I recently purchased a new Yaesu VX-7R handheld from Universal. The
experience wasn't exactly pleasant, I placed my order (online) on a
Tuesday, hadn't gotten any response by Thursday, called to confirm
order, yes they said they had it but it hadn't shipped. I asked if the
units were in stock, they said they had plenty. Long story short,
didn't ship for another 7 days and when it did got no notification of
shipment.

But the real issue is that I just checked the serial # on the unit I
got and it appears to have been manufactured in January OF 2003. In
other words, next month it will be three years old -- and this was
supposed to be a new unit.

It was in all the original packaging, etc. But is it really possible
that Universal's turnover is so bad that they have three year old
product sitting on their shelves? Does anyone know of any significant
revisions to the VX-7R over the last three years that would render my
unit suboptimal?

Thanks,

greg

On 20 Dec 2005 14:21:09 -0800, "
wrote:

I recently purchased a new Yaesu VX-7R handheld from Universal. The
experience wasn't exactly pleasant, I placed my order (online) on a
Tuesday, hadn't gotten any response by Thursday, called to confirm
order, yes they said they had it but it hadn't shipped. I asked if the
units were in stock, they said they had plenty. Long story short,
didn't ship for another 7 days and when it did got no notification of
shipment.

But the real issue is that I just checked the serial # on the unit I
got and it appears to have been manufactured in January OF 2003. In
other words, next month it will be three years old -- and this was
supposed to be a new unit.

It was in all the original packaging, etc. But is it really possible
that Universal's turnover is so bad that they have three year old
product sitting on their shelves? Does anyone know of any significant
revisions to the VX-7R over the last three years that would render my
unit suboptimal?

Thanks,

greg

In retail I believe the word "new" means "unused".

Yea...I've stopped even checking with Universal when I buy anything. The
last few times I phoned the salesman acted like it was a BFD to check his
stock. Then they really stuck it to me on shipping/handling. My wife tried
to order a gift for me a couple times and she was treated like crap. If they
don't care, I don't care and the only way to handle these kinds of places is
to vote with your feet (go elsewhere).

Smokey

Right, well, on the whole, I've had pretty decent dealings with
Universal. Admittedly, I have had it happen before where one of the
salespersons at Universal seemed anxious to get off the phone (even if
there was a valid reason for this, a good salesperson can conduct a
call in such a way that the customer isn't aware of the fact). But
that wasn't any big deal and was, for me, the exception and not the
rule. Recently, I placed an order from Universal by phone and received
really excellent, helpful service from Scott.
I think a large part of this sort of thing is simply the individual
salespersons and personality types. One of my worst experiences of all
times was with this overbearing, self-important bloke at HRO Atlanta
when I was new to the SWL hobby in 1988. He was the kind of fellow to
whom, if you weren't completely versed in all of the technical jargon
and so forth, you were an idiot. After purchasing a receiver, he
started trying to get me interested in amateur radio. But I can't say
that I was particularly thrilled at that idea after dealing with this
fellow. After all, I thought, why would I want to spend all that money
on radio gear so that I could communicate with folks like that?
Admittedly, not all ham operators are like that. But it's that sort of
experience that can be completely off-putting, especially when you're
new to something. Anyway, my interest in those days, and still is,
SWBC listening and not amateur radio. So, it's not likely that I would
have gone the ham route, even if he had been a decent salesperson.
And I don't mean for this to be taken as a swipe against HRO. That guy
has long since left HRO Atlanta. And I've had great experiences with
the HRO in Northern Virginia.

junius

Smokey wrote:
Yea...I've stopped even checking with Universal when I buy anything. The
last few times I phoned the salesman acted like it was a BFD to check his
stock. Then they really stuck it to me on shipping/handling. My wife tried
to order a gift for me a couple times and she was treated like crap. If they
don't care, I don't care and the only way to handle these kinds of places is
to vote with your feet (go elsewhere).

Smokey

In article .com,
"junius" wrote:

Right, well, on the whole, I've had pretty decent dealings with
Universal. Admittedly, I have had it happen before where one of the
salespersons at Universal seemed anxious to get off the phone (even if
there was a valid reason for this, a good salesperson can conduct a
call in such a way that the customer isn't aware of the fact). But
that wasn't any big deal and was, for me, the exception and not the
rule. Recently, I placed an order from Universal by phone and received
really excellent, helpful service from Scott.
I think a large part of this sort of thing is simply the individual
salespersons and personality types. One of my worst experiences of all
times was with this overbearing, self-important bloke at HRO Atlanta
when I was new to the SWL hobby in 1988. He was the kind of fellow to
whom, if you weren't completely versed in all of the technical jargon
and so forth, you were an idiot. After purchasing a receiver, he
started trying to get me interested in amateur radio. But I can't say
that I was particularly thrilled at that idea after dealing with this
fellow. After all, I thought, why would I want to spend all that money
on radio gear so that I could communicate with folks like that?
Admittedly, not all ham operators are like that. But it's that sort of
experience that can be completely off-putting, especially when you're
new to something. Anyway, my interest in those days, and still is,
SWBC listening and not amateur radio. So, it's not likely that I would
have gone the ham route, even if he had been a decent salesperson.
And I don't mean for this to be taken as a swipe against HRO. That guy
has long since left HRO Atlanta. And I've had great experiences with
the HRO in Northern Virginia.

junius

Smokey wrote:
Yea...I've stopped even checking with Universal when I buy anything. The
last few times I phoned the salesman acted like it was a BFD to check his
stock. Then they really stuck it to me on shipping/handling. My wife tried
to order a gift for me a couple times and she was treated like crap. If they
don't care, I don't care and the only way to handle these kinds of places is
to vote with your feet (go elsewhere).

I've bought a number of radios, equipment and books from Universal and
sold some items back to them on their used equipment list. I am 100%
satisfied in all aspects on all the transactions I have had with them.
The service could not have been better in all cases.

--
Telamon
Ventura, California

For One and All,

Here is a New Old Stock Item that is not from Universal Radio.

But the Universal Radio WebSite has it Listed as "Discontinued"
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/1806.html
AOR LA350 Active Shortwave Loop Antenna
has been specifically designed to provide reception
when located indoors. Coverage is from 3-30 MHz
http://www.universal-radio.com/catalog/sw_ant/1806.html

AOR LA350 - Active Loop Aerial / Antenna
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5845689225

that's all folks ~ RHF