I just left negative feedback -- the first time I have ever felt it necessary to leave anything but positive feedback. I am waiting to see if Audiogon posts it. |
I am going through a similar thing at the moment with an
Audiogon seller. The item was not double boxed. It was
packaged with a few Styrofoam popcorns that did not provide
any protection for it. The AC adapter was cracked on arrival.
And the contents were rattling around inside the black box.
The main unit was obviously tampered with -- the back was
removed contrary to the manufacturer's warning and it was
replaced back-to-front. The item will not power up. The
seller denies all responsibility. |
Double boxing is the minimum you should insist on. I asked my shipper to do this when he shipped a pair of speakers to me overseas.
The box arrived with one corner badly compacted. It was obviously dropped. I did a prayer. I opened the 2 boxes and discovered one speaker was improperly packed with a large foam buffer missing. The speaker had fallen on the impact to within a whisker of the bottom of the box. The double box saved it from being damaged. |
Loomisjohnson,
I had two mishaps recently. In one case some very expensive speakers were shipped without one of the large foam cushions. Luckily, the triple boxing I arranged saved the day -- by a fraction.
In the second case, the packaging was simply inadequate -- a small unpadded thin cardboard box inside a thin plastic post office envelope. This was inviting damage -- and the damage was done. The seller called me nuts today and has refused to take any responsibility. He says it took me a month to report this so my report has no validity. Well, it's true. It took me a month -- because, as I explained to the seller, I live in a remote area and I have to make travel arrangements for pick-ups. Having had bronchitis for the past two weeks did not help matters.
I finally picked the unit up and immediately reported to the seller why it took so long. Of course, since damage was being reported, he said the long wait made my claim invalid. This conveniently allowed him to avoid the issues -- the cracked AC adapter -- the back of the unit being taken off and replaced front-to-back -- the DOA unit. I call this seller "the seller from hell" in my negative feedback -- which is being looked over by Audiogon. We'll see if they post it. |
Elberoth2,
I think this will be the same outcome in my case. I live in a remote area and it took weeks for me to to have it shipped over and to arrange pick-up. The seller is not interested at all in hearing the reason for this delay -- of course. If he hears it then he will have to respond to the issues -- item damaged on arrival -- poor packaging, which he denies -- and item tampered with -- back removed and improperly replaced -- for who knows what reason. He actually did respond to the latter point -- by claiming the shipper must have tampered with it !! My only recourse may be to try to post the details on the forum. |
Polk432,
OK, I'll go ahead and post the details here to warn others -- in case it might help.
I bought a Quantum Symphony tweak about a month ago from joe0506jj. He had one negative feedback but the positives looked legit. He was shipping the item from Australia to me in Asia by EMS courier. The item arrived at the EMS office here a few days later but since I live in a remote area I could only pick it up a couple of days ago. According to the seller, since it took me a month to complain my complaint has no validity. I explained to him that I live in a remote area and it took me that time to pick it up. I didn't mention being holed up with bronchitis which added to the delay this time. I have to wait for pick-up of all the audio equipment I have shipped here so a delay of several weeks is normal for me.
The item arrived in a single flimsy cardboard box -- 1mm to 2mm thickness -- that was placed inside a thin plastic postal envelope with no padding. There were a few pieces of Styrofoam popcorn in the box but the AC adapter was sliding around freely on top of the black box. The adapter was cracked. In the ad photo there was scotch tape around the adapter and I assumed it was to keep the spec label attached to the adapter since this is an old item -- rated 7/10. But now I suspect the tape was possibly to keep the adapter from falling apart because there was an all-the-way-through crack in the adapter on the side that never appeared in ad photos -- where the two halves of the adapter join together.
Also, the jack in the back of the box was not aligning with the hole in the black box. I found this odd. I shook the box gently and the contents were rattling around inside. I took a close look. It was clear the back of the unit had been removed and replaced back-to-front. The item had been tampered with in some way. I plugged the AC adapter in the wall and the light in the front of the unit did not come on.
