Hello everyone and I appreciate the opportunity to address some of these posts. Normally I don’t spend time on bulletin boards simply because I don’t have the time. Plus I don’t really feel that it’s beneficial to nay say or argue about what I do and/or how I run my IRM website. I certainly don’t feel that sitting here throwing out excuses is of any help either. But I do at least want to address the things I have read in this thread due to the fact that hearsay and incorrect information can do damage to my reputation. I was informed of this thread by a customer who is also one of your members.
First let me start out by letting you all in on some facts about IRM. It was started as a hobby site, a completely DIY site. I did it as a project one Sunday as an exercise in web design work mostly to keep from becoming rusty. At the time I was fully employed as a contract engineer/tech (hardware) for a local aerospace R&D company in Grass Valley. But as the economy dried up, so did the jobs in the area. During this time, people began to notice my website and ask me about all sorts of things re Marantz gear and among these emails, I began to get requests to do the work I described in my DIY pages. It was much welcomed work as I transitioned out of the corporate world and into becoming my own boss. I had repaired not only hundreds of consumer, midfi and hi-fi as well as professional audio and video gear over the years and also Marantz gear. I found I loved the Marantz gear, not only to work on but also because of how it sounded. We had a 2235B in our family for years. It was the first to be restored by IRM.
I am now in my 4th year of restoration work. The commerce site started in 2009. I am now working pretty much 7 days a week, wearing all the hats of the business. If I were to figure it out, I’m sure I make less than $5 an hour. I used to make over $40 an hour as an engineer. But this is what I love to do. In answer to questions here, yes: I have taken deposits and created a business from this source of money. I also shed an alcoholic wife of 23 years. Sadly a good portion of the deposit money that I would have much preferred to use to build the business has gone to deal with these issues. So why do I take deposits? First of all, because of the cost of shipping and what the market for this kind of work will bear, I have to keep my prices low. Quoting someone $500 before shipping is pretty much a deal breaker. But more importantly, because I am a one man show, I simply don’t have the time to keep track of people coming in and out of my queue. I’ve tried it. When I started out, I didn’t require a deposit. People were in and out of my queue daily. I spent more time updating my data than working at the bench. So I tried a refundable deposit. Suddenly I became an ATM machine. People would decide a month or so into the waiting period that they needed that 100 bucks for something else. I’m not a bank. So I ended up with a NON refundable deposit. People still knock my door down. Am I holding a gun to their heads to sign up? I’m simply trying to help everyone I can. I honestly wish I could restore these receivers faster but you can’t rush glue drying, burn-in for infant mortality of parts, etc. I had to slow people down and get the serious ones. That’s the deposit as it stands today. Don’t like it? Don’t do business with me. I’m sorry, but I prefer to do business with those who really want a serious restoration. But I’m only one guy, folks. I mean, who actually solders EVERY circuit board, EVERY connection? Do you know of a tech that does? What does HE charge? As to answering emails, I do my best to answer them all. I get hundreds a week, from all over the world. Heaven forbid I have to bail for a weekend to get some relief and I don’t get back to some people right away. I sure try to but if anyone has ever known what it’s like to get back from vacation and have to answer hundreds of emails. Nuff said. As for the missing stereo hearsay, I HAVE NEVER LOST ANYONE’S GEAR. As to the piggyback parts—mismatched parts? You have me confused with someone else. What pisses me off is the BS suggesting you know better—nitpicking little things. I’ve rebuilt hundreds of these receivers. How many have YOU rebuilt? Many of these would be in a landfill right now.
As for NTE, well let’s see. I’ve only been using them for more than 25 years with consistency. They are always available (other suppliers dry up—parts become unavailable, etc.) and they always work properly. I can spend my days at the computer researching parts all day or I can be at the bench. I know what works and I stick with it. As an electronics guy, I’ll admit I’m not the best businessman. I’m not the best at customer communications. Sorry, I hate phones. But I’m here for those that want a solid restoration and that is what I have been doing and plan to do in the future. As much as I would like to be able to break the supply and demand equation, I can’t. I’ve only got me and what I can do in the 24 hours that we get in a day--and I've pretty much given up my private life. But you can count on me being here to do this work, maybe late in emails, but I’ll be here. Don’t like the parts I use, I always offer to install what anyone wants (so long as I don’t have to cut metal). Ask me, don’t flame here with a bunch of hearsay. Email me. I’ll respond—as soon as I catch up from the freakin’ holidays!! RB Oh, and BTW, PayPal's 45 day deal is only for tangible goods and not service related businesses. You won't prevail in a dispute for the deposit. Just thought I'd let everyone know.
