What you should know about Musicthingz (who has now re-launched as www.nzsounds.co.nz and www.globalsound.com.au after their Fair Go exposure!
Over the last few years a New Zealand website has sprung up which on the surface looks similar to ours 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 weeks 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.
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 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. (the exception for this being Presonus but see ** later). 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. They are simply reselling items purchased overseas which are usually designed for sale and use in the US, some might see this as making the goods second hand.
- 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 are supplying 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.
- At the time of writing the Musicthingz website had no phone number for contact which goes against the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs who advise: look for sites that provide adequate contact details – phone, fax, email and street address (not just a PO Box number)
- 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, ebay or using Paypal even though they still use the link on their website to show their ebay feedback (which cunningly turns off all the negative feedback about them, to see their true feedback click here MUSICTHINGS REAL EBAY FEEDBACK )
** Even though Musicthingz claimed at one time to be purchasing Presonus products through the official NZ supplier one customer earlier this year purchased a Presonus interface from them found that when it did arrive several weeks later it broke down when it was plugged into the NZ mains. The unit was returned to the authorised Presonus agent who discovered all serial numbers had been removed from the unit and it was a parallel import from the US. Most disturbing was the fact that the unit sold was not deemed fit for use with NZ voltages by the manufacturer. The NZ repair agent for Presonus has stated that this unit is not covered under NZ warranty and at the time of writing the customer still hasn't got a working unit. If that unit had been purchased through us the customer would have received a fully working unit with NZ warranty within 2 days of the purchase.
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.