I emailed the seller immediately. He said the item was mint when he shipped it -- not 7/10 as stated in the ad. His response was everything from "you're kidding me" to "are you nuts". In fractured English he responded "To have someone like you insisted on $200 10year old packed in a box filled with styrofoam and yet you insisted "must be double box" You obviously have no common sense of commercial ..."
The seller started to make outlandish statements. He said because I live in a third world country that must be the reason for the damage -- the post office must have abused the package. Next he said the tampering must have been dome by EMS. I pointed out to him that the package was flimsy and that in all the years I have been receiving EMS packages I have never had a single problem. We have FedEx and DHL here and I have never had a single problem with them either. Of course, the seller needed to find SOME reason to dismiss the validity of my report. Anything he could make up would do.
When he started to write insults I filed a PayPal dispute. He upped it to a claim. That's it for now. The $246 will not kill me if I lose it. That's not the point. The point is that he is saying I am responsible for the damage and the loss and that if I had wanted it double boxed I should have asked. Does this mean sellers are not responsible for proper packaging and that the onus is on the buyer in this department?
When I ship audio equipment -- and I ship all lover the world -- I make sure to double box and to put ample foam, bubble pack and/or Styrofoam peanuts in the boxes. I never ask the buyers what they want. They sometimes ask about boxing and I let them know the item will be carefully double boxed. In all the years I have never had a single problem with buyers regarding packaging. |
Tbg,
I have submitted negative feedback to Audiogon. It has not appeared. I don't imagine it ever will. I am awaiting the decision from PayPal.
I find it rather humorous that the seller rated his offering at 7/10 on Audiogon but once I submitted my report to him and PayPal he started referring to it as mint. The condition of the unit magically improved after I reported damage and tampering. |
I had a recent near-death experience with a pair of speakers that arrived within a fraction of destruction. The box was dropped from a height. I was lucky -- thanks to my insistence on TRIPLE boxing.
I was not so lucky recently with another poor-packaging shipment. The Ebay seller finagled a positive feedback from me with the promise of a refund. He ended up with the positive, the goods and the money.
This time round I hope I'll be lucky -- waiting on the PayPal claim. |
Polk432,
Thank you. His ID is joe0506jj.
For me it is the principle here. I don't like to lose $246 -- but it is not the end of the world. The issue is that seller misrepresented the offering then tried to put the blame for damage on the courier -- and me. This is the kind or sleazy dealing that I do not appreciate at all.
If I am at fault in a transaction I take responsibility and I pay up. I was the seller where there was a very minor blemish on a small tweak that I had honestly not even noticed. The buyer was trying to make it into a federal case. I quickly paid up. I never let a buyer walk away unhappy. |
Polk432,
I forgot to mention that the seller is also claiming that the tampering must have been done by customs. But the package was only opened for inspection by customs when I arrived to pick it up. |
Polk432,
I just read where I will have to pay for return shipping to the seller. That means upwards of $100 not including the $46 in shipping I have already paid -- for a $200 item. I decided to end the dispute. It does not make any sense to throw good money after bad. I was caught in a similar bind a while back and PayPal requested the seller put the money back in my account. He did not follow through and there was nothing to stop him. Then PayPal reversed themselves on a technicality. The seller ended up with the goods and the money. Which could well happen again in this case. The heck with it. This is not worth all the hassle. |
Polk432,
I appreciate your sense of humor. |
Polk432,
I threw in the towel. The cost of shipping the item back plus the fact that I can get screwed even if I do puts an end to this. I was caught in this bind before with PayPal. They reversed themselves and the seller ended up with the returned item and the money. I'm too old to play these games anymore for a couple of hundred dollars. |
Jmcgrogan2,
With all due respect, I am responding to Polk432 here. If Etmerritt33 feels I have "hijacked" his thread then I am sure he can speak up for himself. With all due respect, no one's name is attached to any thread. This is an open forum.
Your "shove-off" is noted. |
