I would just like to share my worry about the ebay sellers going under various names starting with Audiotek (audiotek168, audiotek968)
I am looking for a good supplier of Nichicon Muse caps for my projects and they are damn hard to find in the UK so I turned to ebay.
Audiotek turned up through ebay selling various Nichicons amongst alot of other goodies... free postage from Taiwan, starting bids of $1.99 on some items (about £1.36 GBP) and so I put a few bids on Muse ES 220uF caps. I placed the basic bid and entered a higher one)
Within an hour I had been outbid past my maximum bid.
There were more than one Audiotek seller selling the same item and when I placed another bid (and higher maximum bid)... again, within an hour I was outbid.
Curious and a bit suspicious I had a quick look at the list of bidders and noticed that just about all of their bidding activity was with Audiotek(168, 968, etc)
It seems that they have people pushing their prices artificially high and I have decided not to have any further dealings with Audiotek despite them being one of the few sellers with items I want.
Has anyone else noticed this trend of bidding up with this seller?
Are there any trustworthy ebayers selling Nichicon Muse, Elna Silmic, etc etc?
I am looking for a good supplier of Nichicon Muse caps for my projects and they are damn hard to find in the UK so I turned to ebay.
Audiotek turned up through ebay selling various Nichicons amongst alot of other goodies... free postage from Taiwan, starting bids of $1.99 on some items (about £1.36 GBP) and so I put a few bids on Muse ES 220uF caps. I placed the basic bid and entered a higher one)
Within an hour I had been outbid past my maximum bid.
There were more than one Audiotek seller selling the same item and when I placed another bid (and higher maximum bid)... again, within an hour I was outbid.
Curious and a bit suspicious I had a quick look at the list of bidders and noticed that just about all of their bidding activity was with Audiotek(168, 968, etc)
It seems that they have people pushing their prices artificially high and I have decided not to have any further dealings with Audiotek despite them being one of the few sellers with items I want.
Has anyone else noticed this trend of bidding up with this seller?
Are there any trustworthy ebayers selling Nichicon Muse, Elna Silmic, etc etc?
Hi.
I have used an E'Bay supplier called
audjade_chn
They have been a good supplier for a few items, their items seem to be mostly buy it now. Their prices do seem to have gone up a bit over the last few months though, and be a bit careful as their site is in chinese!!
PS. Ask them to combine shipping costs and watch for short lead lengths.
I have used an E'Bay supplier called
audjade_chn
They have been a good supplier for a few items, their items seem to be mostly buy it now. Their prices do seem to have gone up a bit over the last few months though, and be a bit careful as their site is in chinese!!
PS. Ask them to combine shipping costs and watch for short lead lengths.
bleachershane:
Personally I believe that the audiotek sellers are honest people.
Why? If you have a closer look at their 'completed auctions' listing, you will notice that from time to time people manage to make a bargain. Because of the free shipping thing, and because of the daily repeated listing of the same items, it easily can become something of an attraction to keep bidding on the item again and again. For a periode of several weeks I myself did this (winning only a rarely). Thus it is not difficult to explain what you found about bidders activity.
I will also praise them for beeing polite when they once made a mistake, and they were very quick to correct it.
Cheers, Olaf
Personally I believe that the audiotek sellers are honest people.
Why? If you have a closer look at their 'completed auctions' listing, you will notice that from time to time people manage to make a bargain. Because of the free shipping thing, and because of the daily repeated listing of the same items, it easily can become something of an attraction to keep bidding on the item again and again. For a periode of several weeks I myself did this (winning only a rarely). Thus it is not difficult to explain what you found about bidders activity.
I will also praise them for beeing polite when they once made a mistake, and they were very quick to correct it.
Cheers, Olaf
I cautiously purchased some PGA2310 chips from the original AudioTek shop. After a couple of months still nothing so I emailed. They said they had been lost in the post and have re-sent. A few days later that actually did arrive! They look fine but I have not tested yet (might be fakes).
Noticed the secondary shops, bit dodgy looking tbh.
Noticed the secondary shops, bit dodgy looking tbh.
I've purchased many parts, even kits and have received them after about 7 days. Very consistent shipping times to the US. Often you are outbid in the last few seconds if you are cheap 
. Early I noticed that the shipping would exceed the cost of the parts, so I emailed them to see if I could pay after I was done bidding on several parts.
. Early I noticed that the shipping would exceed the cost of the parts, so I emailed them to see if I could pay after I was done bidding on several parts.
I posted here that they seemed too good to be true. I was right!
