I am now into my 5th week waiting for Magnepan to evaluate shipping damage to a pair of MG 3.7's. My wife and I paid Craters and Freighters to build a custom wood crate for them so they would not be damaged further by the trip from Richmond to Minnesota.
I know everyone will say they are a small company and I need to be patient but this is ridiculous to my mind. I have called 5-6 times and the seller has also called. The last time I called Shelia acted like she had never spoken to me before despite the previous phone conversations.
I know the MG 3.7's are supposed to be sensational speakers and I bought my first pair of Magnepans in 1975 but I am seriously considering flipping these if Magnepan ever inspects and repairs them. The aggravation simply is not worth it to me.
A month and I can not even get anyone at Magnepan to open the crate, inspect them, and give me a damage estimate to provide to FedEx who is ready to pay the claim. Unfortunately, they can't pay until Magnepan provides an estimate of the damage and then I have to wait for the actual repair.
I never thought I would feel this way about Magnepan but this current situation has changed my mind to a huge extent. This is just ridiculous the way I see it and I can see no good excuse for it.
It's summertime and people take vacations. Five weeks isn't a long time for a problem to be addressed. Magnepan's a fairly small company with a very good reputation, except about product deliveries. They can be slow.
My advice is to stay on top of them, but don't break into a sweat or otherwise get worked up.
Before you sent them to Mag, did you ask/they give a time estimate?
I know, not much help now/here but for anybody dealing with anybody in the future, it's nice to know.
I was ready to take one of my vintage tuners to a repair shop for some dial lights. Before I could ask him how long, he said it would be 3 weeks before he would be able to get to it. I decided to wait for a better time.
Anyway, good luck, hope it works out to your eventual satisfaction.
Tom, I know this won't help in your present situation but I learned a long time ago that if something arrives damaged to send it back to the seller and let him deal with it.
Not much help in this situation but, very good advice for all.
Tom, I know this won't help in your present situation but I learned a long time ago that if something arrives damaged to send it back to the seller and let him deal with it.
Be patient, maybe this will get to Magnepan and they will act soon.
Elizabeth, The speakers were purchased used. I thought that FedEx could ship them without damage to Richmond, Va. Once they arrived damaged, my wife and I decided that it was worth the cost of a custom wood crate (about $ 400 of the $ 1000 I mentioned) to avoid a situation where we might encounter additional damage shipping to Magnepan for repair and that would complicate the FedEx damage claim and then we thought the worst thing would be to have them repaired and damaged again on the way back to Richmond.
Paranoid? Probably so but we wanted to find the shortest critical path to be able to get the speakers back so we can listen to them.
This crate is reusable so it will also benefit when we sell these. That might be sooner rather than later if Magnepan does not do something soon. My patience is running out.
Can you cook corn in a magna pan. If the corn is a dying i am going to have to think of something else to cook in there. Let's seeeeeee. I think I will start a new thread on that one. Whoo! I though I wasn't going to solve that one.
Magnepan has a good rep as far as I know. My experience in the past sending things to them for repair or refurbish was good, but that was a few years back FWIW.
It is a small company so things might go slower than desired from time to time maybe?
I would talk to the proper customer rep on the phone and ask if they can provide an estimate of when they will be able to look at your speakers? Then follow-up again if you do not hear by then.
this may or not may apply...but I have heard from a former owner that Magnepan only produces one speaker at a time to avoid any confusion or defects...that is a production run of a particular speaker for x amount of time...i assume weeks...this may also affect repairs...also...I have visited the factory...this is a small company...and they simply may be backed up with orders...be patient...this will work out..all the best...pc
To Davide256's comment....This has nothing to do with any litigation and not sure where you got that notion from??
I filed a damage claim with FedEx the night we unpacked and discovered the damage. FedEx sent out their independent inspector and she filed a report and FedEx took responsibility for the damage and is willing to pay.
This has all been explained in detail to Magnepan. Shelia knew to expect a reuseable custom wood crate with a specific RA number painted on it.
So, here I am five weeks later with no idea on when I will get the estimate or more importantly when I will see the MG3.7's again.
Tom, in my experience, while a phone call is good for a nudge, there is something about creating a written record that lights a fire under people. I haven't dealt with Maneplanar since the early days, but they have a good rep. I would write the letter I described.
Thanks to everyone who responded (especially Brian). I bought the MG3.7's used from a very nice guy in New England. They were shipped via FedEx with ample insurance. I have a FedEx account and I arranged the shipping. When they arrived and we unpacked to set them up and quite literally the first thing my left hand touched was a completely loose aluminum trim rail on the top speaker. It appeared that the box was dropped on its side and on the corner and the other speaker appeared to not have been damaged.
I contacted Wendall and he told me that I definitely should send them both back to the factory to have them repaired and checked to make sure they are 100%. So, my wife and I had the custom wood crate made so we could lower the risk of additional damage going to Magnepan and to also lower the risk of damage during return shipping.
The cost to make this custom crate and to ship to Magnepan was close to $ 1K that we paid out of our pocket. This is the 5th week that the speakers have been in Magnepan's possession and they still have not even opened them for inspection. FedEx has inspected the damage and is ready to pay the claim but can't do so until Magnepan issues a repair estimate.
I am just so aggravated with Magnepan right now I can't stand it. As I said earlier I have talked to Wendall directly so he is aware of the problem I have.
What really blew my mind was when I called Shelia 3 weeks ago and she acted like she had never seen or heard of me before. This was after 4 or 5 previous calls to her.
This is week number 5 that Magnepan has had these speakers. I can not imagine it would take them more than an hour to assess the damage. We never unpacked the bottom speaker but there was no visual sign of damage.
I hope with this better explanation you can see why I am ticked. IMHO Magnepan should crate the 3.7's and 20.7's as they admitted to me that they experience the most shipping damage problems with the two larger models.
Here is a link to the pics of the damage if anyone is interested.
My suggestion, based on a lot of professional experience in dealing with problems (as a lawyer): write a brief, and balanced letter to the President and a few other top executives at the company, explaining that you bought the speakers used, they were damaged in shipping, that the seller or carrier's insurance is covering, but that having gone to the trouble and expense of crating and shipping them to the company 5 weeks ago (or whenever), you have yet to get the necessary estimate. That you've called a number of times, and you need their help to get this sorted out quickly. I presume you are going to have the company repair the speaker using the insurance money? You might want to ask them what the realistic timetable for that is, once you can have the insurance payment sent to them (in other words, encourage them to get you queued up for the repair quickly once the estimate is rendered and the payment for repair is made).
Etmerritt was a customer of mine some years ago whom I visited, and I'll vouch for him being a gentleman and a good person to do business with. I assume the speakers were purchased used, otherwise it's the dealer's problem to handle. I would be calling at least once or twice a week to get an answer so the claim can be settled before time runs out.
Curious how cynical business will make you about stories like this. I'd bet Etmerritt33 has not given Magnepan any indemnification if litigation results from Magnepans findings. I've had a couple of occasions to send MG's in for repair over the past 25 years, no issues. But then I had no potential litgation complications, just straight forward its broke, fix it.
Surprised by your troubles, often it is the smaller companies that will be most quick to respond to a situation. Even if there response was to give you a time frame or they just don't want to bother with your problem. This a courtesy no matter where the speakers begun life with you. A little attention on there part could pave the way for future sales. By yourself and others.
I'm not sure I understand the situation. Are you saying you bought a pair of used Maggies and that they were damaged when the seller shipped them to you, prompting you to ship them on to Magnepan for the evaluation?
If so, I wonder whether Magnepan is put off that you purchased a pair of used speakers rather than new. Just a thought.
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