Pro Audio Star, Ron Wolf Beware! Ripped off, scammed & given the run around for $330 Brooklyn New York
On 11/11/08 I bought a Vestax VCI-100 from ProaudioStar in refurbished/like new condition. It had significant cosmetic flaws not mentioned in the auction. It was sent with a USB cord that did not originally belong to the item & the box was ripped in several places. On 1/2/09, seven weeks after purchase I contacted customer service through Ebay explaining that I was experiencing hardware issues with the controller. On 1/3 Dan had wrote back to contact the store by phone to discuss the problem. On 1/5 at 1:30 PM I called and spoke to Ron Wolf who said Dan was not available and asked what the problem was. I told him the issue, he asked when I bought the item. He was very friendly and assured me, in his exact words "Don't worry, we will definitely work something out with you. Even if it has passed 30 days we can still help you out with a replacement or a return. We will make an exception for you. Please call back at a later time to speak with Dan."
I felt confident that I had bought my controller from a reputable place with exceptional customer service after this initial call. On 1/12 I called for Dan again and he directed me to contact Vestax. When I couldn't contact Vestax because they are based out of Japan and there was no general customer service/tech support number posted I contacted my local service center listed on the Vestax website. They were very understanding of my situation but required a printed receipt that was not from Paypal to do any repairs under warranty. They also needed to verify that the store I bought it from were in fact authorized retailers for Vestax. I contacted Dan back on 1/14, 1/16 & 1/19 concerning this issue but no one picked up the phone. I left a message and did not get a call back for over 5 days. On the 1/19 I spoke to Dan and he decided to handle the return instead of sending me a receipt. We spoke on the phone and he said he would send a shipping label. He said once the item was received he would send a replacement. I asked if it would be possible to send a box for proper shipment and was told that was not something the company normally did.
I sent the Vestax back on 1/21 and got a call from Ron on 1/23. The delivery of the item was confirmed. I was asked, once again, what the problem was. When I tried to explain everything that had led up to the return I was interrupted repeatedly and treated very rudely. When I followed up with Dan's promise of a replacement I was told by Ron that I would not be receiving one. Of course this was very upsetting as there was a blatant mis-communication between employees in the store. I would not have sent back the controller to be repaired if I could have had it done locally. I know that that the repair could have taken weeks or even months if done so. The only reason I agreed to send back the controller is because I was promised a replacement. If I was told by Dan on 1/19 that they would be sending it back to Vestax for a repair I would have opted for having it repaired at my local service center which would have obviously been more time efficient. When I pressed this issue with Ron I was yelled at to "calm down" several times. After 20 minutes on the phone, Ron seemed to have gotten impatient with talking to me and began to refuse to offer any help at all and would send back the controller as is.
To put it bluntly, I am very fed up dealing with this issue and PAS's employees because of their inconsistency, deceit, disrespect & lack of communication with each other. I understand a store's policy is very important so if its employees are going to make verbal agreements with their customers then fail to follow through, that is just pure deception. I want a full refund for the item or a replacement as promised on 1/19 with my conversation with Dan. As of right now it has been 3 days since I have last called and left a message and have yet to receive a call back regarding my message.
I urge everyone to never buy anything from these people, I have seen several complaints on forums of similar situations with this Ron Wolf character and can only deem this company to be full of scams.
Amanda
philadelphia, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.
6 Updates & Rebuttals
OriginalGrunge
United States of AmericaGreat, personal customer service.
#7Consumer Comment
Mon, March 07, 2011
I recently purchased a Traynor Darkhorse amp + cabinet from them for an extremely low / favorable price. The contents were clearly not used or damaged in any way whatsoever. It is true that there may be some confusion regarding the shipping information - as FedEx information is automatically generated. I had to contact them directly in order to get the updated tracking numbers.
However, this point of confusion was actually cleared up very quickly by their customer service. There is always someone monitoring their online chat (used several times!), and I received almost immediate responses to my e-mail inquiries about tracking.
I'm actually a bit surprised that communication seemed poor in this case, as I've experienced nearly exactly the opposite all members have posted above. I plan on buying all relevant equipment
from them from now on after the kind of treatment that I've typically only seen in the likes of companies like Carvin!
Great job PAS > hope this gets fully resolved.
ebayer
sydney,Other,
Australia
RON FROM PROAUDIOSTAR TRIED TO PATCH THINGS UP
#7Consumer Comment
Tue, October 05, 2010
UPDATE:OCTOBER 5,2010
ebayer
sydney,Other,
Australia
PROAUDIOSTAR EBAY BEWARE!!
