# Tube seller scam



## Jean GODBOUT (Oct 31, 2009)

Hi folks

PLEASE d'ont turn this thread into a controverse, this is not my goal. My goal is to inform you that there is a shark running around us and he's very hungry.

I'm presently building a JTM45 Marshall clone, I bought many parts from MetroAmp and I spend lot of time in the Metro Amp forum for technical and building informations. There a tube seller name Terry KILGOGE (AKA TubeTramp ... http://mhuss.com/sgtoverdrive/ that advertise on the Metro Forum, so I wass confident to find a reputable tubes seller since George METROPOULOS is a very respected seller for his amp kits and his completed amps.

After discussing with Terry, I bought from him two new Golden Dragon KT66 power tubes for $88.00 and tree NOS EI Yugo preamp tubes for $90.00. 

This is what I receved :










This KT66 is not a Golden Dragon tube, but a Valve Art tube that we can buy for $45.00 a pair and the logo print on the tubes have been eareased, delevered in white box.











It is easy to see that the first preamp tube is a regular Sylvania (a $9.95 tube on E-Bay) and the seccond one we can see a red H as a brand name and the third one have absolutly notthing print on it. So that could be a $5.00 tube or a Mullard or a Brimar. But I honnestly think that a $5.00 tube.

So if you are in need for tubes, think twice before buying from Terry KILGORE.

I'm sorry if this offend you, but most of us are working hard to earn our money and living and I just wanted to warn you about this rip off. We live in a democraty, we have the right of free speach, so it is my duty to expose this bad experience with a Californian tube seller,

P.S. When I complain to Terry for the junk he send me, he reply :" GGFY"

Here is a screen shot of my PayPal payment (in French) but you can see at the end what my payment is for : Two Golden Dragon KT66 and tree New Old Stock (NOS) Ei Yugo preamp tubes.









As you can see, Terry sold me the idea of an older production Shunguang GZ-34 rectifier tube witch he said where "build on better tooling and using better material".
He send me a brand new Valve Art GZ34 (with a logo/label on it). So out of six tubes ordered, none correspond to the order and they all have a lower value than the stuff ordered !

Good or bad, I already hate these tubes !


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## jimihendrix (Jun 27, 2009)

sorry to hear about your luck...try the tube store...it's legit...the brick-and-mortar store is located here in hamilton, ontario...

thetubestore.com Audio and vacuum tubes for your amplifier.


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## al3d (Oct 3, 2007)

Jean..did you call him out on the forum?...and did you pay via paypal?...do a claim and get your $$$ back basicaly. and Like Jimi sais...use tubestore...can't go wrong with them.


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## gtrguy (Jul 6, 2006)

You know the Valve Art and Golden Dragon are made in the same factory right? And that a tubes labelling means next to nothing and the only way to truely identify them is via construction details? 'TubeTramp' has been selling tubes online for years and has a very good reputation... have you contacted him yet for an expaination? It might be a good idea before jumping the gun and calling him a scammer.


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## Rugburn (Jan 14, 2009)

As far as the preamp tubes go, there was a lot of these tubes manufactured by one maker yet branded many different names. This still goes on today. However, if he went through the trouble of "doctoring" those KT66s, I wouldn't be terribly confident in their authenticity. One of the most reputable NOS tube dealers is KCA. Mike ain't cheap, but you do get what you pay.

KCA NOS Tubes. Audio tubes for guitar amplifiers and audiophile equipment. 12AX7, 6L6GC, 12ay7, el34, el84, Fender amplifier,5AR4, 5U4GB, cv4004, 6SN7, 8417, 7027, gz34, Mullard, EF86, 6ca7, 6bq5, 7025, 12at7 | kcanostubes.com |

gtrguy, posted while I was writing my post, but I whole heartedly agree with the labelling of tubes. I didn't know the KT66s were made by the same manufacture, but that's par for the course.

Shawn.


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## J S Moore (Feb 18, 2006)

That's really bizarre. I dealt with Terry once and I got exactly what I paid for. He seemed to be very knowledgeable and he does have a great reputation.

EDIT: Anyone getting into NOS tubes needs to do some research so they can identify tubes themselves. I did a little internet searching and that power tube looks to be a GD KT66 except for some reason it has a tube socket on it. The price on those were around $150.00 a pair. I would suspect that the box it came in was just handy and doesn't represent what that tube is. The first and last 12AX7's look to be the same. The middle one has slightly shorter plates. EI made tubes until recently but I don't know what brands they would have supplied. And those markings on the tubes can come off with even casual handling. 

I'm not defending Terry but I don't think this is as bad a situation as you think. I would send those pictures to the guys at the Tubestore and see if they can identify them.


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## Jean GODBOUT (Oct 31, 2009)

gtrguy said:


> You know the Valve Art and Golden Dragon are made in the same factory right? And that a tubes labelling means next to nothing and the only way to truely identify them is via construction details? 'TubeTramp' has been selling tubes online for years and has a very good reputation... have you contacted him yet for an expaination? It might be a good idea before jumping the gun and calling him a scammer.


When you pay $88.00 for a brand new pair of tubes, you expect new tubes, in original box (with the right identification number) without an earease label /logo on the tubes witch is very suspicious. Does he have something to hide, this is the point. Yes I contact Terry for explanation but he reply :"FY".


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## zdogma (Mar 21, 2006)

What an asshole. At least he could explain.

Those do look like chinese/Gold Dragon KT 66's, I have a few at home that are identical, none of them have any identifying marks. $88 is very expensive for Gold Dragon tubes, the tube store sells them for 49$ a pair. 

They are good tubes, but not nearly as good as the GOLD LION KT66 made in russia. They are a bit more expensive $75 a pair USD at the Tube Store, but they sound much better to my ears. Next time you pick some up, givve those a try.


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## bolero (Oct 11, 2006)

I bought some valve art KT66 & they were $100 CDN for the pair, at Songbird....has the price dropped that much?


at the time they were the best new KT66 you could get


I agree about contacting the seller before making a big fuss, could be mistaken


best of luck


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## Jean GODBOUT (Oct 31, 2009)

Hi again
We can discuss about what is the best KT66, the Russian or the Chinise version, but that not the point. I know Tube Store, I bought from them a pair of KT66 Gold Lions (the Russian one) install in my Vibroverb and I love the result, I also bought many other tubes from them and I alway receved exactly that I ordered. This is the point here, I bought and pay for a new pair of Golden dragon Chinise tube, I just want a pair of tubes with a Golden Dragon logo/label on them, not an eareased logo. Same with the tree preamp tubes, I bought for #30.00 each a trio of Ei Yugo old stock (20 to 30 years old production) and I receved something else that no body can identifie except for the Sylvania wich is not a NOS Ei tube.

By the way, the Sylvania is print as : 6681/12AX7 USA. Here one for sale at $12.00 (last tube on the list) 
http://tubes_tubes_tubes.tripod.com/tubestubestubes/id22.html

If you order a Ford Mustang car, can the seller delever you a Honda ? This the only subject here.

I tryed again to convince the seller for a sale annulation and remboursement, but he did not reply. Tomorrow I will try a Paypal complaint and see what happend.


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