BEWARE of Mic-Hawk.com

[WhinyLittleRunt]

I posted this over at Homerecording.com also, but I needed to make sure I spread the word and publicize my experience with this seller:

I've been jonesing for a Philips LBB-9020 model dynamic for a while, and finally decided to get one to try it out. Not really sure why, I guess they look cool. Anyway. I went looking on eBay, thought they were a bit pricy for what they were, but since they're not common at all I guess that's the reason. I ended up getting in contact with Richard at Mic-Hawk.com who had a few of these for about $140.00 each. I still thought it was steep but it was cheaper than the others I saw. So, we did a PayPal transaction and about a week later I got the mic.

Plug it in, I get nothing. Ok, well maybe I'm doing something wrong. It does have a tuchel connector and he included a cable adapter to XLR. Thought the cable might have been bad. Tried tapping right to the leads with clips and bypassing the cable altogether. Nope. Took the sheath of the mic off and looked inside. Nothing out of the ordinary, I bypassed the circuit board and tapped right into the leads coming off the capsule. Still nothing. Ok, so I got a bad mic. I emailed the guy, he said I could send it back and he would replace it as he had a few others.

I sent it back, mind you I paid 13.00 for shipping to have it go back USPS priority mail (cheapest I could get). I don't say anything about the shipping, I just eat it thinking well, I'll get a replacement and I'll mention it later. I confirm with him he got back my return, and tested to find that sure enough it was not working. So he says he'll send me another one that works.

We keep in touch throughout, and he says he sent out the replacement and it works. I question how he went about testing it, but he never responded to it. I was really just more curious than anything. So now, I receive the replacement. Guess what? Doesn't work either! And it's a different kind of 'doesn't work'. This time, the capsule sort-of responds, like to taps etc. But nothing if you talk or sing into it. There's a bass roll-off switch and also and on-off switch for this mic. Turning it on, you can tell it's been switched on. Switching the roll off switch, you can tell it's doing something but one side doesn't respond at all and the other side gets a little sound, with the gain and volume of the mixer cranked to max. It's also horrendously noisy. So, basically, it's non functioning if I can't use it as a microphone. So I send him this email:




Richard,
I have to voice my displeasure. This microphone also does not work. It shows some sign of signal if I tap on it with the gain ALL the way up on any mixer. How did you go about testing this one to make sure it was working as it should? Can't speak into it or anything more than a barely audible tap.

This has now cost me the price of the mic plus the 13.00 shipping for the last one. Why am I having such an issue with this? Did you physically test this one? I'm sorry but I'm getting annoyed.

How does he respond? Like this:

You're getting annoyed?
I've sent you 2 good mics that come back trashed.
You lose $13, I lose $250, so be a good sport about it like I am.
Send it back, get your refund and leave me alone.
Send the clip back too, I don't want to keep sending you mics.

Wow. I'm sitting there beside myself. What in the hell?? So, I itemized it for him.

You're getting annoyed?

Yeah, actually I?m really annoyed. I paid for a working product from a legit business and got non-working products twice. So, put yourself in the customers? shoes for a minute and see how you would feel.

I've sent you 2 good mics that come back trashed.

Untrue. 1, you sent me 2 mics. Neither worked. 2, only one has come back so far and you never answered my question about testing the second one. And I think ?trashed? is a bit over-the-top, don?t you? I sent back the mic in the same condition it came in. I don?t know where this ?trashed? idea comes in..??

You lose $13, I lose $250, so be a good sport about it like I am.

Be a good sport? I didn?t even say anything about eating the cost of the shipping until the second one came in defective, And I?d be willing to bet your cost on each of those mics was not $125.00, and that you made an $8.00 profit, so don?t BS me. I had to go take time out of my busy schedule, the same as I?m doing now, to ship back something that was supposed to work in the first place. I was being a perfectly good sport about it not working, until I received a second one that also didn?t work and now I question your capability to properly test these before sending them out.

Send it back, get your refund and leave me alone.

Fine.

Send the clip back too, I don't want to keep sending you mics.

And frankly, Richard, I don?t really want to keep doing business with you either. What a piss-poor attitude on your part. Instead of standing behind what you sold me, you?re downright accusing me of creating the problem. Such a shame if this is how you treat your customers.

I?ll send back the mic and clip, and you?ll refund my $133.00, and that will be it.

What a prick. I hope he is reading this too because I want to make sure nobody buys anything from this guy. If anyone has a similar experience, please speak up. I've obviously learned my lesson. He can take back his "trashed" mics, whatever the hell that is supposed to mean. Here's an idea: send me something that actually works and you won't have this problem.

So, in shipping, I will have eaten 26.00 just sending back broken shit. Really uncool.

[vvv]

As bad as Ebay is, when I've had similar problems with sellers in the past, Ebay has stood up for me and got the refund with postage back.

Until they didn't.

(Seems to me that if it's a big commercial seller the small buyer is likely to lose.)

Anywhat, I post this because I see that seller on the evilBog all the time; thanks for the warning!

[rhythm ranch]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with him. I had zero problems in my transaction with him. Our correspondence with brief, but helpful and friendly.

[Bro Shark]

BEWARE of Mic-Hawk

That's what... he said?

[chris harris]

BEWARE of Mic-Hawk

That's what... he said?

HEYO!!!!

But seriously... That name... Oooof.

[WhinyLittleRunt]

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with him. I had zero problems in my transaction with him. Our correspondence with brief, but helpful and friendly.

That's just it- it started off that way, and like I mentioned in my email back to him, I was totally cool and relaxed about sending it back and getting a replacement (even eating the cost of return shipping because i was being a "good sport") but when I received the second mic, which again, didn't work, not only was I frustrated that I got a second one bad but that he also downright accused me of "trashing" the mics! I'm sorry, but, I know how to test a mic. It's no different than any of my other mics that all work and all plug into the same mixer.

And you know, I even tried to defend him slightly because I can see myself on the other end, thinking 'oh my god this guy keeps plugging them into power and burning them out etc', but that just wasn't the case. He sent me two mics with obviously shot capsules, and didn't test them otherwise we wouldn't be in this predicament.

I just sent it back to him and ate another 14.63... its like, fuuuck you.

[Jim Williams]

This internet is a frightening place. Used to be you could confront thieves personally and take care of business.

Now they hide behind a computer and a mouse.

[WhinyLittleRunt]

Well, at least I got my refund, minus the 28.00 worth of shipping I had to eat on two mics.

And I understand buying anything used on the internet, from eBay, from CL, from anywhere - there is a huge caveat involved. Fortunately I have been on the lucky side of the fence for most of it, and have yet to really have an issue with DOA or not as described.

[Eggmann]

I sent my group-buy ACMP preamp to Steve Hogan along with $100 and got ripped off. I've sent countless emails and left many phone messeges and all I've gotten back has been promises and lies. He talked the good talk on the forums. I wonder how many other people he stole from.

Sorry, just venting....