Page 4 of 7
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:14 am
by Tim
Jon wrote:Just a little FYI for all you folks, if you are ever going to buy ANYTHING online, you should always use a true credit card, NOT a debit card. Why? Because websites will do preauths to verify that you have enough money. If they do it wrong, they can appear to double charge you.
Basically, when they do the preauth, they are reserving your money for when they ship your stuff. Normally, the preauth is good for 7 days. If they ship your full order, then they will simply capture the funds at that point using the preauth code. At that point, the money is actually transfered to them. Up to that point, your bank is just holding it for them.
Now, if they don't use the preauth code to capture the funds, or if they change the amount of the charge, you will still have that preauth sitting there in addition to the new charge, since they didn't capture the preauth.
If you have a debit card, this means all of that money is held out of your checing account until it clears. If you have a true credit card, none of this would matter, since it would all likely settle before you received your statement.
Thanks for the info, that is good stuff to know.
Tim
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:18 am
by falkenbd
for the record. I was bashing online sales of car audio earlier.
Crutchfield is one exception - they only sell goods that are authorized to sell - this is why they have prices similar to what a brick and mortar retailer would have...
Also, when an online retailer is selling items, even if they claim to be authorized, it wouldn't be a bad idea to check with the manufacturer, to make sure. Usually they have it listed on their website.
Here is good example:
http://www.crutchfield.com/specials/lan ... .html?us=1
http://mobile.jlaudio.com/jlaudio_pages.php?page_id=111
JL has authorized crutchfield to make internet sales...
Here is a BAD Example:
http://www.woofersetc.com/index.cfm?fus ... rand_ID=71
http://zapco.com/beware.php
If you bought those from woofers, you'd regret it.
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 12:03 pm
by MobileAudio219
Jon wrote:Just a little FYI for all you folks, if you are ever going to buy ANYTHING online, you should always use a true credit card, NOT a debit card. Why? Because websites will do preauths to verify that you have enough money. If they do it wrong, they can appear to double charge you.
Basically, when they do the preauth, they are reserving your money for when they ship your stuff. Normally, the preauth is good for 7 days. If they ship your full order, then they will simply capture the funds at that point using the preauth code. At that point, the money is actually transfered to them. Up to that point, your bank is just holding it for them.
Now, if they don't use the preauth code to capture the funds, or if they change the amount of the charge, you will still have that preauth sitting there in addition to the new charge, since they didn't capture the preauth.
If you have a debit card, this means all of that money is held out of your checing account until it clears. If you have a true credit card, none of this would matter, since it would all likely settle before you received your statement.
On the statement I got from the bank it said the preauth expired either today or tomorrow, I don't remember...
My main concern is getting the amp in good working condition. I can/will get the money back even if it takes a few weeks...
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 3:28 pm
by MobileAudio219
Just called onlinecarstereo's customer service hotline. The rep said that the extra $172, plus the two - one dollar charges were pre-authorization charges and will be refunded within 72 hours of the orginal purchase
If this doe not happy I will dispute it with my bank, and then contact the BBB.
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:12 pm
by Ryan from Ohio
When using any kind of account, debit, checking, credit, whatever...
When you send money it comes out either instantly or withing 24 Hrs.
When they goto credit your account they have up to 3 business days.
There are laws that govern these times.
This is why I use Pay Pal. Boom paid. No holds, no messing up my account, etc, etc.
Its financially bad. Banks wont care why or who, bottom line is you bounced or went over your limits.
You must be very diligent when buying online.
Posted: Thu Oct 01, 2009 4:32 pm
by MobileAudio219
Ryan from Ohio wrote:When using any kind of account, debit, checking, credit, whatever...
When you send money it comes out either instantly or withing 24 Hrs.
When they goto credit your account they have up to 3 business days.
There are laws that govern these times.
This is why I use Pay Pal. Boom paid. No holds, no messing up my account, etc, etc.
Its financially bad. Banks wont care why or who, bottom line is you bounced or went over your limits.
You must be very diligent when buying online.
Yep, learning experince.
Luckily I put 1,600 in my account for online transactions.... mostly for other areas of the truck that are NOT audio related, but I purchased the audio stuff so I still had a decent sum of money in there.
Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:26 pm
by MobileAudio219
UPDATE: Online Car Stereo Returned all the money into my account except for the purchase price of the amp. As long as my amp arrives alive I will be happy... that I got out of it without being penetrated, but the feeling of being alone in a dark alley with my pant's down and grabbing my ankles has taught me something... I don't like it!!!! and that I should do a bit more research on a company (and their policies) before I buy from them...
On a side note, I did order some components. I was really having trouble with making this decision. I had some really good options, but I decided to go with XXXXXXX because of the great reviews they have been getting, and the company offering them had good reviews as well... I did pay with paypal this time!
So what did I get? PRECISION POWER PPI 356CS 6.5. These are the ones that are pretty much the same as the a/d/s components.
We shall see!!!!!!
Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 4:36 am
by Tim
super cool, I like PPI stuff. There amps used to be the bomb, back in the day. I used an Art series A600. I think the speakers will be great though. I have alot of faith in PPI.
Tim
Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:20 am
by MobileAudio219
Tim wrote:super cool, I like PPI stuff. There amps used to be the bomb, back in the day. I used an Art series A600. I think the speakers will be great though. I have alot of faith in PPI.
Tim
I hope so, like I said these are almost exactly the same as the A/D/S components. I haven't read a bad review yet...
Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:24 am
by Ryan from Ohio
And the ADS comps were.....?
ADS wasnt ever huge and was best known for there multi channel power plate amps- 5 channel things.
There newer stuff didnt seem to popular.
Good luck with them. I hope they turn out decent!