Will hold up to 50 pounds of shelving

Only if you listen to them

As a former LEGITIMATE hifi dealer, I made it my business to find out as much about this scam as I could. This is what I know.
This scam has been going on for over 10 years. The originators are some felons from Chicago, although there are lots of copycats now. The reason they never get shut down is the felons thought up a perfect scam. They have the speakers assembled from the cheapest materials possible, then put them in a nice cardboard box. But they are speaekrs, and they do work. Sort of. And they have a model number that sounds familiar (Hmmm 9901, kinda like a 901, that's a Bose, isn't it?) They then sell them to subagents in each area, who maintain a local warehouse. So far everything is legit. The subagent recruits 20-somethings with no real assets who want to make an easy buck. Each day the subagent sells them the speakers for cash and rents them the truck. So far still legit. The 20-somethings you actually buy the speakers from, however, are doing several things that are illegal. They don't collect sales tax. They don't have a business license (sometimes they'll carry around a copy of the subagent's license, but you're not buying from him; you're buying from THEM!). And they completely missrepresent the product. But what can the cops do? These are all civil matters, not criminal. The 20-somethings have no assets, so trying to collect a judgement from them is futile. And you can't prove that the subagent selling them the speakers has any knowledge of what they're doing with them. It's a great scam that requires only one thing; a customer willing to believe he can get something for nothing. And once he gets the speakers home, who does he call? Me, the legitimate dealer, trying to find out about how good a deal he just got. When we would describe the scam, and offer to show him a copy of an article in the local paper about it, or play the video tape we had of the local TV station's consumer reporter who had caught them in the act, it wasn't a very pleasant conversation. And the sad thing was, for the money they wasted on these, they could have bought a decent pair of legitimate speakers, with a warranty, that actually sounded good.

Moral: if it seems too good to be true, it is.

P.S. Don't bother with the three way crossover; it won't help enough to be worth what you pay for it; just use the cabinets for shelving supports- it's their highest and best use.

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Fake Rolexes, Fake Oakleys

I am pissed enough to murder...

Hey... EVERYTHING

The same for me... I got scammed. It seemed like such a deal. I shoulda realized something was up when they were willing to take $200 instead of the $600 they said they were worth...

Two guys rolled up in a white van and asked me if I was interested. They spluttered out some BS story about where they got them and I just figured they were stolen...

Little did I know the fu**ers were con artists...

*sigh*

A lot of these reviews say that you can put a crossover on thema nd they will be alright, then. I suppose I will have to try it out...

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I tried running my stereo through the garbage disposal once...

The joke's on them. These guys tried the same trick on me but it backfired. After writing a $200 check for the speakers I promptly called my bank and had the check cancelled. My total cost $10 for two decent speakers. The speakers work OK. The treble is fine but the bass is pretty brutal. I'm really hoping these guys come back for their money so I can beat their ass.

I got hit by the same scam. Two guys in a White GMC or Dodge SUV came up to me in the parking lot of Bellevue Community College and said that they got five pairs, instead of five peices, and had to unload some or his boss would be pissed. They showed a factory invoice that showed an order for five speakers, and a phony phamplet that detailed all the various "features".

They even gave me a warrenty number. They also gave me a phone number. They said they worked at "Global Audio Network" in Tacoma or something, and gave me the number (425) 486-0953.

Man, I wish I had taken down that licence plate number.

None

everything

Same two guys at a bank parking lot. White van. Same story we needed four for the installation we got eight by mistake. We can let you have them for $400. I thought I had haggled them for a good price at $300 but I guess I'm as big a sucker as everyone else. If I catch them they'll wish they had not gone into this line of work.

For the people who are feeling really bad about falling for this...don't. If this were cops doing this, the case would be thrown out for entrapment. They catch you off guard, and have a pretty good story. The boxes look legit...and that "acoustic" name seems to carry an aire of quality. It triggers something in your brain...but later you realize that you were thinking of "acoustic reaserch", or "boston acoustics", or something along those lines. I paid $200, thinking I would resell them for a profit. But alas, I found that is not going to happen. I'm not pissed because I have the speakers, I am pissed becuase I already have a pair of $200 speakers, and these sound about the same. I don't need two pair of this quality. Now trying to just get my money back on the "acoustics", is tough, because of the stigma on these things.