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1700381#post1700381
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=1700381#post1700381
AudioTek
FWIW, I've just completed 3 small transactions with AudioTek and thought it worth posting that there were no hitches. All three items arrived via airmail (shipping was free) in approx 7 business days. I would say that the "buy it now" auctions are overpriced but the regular auctions can be won on 1 or 2 bids for very low prices. Keep in mind that the most expensive item I purchased was a pair of ic's for 30 bucks.
Regards, Daniel.
FWIW, I've just completed 3 small transactions with AudioTek and thought it worth posting that there were no hitches. All three items arrived via airmail (shipping was free) in approx 7 business days. I would say that the "buy it now" auctions are overpriced but the regular auctions can be won on 1 or 2 bids for very low prices. Keep in mind that the most expensive item I purchased was a pair of ic's for 30 bucks.
Regards, Daniel.
I also have dealt with audiotek168. They were selling ICEPOWER ACS200 modules for $69 each. I bought four of them, just before the price skyrocketed due to demand.
link
The seller (YFW) was eventually banned from diyaudio for other reasons.
I have no issues with them. I got what I paid for and it was a steal. Same exact modules in the $1300 Bel Canto S300 for $140...
link
The seller (YFW) was eventually banned from diyaudio for other reasons.
I have no issues with them. I got what I paid for and it was a steal. Same exact modules in the $1300 Bel Canto S300 for $140...
Ok, I went back and placed some bids on some Nichicons that had no bids and... actually managed to win a couple on the first bid!
So fingers crossed I get the items sent out to me, it seems to be either a case of people getting what they paid for in about 7 days or the items getting lost in the post and audiotek sending them out again without too much pain...
I'm still not sure about the whole thing, I staunchly hate the idea of sellers pushing up prices falsely, why not just start the auction at a higher starting price if you're not willing to accept anything lower? Perhaps I am being too paranoid...
Bearing in mind I'm not even going above a £5 on my bids there's not a hell of alot to lose if I don't get my items!
Now to win those Nichicon ES 220uF caps to gets those ultra warm Elna Tonerex caps out of my Denon PMA-255UK amplifier! lol
So fingers crossed I get the items sent out to me, it seems to be either a case of people getting what they paid for in about 7 days or the items getting lost in the post and audiotek sending them out again without too much pain...
I'm still not sure about the whole thing, I staunchly hate the idea of sellers pushing up prices falsely, why not just start the auction at a higher starting price if you're not willing to accept anything lower? Perhaps I am being too paranoid...
Bearing in mind I'm not even going above a £5 on my bids there's not a hell of alot to lose if I don't get my items!
Now to win those Nichicon ES 220uF caps to gets those ultra warm Elna Tonerex caps out of my Denon PMA-255UK amplifier! lol
Audiotek is a mess. If you get the product, lucky you. I have ordered 3 pairs of icepower from them.
1st came without a hitch, maybe 3 weeks turnaround.
2nd got lost, had to send again...and got lost again. They made it right, but it took over 2 months.
3rd set (purchased before I realized anything was wrong) I still have yet to receive. It has been about 3 months now, Audiotek keeps saying they should arrive any day now. I may have to file a chargeback on this one.
1st came without a hitch, maybe 3 weeks turnaround.
2nd got lost, had to send again...and got lost again. They made it right, but it took over 2 months.
3rd set (purchased before I realized anything was wrong) I still have yet to receive. It has been about 3 months now, Audiotek keeps saying they should arrive any day now. I may have to file a chargeback on this one.
Sorry to hear about your problems with Audiotek, even though I'm only spending very small amounts I hope I don't run into the same problems.
Definitely file if you feel you've given them enough time (and even more...!) and still not recieved what you have paid for. It's only right that you should either get your item or get your money back
Definitely file if you feel you've given them enough time (and even more...!) and still not recieved what you have paid for. It's only right that you should either get your item or get your money back
if you want to increase your chances of getting an item on ebay at or below your max bid it is preferable to place your bid as late as possible - within the last 5 seconds. this prevents others from increasing their bids because they don't have the time to do it before the auction ends. basically you avoid a bidding war.
sometimes it is hard to be around for the end of the auction so i recommend using auctionsniper.com This online tool will place your bid for you at whatever time you specify before the end of the auction.
"snipes" are not free although you do get a few for free when you sign up. i think they cost around a quarter. i have never paid for a snipe because i keep referring people which also gives you free snipes.
sometimes it is hard to be around for the end of the auction so i recommend using auctionsniper.com This online tool will place your bid for you at whatever time you specify before the end of the auction.
"snipes" are not free although you do get a few for free when you sign up. i think they cost around a quarter. i have never paid for a snipe because i keep referring people which also gives you free snipes.
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