Should I trust online stores for buying Klipsch?

[rockon]

I've been looking around for speakers and like the Klipsch RF-35's. My Question is should I buy them at one of the online places or the local high end Audio Store that is a certified distributor For Kiplsch? The Online Places such as Audiosounddesign.com is somewhat cheaper then my local Audio Store and Brandnamez.com is much cheaper then my local Audio store but are not certified distributors for Klipsch. My local Audio Store claims that the Internet stores can't obtain Klipsch speakers no matter what they claim because Klipsch won't supply them. Not sure if i should trust the online stores?

[N. Abstentia]

If you have a problem with the speakers, which would you rather deal with?

[kexodusc]

You pays your money, you takes your chances....
For a receiver or DVD player I'd go for it, haven't had issues, and even if I did there's usually ways to get it fixed cheap.
For speakers, well...unless you like really tall beer mug coasters you probably should think hard about how much you're willing to risk.
What's the online retailers return/warranty policy...generally, not much can go wrong with a speaker unless YOU break it, if it's defective upon receipt and they'll exchange it, might not be a bad idea.

In the end I tell people, if the price is right, it's no different than buying used really, which seems to be very popular these days.

[bargainseeker]

When buying online, it is important to buy from an authorized dealer so that the manufacturer's warranty is valid. Many brands of audio equipment have authorized online dealers, especially for reconditioned products. However, based on this information from Klipsch, Klipsch may not have any such dealers. I suggest contacting Klipsch before making your purchase.

[hermann_giron]

I just purchased the same set of speakers recently (they sound very well), and evaluated purchasing via EBAY from these guys (SoundDistributors.com 800-691-6914, based in Las Vegas).

I ended up purchasing at a local store, I would hate to have a bad driver a year from now and just have a 30 day warranty.

I also got to take a demo pair home and audition them to make sure they sounded well with my equipment before purchasing. this alone is worth the price differential.

my price difference after negotiating with the local store was about a 15% premium over internet price for purchasing from a brick and mortar store.... I believe this was definitely worth the price difference.

[Woochifer]

Klipsch went on the offensive last year against unauthorized online vendors, so they're probably not someone you want to mess with by taking chances with an unknown website. Klipsch terminated their retail arrangements with several stores that they found were supplying these online vendors with speakers, and sued some website operators that sold Klipsch speakers online.

They used to have a network of authorized web vendors. If I remember right, most of them were websites for authorized B&M retailers like Good Guys and Tweeter. I don't think that either of those chains sell Klipsch online anymore.

Check with Klipsch and find out if there are any authorized web vendors for the speakers you're interested in. Otherwise, go to your local retailers and see if they can meet you halfway on the price.

[jamison]

I've been looking around for speakers and like the Klipsch RF-35's. My Question is should I buy them at one of the online places or the local high end Audio Store that is a certified distributor For Kiplsch? The Online Places such as Audiosounddesign.com is somewhat cheaper then my local Audio Store and Brandnamez.com is much cheaper then my local Audio store but are not certified distributors for Klipsch. My local Audio Store claims that the Internet stores can't obtain Klipsch speakers no matter what they claim because Klipsch won't supply them. Not sure if i should trust the online stores?

- I bought my Klipsch RF-7 and RC-7 from an authorized local dealer (jamiesons home theater). I almost bought them from brandnamez.com i am so glad i didnt. I wanted to order them over the phone rather than give my credit card out online. Talking with them, they seemed very shady and not trustworthy. low and behold i opened my RC7 up and both the woofers were dented in. I called Jamiesons up, thinking id have to drive the 50 miles to exchange my speaker, the guy drove back out to my house the next day and exchanged it. Awesome! not going to happen with an online dealer. When i auditioned the speakers in their showroom the salesman brought out all kinds of different music, let me compare them to different brands such as B & W, etc. the salesperson took a considerable amount ( i spent 3 horus in their showroom) of time explaining the differences between different brands etc. For me service is everything, even though i paid prob 200 -300 dollars more through them than online i would do it again in a heartbeat