#7General Comment
Sun, October 03, 2010
BEWARE ALL EBAY BUYERS: PROAUDIOSTAR GEAR
ALL CUSTOMERS OF PROAUDIOSTAR GEAR IN BROOKLYN NEWYORK:
PROAUDIOSTAR LOWERS AND DIVES IN ALL THE PRICES OF THE GEARS
DONT JUST GO FOR THE PRICE,ITS JUST MIND TRICKS,IT WONT EVEN GET MUCH DIFFERENCE FROM THE PRICES OF THE OTHER STORES,ITS JUST A MATTER OF A FEW BUCKS.
BUT YOU WILL FIND THEM THE CHEAPEST ONE IN EBAY,AND WILL GET LURED BY THE SO CALLED LOWEST PRICES THEY COULD GIVE,BUT ITS ALL BUSINESS TRICKS.
THE FIRST TIME YOU INQUIRE THERE WILL BE STAFFS ANSWERING YOU, MOSTLY LIKE DAN, RON OR SPENCER THEY WILL BE ALL NICE,FAST RESPONSE,BUT ONCE YOU FALL FOR THEIR TRICK,AND GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY,IT WIL BE ALL HEADACHES FOR YOU AFTER THAT,AND THEYLL BE ALL GONE AFTER ALL THE PROBLEMS,THEY WONT BE SIGNING THEIR NAMES IN THEIR EMAILS,AND WILL JUST SIGN PROAUDIOSTAR.
THEY ARE SELLING EVERYTHING ONLINE AND IN EBAY,THOUSANDS OF ITEMS,TELLING PEOPLE LIKE THEY HAVE EVERY KIND OF MUSIC GEAR AND LOWEST PRICES COMPARED TO OTHER ONLINE MUSIC STORES,BUT THEY NEVER HAVE STOCKS,THEY TELL YOU THEY HAVE IT ON STOCK AND WILL BE SHIPPED THAT DAY AFTER YOU SEND THE PAYMENT,AND THEY WILL SEND YOU A FEDEX TRACKING NUMBER SO YOULL FEEL SECURED AND WILL WAIT DAYS FOR THE TRACKING TO MOVE BUT IT NEVER WILL,SO YOULL HAVE TO CONTACT THEM AND THEY WILL TELL YOU,BECAUSE OF THE LOWER PRICE WE ARE GIVING THEY ARE OUT OF STOCK,AND WE WILL BE GETTING THEM FROM THE WAREHOUSE AND HAVE THEM STOCKED WITHIN 2-3 DAYS,THEY KEPT HAVING MORE DATE EXTENSIONS UNTIL ONE MONTH HAS PASSED,AND STILL NOTHING,AND YOU WILL JUST END UP HAVING AN EXCHANGE OF ITEM THAT YOU DONT LIKE,AND DECIDED,BUT YOU JUST HAVE TO,CAUSE YOU HAVE NO CHOICE,YOU ALREADY PAID FOR THE SHIPPING COSTS,YOU ORDERED A LOT,AND THEY WONT REFUND THE SHIPPING COSTS OF THE BIGGEST ONE THEY DIDNT SEND(AND ITS THE ONE THAT COST A LOT OF SHIPPING),SO YOUD HAVE TO JUST HAVE AN EXCHANGED ITEM.WE HAD TWO DIFFERENT TRANSACTIONS,THE OTHER WAS A FOLLOW UP ORDER,AFTER I WAITED FOR ONE MONTH,THEYYVE JUST SENT THE EXCHANGED ITEM AND ALL THE OTHER LITTLE STUFFS,BUT THE SECOND DIFFERENT TRANSACTION(WITH A DIFFERENT EBAY/PAYPAL PAYMENT) OF CABLES,DIDNT COME,I EMAILED THEM ONCE AFTER IVE GOT THE ITEMS AND STILL MISSING SOME EVEN THOUGH ITS BEEN A MONTH ALREADY,AND THEY DIDNT REPLY,SO I GOT TIRED AND LET IT PASS.
