Seller held responsible if amp stops working 2 months later?

[aifrecords]

bought on reverb.com old sansui, 2 months after i bought it the front left speaker distorts and the back left speaker makes no sound or sometimes sound. i swapped speakers and wire and same problem so its entire left channel of amp, if reverb wont help me and seller wont pay for reapair should i deny the charges on credit card? how long are these old amps when bought used supposed to last?

 

[roundhousequad]

bought as is these thing all should be restored clean your pots first

 

[LuvMyQuad]

bought on reverb.com old sansui, 2 months after i bought it the front left speaker distorts and the back left speaker makes no sound or sometimes sound. i swapped speakers and wire and same problem so its entire left channel of amp, if reverb wont help me and seller wont pay for reapair should i deny the charges on credit card? how long are these old amps when bought used supposed to last?

Did the seller offer any warranty? If not, I don't think he has any responsibility for repair. Used stuff is typically sold as is unless there is some additional warranty given.

 

[timbre4]

You'd have to share the original listing text with us to comment knowledgeably. We can't tell anything about the actual condition or how it was portrayed by the seller.

 

[aifrecords]

You'd have to share the original listing text with us to comment knowledgeably. We can't tell anything about the actual condition or how it was portrayed by the seller.

https://reverb.com/item/37979302-vi...am-fm-receiver-all-original-amazing-condition

You'd have to share the original listing text with us to comment knowledgeably. We can't tell anything about the actual condition or how it was portrayed by the seller.

thanks

https://reverb.com/item/37979302-vi...am-fm-receiver-all-original-amazing-condition

 

[Kal Rubinson]

I see no guarantee or the implication of one. If it was faulty when you got it (was it?), you might make a claim against the statement "Sounds great and is all original!"
Heck, it's almost 50 years old and, sooner or later, it is gonna fail. Unfortunate timing, imho.

 

[LuvMyQuad]

It looks to me like the window for returns is 7 days. There is no mention of any warranty anywhere.

 

[Soundfield]

Unless you plan on maintaining it yourself, it is not a good idea to buy any domestic electronic kit, especially stuff at a high price, that's nearly fifty years old (!) that has not been professionally serviced and that work is expressly covered by some form of warranty. Even then you are taking a big risk. Sadly, electronics of that age will fail - it's just a matter of when and how often.

 

[Old Quad Guy]

I own 4 Sansui Quad amps, and all of them need repair of some sort or the other. I bought them with the idea of finding a good local repair shop to fix them.

 

[JonUrban]

It could be just dirty controls that could easily be cleaned by blasting some cleaner in them, but getting to them would require some disassembly skills. You could take it to a restoration shop.

The thing is, when something that old is sold and it's working, and it works for the first 2 months, you're pretty much going to have to live with it the way it is.

That's why it's very tricky buying old stuff for big bucks. It's very tempting when it's something you really want, but in the end it's old and most everything that age needs restoration - even old techs!

 

[jimfisheye]

bought on reverb.com old sansui, 2 months after i bought it the front left speaker distorts and the back left speaker makes no sound or sometimes sound. i swapped speakers and wire and same problem so its entire left channel of amp, if reverb wont help me and seller wont pay for reapair should i deny the charges on credit card? how long are these old amps when bought used supposed to last?

There are no guarantees unless explicitly stated. Ebay and other used item sales must arrive as described. Any warranty of a period beyond purchase must be stated as part of the sale.

Used stuff comes with some uncertainty (like many things)!

You might have to research the thing a little. The worst case scenario is if there is a unique component that is no longer made and doesn't have a simple equivalent and that commonly fails in the unit. That's where you find people selling said component itself used for a premium price.

If it's old school electronics, it's probably a few capacitors dried up and/or something else in the power supply. Worst case is if there would be some 1970's gen IC chip that tends to fail and is a unique or custom part. The soldering might be easy enough with everything old and big but the part might be hard to find.

Check the easy stuff first. Could literally be a switch that needs cleaning or a relay switch that needs percussive assistance and ultimately replacement.

If it turns out there IS a special old part that fails and then you find that part itself selling for the same price you paid for the whole thing, that's the worst case. Otherwise you still have a big pile of stuff in front of you and you can work on it.

 

[Doug G.]

