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TubeDepot has a rating of 4.0 stars from 95 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally satisfied with their purchases. Reviewers satisfied with TubeDepot most frequently mention customer service, and top notch. TubeDepot ranks 12th among Electronic Component sites.
TubeDepot is always the first place I check when I need vacuum tubes. They have a great selection, good prices and the best customer service around.
Purchased a fairly expensive tube from them. Price was significantly above pretty much any other offer I got anywhere else. I paid more for peace of mind and expectation to get appropriate customer service. It was not the case. The product I purchased was shipped ignoring instructions which had been formally agreed between myself and their customer service, which resulted in extra unreasonable charges on my delivery from the carrier. When I reported the problem to Tubedepot, not only have I not been offered a refund for the extra costs but I have not even received an apology.
You order an expensive tube - very expensive, one of the few rare ones they have - and they delay shipping, takes 3x what it should, you ask why, they make up excuses, then you unbox and turns out they sent you something far less valuable. They show out of stock for the item you bought.
Seems to me someone either heisted the last high-demand item to sell for several times more than they had it listed for, or they didn't have it and threw something else in there making it someone else's problem.
The proper thing to do is tell the customer to keep the improper product AND refund their money - to keep their future business. Make it worth their while. Not these guys - sent me a prepaid label to ship it back. So let me get this straight - aside from the irritation of waiting far too long for a highly coveted tube I waited months to waste that kind of money on, now it's on me to go out of my way to package it back up and send it back and wait then hope you refund my cash?
How about at the VERY least you refund the (considerable) difference in price between the thing I have no use for and what I purchased?
"Sorry, here's a label to ship it back for a refund." That's all I got. Nothing more.
EDIT: After posting this review, they did offer to refund the price difference - but then of course asked me to remove this review. I will speak the truth - they refunded the difference. I shouldn't have had to make it inconvenient for them to get to that point. Priorities are completely out of whack - future business and damage control instead of making the customer happy.
Tip for consumers:
Don't shop here unless you wanna get taken for a ride. Dishonest culture and ineptitude galore.
Products used:
None, sent the wrong one and didn't make it right.
I had a concern about replacing filter capacitors and was uncertain as to how to proceed. They answered my question almost immediately.
Due to slow mail, they offered for me to reorder and return the first items when received. Thanks ok
Tip for consumers:
Keep in mind that with Xmas, the mail might be slow
Products used:
Turrets and turret board
Thanks for your order and your feedback Mike! We appreciate your patience and your business. Let us know when we can assist in the future.
Sent me a couple of "tested" 6v6 tubes, they blew my amp TWICE, and when i explained the situation to them they told me that i had to pay for the return shipping, that they would refund me for it once they receive the tubes, so i sent the tubes, and they not only didnt refund me for the shipping back to the store, but they also never refund me for the original shipping either, so i lost my shipping money after their non tested shorted tubes blew my amp TWICE, and i had to buy two resistors out of my own money and wait for them to arrive in the mail (good thing i have some electronic skills otherwise it would have costed me a trip to the amp tech, which would have costed me more than the tubes themselves). One month lather im without a running amp and shorter of money, GREAT DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU GUYS! Eat a turd.
Great customer service. Easy returns. Easy purchasing. Good website. Tech support with quick responses. Best prices.
Products used:
Power Transformer
Maybe the best business in the music industry! Prompt replies, great products and perfect service. Nobody else has all they do in one place.
The best in the business, we'll take it! Thanks for your business and excellent feedback. We love what we do and we're proud to be considered the Best by you! Let us know when we can meet your needs in the future. Cheers, Michelle
Super to Deal With! Warm. Friendly. Honest. Caring.
I only wish I had to buy more tubes. Nowhere else would even be considered.
Tip for consumers:
Great, Honest Company.
Products used:
None
Great customer service. I have to return some JJ tubes, no damages, just need other good fit for my pre-amp. Jack responded quickly. Awesome people.
Thanks for your business and feedback Jose!
Wonderful service and product. Fast and answered all my questions. Very reasonable and high quality.
Products used:
Tubes
Thanks for your business and your feedback David! Let us know when we can be of further assistance.
They hooked me up for something that wasn't even their fault, but mine (lost cord). Order with confidence
You can't beat tubedepot. Best prices, great customer service and they package their tubes with care.
This is a story about 4 211 GE tubes which I asked TubeDepot to test. I live in Israel and have sent them the tubes for testing. I will skip the part where the results I received were vague and not professional since the real story came later.
I asked them to send me the tubes back and paid them 75$ for shipping. I specifically asked them to put the value of 75$ on the package so I won't have to pay customs. A few days later I get a call from local FedEx that I need to pay 300 dollars duties on a shipment from the US which was declared at 2000$. What, I yelled? Yes, you get it right. The people at TubeDepot sent the shipment with a value of 2000$ although I specifically told them to put just the shipping cost, and there was no way these used tubes cost even a third of that amount.
Anyhow, there was no way around it with the local customs authorities and so I told TubeDepot that I have no intention of paying it and I leave it to their conscience to ship it back to the US and then either ship it back to me with the right value, or wait until I sell them in the US.
