iControl midi-controller from Sinamex

[l00p3rm4n]

Dear potential customer,

I bought an iControl midi-controller from Sinamex in Singapore
on Saturday. Before buying the device, I asked the shopkeeper
two very important questions about the device:

a) Will it work in other applications than Apple's Garageband?

b) Are the Pan/Volume buttons actual bank changes that changes
the midi-messages being sent out from the rotary controllers?

On both of these he answer affirmative, and I bought the device
as a result of that. Whe I got home, I quickly verified that both
of these assumptions were wrong, and that the device is therefor
completely useless to me.

It was already after closing time, and Sinamex was closed the next
day too, so I phoned them on Monday, to organise the return of the
device. The shopkeeper would not accept the return under any
circuimstances, and now I'm stuck with a $260 device that I cannot
use, because of information that I got from the shopkeeper.

So, if you have to buy from Sinamex, just make sure you get your
info about the device you want to buy from another source, and not
from Sinamex itself.

Or better, buy it from another distributor.

Regards,
Disappointed buyer.

 

[GuitarNoob]

No experience with them, although I can say that their tech 21 gadgets are way too high

 

[teraslasch]

they are the only ones with M-audio products. thumbs up for them in my case ^^..

 

[soft]

l00p3rm4n, i will check with Sinamex regarding your question. will get back to you asap.

 

[Cheez]

It is always prudent to check first with the manufacturer instead of the retailer before buying. Retailers cannot remember everything - I've given up asking them for details. Always research first before making the plunge.

M-audio's site distinctly mentioned that Garageband is the requirement for iControl.

http://www.m-audio.com/products/en_us/iControl-main.html

Of course, this is no excuse for retailers to give false info and yet refuse a refund. Maybe they can offer an exchange of product? Best if you have the name of the person who you spoke to previously. Hope you get this sorted out.

 

[Sinamex]

Dear Ioop3rm4n,

We are sorry that we do not have a return policy unlike the culture where you came from in the west. We simply cannot pass off a product that has been used and sell it again. It is not right as the culture here do not appreciate this. Also, if you were to refer to the review by Remix, http://www.remixmag.com/mag/remix_maudio_icontrol/index.html ,
you will see that it is not misleading to agree with you that it does work with other applications. An example given in the review is working with applications like Abelton Live. Anyway, you purchased this product after we were closed within one minute and you were sure in your assumptions. We really did not have a chance to ensure that you have made a right decision.
We are sorry that you do not have the option you prefer with this mistake.

In regards to the comment from GuitarNoob on Tech 21, we have stopped distributing it due to the parallel importers here offering lower prices. As an exclusive distributor, we need to commit to orders of 12 months as well as keeping spare parts, offering one year warranty. With the small market here, we are also unable to get a good price from the factory compared to the lower prices US stores get from ordering huge quantities for a big market with a much bigger demand.
We have also given up Audix for more or less the same reason. We feel that customers in this internet age will never understand the different prices small and big markets will offer. We will just not offer the products that we cannot be competitive with the US in price.

Thank you
Sinamex
www.sinamex.com

 

[jony]

You're sorry but that guy still has $260 gone which you guys will get to keep.

 

[3notesAbar]

Dear Ioop3rm4n,

We feel that customers in this internet age will never understand the different prices small and big markets will offer. We will just not offer the products that we cannot be competitive with the US in price.

On the contrary, people here have started doing mail orders as opposed to buying from exclusive dealers. Thought you might know market trends better than assuming that all customers are uninformed.

 

[soft]

3notesAbar, Sinamex knows the trend, that is why they rather drop the dealership for certain products that they cannot offer at a competitive price.

the difference is in "small and big markets"

singapore being a small market, they could only order maybe 1000 unit of a product. where else a store like Guitar Center in the States can order 100,000 of the same product. definitely Guitar Center will get a better cost price from the manufacturers.

 

[3notesAbar]

And we dont know that?

 

[rottenramone]

..

