IF YOUR IN THE us TRY PUTTING YOUR ITEMS ON AUDIGON ...

The real difficulty in buying second hand B&O products, whether it be eBay or elsewhere is finding accommodating and knowledgeable service after your “treasure” arrives.

I am from Florida where there are numerous B&O dealers, however I now live on Vancouver Island and there is virtually no repair facility available. The B&O store in Vancouver recommends a local and independent repair facility but they tend to answer their phones when the mood moves them.

I have purchased two Beomasters, four Beograms, and two Beocords on eBay with the majority arriving in serious need of service/repair.

My only viable option has been to work with the really great people here at BeoWorld and try to repair these items myself. “Necessity is the mother of invention.”

As I see it the core problem is B&O is a smallish electronic firm in Denmark and they never fully developed a North American dealer network. In the larger cities, B&O is well established but once you leave New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal, etc. the dealer was as likely as not a one-person enterprise operating on a shoe-string. (Some were very good, but many were not.)

B&O like any other company is faced (and compared) with competing firms like McIntosh, Sony, Linn, etc. and the comparison does not favor B&O, which is sad.

I received absolutely no help from the Vancouver B&O shop (other then the phone number of their “service dept.”) as compared to the McIntosh dealer who while unable to repair my 31 year old amplifier sent it back to the factory, who completely rebuilt it, UNDER WARRENTEE!

If B&O took service, in particular the service of “vintage” B&O products a bit more seriously it would great simplify the purchase and ownership of their amazing products.

Jeff

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Well a comparison of B&O to Sony and those larger companies is most unfair.

In all fairness, ANY company must compete on the world scene…. whether it is reasonable or not.

Sony is a very large corporation which makes exceptional products. I have one of their “boom boxes” from the late eighties which has spent a lot of time outside…. on the Florida beach, in the sun, and used extensively….. yet all functions: CD, Cassette, AM/FM, and remote all function like new.

McIntosh and Linn are not really large companies and any comparison to them, is MORE than fair. While Linn did not do anything to address my cosmetic problem with my Isobaric speakers, McIntosh was simply incredible in their efforts to restore my ancient pre-amp and amp to original condition UNDER WARRENTEE!  

Don’t misunderstand me; I love Bang & Olufsen products….. my Beogram 4000 is my absolute crown jewel…. and all the rest of my B&O “collection” is treasured.

However, I have several “dead” B&O units with no service within several hundred miles. Now while I don’t expect a small company like B&O is repair my vintage equipment for FREE like McIntosh did, I really DO expect that they would keep basic replacement parts available like belts, Beogram cartridges, etc. BUT THEY DON’T.  

This makes owning older B&O products problematic and depresses values. Don’t believe me check B&O pricing on eBay as compared to McIntosh.

Jeff