EVENT 1:
AND ANOTHER ONE WAS, AFTER I ORDERED A BUNCH OF MICROPHONES,IT CAME WITH AN OLD BOX,NOT SEALED AND WE WERE EXPECTING THAT THEY WERE ALL BRAND NEW,AND SEALED,AFTER I SENT THE PAYPAL PAYMENT THEY SENT ME A MESSAGE TELLING ME THEY HAVE VERY CHEAP CABLES,I BOUGHT THEM.I WAS EXPECTING THEY WOULD ALL ARRIVE AT THE SAME TIME,SINCE IVE SENT THE PAYMENT WITH JUST A FEW HOURS GAP.,I PAID FOR 6 MICS,THEY TOLD ME ITS FREE SHIPPING,THEY ASKED ME TO BUY CHEAP CABLES,I PAID FOR THEM,THEN THEY SENT JUST FIVE MICS AND THEY TOLD ME,SINCE YOU HAVE THE CABLES,WE JUST GOT THE CHARGES OF THE SHIPPING FOR THE CABLES FROM THE PRICE OF THE OTHER MIC THAT YOU ALREADY PAID FOR,(BUT THE TRUTH IS,MAYBE THEY JUST HAVENT GOT THE STOCK,AND THEY OFFER YOU ANOTHER PRODUCT AND JUST ORGANIZE HOW EVERYTHING WOULD BE CHARGED AND WHICH WILL BE SENT AND WHICH NOT,WITHOUT EVEN CONSULTING YOU,THEY DECIDE FOR EVERYTHING.YOU WILL JUST FIND OUT AFTER YOU RECEIVE THE ITEM,AND ASK THEM AFTERWARDS,BUT YOU CANT DO NOTHING,CAUSE THEY GAVE IT FOR A LOWER PRICE)THEY JUST TOLD ME THAT AFTER I GOT THE CABLES AND MICS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN BEFORE I PAID FOR THEM.
EVENT 2:
IVE ORDERED DIFFERENT KINDS OF STUFFS LIKE MICROPHONES,CABLES AND SOME MUSIC GEARS, ALL PAID AT ONCE WORTH ALMOST OR EXACTLY $4000 ,THEY SEND IT TO YOU,PIECE BY PIECE,WHICHEVER IS READY,IT SHOULD HAVE ARRIVED ALL AT ONCE,SINCE YOUVE PAID FOR IT ALL TOGETHER,AND IVE ORDERED CABLES.,I DIDNT GET THE BRAND I ORDERED FOR,AND THEY TELL YOU ITS ALL JUST THE SAME STUFF,ITS THE SAME CABLES,(BUT ITS NOT,ITS A DIFFERENT BRAND,ITS CABLES BUT STILL,YOU PAID FOR A DIFFERENT BRAND),AFTER 3 WEEKS THEY SENT ME ALL THE OTHER ITEMS,AND TOLD ME THEY WILL SEND ANOTHER SET OF CABLES,THEY WERE SAYING IT LIKE IT WAS MY FAULT,THAT I WILL GET A SET OF CABLES FOR FREE,TOLD THEM THEY COULD GET THE OTHER ONE,CAUSE I DONT WANT THEM,BUT IT WAS THEIR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE,THEYVE GOT IT MIXED UP AND THEY SHOULD REALLY GET IT REPLACED,BUT THERE WERE STILL MORE ORDERS TO COME,I STILL GOT A SET OF DRUM MICROPHONES ORDERED,IVE GOT THE OTHER ONES,BUT THEY TOLD ME THE OTHER ORDERS WONT BE SENT UNTIL THE DRUMSET PACK IS SENT TO THEM BY THE MANUFACTURER,WEEKS AND WEEKS OF WAITING,ALWAYS EXTENSIONS AND DIFFERENT DATES,ONE MONTH HAS PASSED,STILL NOTHING,I TOLD THEM THEY HAVE TO SEND EVERYTHING TO ME,OR I WONT BE COVERED BY PAYPAL BUYER PROTECTION SINCE ITS GONNA BE MORE THAN 45DAYS,AND THEY TOLD ME THE DRUMSET PACK ISNT HERE YET,MANUFATURER TOLD ME ITS GONNA BE HERE IN MAYBE A MONTH OR SO,I COULD GIVE YOU A REFUND IF YOU WANT,BUT ITS NOT THAT EASY,CAUSE I ALREADY WAITED JUST TO BE TOLD THERE WAS NOTHING,AND THEY WOULDNT REFUND THE SHIPPING FEES FOR THAT DRUM PACK MICS AND IT WAS THE HEAVIEST,AND MOST SHIPPING COST I PAID FOR WAS COVERED BY THAT ONE,SINCE IT WAS A SET,SO I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO JUST GET AN EXCHANGED ITEM,CAUSE I WOULDNT GET REFUNDED FOR THE SHIPPING COSTS OF THE HEAVIEST ONE,SO I JUST GOT ANOTHER ITEM,IT ARRIVED,AND STILL ONE MORE SET OF CABLES THE XLR-F ONES,DIDNT COME,I JUST GOT SO FED UP,I JUST DIDNT MIND,AND LET IT PASS YET AGAIN.I THINK THEY JUST GOT THE WORTH OF THOSE CABLES TO COVER FOR THE PRICE OF THE EXCHANGED ITEM,OR WHATEVER STUFF THEY HAD IN MIND,CAUSE THEY DECIDE FOR EVERYTHING WITHOUT LETTING YOU KNOW,SO NOW,I DONT KNOW.
