The Music Room

I just completed my third transaction with TMR. I had a McIntosh MC 152 amp I was going to list here for $2500.00. On a whim, I contacted TMR about trading in my amp towards a McIntosh MC 302 amp. I was offered $2500.00 for my amp towards the MC 302 amp. They paid for the shipping of my amp to them and 9 days later I received the MC 302 amp. My total cost out of pocket was $2000.00 plus 150.00 for shipping (amp weighed 150 pounds) for the new amp. 

The amp arrived in all the factory packaging and looked perfect. I honestly couldn’t find fault with the looks or sound. I am one very happy camper.

builder3145 posts03-05-2019 6:49pmbuilder3 said: "eBay isn't free"


It's true.  IMHO another way to spin this is that, TMR charges more on eBay since it is easier to make a case to return there.   It's like hotel room booking or airline tickets nowadays.   The non-refundable rate isn't cheaper --- the business simply charges more for flexibility.  The profit is just as fine if everything's sold at the lowest price.

Like, there are many sellers in Audiogon who also list in USAudioMart or AudioAsylum.   But the asking price is typically the same across, even when Audiogon isn't free.  May be TMR's listing is merely an advertisement thing ... make the prospective buyers feel they are getting a better deal if buying direct from them, while getting more visibility for their items.

Nevertheless, my reason to stop dealing with them is the same.   It's not with the pricing, but the quality of their offerings.  They tend to come with considerable, disclosed defects.

I have never try their consignment process.   Way too much risk shipping stuff around and then your hands are forced.  An analogy is Enterprise Rent a Car.  Yes they'd pick you up.   But I experienced multiple times that they drove me there, then told me the car I booked wasn't available.  Yea they overbooked, but blame multiple customers not returning the cars or the cars need "service" --- why not tell me before picking me up?  They'd force me to pay a whole lot more to upgrade --- no free upgrade since the car would be available if I keep waiting.  When requested to take me back home, they'd tell me they did not have anybody to drive me home (eventually they would, after waiting an hour or two).  LOL, may be it's just an local New Jersey thing.

I'd rather support local business if I ever need to sell my stuff thru consignment.

I just bought a used ARC LS26 preamp from them. When I opened it up to put in the tubes, two of the capacitors were disconnected from shipping. I contacted them and they sent me a return authorization and shipping label right away. The return was painless and they had it fixed and back to me in a relatively short period of time. They couldn't find the exact capacitors so they put in ones that they said were better. Communication was great throughout the process and there were no questions asked, no hassle. 

In regards to their prices, you get the best prices on their web site and I've seen things drop in price after they have them on their website for a while. I don't know if they do that with everything. 

eBay isn't free

They are honest but don't expect good deals.  If you don't mind paying 10-25% more for typical used gears, they absolutely give you peace of mind --- as long as you don't need to return them.

Been a customer a few times.   Stop dealing with them.   Too many asterisks in their "good deals".   That is ... their "good deals" tend to come with disclosed defects.  Needs to compromise.

I deal with KahlAudio in New Jersey nowadays.  Asking price is also higher too, but their items tend to be in way better shape --- rarely seen them with defect.  Look for their auctions in eBay ... higher chance of good deals.

I am not associated with KahlAudio ... just another repeat customer.

P.S.  TMR's asking price is even higher in eBay.

I noticed their offer for your equipment is always very low and their selling price always on high side. It is a business and it's understandable. My experiences have been mostly positive other than their low balling offers.

The item they described as in perfect working order had issues.As we were in the middle of a cross country move I disposed of the tuner  because of my frustration and hassles returing it etc.I contacted TMR.Although I realized I was ineligible for any refund  I think they should have at least offered some sort of discount or minimal credit towards a future purchase.

I hope I remember to never sell anything to you. That problem lies with you, and you alone. Had the tuner been available, I am confident they would have made it right by you. As it was, all they had was your word, no proof of a problem. They are just supposed to assume that you are not a scammer? Electronics are not meant to withstand the abuse that can occur in shipment. I have had items I have sold leave my possession in perfect working order show up at someone else's home not working correctly. It happens. You never even provided an opportunity to make it right and then you want to hold them responsible? Sorry, but that is your fault.