Hi Sinamex

I hope that by using the word "culture" you meant your company policy and not service culture of Singapore in general.

Even so, if there is a general trend of of a non-return policy of products (which I believe is untrue), a good idea would be for your company to institute one to improve your customer relationship.

 

[Tripper]

Re: ..

Have to agree with rotten on this one. Just because sinamex practises a certain policy does not make it a 'culture'. Its very unfair to other retailers to be brushed with a statement like that.

very unprofessional sinamex.

 

[Sinamex]

Hi, we always appreciate feedback.
Yes, we are sorry and unfortunately the product cannot be returned. Given a choice in an imperfect world, we would rather not try and pass off a used product and sell it to you.
In regards to returns, we are all for having it if it improves customer relationships. However, reality of business have to be applied here. Returns can only be possible when it is a small percentage in a big quantity of sales. In other words, if we can sell say, 1,000 units of the iControl and we get 5 units in returns, it is ok. The profits of the sale of the 1,000 units will more than cover the cost of the 5 returns to be later sold at half price. This is why huge operations like Ikea and Robinson can do returns. For us, our sales quantity is just too small and if we start accepting returns, we will just go out of business very soon. That is why you do not see small companies like us offering returns. Moreover, for niche products like ours with only a small group of users, it is just not possible.
We use the word "culture" because it is and we see it adopted since retail business began in Singapore. Every receipt a shop gives you will indicate "Goods sold are not returnable or exchangable". When we started business 8 years ago, we did not include this statement and our printer pointed this out to us and told us every receipt they print have this.....

Thanks
Sinamex
www.sinamex.com

 

[Damo]

In your opinion, why should someone pay a premium price and buy from you?

What do you see as the advantages?

 

[3notesAbar]

Top notch customer service? After sales service?

 

[Sinamex]

Hi,

Perhaps we now say it simply: We do not sell anything that is not as cheap as the US. Nothing is at a premium. The after sales service and top notch service comes free. What we cannot sell at the same price as the US we do not sell.

Thanks
Sinamex
www.sinamex.com

 

[3notesAbar]

I'm not flaming you when i say this, but probably your company could work on on a case-by-case basis for returns. As a customer, I personally would not rely on information on products, supplied by any retailer on the fly, as opposed to doing self research before purchase. But even so, there is a certain amount of responsibility for retailers. Certainly customers do not expect Sinmez or any local retailer to have a refund system like some major mail order sites in the USA i.e. Guitar Center. Nor are we asking for 50 returns out of 1000 purchases or anything like that lol. Case to case. Subject to your discretion la...

 

[stillwater]

Re: Buyers Beware of Sinamex

On both of these he answer affirmative, and I bought the deviceas a result of that.

$260 is nothing if it can redeem your reputation... :roll:

 

[jumbofret]

I say we should find that sales assistant and lynch him! haha

 

[Tripper]

'good sold are not returnable or exchangeable' is NOT on every receipt a shop gives you. This is factually inaccurate.

also, there are circumstances where goods could be returnable, for instance, when you buy a certain product and it totally rufuses to work or faulty, being delivered the wrong item, products damaged while shipping (thou this can get involved with finger pointing all around).

my point here is that although sinamex has every right to refuse a refund or replacement, it is not right for them to apply their definition of 'culture' to include all retailers. There are certain shops which have a very customer friendly policy, i wonder how they would react to a statement like that?

althogh i'm NOT a retailer, i do provide goods and services for which i charge and issue a receipt. and i do returns and exchanges, depending on circumstances, so i feel particularly miffed at sinamex's statement.

In this specific instance, the buyer proceeded to purchase the item based on an assuarance he was given by the retailer. You could say he should have done his homework, i agree, but isnt that why you have sales personnel in the first place? to inform? and i dont just mean price. if the retailer was not sure, he should have said so. instead, knowingly or unknowingly, he gave the wrong information to close the sale. (he did give the wrong info yes?)

That could be a case of deception, and sinamex using blanket statements like "culture" because it is" does not help.