Even though you don't really have legal grounds or maybe even reasonable grounds, I would contact both Reverb and the seller and explain what happened and see what they suggest. You never know. Don't sound threatening or anything like that. Sometimes, people can be more cooperative than you expect. Nothing to lose.

Doug

 

[quadsearcher]

Also, it is a four channel amp. Just to be clear, there are two left channels (not an "entire left channel" as long as it is not in a bridged mode).
I'd triple check (I know, we all know we checked right the first time, but myself, I can get confused about channels), by having only one speaker connected. Front Left is a good place to start. With only a known good speaker connected to Front Left, I would rotate each control, push or turn every switch, putting things back where they were afterwards, listening to see if there's any change. Sometimes that can clear it up too.

But I agree with all the above comments. "All original" is not exactly a selling point with old stuff (unless it is collected for some kind of museum), it simply means there is more likely to be problems down the road. Well, that and it also means no one has done a hack repair/restore on it (that would be a huge selling point as long as the buyer is going to effect restoration before serious use and wants to have someone they trust do the job).

 

[timbre4]

Okay, thanks for sharing the listing. The seller is a business and not an individual, so maybe some recourse. Don't see a warranty, there was a 7 day return. Doug G's suggestion of contacting them (Reverb /seller) might be warranted.

So it worked properly in 4 channel mode and then crapped out? I'm not a Sansui person, is there a 2ch/4ch switch that can be dirty, flaky? Cleaning pots (knobs) and such on a nearly 50 year old item can net some results.

I probably paid $300 for my Marantz 4140 quad amp 10+ years ago and have since spent $750 to get it to where it's pretty awesome. You have to love this hobby or it can be upsetting.

 

[fourml8r]

Listing clearly says

Return Window
This product can be returned within 7 days of receipt.

 

[Soundfield]

Bathtub curve.
Caveat Emptor.

 

[Wagonmaster_91]

I agree with quadsearcher. When I saw "all original" that would be a red flag to me that all the components inside the unit are nearly 50 years old and haven't been serviced. Typically when you see a seller say things like "in amazing condition" , they are usually referring to how an item looks (and this one does look nice) rather than its operating condition. I don't think the seller was trying to dupe you.
If you bought a used car from someone and the paint, body and interior looked nice, but then two months after you start driving it the battery dies, can you hold the seller responsible for that? (Unless they expressly told you the battery was good for a certain period of time post sale.)

I agree with the other posters that this could just be a bad contact on a switch or control. Those 'filter' switches, speaker selector and (if it has one) tape monitor switch could need a squirt of contact cleaner. Hope you get it working - It is a nice amp.

 

[edisonbaggins]

I don't think the seller or reverb have further responsibility here. After running it for a couple of months there are too many unknowns, at least for me, at this point.
The type of power being supplied. The environment (temperature, moisture, etc.). This kind of a thing can be a huge bummer.

As others have suggested, I might send a polite message to the seller, just letting them know what happened and asking for advice. Maybe they'll offer some sort of help or good advice.
It would be great if a thorough cleaning is all this thing needs.

Good luck!

 

[par4ken]

The used car analogy holds. With vintage audio you can expect to do some (hopefully minor) repairs. Vintage equipment can be a real bargain if you know how to do the necessary repairs yourself, or have a friend who works cheap. The same goes for vintage cars. The rewards are the also the same (they just don't make em like that anymore). It's been my experience that 70's audio is actually quite reliable, occasionally you find a bad capacitor but not all that often. An amplifier that's been abused (amplifiers overdriven) causing burned out transistors and other components, while often repairable does tend to become less reliable after repair. Switches and pots often need cleaning, a quick spray with contact cleaner often helps.

I would not pay a high price for anything vintage unless it is extremely rare, or has some kind of warranty/money back guarantee. In particular I see a lot of vintage Marantz for sale at prices that I would never even consider. When I first started purchasing off eBay there were a lot of bargains to be had, not many anymore.

 

[Soundfield]

As others have suggested, I might send a polite message to the seller, just letting them know what happened and asking for advice. Maybe they'll offer some sort of help or good advice.

Agreed, but OP has been reporting problems with the unit on here since the end of January...
Faults
I sort of assumed he'd contacted the seller back then.