, that was news to me.
Apparently, it wasn't news to Joey, because he knew that if he filed the claim it would be in his favor. Seems like he has been there before.
Ironic that Joey was also involved in the great "Robot Undergound" scandal.
Bottom line is that I am not playing the victim here. This is all my fault for not getting a clear description of quality of the amp appearance and functionality. I trusted that "as new" means looks and works like new. I was wrong. That won't happen again. Live and learn. At the same time, there needs to be consequences for Joey on this deal.
I don't have the time to get into a he said/he said on this. I have pages and pages of emails that I exchanged with Joey. I can back up every single thing that I have said here if anyone needs to know.
Maybe Joey is a stand-up guy most of the time, but got into a pinch working on his house and did some things he wouldn't normally do. I don't know. I am wondering if maybe Joey flipped the "as new" amp to me from someone else, and that is the reason that they didn't ship for so long... because he was waiting for it himself. That would explain the late shipping, the questionable condition of the "as new" amp, the missing din cord, and the fact that the amp shuts down before reaching rated output. He hooks them up and they appear to work OK, and he ships them out.
I don't know and I am just guessing, but it all just seems fishy to me.
When Joey sees this I am sure he will defend himself. I won't get into another RU thread battle, I can promise you that. I just have one question to ask a doubter: "Why would I spend all of this time writing this up if I was making this up?" I have nothing, absolutely nothing to gain by doing this. I really don't have the time. I would rather be finishing my never ending install! :laugh: The only reason that I am doing it is out of a sense of duty to the other forum members. I want anyone else considering buying from Joey to do their homework.
Lesson Learned. You can take this to heart, or ignore. Your choice. I am done. Thanks for listening.
Tony