Here is the thing that is sticking in my craw. This has to be a pretty big operation. This is not a case of guys going to radio shack and buying the parts. Check this board. We are hearing about this from Minnesota to Texas. From California to New Jersey....and everywhere in between. Is this one group of guys traveling the country? I doubt it. These things are being assebled somewhere...shipped...distributed...the whole bit. Thing is, I doubt the stories I am reading here about college students being used for summer jobs. This is just too crooked for them to be offering jobs to college kids....all who use the exact same sales tecnique.

Here is my take on what I think is happening. Speakers are very cheap to make. The profit margins on even the top brands are huge. The reason for this is that there is a lot of theft all along the supply line from the manufacturer. Plus ,there are a lot of returns because of people's misuse...overpowering...underpowering...etc. Maybe you could get these "acoustics" in a retail store (if they were legit), for around $200...But these guys never have to deal with returns. (I would love to know something about the PO box that is printed on the warranty card with the speakers...where is Sunrise FLA, anyway?). Plus look at the overhead savings they get. No payroll taxes. No sales tax. No anything. The overhead is at a bare minumum. Plus the scam is a good one. If they just tried to sell the speakers out of a van and didn't say that they were hot, buyers who felt ripped off would be more likely to find an authority to complain to. But what are you going to do? Go to the cops and tell them that you were ripped off when you thought you were buying top quality stolen speakers?

This is a network, my friends. The only way to stop these guys is to get the word out. I can't think of a better way to do it than on the web, unless someone has enough money to buy t.v. commercials.

Here is the thing. I am really curious about this. Like I said, this is bigger than a couple con artists in a van. Maybe, just maybe, if some information could be obtained, there would be some authorities interested in this. I don't know if I will run across these guys again. I don't have time to go "hunting" for them. But if I do have the chance.......let's just say, I will get some satisfaction. But if there is anyone out there with some info, drop me a note at progam@aol.com. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a mission for me, but I do have friends at various levels of law enforcement who would be willing to at least give it a glance (if I buy the first round).

Keep your chin up everybody. I'm sure these guys have felt the brunt of a baseball bat, had to pay for damages to their vans, and probably had a fare share of their inventory dissapear....now just give me my shot...hehehe.

They are really pretty, grey smoky cloth

haven't found one yet

My husband got caught yesterday after work. They were in the Service Merchandise parking lot on University Drive. Two white males, college age, gold Dodge Grand Voyager van. Same story, picked up 4 pairs in Nashville, needed to dump 2 pairs before they picked up their boss. Said they were worth $900 a pair but he talked them down to $200.

I spent most of today on-line trying to find some info...and this is what I find. Well, he hooked them up last night and they didn't sound that bad. From what I have read, we may want to make some modifications before we REALLY use them.

The worst thing I see is that we really didn't need them. We have a pair of corner Klipsh and a Awia Dolby surround sound system already. I thought about hooking them up to my Aptiva, might be my best bet....

Great Tax Right Off

Only when you plug them in...

Theoretically, the higher your tax bracket the more you save...

I bought mine for $200 a couple of months ago and I've struggled to figure out what to do with them -- besides pitching them off the back deck.

I finally decided to take them to Goodwill and had the gentlemen classify them as "Brand New Speakers -- still in Original Packing". For "estimated" value I put $900. Hey, that's what the a**hole told me they were worth...

Assuming a tax rate of approximately 33%, $900 off my bottom line will save me approximately $300, meaning I made $100 off of the deal... and Uncle Sam gets screwed instead of me...

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Grandma's AM Radio

Good for dart practice

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What can I tell you,I bought a pair from a couple of white guys in their early thirties driving a green van.I was scammed and I am pissed.I live in St. Louis and from the letters in this website it seems they have been around here for a while.The thing is that I hooked them up and they don't sound that bad.I read that they can be improved.Can any of you guys let me know how? Thanks and beware of these sons of b.....E-mail vondergm@hotmail.com.

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This is in response to Randy(previous message).Some people are born with very little intelligence and you are obviously one of them.2 or 3 hundred dollars are very easy to replace but when you are born dumbwitted that's it.People who live off the hard work of others are called parasites and you fall in that category.Good luck,you,ll need it.