A vendor should, at the very least, be given the opportunity to make things right.
And that is what I stated from the beginning, and I will make a follow up post on how this is all handled.
As far as your gun dealer example, I am sure you would not have been pleased if it was going to cost you an additional $40.00 (the cost of freight and insurance to return this item to DTB) to receive that new replacement.
But this is not Walmart and will involve additional charges such as me eating return freight and additional wait time. I would recommend though that when a vendor has a section for order comments on his website, that he reads those when fulfilling the order so that situation like this do not occur. If he is unable to fulfill those requests, it would be best to just be upfront if he feels the purchaser is too "picky" and not accept the order. I will admit my standards are high in regard to my hobby purchases, but at the same time I will say that most vendors that I hand select have met those standards. That is why I always make it clear to the vendor up front that I am "picky" about my new product purchases so that they have the opportunity to back out. Nor did I ever say this unit was beat to hell. Just too many marks mars and scratches for a new product. 3/4" scratch along back edge of radio down to metal, dime size missing paint at front of amplifier right below faceplate that was touched up with something that whatever it is wipes off with a rag. And a number of small nicks and abrasions on sides of case. If I was to try to sell this as NIB on eBay with photos, some would not bid on this item because of the defects. Yes my standards are high on what I feel the condition of a new product should be. New should look like new, not like it has been in 2 years of service and received normal wear and tear. But once again I have full confidence that Dave will handle this like a professional, and will give him every opportunity to do so. The point of my original post is to state my purchase experience, and to then follow up with how the vendor responded to the issue at hand and how it was brought to resolution. It would not be fair to readers of this forum to just read all the glowing past posts in regards to DTB radio prior to making a purchase, without also being able to read a post about the same vendor that may not be so glowing. In that way a consumer has a more balanced and honest view of that vendor and can make their purchase decision in a more educated manor. Many like I do goggle searches on vendors prior to purchasing a product, read past forum posts in regards to that vendor, and they deserve to be able to read both the good and the bad in regards to a vendor. And as far as flaming Dave? I never have and choose this forum to voice my concerns, even knowing it contained Dave groupies. If I wanted to flame him I would have went to other hobby forums where he was not so beloved and flamed away without all the push back....
Please keep in mind that once this is resolved in a professional and speedy manor, and I create a second post in regards to how Dave responded to this, it will have an opposite effect for those that search out information on DTB radio. It will bring confidence that if something goes wrong with their purchase from DTB radio, that it will be resolved for them to their complete satisfaction. To be fair, I think the problem may have been caused by DTB being a modest side vendor who may not have had multiple units to choose from, and shipped what he had in the condition it was in. I would have preferred if Dave would have notified me that the condition of the unit or units he had may not meet my standards, and would have allowed me to say thank you, but no thanks. I once had a dealer do that, and even though I did not purchase that particular item from him, he did earn my respect and I became a long term customer and purchased many other items from him. And guess what? He never said I was being too "picky" and he enjoyed years of my profitable business!