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Magnepan Service HORRIBLE???

I am now into my 5th week waiting for Magnepan to evaluate shipping damage to a pair of MG 3.7's. My wife and I paid Craters and Freighters to build a custom wood crate for them so they would not be damaged further by the trip from Richmond to Minnesota.

I know everyone will say they are a small company and I need to be patient but this is ridiculous to my mind. I have called 5-6 times and the seller has also called. The last time I called Shelia acted like she had never spoken to me before despite the previous phone conversations.

I know the MG 3.7's are supposed to be sensational speakers and I bought my first pair of Magnepans in 1975 but I am seriously considering flipping these if Magnepan ever inspects and repairs them. The aggravation simply is not worth it to me.

A month and I can not even get anyone at Magnepan to open the crate, inspect them, and give me a damage estimate to provide to FedEx who is ready to pay the claim. Unfortunately, they can't pay until Magnepan provides an estimate of the damage and then I have to wait for the actual repair.

I never thought I would feel this way about Magnepan but this current situation has changed my mind to a huge extent. This is just ridiculous the way I see it and I can see no good excuse for it.
etmerritt33
steveaudio
328 posts
 
Some questions.....FedEx Ground? They are notoriously bad. Also, maybe I missed this, but did you not use paypal? Shouldn't the seller have been on the hook? And those are very large speakers--are the orig. boxes not sufficient, or appropriate? Seems not. I routinely "double box" much smaller speakers than that.

And $1K to ship them to Magnapan? But this whole mess is now their fault? I usually assume that buying used gear made by small companies, esp. big, heavy items, may be a big problem to get repaired.

I don't mean to pile on, but it seems like this this whole thing is a chain of bad packing, shipping, etc, & I'm not sure how Magnapan, no matter how slow their repairs, should be left holding the blame in all this.
chazro's avatar
chazro
575 posts
 
Wow. I've been following this thread with interest. I've been the plant manager at a few different companies and Magnepan simply isn't doing the right thing by you. I understand about rules and policies but if I were in charge I'd take the extenuating circumstances into account. They're making a bad call by treating you this way simply because you didn't buy the merchandise from them, which should be irrelevant. They've been paid for the goods, now it's simply a matter of standing by the product. I swear by buying used, I've done so many times, but you've been thrust into a worst-case scenario. Hell, the extant of things found wrong made me wonder if the spkrs were 100% when you bought them!
phasecorrect's avatar
phasecorrect
2,013 posts
 
Magnepan is old school in a sense they still use a tightly knit dealer network...unfortunately...since you purchased used...which comes with no warrantly...you are kind of relegated to "back of line" status...Magnepan...from what I gather...supports their dealer issues first...and since the OP speakers were purchased second hand...Magnepan technically doesnt owe him anything...they are simply doing him a favor....
mapman's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
mapman
15,679 posts
 
Live and learn...

Customer service matters. Clear and concise communications always helps expedite things.

Its unfortunate but I'm not sure this case is all that unusual. Maybe other companies could do better, maybe not.if they can then bravo. I would like to know.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
4,163 posts
 
Magnepan makes extremely high value, high performance esoteric loudspeakers. They routinely receive outstanding reviews and frequently have waiting lists for new purchases. They are a small, privately held company that makes its products in the USA. Despite all of their decades long success people are now calling for them to change their business model because one person has complained. And that person purchased on the used market, not from a Magnepan dealer.

So if Magnepan becomes part of the Harman Group, outsources its manufacturing to China/Mexico, starts selling at Target/Walmart and releases a premium line of gold plated speakers starting at $70,000 will everybody be happy?
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