I've bought a number of items from them with no issue.  I just purchased a preamp and it arrived with one of the capacitors detached.  I contacted them, sent them a photo, and they had a prepaid shipping label to me the same day, no questions asked, no hassle.  It remains to be seen how long the repair and return takes, but they certainly responded quickly and appropriately to the issue.

I disposed of the tuner

And you're expecting a refund?  I'm confused.

I have had a negative experience with TMR.I attempted to review them on their feedback column but was blocked from doing so...no wonder they have a 100 per cent positive feedback.

The item they described as in perfect working order had issues.As we were in the middle of a cross country move I disposed of the tuner  because of my frustration and hassles returing it etc.I contacted TMR.Although I realized I was ineligible for any refund  I think they should have at least offered some sort of discount or minimal credit towards a future purchase.

Fair point.

I've never bought from them, but have seen plenty of their ads. From this thread, they seem to be trustworthy, but they currently have an ad for a B&O 8002 turntable with a clearly damaged dustcover hinge and no mention of it in the description. Plus, the TT has an 8/10 rating, even with the dustcover hinge damage and no headshell for the cartridge whose model is unverifiable. Thoughts?

My thoughts are that if I was interested in the item I would call them and ask about it.

I've never bought from them, but have seen plenty of their ads. From this thread, they seem to be trustworthy, but they currently have an ad for a B&O 8002 turntable with a clearly damaged dustcover hinge and no mention of it in the description. Plus, the TT has an 8/10 rating, even with the dustcover hinge damage and no headshell for the cartridge whose model is unverifiable. Thoughts?

First Class--- Rob and Karl!!!!!

They have a used Stellar S300 listed now and it's only $35 more than new! Someone better jump on it!!

@mitch2 ,
Very well explained. I found their pricing to be very fair. Have done some trades with them and purchases.

@djones51, ok, so same situation as me. I wish I was given an explanation by the rep for the low price.

TMR are making a living in the very tough used audio gear market.  If it was easy, everyone would do it.  Their prices are not too far above the general used marketplace and they, unlike sellers here and on USAM, offer a no questions asked return policy.  I purchased a pair of very heavy and somewhat expensive mono amps from them, that I may not have purchased elsewhere without the option to return them if I didn't like them.  It doesn't get much better than that in the used marketplace.

Regarding what they pay for used stuff, that is entirely their business based on their internal market research and perhaps even search requests they receive from their clients.  I have traded in gear to them that I might have sold on the open market but trading it in was a good way to get the deal done.     

In my case it depended on what I was trying to sell them. They offered a crazy low price on a pair of speakers less than a year old, $500 for $4000 speakers, I passed on that. An amp they offered as much as I was offered here on A'gon after trying for a month to sell it, I took that offer. 

Mark, Yeah I should have contacted them about the cables. A piece of one connector snapped off after about 2 months and the other cable not long afterward.

I hear you regarding the Atma-sphere. Maybe TMR didn’t really want the preamp, but they should have given me a reason. They could have said it would be tough for them to sell it, or maybe there’s not much demand. I did reply to show them past online sale prices which ranged from $1200 to $1500 and the rep wouldn’t change his offer. What makes me angry at them is it seems like they will buy or take a trade on anything. It's become a buyer beware situation for me.

I did hear from my buyer telling me that he was thrilled with the preamp.
Since you asked, I upgraded to a used Audio Note linestage, the M2 Special which means it was a custom order with upgrades from the UK factory. I’m loving it.

Sorry for my harsh tone, but this has been a sore subject for me.

Hi lowrider57 I hear you on the cables and thinking you missed the return deadline. It is still surprising that you did not contact them, being so close to the perceived deadline. By your own account you considered them to be a reputable firm, and so at least some accommodation might have been expected.

I have to take you at your word on the UV-1 figures, so I apologize for the negative remark. Perhaps TMR have not had good experience reselling Atma-sphere equipment. I notice that Dick Olsher panned the phono stage in both Ablosute Sound and HiFi+. Enjoy The Music had no such reservations, however.

Even given that electronics tend to be undervalued when traded in, what amounts to a better than 75% discount seems a little steep. It worked out well for someone, though: The person who scored your 2 year old UV-1 for $1350.
I wonder what you replaced it with.

Ok, so dont believe me. I’ve been on this forum a lot longer than you. If you were familiar with my threads and comments you would see that I dont troll, exaggerate, or make negative comments.
This is an old thread and last year I made positive comments about TMR. Had good transactions with them.

