Originally Posted by
Shawn
My Sinfonico journey ended this morning.
TL;DR: stitched up for US $200 in shipping on a return. And thanks to Wessex' choice of shipper, getting my customs duties refunded (C$ 464 = US$ 350 approx) is going to be a bit tricky. Legally I have every right to the $464, but I still need Canadian Customs to do their job.
My Sinfonico with the included 4Y mp played almost a full semitone sharp. An extra 30mm of tuning slide wasn't going to save the day, so I requested a refund. I actually very much liked the way the horn sounded and a part of me wanted to be the proud owner of a great sounding B-natural Euphonium. The thing was well in tune with itself, so maybe...maybe... but I got spooked. If this wasn't right "what else was lurking under the hood?"
I was told that if they could replicate the sharpness, they would refund the full amount; if not, they would deduct shipping charges. Today they claimed they could not replicate the sharpness. The shipping charges are a magically round number of exactly $200 US.
James Garney said that although he could not replicate the sharpness on my specific instrument, I was not the first player coming from Willson to have that issue. They had been working with people at a particular university who experienced similar.
Wessex ships DHL to Canada. DHL pre-collects the customs, will not deliver til I pay their number, and slaps their own 'brokerage fee' on top for the pleasure of this convenience I never asked for. I now need to take this up not with DHL, but with the government. The local office is somehow closed (Seriously? How about being open and requiring masks, sanitiser, and distancing? Ha ha--it's the government!) so I need to photocopy my evidence of the return and mail it to a town down the coast. Garney has kindly offered to help if I need further documentation.
Summing up:
1. Do not buy this instrument online. Sharpness is a known issue. If you want it, go to a showroom and get one that's perfect.
2. If you need to return an item, before taking Wessex' advice about using a return label they provide, ask what the shipping charge is--and do your own due diligence. Maybe their return shipping price is indeed competitive, maybe it's not. I didn't do my homework because I trusted them.
3. If you're ordering from Canada, beg them not to use DHL or UPS (UPS is just as bad, eh).