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Audiogon members poor packing and shipping damage

Need to get this off my chest and hope it will help other members avoid shipping damage claims. I recently purchased a preamp and a pair of Magnepan 3.7 speakers off Audiogon. I am going to keep this general and leave out the member names. Both items arrived damaged and IMHO the root cause is largely very poor and careless packing.

The 3.7's had the ends of the box secured with one narrow piece of strapping tape on each end which came off during shipping and the ends of the box flapping wide open along with the outer box loose where it should have been taped. With the preamp the seller did not bother to remove the tubes or install the protective screws on the bottom that protect the internals from shipping damage.

In both instances I have taken on trying to get the problems resolved, so far at my expense, and I am just aggravated at having to do this.

I would never think of letting any piece of audio equipment leave my house so poorly packed. I routinely take hours to carefully pack and also to document the entire process with digital pics so if there are any issues with shipping I have good documentation. If you read my feedback it reflects the extra effort I take. No one will ever be able to say there was shipping damage due to my poor packing job and no box I pack is going to arrive open.

I don't know how other Audiogon members feel about this or how many other members have experienced this problem but I just want to point out that sellers have an obligation to the buyers to pack the items correctly. As we all know shipping damage claims are a super pain for all involved and especially the buyer. Right now I've got one claim going with a major shipping company and it will be weeks if I am lucky to get a resolution and my money back and also get the 3.7's back from the factory.

Just a ton of inconvenience and aggravation when I should have been able to unpack, set up, and enjoy.
etmerritt33

Showing 10 responses by polk432

polk432
1,142 posts
 
Sorry, meant to say it's the SELLERS responsibility in the 7th sentence. You also have a right to get your gear back before paying back paypal after they reimburse the buyer. Always sell items as is.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
You have to ship things bomb proof. I use original boxes and another box with foam in it for anything I ship. When you buy something always use a CC linked to paypal and use your credit card company to get you a chargeback. If there is a claim for damage, the shipper pays the seller and the seller reimburses the buyer. I agree tubes should always be shipped in their own containers just like the way they are shipped from the dealer. Then double box for safety.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
Sounds like the buyer just changed his mind. I would not respond after that long.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
You as a buyer should share none of the blame. It is the sellers responsibility to get the item to you in good shape, unless the shipper is clearly at fault. Always use paypal tied to a credit card and have the credit card company get a chargeback for you. When I buy gold it's the sellers responsibility to make sure it is shipped to me on time and undamaged. When I sell back to them, it's my responsibility to get it back to them. Sellers need to learn to pack items (even over pack it) bomb proof so that problems do not arise. They need to be responsible.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
I know what I am talking about. I have over 100 psoitive feedbacks on ebay and no negs. I had a buyer return an item and strip parts off of it. I had a police report made and paypal sided with him. Then ebay suspended him. I later replaced the parts and sold the unit for more money than I would have gotten in the first place. It is still the buyers responsibility to get the unit to the buyer in the condition described unless the seller is a ripoff. I will never rip off anyone even though I feel buyers are more crooked than sellers. Only someone without the means to even be in this hobby would have such a careless way of doing business. It's either right or wrong. Rant all you want. Like that's going to help boost your sales!
polk432
1,142 posts
 
If you know how to pack, you can use original packing and still add to the inside then double box it or box it better than the original dealer did. If someone ships something to me packed with a careless attitude, I'll put in a claim, send it back and buy another one from someone else. It's simply being responsible on the sellers part.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
Sabai, post the details, and I hope you used paypal and put in a claim. I would not buy a thing from anyone on here that are making excuses for an item being old, shipped 20X, old original boxes etc. Those people are irresponsible sellers with no ethics or just trying to get rid of junk at the expense of someone else. Conveyor belts travel at 25 mph so you need to double box even if using original packaging and re-enforce the inside and outside of the inner box on all sides top and bottom.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
Sabai, sorry to hear of your loss. You seem to know how things should be packed. I hope you can recover some of your loss. Positive is meaningless if you file a claim, at least for something sold on ebay. Please list the sellers ID, so that if he lists anything cheap I'll be the first to buy it then leave negative feedback. I'd get others to do it too. Sellers like him piss me off and ruin things for sellers that care. I am usually 99% in favor of the sellers, but not irresponsible ripoffs. Best of luck.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
Send some pot to the local police station in his area with his return address on it and a note stating that the cops will never stop him.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
Sabai, I wasn't being funny. If you win the case paypal pays you back then goes after the seller. The whole police dept. would be loaded before I got through with that seller. I wish you and/or anyone else that is in the same situation the best of luck. Sounds like payback time.
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