First point; Purist makes very fine cables and at that time I had Aqueous Luminist cables. So I wanted to add another Purist and because the age of the cable and ownership was unknown, I wanted the connectors fully checked out. After only good experiences with TMR, provenance was not an issue in this case. These were possibly abused cables or the connectors were stressed by a previous owner and should have been more thoroughly inspected by the techs when traded in. What are the odds of connectors on both ICs breaking off.
I only just read about the 45 day warranty, I thought it was 30 days. So, my bad for not returning them.

Next item was an Atma-sphere UV-1 preamp with phono, highly modified by Ralph. My cost new was $2700 and I owned it for 2 years, still had a warranty (which was attractive to the eventual buyer). The offer from TMR was $300. I dont want to hear that they need to recoup operating costs and make a profit in this case.
Put it up for sale here and at US Audiomart, had offers and took about a month to sell. Also included lots of NOS tubes and sold the unit for $1350.
So there’s my story which may sound like fantasy or BS to you.

I am the guy that started this thread. I did purchase from them and was satisfied with the transaction.

They have a 45 day return policy and pay return shipping for defective items. So something does not ring true about lowrider57’s claim. That also makes me wonder if the 3x claim isn’t a bit exaggerated.

Big_Greg's comment does ring true.  One thing he does not mention is that their 45 day return policy means they assume that risk as well.
TMR’s return policy (from their web site:
Every purchase made at www.tmraudio.com carries a full 45 day return policy**. If you purchased your product from us elsewhere, a standard 30 day term applies. If you’re not happy with your purchase for any reason or if you’ve simply changed your mind... no problem. Simply ship it back for a full refund or exchange (minus S&H costs). If you have received an item that is defective in some way, we will make it right. Let us know - we will pay for return shipping and repair the item or refund 100% of your original purchase price. New items that have been opened will generally incur a 15% re-stocking fee.
** Items purchased on tmraudio.com using “Bread” financing are subject to a strict 30-day return window which begins from date of purchase.

Am I missing something, or do people not realize they are buying your old gear for the sole purpose of selling it? 

Of course they're only going to pay a fraction of what "it's worth".  They need to make a profit to cover their costs of doing business.  Selling gear can be a hassle sometimes and what you're doing is basically paying them to deal with that for the convenience of an instant sale and fast cash. 

The actual cost of almost any physical good sold by a company is a fraction of what they sell it for.  They have fixed costs they have to cover with that margin, - facility costs, payroll, insurance, power, phones, internet, marketing, sales, etc. etc. etc. not to mention making sure they make a small profit and stay in business.

I've bought and done trade-ins over the past few years and been very pleased with the outcome.

But, I dont think I'll be doing business with them again. I purchased a pair of Purist IC's and asked them to inspect and test the RCA connectors. The transaction went well, but after a few weeks a connector broke, then a connector broke on the second cable. Purist's price for installing new RCA's is very high. Now I'm stuck with these expensive cables.

The other reason is due to an insulting offer on a preamp I had for sale. I sent pics and received an offer so low that i laughed. I emailed back showing the prices on the used market and they wouldn't up their offer. I eventually sold the preamp on Audiogon for 3X the amount. I went to TMR first assuming I could make a fast sale at a fair price.

The problem with buying some items from them is the unknown provenance; eg, amount of owners unknown, age of item unknown.

I've never dealt with them. But when I see them posting used gear at HIGHER than new retail.....

I agree that there cash buy or trade in values are quite low. Just buying from them works fine.

ozzy

I’ve purchased several items from them and been completely satisfied with the process. Very quick shipping and great packaging. I will continue to buy from them and recommend them.

Dealt with them a few times....mainly with them buying equipment for cash.  Mostly positive...but at times can be very unrealistic with cash offers.....

Hit and miss in my book.

I have had several very good experiences with them. Buying and selling.
But of late they seem to be less cooperative with trade in value.

On the consignment program, be aware that you must ship the products to them to evaluate and take pictures. With very heavy speakers this can be expensive. And, they hold your product until/if you sell them. If it doesn’t sell you have to pay the shipping again to get them back.

ozzy

Sounds like they don't want your cable.  Better off to list it on US Audiomart or Audiogon, as I'd expect you to get a better price vs. selling to a reseller.

