Is my Denon refurbished? Red ink stamp on bottom. (1 Viewer)

[ZakiU]

Well, I bought a Denon DRA-685 receiver, and it finally came in today. I bought it from a private party seller, and he said it was brand new and he bought it a month ago.

I have a couple of concerns about it though, as I am afraid he may have misrepresented the receiver. I am hoping someone here will be able to help me.

1. It smells kind of like old cigarette smoke, does anyone know if they smell like that out of the box?

2. It has a red ink message (stamped) on the bottom of the receiver at the front. It says, "MAYBE COSMETICALLY SCRATCHED HOWEVER ALL FUNCTIONS WORK PERFORMANCE TESTED. 90 DAY WARRANTY" I am wondering if this is the mark of a refurbished receiver, or if this comes standard on a new Denon receiver.

Any help would be appreciated greatly.

Thanks
__zak/

 

[Carl Johnson]

There's no way that a brand new direct from the manufacturer product would have a disclaimer like that stamped on it. My first guess is that the receiver was on display at some retail store and sold as an open box unit at a discount.

 

[ZakiU]

I was thinking the same thing. Maybe someone familiar with the Denon receivers or someone who has a DRA-865 will know more about Denon's factory markings?

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I think it's highly likely you have a refurbished unit if it smells of cigarette and has that sticker on it.

One things, for sure, it is definitly not "Brand New". I also believe that Denon wouldn't be putting a sticker like that if it came fresh from the factory.

The question I'd be asking is whether smoke affects sound...

 

[Aaron H]

Yeah, I was gonna say, I've never been into an audio store that allowed smoking. I always had to go outside to smoke.
Aaron

 

[Paul Clarke]

He probably sold you a refurb from Ubid or someplace similar. It is not a new receiver. Most Denon products I've seen on Ubid have very little warranty. That speaks volumes.

 

[Brian Corr]

Smells like a refurb.
Do you have any recourse for getting your money back?

 

[Mike OConnell]

Zak:

I recently purchased a refurbished DRA-685 from Spidergear and it had the exact same stamping on it that you describe. Mine had that standard "factory fresh" smell to it, not at all like cigarette smoke. There was a small "blemish" in the finish near the top on the back, otherwise it looks brand new.

The difference was that mine was advertised as refurbished with a 90-day manufacturers warranty and I paid accordingly ($216, including shipping).

I knew what I was getting and am very happy with the purchase.

Sounds like you were sold a bill of goods that was either misrepresented or you did not understand what the seller was offering.

In either case, good luck.

Mike

 

[Salvador]

holy crap, talk about buyers remorse :frowning:

 

[ZakiU]

Mike, that is the exact response I was looking for. Thank you for your help. I am not furious or anything about the deal, since I did get an insanely good price on the receiver, but I am still irritated that he misrepresented the item.
I'll probably post negative feedback and try to get a partial refund for the misrepresentation. He says the smell is probably from the one month that he used it. Does the factory smell smell a lot like aged cigarette soot?
the auction is located at : http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=1372732707

 

[Clint]

Looking at that auction I think the seller has a point when he stated the following

New not referbushed!!

Hard to represent a word that doesn't exist, except in the half-baked community.

 

[Vlad D]

Hard to represent a word that doesn't exist, except in the half-baked community.

That's where the smoke smell comes from.
ZakiU,
I think you should definitely post negative feedback if he doesn't refund you some money.

 

[David K. Johnson]

Mike:
If it's any consolation, I bought my 4800 (Apx. 1 1/2 years ago) from Ubid. It was advertised as a factory refurb. At the time they were selling new for $2,000. I paid $1,167. It's still up a running strong! David

 

[Mike OConnell]

Zak:

No, the factory fresh smell does not at all smell like cigarette smoke!!!

I am not sure how to describe the smell, except for that "new" equipment smell.

Like I said, I am very happy with mine, but your buyer definitely misrepresented the equipment that you purchased.

Good Luck,
Mike

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I always reed the fine print:

"referbushed" isn't refurbished

It's like selling something that's "Brand Neu factory seeled comes with 90 day manufacturer warrant"

 

[ZakiU]

I received $50 back from him as compensation. The receiver's total comes out to $140. Not bad!

 

[JohnVB]

I just thought I'd pipe in here. Refurbished means there was a problem with the unit and had to be sent back to the factory to be repaired.

I suspect this unit has not been refurbished. It sounds like it had a cosmetic blemish when bought and was used for 1 month.

It seems the seller was thinking that the unit would still be considered new even after a month's use.

- bones

 

[Chas_T]

Denon DRA-685 Stereo Receiver NEW!!
"New not referbushed!!"
"Bought 1 month ago brand new!! selling only due to not best match fr the rest of my components."
"It has a red ink message (stamped) on the bottom of the receiver at the front. It says, "MAYBE COSMETICALLY SCRATCHED HOWEVER ALL FUNCTIONS WORK PERFORMANCE TESTED. 90 DAY WARRANTY"
Hmmmm.. I have ebay phobia because of past transactions such as this.
If you read between the lines, it's not new. It's USED!!
His comment "Bought 1 month ago brand new and "Selling only due to not best match fr the rest of my components," basically tells me he connected the Denon and used it for 3-4 weeks. How else would he know that it is not the best match for his components?
Sooo, my comment is, deceptive advertising where you need to ask a lot of questions and in this case, is it new, unopened and factory sealed.
As far as the red stamp on the bottom, it may even be a refurb even though some of you don't think that it's possible. I bought an Eizo monitor one time with a stamp/sticker similar to this.
Besides these other issues, the seller can't spell to save his life. I'd leave him negative feedback (not on his spelling) but for not being honest with you about the sticker on the bottom and advertising it as NEW, because from my perspective, it is not.
If you got it for $140 after the $50 refund, it's a good deal as long as the receiver functions properly.
He probably gave you the $50 because he did not have a leg to stand on if you went to Ebay with a complaint. Try for another $50??
Good job Zak....

 

[ZakiU]

John,

The only problem with your theory is there are no cosmetic blemishes at all. Just the stamp. That's what makes me think it's refurbed. Even if it was damaged though, it was used and not "brand new" etc.

Chas,

Ebay is a great place for deals, just be careful and make sure you're buying from a reputable seller. This guy gave me over a 25% refund, which is a REALLY good deal. The receiver works fine.

I think he basically paid me off to not give him a negative, so I'm not really worried about it. I'll use it for a couple months, and if it breaks i'll leave him a negative after trying to get my money back. If it doesn't break, I probably won't leave feedback at all. It'd be rather harsh to give him a negative after he gave me such a large refund.

 

[Chas_T]

Ebay is a great place for deals, just be careful and make sure you're buying from a reputable seller. This guy gave me over a 25% refund, which is a REALLY good deal. The receiver works fine.

Zak.. You are correct about Ebay. You have to be very, very careful and read between the lines. I don't do much business there anymore after some bad experiences and I'm very thorough when it comes to online buying. Ask a lot of questions and do as much research as possible.

Glad this has worked out to your benefit and enjoy the receiver.