I'd like your opinions on a situation that I encountered on "The high end audio community" site, the one most often used by non-Head-Fier's.
I'm potentially in the market for a room correction preamp and have been watching the postings for what I wanted. Last week, I found a new listing for a first generation TacT unit, but with a strangely low price, even for an older one. Seller has no feedback.....but it never hurts to look, and I find this description:
"TacT DRC systems are the only ones in the world to address the issue that sound perception is both frequency and level dependent (Fletcher-Munson Curves). To achieve this, the RCS 2.0 uses the traditional Tact reference target curve in conjunction with 8 "dynamic target curves". These additional curves tell the system how you perceive sound at different levels. By incorporating your relative loudness perception, or equal loudness curves, RCS 2.0 recalibrates your entire system every time you make a change of 0.1 dB. The RCS 2.0 thus preserves natural tonal balances by dynamically adjusting your entire system in accordance to human hearing characteristics, your hearing characteristics."
I was 99% certain this was the exact description of new capabilities of the latest TacT RCS 2.2XP that were previously unavailable. I checked the TacT site again and confirmed that the seller had simply pasted the description of the 2.2XP from TacT's site into his ad, then replaced all instances of "2.2XP" with "2.0".
Next, I checked the seller's other items and find a power amp and speakers for sale for oddly low prices, too. No feedback, strangely low price, fishy description. Taken together, some real red flags.
That site's user agreement includes these points, among others, under "Member Responsibilities":
"By registering, you agree to the following conditions:
...-Your posts to this site will not include vulgarity, adult content, slander, or inaccurate facts.
...-You agree to conduct yourself in an honest and civil manner."
The posting in question violates both points: the item does not have the features listed in the description, and the seller surely must have known this by completing his little cut-paste-edit sequence.
I sent them an email detailing the situation. There was no response after 4 days, so I sent another. The next day, I received a reply:
===================
Hello,
The claims made in the ad are indeed over the top. However, we feel the {insert name of that forum} Member Base has the knowledge to see this for what it is (as confirmed by the ad's traffic, or lack thereof). In this situation, we do not feel our intervention is needed.
Thank you,
{first name of responder}
Sr. Site Administrator
===================
His use of the term "over the top" implies that he agreed this ad included deliberate misrepresentation of the item for sale, but goes on to state that no action is needed. Their "Detailed Terms" include that they reserve the right to delete ads or ban users for any reason, including violations of the previously stated terms.
As to the "the ad's traffic, or lack thereof", how could anyone predetermine that the ad was fraudulent without reading it, I wonder?
Compare that to my experience here: I found a squirrely FS posting (with several posts beneath the original, questioning the legality and/or description of the item), sent a PM to Jude about it, and it disappeared in a few hours.
Anyone with half a brain knows that buying/trading items on the web has inherent dangers, but if I am the site admin and I agree that a for sale posting on my site is fraudulent yet take no action, what's that telling a user about the integrity of the operation?
Your thoughts?
I'm potentially in the market for a room correction preamp and have been watching the postings for what I wanted. Last week, I found a new listing for a first generation TacT unit, but with a strangely low price, even for an older one. Seller has no feedback.....but it never hurts to look, and I find this description:
"TacT DRC systems are the only ones in the world to address the issue that sound perception is both frequency and level dependent (Fletcher-Munson Curves). To achieve this, the RCS 2.0 uses the traditional Tact reference target curve in conjunction with 8 "dynamic target curves". These additional curves tell the system how you perceive sound at different levels. By incorporating your relative loudness perception, or equal loudness curves, RCS 2.0 recalibrates your entire system every time you make a change of 0.1 dB. The RCS 2.0 thus preserves natural tonal balances by dynamically adjusting your entire system in accordance to human hearing characteristics, your hearing characteristics."
I was 99% certain this was the exact description of new capabilities of the latest TacT RCS 2.2XP that were previously unavailable. I checked the TacT site again and confirmed that the seller had simply pasted the description of the 2.2XP from TacT's site into his ad, then replaced all instances of "2.2XP" with "2.0".
Next, I checked the seller's other items and find a power amp and speakers for sale for oddly low prices, too. No feedback, strangely low price, fishy description. Taken together, some real red flags.
That site's user agreement includes these points, among others, under "Member Responsibilities":
"By registering, you agree to the following conditions:
...-Your posts to this site will not include vulgarity, adult content, slander, or inaccurate facts.
...-You agree to conduct yourself in an honest and civil manner."
The posting in question violates both points: the item does not have the features listed in the description, and the seller surely must have known this by completing his little cut-paste-edit sequence.
I sent them an email detailing the situation. There was no response after 4 days, so I sent another. The next day, I received a reply:
===================
Hello,
The claims made in the ad are indeed over the top. However, we feel the {insert name of that forum} Member Base has the knowledge to see this for what it is (as confirmed by the ad's traffic, or lack thereof). In this situation, we do not feel our intervention is needed.
Thank you,
{first name of responder}
Sr. Site Administrator
===================
His use of the term "over the top" implies that he agreed this ad included deliberate misrepresentation of the item for sale, but goes on to state that no action is needed. Their "Detailed Terms" include that they reserve the right to delete ads or ban users for any reason, including violations of the previously stated terms.
As to the "the ad's traffic, or lack thereof", how could anyone predetermine that the ad was fraudulent without reading it, I wonder?
Compare that to my experience here: I found a squirrely FS posting (with several posts beneath the original, questioning the legality and/or description of the item), sent a PM to Jude about it, and it disappeared in a few hours.
Anyone with half a brain knows that buying/trading items on the web has inherent dangers, but if I am the site admin and I agree that a for sale posting on my site is fraudulent yet take no action, what's that telling a user about the integrity of the operation?
Your thoughts?
