Could we be getting factory seconds from Gearfest?

I live near Ft. Wayne, so I've been to almost every Gearfest since Sweetwater started them.
A few years ago I couldn't resist the $57 price for an SM57. When I tried it out, it sounded great on, electric, and acoustic guitar. Then I tried it with vocals. It had a bad pop, but I didn't think much about it, since I bought it for electric guitar. I had never owned one before so I had nothing to compare it to.
 
Last year I donated a spare sound system to our local volunteer fire dept. Along with it went the SM58, I had been using for 20 years. Some time later I grabbed the 58, my son had bought at Gearfest, to use with my voicelive2. I found it has a pop to it also. This time I've had years of experience with my old 58, and never had this problem.
 
I'm just curious to know if anyone else has had problems with these Gearfest deals, that seem to good to pass up.

Anything is possible, but Sweetwater is one of the best for being honest and not pulling the "repack" crap that some of the other places are known for. I'd call them up. They warranty gear for 2 years no matter what the manufacturer's warranty is so they will make good on it. 
I once picked up, locally, a set of monitors from that place that rhymes with A$$ and when I got them home both tweeters were blown. If that wasn't bad enough, the invoice from the previous person was in the box and he paid less than I did ! That's what really hurt. They took them back and I have not shopped there since. This was in the 90's and they are local to me in NY. Real snakes.

fireberd
 
I wonder since both mic's pop with voice if its something else and not the mic's?  Did you happen to use the same mic cable with both?

In the case of the 2, 58's, yes it was the same cable. It has been a long time since I tried the 57 for vocals so I don't know what cables or even what preamp I was using.
 

steveo42
Anything is possible, but Sweetwater is one of the best for being honest and not pulling the "repack" crap that some of the other places are known for. I'd call them up. They warranty gear for 2 years no matter what the manufacturer's warranty is so they will make good on it. 
 

I bought the 57 in 2011, so that's more than 2 years. The 58 I'm sure is more than two years. Ryan got that before we started playing gigs together, and that's been more than 2 years. He died last year, otherwise I would have never used his, and just bought another.
 
I just got to thinking they sell a boatload of those at Gearfest. Perhaps they're getting a discount from Shure that might include some B stock. I've gotten a lot of stuff from Sweetwater and never had any other problems.

kitekrazy1

Paul P
 
The "no questions asked" return policies of many online stores has frightened me enough to go back to local stores, even if they're a bit more expensive.  I can then make sure that the box hasn't been previously opened.  And it's little trouble to return something if necessary.
 
If I have to buy online, I'll state in the comments that I'll only accept new, unopened items.
 

 I agree.  Service after the sale is where local places are better.

Disagree.. I live in NYC and I have all the big chains are here, in triplicate as well as the little guys. You stand more of a chance of getting a well disguised re-pack than via mail order.  Why? My theory is the sales drones, mostly 3rd rate musicians if that, routinely work deals with their friends to "borrow, exchange, slip bad gear into a new box" and so forth and trust me, these places are EXPERTS at disguising that fact. They swap out the guts of some piece of gear, reseal the box and you will never know. Compare that to a place like Sweetwater where they probably sell more of that same piece of gear in a day than the local place sells in 6 months, even the big chains. I'm all for supporting the little guy but you have to put things in perspective. Opening up the box and looking, trying out the gear before buying is no sure thing either. At best the gear works. At worst it has some kind of intermittent problem that only shows up under certain conditions and you have in fact inherited someone else's problem.
 
It's a minefield out there and people are being snookered every day.

Paul P
 
It's usually pretty easy to see if a box has been opened or not.  One time I told the salesman I wanted an opened box and he replied "it had to be opened to put the item inside".
 
I bought a camera once from a once respectful camera shop (back before I learned to look at what I was buying), and found the guarantee card in the box filled out by the previous buyer.  I took it back, got a full refund, and never went back.
 

