[fpantalone]

No, it's not. You have pay for shipping them back, and the pads don't come with the metal rings.

Can you remind me which companies pay return warranty shipping ?

 

[Sonic Defender]

No, it's not. You have pay for shipping them back, and the pads don't come with the metal rings.

This is completely normal that a customer is asked to pay for shipping in one direction, usually shipping back to the company. As for the metal rings, ok, perhaps that is an oversight, or less than ideal, but it doesn't really change the fact that providing anything for free is not typical, and if the work is done well and with fast turnaround that amounts to excellent customer service. At least in my book.

 

[Beagle]

Can you remind me which companies pay return warranty shipping ?

When I had a problem with my original Focal Elear, Focal paid the shipping. This was the first run where they had some problems with drivers. They gave me a label to print out and bring to UPS store. This was Focal in Canada though. But yes, usually you have to pay your own shipping costs.

 

[omniweltall]

What if the item arrives broken? What is the industry standard?

 

[Tacanacy]

Can you remind me which companies pay return warranty shipping ?

Massdrop. Vokyl.

 

[Tacanacy]

I've never seen thay shipping to manufacturer was covered.
Who need extra rings? Remove from PU pads, insert to new premium leather pads. This takes less then 1 minute.

So I can quickly AB test pads, what do you think? The rings are also sharp and the pads fit very tightly, so as conquerator2 said, they put wear on the pads.

 

[conquerator2]

I think it's also important to run a reality check with regards to what Verum Audio is and how it compares to other boutique manufacturers.

Verum is run by one person. As far as I know, there were really only ever widespread issues with the early batches, where they would develop an imbalance over time. To my understanding, affected users were sent replacements and sorted out. I understand this is no longer an issue. I also think paying return shipping is reasonable, even if we all would like for things to be free.

Now, you might argue that big scale, established manufacturers, like Sennheiser or Beyerdynamic, don't usually have such issues, though I am sure if I were to dig, I'd find some. On the other hand, if we look at other, primarily planar headphone manufacturers like Hifiman and Audeze, suddenly Verum doesn't look so bad.

Both have had numerous QC issues that plagued the companies for years. Hifiman has a thread here on Headfi about how mixed their customer support has been. Until recently, there have been issues with almost every model that came out, with drivers failing, gimbals snapping, connectors breaking and I don't know what else. These issues have affected expensive headphones too, like the first version of the HE1000, which not only was objectively badly built, but also cost 3000$.It was even more fun when you received a replacement pair that had its own issues which used to happen more often that it should have. Audeze also had its own share of driver failures, manufacturing controversies and faulty replacements, but as far as I am aware, their customer service is great.

Given that those are all companies that have more people than one running the operations, and have in the past offered less satisfactory products than would be expected, I've deduced that Verum deserves some slack here. In my book, Garuspik is doing a mighty fine job, while trying to run an honest business that offers solid value to customers for their money.

 

[Beagle]

Well said.

 

[Tacanacy]

Well said.

No, Vokyl isn't a mega corporation -- they're also a kickstarter/indiegogo startup, operated by two people. They covered shipping both ways for me. My Verum 1 arrived with channel imbalance, it didn't develop over time.

 

[Sonic Defender]

No, Vokyl isn't a mega corporation -- they're also a kickstarter/indiegogo startup, operated by two people. They covered shipping both ways for me. My Verum 1 arrived with channel imbalance, it didn't develop over time.

That is great, but it still represents an uncommon practice. I like it, and agree that when a unit arrives dead/defective it would be ideal to have the company cover all shipping, sometimes that just isn't feasible. We want to nurture new talent to increase the range of goods and general marketplace competition. I won't say that I can't empathize with your position, but I still think what happened is reasonable to expect.

 

[conquerator2]

No, Vokyl isn't a mega corporation -- they're also a kickstarter/indiegogo startup, operated by two people. They covered shipping both ways for me. My Verum 1 arrived with channel imbalance, it didn't develop over time.

If having to pay return shipping is enough to deter you as a customer, then that's too bad. I am sorry you received a defective product but these things happen. It's great that Vokyl (I think that company was established by industry professionals!) covers return shipping, sadly this is not the case with Verum, and it is not an industry wide practice. However, I am sure Garuspik will offer you something extra for your troubles, if you ask him. It's also important to point out that, say 30$ for return shipping, is close to 1/10 of the average salary in Ukraine, as mentioned by Garuspik for why the Verum is priced so reasonably. Being a mid-European, I can emphatize with countries that have lesser purchasing power than others and where paying that shipping cost would represent a significant portion of one's monthly salary.

 

[Beagle]

That is great, but it still represents an uncommon practice. I like it, and agree that when a unit arrives dead/defective it would be ideal to have the company cover all shipping, sometimes that just isn't feasible. We want to nurture new talent to increase the range of goods and general marketplace competition. I won't say that I can't empathize with your position, but I still think what happened is reasonable to expect.

And what happens if there's not actually anything wrong with the product? The manufacturer is still on the hook for both ways.

 

[Sonic Defender]

And what happens if there's not actually anything wrong with the product? The manufacturer is still on the hook for both ways.

Indeed, that would be problematic. That is why I agree that the most realistic/fair arrangement is to split the shipping as is typically done.

 

[omniweltall]

Indeed, that would be problematic. That is why I agree that the most realistic/fair arrangement is to split the shipping as is typically done.

For warranty, I agree.

But not for...lets say...a product that arrives broken.

 

[Beagle]

For warranty, I agree.

But not for...lets say...a product that arrives broken.

They don't know it's actually broken until it comes back to them. I say if there is a problem within the first week, buyer pays shipping but is reimbursed by the manufacturer.