Filmkid2003
Well-known member
Hey everyone. I just bought a brand new (or so I thought) Rode NTG-3 shotgun microphone and also a brand new Rode Blimp from an online audio store. When I opened the Rode NTG-3 box (which was just a little beat up), the brass threaded ring for the mic stand wasn't even in the small plastic ziplock bag, like someone just tossed it in there. Also, the foam mic sock wasn't in a plastic bag or wrapped in anything. Then I opened the leather pouch and the mic stand wasn't enclosed in a plastic bag, it was just loosely wrapped with paper thin foam and the foam wrapping wasn't even taped together! I unscrewed the aluminum mic tube and pulled out the NTG-3 and saw that there were scuff marks on the inside where the male XLR connections are, as if an XLR cable had been plugged in and the mic was used before! Can someone who has bought a brand new NTG-3 tell me if that is how their packaging was or if each item was bagged?
So, then I opened the Rode Blimp box (which was kind of beat up) and laying on the top Styrofoam piece were the rubber "O-rings" sealed in a plastic bag so, they definitely were new. I removed the top Styrofoam piece and pulled out the Rode Blimp. The blimp was already connected to the handle and neither one was wrapped or sealed in plastic! Is this normal? Then when I inspected the blimp, I noticed some white stuff on the XLR cable! It kind of looked like the white corrosion you sometimes see on a car battery terminal. I looked closely at the Blimp and noticed what looked like a brown thorny seed stuck to the black fabric of the blimp! There is no way this is a piece of brown cardboard because there is no brown cardboard inside the box! So, now I'm thinking that this was definitely used by someone outside and then they returned it? I opened up the blimp and the faux fur cover was just folded up and stuffed inside, no plastic wrap or bag or anything. Is this normal? Can somebody who has bought a brand new Rode Blimp tell me if this is how it comes packaged? I feel like I've been sold used equipment. I'm going to call the place up and tell them I want it exchanged for NEW equipment! But, I want to make sure if this is how Rode packages these two products or not. By the way, I went onto the audio store website and noticed that they ALSO sell used stuff! But the items I bought were definitely supposed to be brand new.
So, then I opened the Rode Blimp box (which was kind of beat up) and laying on the top Styrofoam piece were the rubber "O-rings" sealed in a plastic bag so, they definitely were new. I removed the top Styrofoam piece and pulled out the Rode Blimp. The blimp was already connected to the handle and neither one was wrapped or sealed in plastic! Is this normal? Then when I inspected the blimp, I noticed some white stuff on the XLR cable! It kind of looked like the white corrosion you sometimes see on a car battery terminal. I looked closely at the Blimp and noticed what looked like a brown thorny seed stuck to the black fabric of the blimp! There is no way this is a piece of brown cardboard because there is no brown cardboard inside the box! So, now I'm thinking that this was definitely used by someone outside and then they returned it? I opened up the blimp and the faux fur cover was just folded up and stuffed inside, no plastic wrap or bag or anything. Is this normal? Can somebody who has bought a brand new Rode Blimp tell me if this is how it comes packaged? I feel like I've been sold used equipment. I'm going to call the place up and tell them I want it exchanged for NEW equipment! But, I want to make sure if this is how Rode packages these two products or not. By the way, I went onto the audio store website and noticed that they ALSO sell used stuff! But the items I bought were definitely supposed to be brand new.