Your camera experience mirrors my monitor experience. The camera shops in NYC are cutthroat. They know every trick in the book and some that aren't in the book. They fleece the tourists like sheep going to the slaughter. It actually makes our business look good !
The most common tactic is to advertise really low prices for certain camera gear and then when the shopper arrives at the shop or tries to buy online they discover it's a gray market camera and doesn't come with a US warranty.
And of course they will gladly sell you the warranty for an extra fee which by some odd coincidence brings the price of the camera right up to the same level as other stores are selling it for.
Oldest trick in the book.
 
Best advice I can offer is thoroughly examine the box. Top, bottom and sides. If a local place, have them open it so you can examine the gear. Look at the screws that hold things together and make sure they aren't marked up, check the serial number against the warranty card and the sticker on the outside of the box. Use your nose to sniff for unusual smells, like burning odor etc. Make sure all accessories like rack ears etc are in the box.
If mail order, take pics of the outside of the box BEFORE you open it and if things don't look good call the company immediately and file a claim.
 
It's sad we have to be suspicious but sadly some people are dishonest and it's best to avoid them if possible.
Fortunately these people are the exception not the rule. Most businesses want to stay in business so they strive to be honest and fair.
 
Anyway, happy shopping!

Ham N Egz
I have purchased several "demo" units from Sweetwater, and the box is clearly marked DEMO, and still has their impeccable warranty. In fact I purchased a Mackie MCCU pro demo that went bad and they shipped me a new sealed unit.
 
I do wonder about a certain "camera" megastore that advertises audio products well below other internet music stores prices, I have purchased some things from them and wonder if they are repacks.

I also had a Mackie MCU where the display went dim and it was about 22 months into Sweetwater's 2 year warranty. They shipped me a brand new one, no questions asked and provided a prepaid return label for the defective one. Had I purchased somewhere else I would have been screwed due to the manufacturer's warranty having expired.

Thanks for your replies. I just was curious since both mics came from gearfest. (or as my spellcheck calls it gabfest) They seem to have more demos after Christmas, so I'll be shopping for another mic.

Olive2sing, if they are bad I would contact Sweetwater.  According to what my Sweetwater sales rep commented I would think they are under warranty.  Since you are close by, can't hurt to take them in and see if they will replace them.

I've bought a lot of stuff (a camera lens, disc printer, CD-r's, etc) from them and never a problem.  Well packed compared to some and usually same day shipping.

You Americans are lucky. I wish I could deal with Sweetwater but they think Hawaii is closer than Ontario and won't ship stuff up here. I'm lusting after a guitar that they have on sale for $299. In Canada it will cost me $800.
 
There's hardly any small music stores left because the 1 Canadian super chain has bought them or put them out of business. Unfortunately that 1 chain sucks big time. I traded in an amp once and found it on sale as new one month later. When I challenged them about it I was tossed from the store.
 
Don't complain America, you're rolling in tall clover.

ampfixer
You Americans are lucky. I wish I could deal with Sweetwater but they think Hawaii is closer than Ontario and won't ship stuff up here. I'm lusting after a guitar that they have on sale for $299. In Canada it will cost me $800.
...
Don't complain America, you're rolling in tall clover.

Setting aside the fact that we're getting hammered by our falling dollar, I just for the first time ordered some things from B&H (because they had a tablet cover for my wife in a colour not available in Canada).  Free shipping over 99$ (Purolator) and they take care of customs/taxes for a very small surcharge (12$ total, cdn tax and duty, on a 100$ order).  They even sent my four items in two shipments.  The first took two days and the second three (NYC to Montreal).  Fastest and cheapest I've ever experienced, and I've bought a lot of stuff from the US.
 
I bought my Sennheiser HD280 headphones from Sweetwater a few years ago.
 

DrLumen
Since some of you are remarking about NYC camera shops, I was wondering about a widely known one (letterB&letterH). While I haven't had any issues with the little I have bought from them but is there anything I (we) should know?

I've purchased many items (cameras, musical equipment and TV's) from B&H and have nothing but excellent service, delivery, and pricing from them. I put them in the same league as Sweetwater that is my usual go to facitlity for music stuff. I just bought a Behringer X-Touch from B&H this week since Sweetwater was out with no new inventory in sight.
 
Walt