So far they've been really pleasant but they have Paypal as a credit card processor rather than having their own merchant account with FirstData.  Normally this isn't a problem but it delayed my order because PayPal couldn't add my credit card and was clueless as to why, which resulted in my wasting about a hour on the phone with PayPal, eventually calling The Music Room back AGAIN to process the purchase using the same card through their back end, which SOMEHOW resulted in their shipping department delaying the order by a day ("because the order came in through a different portal"...hmmmm).  I'm thankful they were able to take my card rather than forcing me to wait 24 hours for PayPal to approve adding the damn thing but really a business with any volume needs its own merchant account.  Buying something from them should NOT be as hard as it was for me, and I have a 805 credit rating and no debt.

Sold a few items to them. Excellent experience.

I just completed my first transaction with them, an upgrade from my PS Audio P10 Power Plant, to the new P15 model.

Not only are they "legit", but they offered a MUCH BETTER price on the upgrade, paid the shipping for my P10 return, and did all of this in lightening speed.

I would definitely recommend them!

Excellent service, packaging and return policy.  Enthusiastically recommended!

Yes very legit...I bought a used ARC Ref 5se. It was also supposed to come with brand new tubes... I emailed them back when it arrived and they sent me a set of brand new tubes for the 5se right away. Very good service and fast delivery. Packaging was very professional. They also did come down in price.It was in mint condition just as listed.  And they have a 30 day money back guarentee.  if not satisfied. Highly recommended. 

I recommend them. Traded in some McIntosh gear for an ARC GS150 power amplifier from them. Karl and Rob seem quite knowledgable in my opinion.

Bought a few items from them
Best to deal with them direct through their website or over the phone as they are willing to work on  the price somewhat if neither ebay or agon are involved. 
Never had an issue at all.

Oh yes they are legit, they are nice people to deal with. Cables I bought are in good shape..

I am the originator of this thread.  I did purchase a preamp from them, and I am happy with the transaction.  I am looking to upgrade my DAC and will be looking there first.  Good people.

I'm very glad to have found this thread. I was wondering the same thing as the original poster. A while back, I saw some speakers TMR listed for a better price than just about anywhere else. I would have pulled the trigger but the timing just wasn't right for me. I'll keep them in mind down the road. 

Bought a pair of JM Labs Micro Utopias. They worked with me on the price. One woofer was damaged during shipping. They paid for the speakers to be sent back to them. They purchased new drivers replaced them and sent them back to me as quickly as they could. With the cost of drivers, I'm sure they ended up taking a big hit but were very professional and responded quickly with extraordinary effort to satisfy.

In all fairness, a good friend of mine works for them.  I've retrofitted and replaced almost my entire 2-channel setup through them.  It has been nothing but smooth sailing for me.  

I recently purchased a BAT300XSE integrated amp from them that arrived DOA. 

I called/emailed immediately, dealt with a gent named Karl who simply addressed my plight, resolved it, handled it professionally. 

He sent me a shipper back to BAT, shipped me another unit from the store. Quickly. Followed up, too. 

I most definitely will do business with them again. Class operation. 

Have done several transactions with TMR over the past couple years both buying and selling. Very fair on both the buying and selling fronts. I definitely will continue to do business with them in the future as wants arise. Very good communication, shipping and transactions.

+1 - mdhoover, dicockrum, pops, jons and All. 

Made my first purchase from TRM recently ; Condition better than rated, accepted lower but reasonable offer, excellent packing.

I believe we all know the blatant offender. He will moderate you to protect his " Wannabe Nonsense "
His regurgitated opinions and advice taken from the reviews of others. 

I suppose he will have the last pair of working Thiels; since he just looks at them and smiles. No amps or speaker cables. Dave how long before I get moderated? 

Best to All

Purchased a Conrad-Johnson MF2550 from them.  It was in much better condition than what TMR graded it at.  It looked brand new to me!  I placed the order and they shipped same day.  I also purchased a Marantz SA8005 from them.  Two flawless transactions with TMR and I couldn't be happier.

Purchased $5k component from The Music Room - great service, product in excellent condition, great price and support, delivery were all great. 

+2 on Dave and mdhoover and I posted almost the exact same thing on a different thread yesterday.