A week has passed and I get a note from TubeDepot that they got the tubes back and they asked me what should they do with them? I asked them to wait awhile and I put an ad on Ebay.
A month later I got an offer for 400$ for the tubes, and sold the tube to a guy in the US. I then asked TubeDepot to send him the tubes but then I got my second shock from them. They now tell me that they paid 328 dollars for the shipping back from Israel and they want me to pay them that amount before they release them. Why 328 dollars as opposed to the 75 dollars I paid one way? Only tubeDepot has an answer to that, maybe the same answer of why they put a value of 2000$ on the tubes in the first place.
So I lost the tubes with this business and I will never ever do any business with them again.
The tubes themselves arrived in good condition. However, I paid (A LOT EXTRA!) for express shipping and they were not shipped in that manner. I needed them within a week and when they did not arrive I contacted TubeDepot to see what the problem was and to get a tracking number from the courier. Imagine my surprise when all they would do was say they were sent by ground. That was it. No tracking information, nothing. No attempt to explain why I paid over 3x the actual shipping price.
On the website when you checkout there are several "levels" of ground shipping ranging in price from $15USD to $60USD (for my order). I chose the most expensive option because I needed them quickly and they sent them the slowest way because they are dishonest. When I pointed out that the price on the package said shipping cost under $20 and I was charged $60 they sent me a screenshot OF SOMEBODY ELSES PERSONAL INFORMATION INCLUDING ADDRESS! Like that somehow proved I was wrong. When I pointed out the discrepancy again and asked to get in contact with somebody who could refund the overpayment I was told that "as far as you are concerned I am as high up the ladder as it goes".
I know that customer service can be a difficult job so in the future I will do them the courtesy of being a customer somewhere else.
We are sorry that you are not satisfied with the service you received from TubeDepot. Our shipping systems are mostly automated and we do not charge more for shipping than we pay the carrier to deliver the package. It appears the higher than expected cost for shipping and the longer than expected transit time came from duties & taxes that had to be paid before the package could be released by customs. During checkout, we do notify International customers that duties and tariffs may apply. As for the cost of these charges, we have no control and/or way of knowing what the charges will be, which is why we do not state a cost for those charges.
Additionally, TubeDepot does not share other customer information with anyone. For more details on how we handle customer information, please visit our privacy policy at TubeDepot.com.
If you have any other concerns, please let us know.
Thank you.
I ordered a TubeCube7 valve amp from Tube Depot. Shipped quickly. Customer service is excellent. And the little 3.5 watt valve amp is a little gem. It excels at jazz and small ensembles. The dark space between notes of a good Mile's Davis "Kind of Blue" recording will knock you over. And that's just the kind of recording that this valve amp excels at. Allen Toussant's "American Tunes" and "The Bright Mississippi" CD's sound wonderful. Diana Krall "Live in Paris. Snooks Eaglin "New Orleans Street Singer". Grant Green "Idle Moments". It's a Class A valve amp just made for small ensemble jazz, blues, and acoustic instruments. This amp does prefer efficient speakers. Now, when you start listening to larger ensembles, big bands, and orchestras the sound stage becomes a bit compressed sounding. Instruments blend together. Hard to tell violas from violins. A loud NOLA second line band like Bonerama sounds compressed. A bad recording like the Jim Hall/ Ron Carter re-issued CD "Alone Together" sounds compressed, too, even though it's a small ensemble. That's the word I'd used: orchestras sound compressed. Less sparkly. Big band. NOLA second line, too. Anything with a lot of instruments and volume. Or a bad recording. This amp will show you a bad recording. But oh my a well recorded jazz trio/quartet/ quintet will knock you over it sounds so clean so spacious so defined so good. I'm starting to call the TubeCube7 my Jazz Amp. I did roll tubes, per Tube Depot's recommendation, to Tung Sol Russian tubes. And I must say Tube depot's customer service is second to none. You can purchase this product with full confidence they stand behind the products they sell. Well enough time writing - back to listening to Snooks on the TubeCube7 it's like he's right in front of me.
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We have looked into your situation and can verify that we have emailed order confirmation and tracking information. Your socket order is in transit to Singapore and should be delivered soon. We have also responded promptly to every email you have sent us. We recommend adjusting your spam filter settings.
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We apologize for any confusion and/or inconvenience. We'd like to resolve this issue as soon as possible for you. In your review you mention that we didn't offer to refund the difference of the incorrect tube. The reason that option wasn't offered is because in your communication you mentioned: "I didn't want and wouldn't buy (I had a chance at this tube for $90 months ago, and passed - it's not on my list of interests)...?"- With that information, a refund is the only option. Otherwise we would have offered a refund for the difference in exchange for the tube. We are paying for the return shipping and will refund the order entirely. If a difference in the price is an option for you, we offer a refund of 50.00, the difference between the two tubes and you will not need to return it. The tube you received, while not as valuable as the Kenrad, is still valuable. Mistakes do occur in any business from time to time, and our goal is to resolve them as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding and willingness to work with us.