What you should know about Musicthingz (who has now re-launched as www.nzsounds.co.nz www.globalsound.com.au and www.globalsoundtrade.co.nz after their Fair Go exposure!
Over the last few years a New Zealand website has sprung up which on the surface looks similar to many genuine sites in that it lists a large number of products at great prices. However over the last 2 years we've been approached by a growing number of disgruntled people who state they have purchased from Musicthingz and apparently after months of waiting they didn't receive their goods even though their payment has been made. Some claim they did receive the goods but had to wait more than a month with no explanation, others were disturbed to find when the goods eventually did arrive they had all serial numbers removed. Click here for a blog of real customers experiences. And here's just a few experiences of customers who found NZSounds / Globalsound through Pricespy http://pricespy.co.nz/shop.php?f=10157
We decided to do some investigating and this is what we've turned up which will hopefully help future customers decide just who to purchase from......
- Musicthingz / Global Sound Trade parallel import their goods from US stores such as Guitar Centre to order and do not deal through the official NZ manufacturers agents like we do. They are therefore not authorised NZ resellers for the large number of goods on their site nor do they have direct dealings with the manufacturers as they sometimes claim. Their claims of sourcing goods through "authorised distributors" is extremely misleading as those distributors are authorised to only sell products in the US and the goods are not designed for sale in NZ. The NZ warranty they are claiming to offer is purely their own, and as backed up by the examples on Fair Go this can prove worthless and if you send back your goods for repair you may never see them again.
- The official manufacturers NZ agents we have contacted including TASCAM, Digitech, dbx, Shure, JBL, TC Electronics, Presonus, Rode, Numark, Alesis, Lexicon have stated they will not honor the warranty on any parallel imported items purchased through Musicthingz. There are currently complaints lodged with the Commerce Commission with regards to the Fair Trade Act and the claims made by Musicthingz on their site that they offer an "authorised warranty" because the manufacturers we have contacted state this will not be honored.
- We have evidence that Musicthingz have supplied goods with all serial numbers removed, this means there is no way of checking the source of the goods or if they are in fact genuine or fake. Evidence of this has also been submitted to the authorities for further investigation.
- as of the 4th Sept 2009 Musicthingz has had their Merchant Account terminated by National Bank due to numerous complaints by customers and several cases of failure to supply goods after credit cards have been billed including sales in excess of $1000. Musicthingz has now switched to Pago but we suggest you read the terms of Pago at www.pago.co.nz/story2190.aspx and note the terms under "Using Pago with online merchants" where it states "We won't cover any losses you incur when dealing with merchants because there is a problem with the goods or services you have paid for through your wallet (or the goods and services have not arrived)"
- We have evidence of a Musicthingz customer who had their credit card billed for more than the item price they agreed to when they purchased online, we suggest you check your credit card statement carefully if you have purchase from them. The item in question still hadn't arrived after a month so the customer had to track down the website owner and demand a refund. Our credit card company requires us to ship goods within 3 days of billing the credit card and we believe is fair for the customer. Musicthingz take payment and then order the item in from the US which can take weeks or even months to arrive. If you have bought any item online and not received it within 2 weeks we strongly suggest you contact your credit card company and arrange a reversal of the transaction so you can get your money back.
- Musicthingz have been banned from Trademe for breaching copyright law and attempting to sell goods that they do not physically own. Each time they have been banned they try to re-register with a new name and continue, they have now been banned at least 8 times that we are aware of. They are now banned from trading on Sella, and from using Paypal.
We strongly believe in Fair Trade and healthy competition but please take into consideration all facts when purchasing on the net and choose wisely. What seems like a site selling legitimate New Zealand new goods may not be and just because someone makes claims about warranty on their site doesn't mean they are true. If the price seems too good to be true then it's likely you're not going to get the after sales service you need simply because the retailer isn't making enough profit to cover it! But don't take our word for it, here's some genuine feedback from a real Musicthingz customer : "Horrible
I purchased a product ($650.00 worth) from
this store and to be fair, the sale went through smoothly,
however, after about 8 months the product developed a fault. I was
advised by the owner of musicthingz to return the product and it would
be repaired under warranty. I immediately returned the product and have
never seen it since. I have made dozens of emails and phonecalls to
musicthingz. In the early days I was always told it was in transit or
should be there next week etc... After about 3 months I was told a
refund was comming. After about 8 months I was told I could have an
alternate product from the store. Nothing has ever been sent and now the
communication simply ceases to exist. Musicthingz has my $650 dollars
and I have nothing to show for it and it appears obvious that the
company has no intention of refunding me the money it owes me. Deal with
this company at your own risk !"
If you have
purchased any item from Musicthingz and think that there may be an issue raised
under the Fair Trading Act please contact the
Commerce Commission via http://www.comcom.govt.nz/making-a-complaint/
or by email at contact@comcom.govt.nz
This page is in no way meant to be anti-competitive or slanderous it is simply to point out the experiences of many online shoppers.
