I can't say much except for the last point. I would think it goes without
saying that modifying equipment would pretty much instantly void any
manufacturer's warranty (on any sort of product at all).
Otherwise, thanks for the heads up. This is why, so far, I've been skeptica=
l
about buying on places like eBay, etc. You have no idea what you might get,
service-wise.
ms
On Wed, May 13, 2009 at 8:40 PM, justinasia <> wrote:
>
>
> When I was thinking of buying from Doug Oade, I was surprised at the lack
> of mention of him on this group. He had great reviews on Tapersection whe=
re
> they all seemed sure his mods make a great improvement. Since I wanted qu=
iet
> gear for nature recording, I decided to buy from him, and also a friend
> joined me so we could save on shipping. So I think I should share my
> feedback with the forum.
>
> I can't tell you about the gear itself. It seems great. But I have nothin=
g
> to compare it with - no un-modded gear. What I can tell you is about the
> rest of the transaction.
>
> Doug was very responsive and friendly during our mails before I paid. I h=
ad
> to have the recorders shipped to Japan. He explained the handling charges=
I
> had to pay, to pay for his worker to drive to the post office. Then he to=
ld
> me the USPS charge - $236. That was only for USPS, nothing else. I though=
t
> it seemed expensive so I checked it on the USPS online calculator on the
> USPS website. I used the packed weights from Amazon.com and it seemed it
> should be not more than about $100. I told this to Doug, and he wrote "Th=
e
> on line calculator is rarely correct. Once you get to the Post Office, th=
ey
> measure the box, this is what drives up the cost as they go via air, size
> matters."
>
> When the box arrived, the USPS charge was clearly written on the receipt =
as
> $95.25. Doug had clearly overcharged me by $140.75. When I mailed him abo=
ut
> it, he immediately became hostile and regretted ever dealing with me. Tha=
t
> already means that I now presumably have no warranty, seeing as it is onl=
y
> Doug's personal warranty! As for the overcharge, he admits that he told m=
e
> it was $236 but it was actually $95.25, but he refuses to return my money=
.
>
> I wrote my experiences on Tapersection, and now have realised many people
> have had similar bad experiences with Doug, some much worse. Usually if t=
hey
> write about their negative experiences on Tapersection, Doug's fans attac=
k
> them. So that's why I had not noticed before I dealt with him. If I had, =
I
> would not have. Someone ran a poll on the Tapersection forum "On a scale =
of
> 1 to 5, rate your experiences with Doug Oade", and 21/105 voters voted "1=
",
> the worse rating.
>
> http://taperssection.com/index.php/topic,121128.0.html
>
> I know this is not as interesting as talking about field recordings, but
> just though it might be useful for anyone considering to invest money in =
a
> new recorder. Though he might treat you fine, he also might not.
>
> However they are all saying that another man who does mods is Busman. I
> have no personal experience with him, but if you are looking for modded g=
ear
> he might be worth researching.
>
> As a last note, I should point out that modded gear does not keep the
> warranty from the manufacturer. (This was my one question Doug convenient=
ly
> left unanswered).
>
> Justin
>
>
>
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