Online Purchase: Good, Bad & Ugly (1 Viewer)

[Rajen]

Well, after much reading on this forum, visiting stores and listening to speakers I finally decided to take the plunge and order an upgrade of my speakers since they were now available at Newegg. I placed an order for the Swan 6.1 mains, the C3 center, the R3 surrounds and while I was on the splurge I just opted in for the M200 monitors for my computer. They charged my credit card and I waited, four days later they all arrived. I was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning but not for long.

THE GOOD: Those speakers are a sight to behold. They look pretty, well constructed, immaculate finishes, elegant lines, they appear majestic. The sound – good separation of frequencies, music and movies take on a whole new life. No distortions just good clean natural sound reproduction. All the good stuff you have read about the sound is absolutely true. From my auditioning I think they sound like the B&W 703s for a fraction of the cost. And finally, the quick responses and assistance from the folks over at Swan, especially Jon, is top class in this industry.

THE BAD: My M200s would not power up and I had to ship them back to Newegg for replacement. The tweeter on one of the 6.1, the wire mesh was crushed during shipping.

THE UGLY: Still waiting for the replacement monitors. I am out $45.00 for the return shipping. I am also waiting on a decision from UPS for the shipping damage claim on the tweeter.

So, while I am enjoying the new and improved sound from my upgrade, I am kinda left with a bad taste in my mouth. Hopefully this is an isolated shipping mishap and your purchases would be unharmed. Anyone has experiences with UPS shipping damage claims?

 

[Arthur S]

Sorry to hear about your problems. What you receive from an on-line reseller almost comes down to how well the product is packed for shipping. The best will double box with materials that actually work, like plastic peanuts. The worst don't double box at all. Off hand, I would say that Crutchfield probably does the best job, but they pretty much sell at list price.

J&R used to be very good, but now they just throw in a couple of plastic air pillows that are not always inflated.

I've never done business with New Egg but your experience is not encouraging.

Did they double box anything or just send the speakers out in their original factory boxes?

 

[BradJudy]

Newegg is an excellent online dealer for computer components - I have bought a lot from them over the years without problems. That said, they sell computer components and floorstanding speakers are probably among the physically largest items they sell and they might not be as used to shipping them.

 

[Rajen]

The speakers were actually well packed, double boxed with styrofoam sheets between the boxes but they were still pretty damaged from the transport. I had my SVS sub delivered by cargo on Yellow truck and it arrived without a scratch.

 

[BradJudy]

Sounds like Newegg did a good job and UPS didn't. It happens with all of the shipping companies - if you read some threads you'll find people popping up bashing all of them.

 

[Michael Saint]

BAX is the way to go for shipping.......

 

[Dave Moritz]

If Newegg has a good reputation with very little complaints I would be more likely to believe its UPS that is at fault. I got tired of waiting for packages to arrive and getting items that where damaged. Thats why I ship with FedEx now and have not had that problem ever since. Sorry to hear about your damaged speakers. I do not own Swan Divas but another member here at the forum invited me to hear his Pioneer Elite reciever and he had Swan Divas with a SVS subwoofer. And while I would never get rid of my Altec Lancing A7 speakers. I was very impressed with how good the Swan Divas sound. IMHO you will be very happy with your purchase once you get the damaged speakers replaced.

 

[DonnyD]

I've dealt with several companies/resellers over the years and also had my share of damage to expensive goods. UPS was the culprit involved in damage to a beautiful set of Veritas and although they were repaired to my satisfaction, it still took a month to get things resolved. FedEX was involved in damage to an Aragon amp and they paid upon presentation of a claim which allowed me to chose my own repair center.
Newegg has been an occassional choice for computer parts, mostly trick midtowers and although never doubleboxed, I've never had one damaged. I just received some peripheral items from them that were boxed very well.
Regardless of packing and double packing, carriers/shippers can and will overcome all protection and damage a shipment of anything. That is why I now have an account at FedEX as they are definitely easier to deal with after the enevitable occurs.

 

[Blaine_M]

BAX isn't much better either. I wasn't home the day my SVS arrived, but my wife was. She saw them putting a box in the garage and signed off, then she went out and checked out the box (I know, she should have made sure the box was the right thing before signing, but she didn't), it was not even close to the right box, got the sub the next day.......when they realized they made a mistake.

 

[Dennis Heller]

Not to hijack your thread too much, but does anyone who's heard the Swan speakers have an opinion of how well the C3 center would match up with Energy Veritas bookshelves (previous version). I have the Energy 2.0 all around and am waiting patiently for a used center to show up on Ebay; I've just about given up hope. I only use the system for movies, and I'd like something that plays clear without sounding out of place; also, I'd rather not pay $800 for a new, current-series Veritas center, even if I could find a dealer. Thanks for any opinions.

 

[Rajen]

I have not heard the Veritas coupled with the C3 but I have heard the C3 by itself and it is a really competent center. Even at loud volumes there is no distortion, the sound field is full, all in all a really good sounding speaker. It is really difficult to write an evaluation of how a speaker sounds but at $279 you cannot go wrong with the C3.

 

[Rajen]

Oops! Dual post

 

[Jon Lane]

Hi folks,

A few points about Swans and New Egg:

1. NE is exclusive online reseller for the original Swans "Diva" line. I import it for them and I also promote the new Swan "Classic" line at The Audio Insider.com

2. All Swans product, excepting the small M200 speakers, are double boxed. We use heavy boxing with two layers of styro corners and 1.5" sheets to isolate the speakers. All speakers are cloth-bagged.

3. Any damage, while very rare, is definitely shipper-related. Swans has very high QC and simply does not ship dented drivers, grilles, or cabinets.

4. Regardless of these precautions (Swans has been shipping hundreds and hundreds of units fo a half decade in North America, shippers will occasionally find a way to break things. In such cases, the customer should make a claim with the shipping company and expect a replacement.

5. I warranty all Swans product distributed in these two channels. We have a repair facility for items we do not replace. We also stock replacement parts.

6. For any such concerns, including NE shipments, feel free to contact us for assistance and instructions. I believe Raj is already in contact with us and we are proceeding with a solution.

Swans are biggest in class and weigh a ton. From TAI, we prefer to ship via BAX on wrapped pallets, although NE has some simply absurd discounts on Divas shipped via UPS. If you get a dented speaker (that hopefully took out the UPS guy's back while he was misbehaving ;o) make an immediate claim and let us know as well. We'll walk you through it.

 

[Rajen]

Jon is absolutely right, the speakers were well packaged. Also, with the quick help of Jon at TAI, I am getting the damaged speaker replaced. If I had to do it all over again or get another set of speakers. I would still go with the Swans, they are amazing speakers! Thanks Jon.

 

[WaterEC]

UPS is notorious for causing damages, although I have good luck with them so far.