Do Not Buy Recap Kits on eBay from HifiAudio

[allenzachary]

I made the grave mistake of buying a recap kit from HifiAudio (seller from Brooklyn, NY) prior to checking here for reputation. Many threads on AK talk about HifiAudio negatively, and now I understand why.

I read the description on ebay carefully. It says to be cautious of sellers offering incomplete kits and inferior products while claiming the parts offered in this kit are complete and top quality. After the order is placed, I get a message telling me that there is an upgraded kit with *all* the parts needed for restoration, and higher quality than the one I bought. Then he texted my cell phone outside of ebay asking to send the invoice. I got suspicious and checked around for info. Here is where I found a bunch of complaints. I went back and asked him to cancel the order. He flatly refused, insisting on shipping it and chastising me for expecting him to do what a customer requests. I told him it would be much easier to simply refund the purchase as I plan on returning it. He said he doesn't care what I do. I plan on reporting him, not that eBay gives a hoot about its customers.

Please do not buy a thing from HifiAudio if you care about your money or your equipment.

 

[kwayde]

https://audiokarma.org/forums/threads/can-anyone-tell-me-about-hifiaudio.1032226/page-2

 

[Warren-Oates]

lol. Thats a new low for the guy

 

[jeanmarie]

He is a real scumbag, there are threads here on AK warning of him.

 

[redk9258]

not that eBay gives a hoot about its customers.

They are much better protected than sellers. Report him to eBay and maybe PayPal, etc.!

 

[Mr.Heatsink]

Thanks for the heads up. The more the word gets out, the more he'll be exposed. Guys please beware as this seller starts to die off, he'll most likely resurrect himself as another seller. This is too common nowadays at the Bay.

 

[MFRD]

I made the grave mistake of buying a recap kit from HifiAudio

With respect, the mistake is buying recap kits period.

Ordering quality components from Digikey will cost half as much as those eBay kits, and the purchaser has full control over the number and quality of parts ordered.

 

[zenith2134]

I'm wondering if this is the same
guy who I met at a record show once. He mentioned that he changed handles at ebay a bunch of times, constantly complaining and blaming customers for shipping and other order issues. I laughed it off at the time.

I'm pretty local to the guy and will add him to my list of 'questionables'. There are many in this hobby.

 

[actuator]

If it's the same guy, I sold something to hifiaudio once (he was the winning bidder) and he later relisted the same item for about 3x what I sold it for. He just used better photos than mine and totally exaggerated the description. Not sure if it ever sold. Just saying you may want to beware of other things besides his kits.

 

[GeneParmesan]

Ha, in Jan. '25 when I first started out doing this type of work as a hobby, I ordered a cap kit from ebay for an HK 230A that I bought at a yard sale. The kit was $53. I returned it because it was just a couple of bags of caps in a bigger bag with no schematic or any information, and I got kind of intimidated by the whole thing.

I do remember instructions in the box and follow-up emails saying I could buy the complete kit with instructions for and additional cost. I ended up sending everything back because it just didn't feel right.

I just looked up the purchase and it was from HiFiAudio. To his credit I was able to send it back (for a reduced refund).

So all in all it wasn't a bad transaction, but I will heed the warnings from you guys. I only buy my stuff from Digikey and Mouser (or from vendors recommended here) now anyway. I try to avoid ebay for plentiful parts like that given the amount of blatant fraud on that site.

Oh, and that HK 230A? Never did replace the caps, and its still running fine!

 

[EastPoint]

I made the grave mistake of buying a recap kit from HifiAudio (seller from Brooklyn, NY) prior to checking here for reputation. Many threads on AK talk about HifiAudio negatively, and now I understand why.

I read the description on ebay carefully. It says to be cautious of sellers offering incomplete kits and inferior products while claiming the parts offered in this kit are complete and top quality. After the order is placed, I get a message telling me that there is an upgraded kit with *all* the parts needed for restoration, and higher quality than the one I bought. Then he texted my cell phone outside of ebay asking to send the invoice. I got suspicious and checked around for info. Here is where I found a bunch of complaints. I went back and asked him to cancel the order. He flatly refused, insisting on shipping it and chastising me for expecting him to do what a customer requests. I told him it would be much easier to simply refund the purchase as I plan on returning it. He said he doesn't care what I do. I plan on reporting him, not that eBay gives a hoot about its customers.

Please do not buy a thing from HifiAudio if you care about your money or your equipment.

Just file a return, put down "not as described," send it back.