Reliable online AV suppliers. Anyone used exceptional-av.co.uk?

[admin_exported]

Hey, does anyone have any experience with exceptional-av.co.uk? Some good prices and they deliver to Ireland - which is a rare bonus with a lot of UK retailers. Would be nice to know they if they are a reliable, well-established company.

I've used Superfi a few times and they're great, but these guys have a better price on what I want - Kef 3005.2SE - and Superfi won't deliver that particular package for some reason.

Any feedback much appreciated as I'm sure there are many of us out there who just don't know which sites are good or not. I hope I haven't missed a big obvious thread somewhere that says "Good, reliable, cheap online AV stores post here". If so, I'm sorry!

 

[Anonymous]

Hey Mark,

I made a purchase with this company shortly before Christmas. Unfortunatly for me it was the Yamaha 863SE and Kef 2005.3 and with the Yamaha shortage they were out of stock. I received 2 emails updating me on the situation from them in relation to Yamaha and the delay. They even offered me an alternative amp if I was interested. On Friday I got a phone call advising me that my goods were on the way.

I too live in Ireland and their price was exceptional. I phoned them before ordering and got an even better price than that on line. I'm in the service industry and I would call their customer service excellent. I would recommend them to anyone. I'll let you know if they arrive this week!!

 

[Anonymous]

I think a few people here have used them generally with success...personally I have only had one order placed with them for a Yamaha Amp. There are issues with availability of some Yamaha Amps, so it may not have been an issue limited to exceptional-av...however debiting your account in full and keeping your money for several weeks even when they didn't have the item in stock when they said they did does seem like an interesting business practice!

http://whathifi.com/forums/t/185558.aspx

Incidentally, I'm seven weeks down the line from placing my order and am still none the wiser as to when it will appear.

 

[margetti]

Acciesboy:
...however debiting your account in full and keeping your money for several weeks even whenÿthey didn't have the item in stock whenÿthey saidÿthey did does seem like an interesting business practice!

I had the same experience ordering an Onkyo amp from these people - sorry, but that's not acceptable in my book. What particularly annoyed me was they promised free next day delivery (got email after placing order confirming this) so naturally took day off to stay home for delivery that never happened. I cancelled after waiting two weeks and went elsewhere...ÿÿ

 

[Anonymous]

They are not cheap taking the Onkyo SR606 £399 somebody posted on here its available at Richer Sounds £309.99. I paid £325.00 for mine

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice guys. Been emailing Richer Sounds with some success so far so might just stick with them. Never heard a bad word about them.

 

[Anonymous]

Acciesboy:
...however debiting your account in full and keeping your money for several weeks even when they didn't have the item in stock when they said they did does seem like an interesting business practice!

Hi Acciesboy,

I'm sorry about the delay and unfortunately this is industry wide, not just unique to us. I must admit the Yamaha delays took us by surprise as Yamaha had not communicated to us the length and severities of the delays which means that we took orders and billed customers when we shouldn't have. Our policy was always previously to only bill the full amount if the item was in stock or we could deliver within 10 working days. Yamaha did keep on telling us that we would be getting deliveries in a couple of weeks, which of course never came, or came in far smaller numbers than we were expecting.

When we it became apparent how long the delays were going to be we completely changed our payment policy and now if we have a delay of more than a week we only debit 10% of the cost as a refundable deposit. Anyone who was debited the full amount we refunded back as well.

• As of a few weeks back there should be no customers of ours who have paid anything more than 10% of the cost of their Yamaha amplifier on back order, the same for new orders too.
• Going on to our web-site, currently it will automatically debit the full amount BUT we have been refunding 90% manually when orders for items we don't have in stock, the web-site is being reprogrammed so that it does not automatically bill the full amount any more. The vast majority, 99% of items we sell through the web we carry in stock and despatch the same day.

The good news is that more and more stock is now being despatched from Yamaha and we are starting to rattle through the backlog of orders. Like every dealer in the UK there will still be delays and don't have confirmed dates from Yamaha but things are improving. More good news is that Pre-Eminent dealers, which we are one, are getting preferential stock deliveries.

I know how frustrating it is for you waiting for your item. I can assure you it's equally as frustrating for us, the lack of stock and delivery dates from Yamaha has given me more headaches over the past 3 months than I have had for the last year.

For a small company like ourselves it has been a process and logistical
nightmare but we now have new systems either in place or going in place
so that our customer service levels can go back to where they previously were. I hope you can accept my sincerest apologies.

Yours sincerely,

Hunter Abbott
Managing Director

 

[lobby]

I had great service from them, after a long chat i ordered my Onkyo 606 and it came the next day, so you should have no problems with them, as long as it's instock.

 

[Anonymous]

I have also updated another thread with regards to my ordering experience with Exceptional AV, and my strong feeling is that like many retailers in the UK, they were against a wall being faced by frustrated customers through no fault of their own.

Hunter arranged for a gap AV unit to keep me going for a few weeks until my Z7 arrived, which was much appreciated. I was able to reach them several times by phone and got updates by email as well, and they have been honest about the situation (without making false promises that a usual cheesy sales person would make). From the outset, Hunter even tried to contact a few other retailers to see if he could buy stock from them to aleviate the situation, but indeed this supply problem was endemic, and affected every retailer in the UK.

So my feedback of Exeptional AV is very positive, and I will use them for future orders for sure.

Will Yamaha learn from it? I am sure they will.

Was is worth biting the bullet for a few weeks until my Z7 arrived? Absolutely !! Cannot be more pleased with it

 

[Anonymous]

Hey guys,

I posted a few weeks ago saying I had ordered my goods and was told they were on the way. Both my Yamaha 863 and Kef 2005.3 arrived the following week to Dublin. Saving me ?600 on the price in Dublin.

I had gotten several communications from Hunter in relation to the delay and offering refund until they arrived if I had paid the full amount, whcih as it turns out I hadn't.

I was more than happy with my experience and would suggest that anyone in the Republic of Ireland should check them out before ordering. I called them and got a better deal than offered on the web site. Their sales staff were friendly and knowledgable.

Now I'm starting to buld an entertainment room to house it all in so I'll be able to report back in a few months how that is going!!