Kneesup
02-10-2014, 16:04
I recently had occasion to buy a pair of ECC88 valves on EBay: a pair of Holland-made Amperex 6922 PQ white label gold-pins. I bought them from a guy called Andy who trades under the name of old_guy_radiola (in Lahabra, California).
Before doing so I noticed he had over 1200 tradings at 100% positive feedback, which for a valve dealer (exclusively) seemed incredible. I mean, the whole issue of buying valves is so hit-or-miss, even when they were new, that such amazing feedback could only indicate exceptional customer service.
When I got them - which was super-quick - I found one was rather noisy and also 'clicked' occasionally. According to the seller's terms and conditions he could not guarantee the noisiness of valves, but would address any issues of clear malfunction. I am probably misquoting his T&Cs here but basically it was plain to me that the fact I had a gassy valve was my issue, not his. However, the clicking noise indicated something more worrying so I e-mailed Andy (the seller) and gently explained the issue.
He mailed straight back to ask me to keep an eye/ear on the values as they burned-in (they were 1950s NOS). And indeed the problem did change, but it didn't go away. Hearing this, he subsequently offered to send me a replacement. In fact, he sent me a pair (albeit non-PQ, because he hadn't got a spare PQ), but the gesture was incredibly generous.
In all my EBay transactions I have never come across a mass seller who was so keen to help.
Old_Guy_Radiola has a lot of valves on EBay. My experience of dealing with Andy is outstanding. He might be in the US, but buy with confidence. He is super-helpful. I thought I should share that.
Before doing so I noticed he had over 1200 tradings at 100% positive feedback, which for a valve dealer (exclusively) seemed incredible. I mean, the whole issue of buying valves is so hit-or-miss, even when they were new, that such amazing feedback could only indicate exceptional customer service.
When I got them - which was super-quick - I found one was rather noisy and also 'clicked' occasionally. According to the seller's terms and conditions he could not guarantee the noisiness of valves, but would address any issues of clear malfunction. I am probably misquoting his T&Cs here but basically it was plain to me that the fact I had a gassy valve was my issue, not his. However, the clicking noise indicated something more worrying so I e-mailed Andy (the seller) and gently explained the issue.
He mailed straight back to ask me to keep an eye/ear on the values as they burned-in (they were 1950s NOS). And indeed the problem did change, but it didn't go away. Hearing this, he subsequently offered to send me a replacement. In fact, he sent me a pair (albeit non-PQ, because he hadn't got a spare PQ), but the gesture was incredibly generous.
In all my EBay transactions I have never come across a mass seller who was so keen to help.
Old_Guy_Radiola has a lot of valves on EBay. My experience of dealing with Andy is outstanding. He might be in the US, but buy with confidence. He is super-helpful. I thought I should share that.