-WERE NOT ONLY DOING THIS FOR US,WE JUST WANT TO HAVE A HEALTHY EBAY COMMUNITY,PLEASE SHARE ALL YOUR BAD EXPERIENCES,TO MAKE EVERYONE AWARE OF BAD HAPPENINGS,WE DONT NEED TO MAKE UP STORIES,JUST THE REAL STORY SOUNDS BAD ENOUGH,NO ONE SHOULD HAVE SAME EXPERIENCE AND BE IN SITUATIONS LIKE US,BEFORE YOU BUY,CHECK ALL THE BACKROUND DETAILS OF THE STORE,DONT GET BLINDED BY THEIR TRICKS AND LOW PRICES,ITS NOT REALLY CHEAP,THEY JUST MAKE IT LOOK CHEAP TO LURE ,US,THE CONSUMERS.IT WILL JUST COST PROBLEMS.PLEASE SHARE ALL YOUR EXPERIENCES TO BUILD A HEALTHY ONLINE SHOPPING AND EBAY COMMUNITY.
Oldschool
Fitchburg,Massachusetts,
U.S.A.
PROAUDIOSTAR'S REPUTATION SPEAKS FOR ITSELF
#7UPDATE Employee
Tue, May 05, 2009
PROAUDIOSTAR has been a seller on Ebay and its own web site since 2006 with over 30,000 combined successful transactions and rating of over %99 on Ebay. With a highly skilled staff, Proaudiostar has build a strong reputation as a trust worthy qualified seller of proaudio and DJ gear. Proaudiostar is an authorized dealer of the following lines. Please feel free to call M-F 718 246 3787
RME....................Yorkville
Focusrite..............Line6
TC Electronics.........Sennheiser
DBX....................Proavio storage Systems
Soundcraft.............Audio Technica
Crown..................AKG,JBL CROWN QSC
Lexicon................Beyer Dynamics
JBL....................Audix
RCF....................Violet Designs
Presonus...............Studio Projects
Art....................M-Audio
Numark.................Samplitude + Sequoia recording Software
Novation...............Rane
Stanton................Rolls/Bellari
Tannoy.................MXL
Vestax.................Gemini
Native Instruments.....Cortex
Digitech...............Dynaudio Studio Monitors
Alto Systems...........Aphex
Apex Mic...............Allen & Heath
JoeMEEK................Furman
Akai...................A-Designs
Denon..................Cascade
B-52...................Digidesign
Traynor................Hughes and Kettner
Amanda
philadelphia,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
No Resolution With this company- they ignore emails & filed formal complaints.
#7Author of original report
Wed, March 11, 2009
Never received any resolution with this company! They sent back my defective controller with no notice, not even a phone call. They also mailed the controller back without proper packaging, which the owner had inappropriately yelled at me for & even excluded the little bit of packing I had originally sent the controller with. The controller arrived with a big dent in it & two screws missing from the sides, which led me to believe they opened the controller without my or the manufacturer's permission and possibly tampered with it which could have voided the factory warranty completely. I filed a complaint with the Consumer Board of NYC and Pro Audio Star ignored their letters until two weeks ago where the owner, Ron Wolf, issued a false report on the situation. He chose to not mention any contact I had with his staff & their promise of taking care of the situation and issuing a replacement. He said they wouldn't help me because it was after their 30 day policy & that was that. He ended the letter noting his acknowledgment of the complaints I filed on several websites and would be "considering legal action".
I'm really not sure why he chose to take this route and ignore a customer's dissatisfaction & then threaten legal action when I complained. Wouldn't it have just been easier to please the customer from the beginning? Needless to say I will never ever recommend this business to any of my many Musician & DJ friends & advise everyone on here to not buy from this company. Pro Audio Star and it's owner, Ron Wolf, need a big lesson in customer satisfaction. They have proved to me that they are only looking to make money and couldn't care less about their customer's happiness. I have never in my life, as a customer, been treated like this before and can only hope that from this report anyone thinking about doing business with this company will stop dead in their tracks and look elsewhere for their music equipment.
Amanda
philadelphia,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Update! No call back in 4 days but received notification of an item shipped.
#7Author of original report
Tue, January 27, 2009
So I haven't gotten a call back, like I had firmly asked in my message I left on Friday evening. Yesterday at 7pm however I received notice from Fed-Ex that my "return" had been shipped. Let's see if they stuck to their guns or caved in and actually honored a replacement for a faulty product they sold me.