2. misc-audio
  3. 176479-2603

Question Regarding New Item Damaged in Shipping

It's been a while since I've been active on this forum, and in audio.  I will not name names, will not provide additional information, my goal is not to sling mud, merely to understand if the practices of the "maker" and the "dealer" I am about to describe are, as the dealer is telling me, common in audio sales.

Facts:

I spent low 5 digits on a pair of mono block amplifiers. Shipped, they are 2 boxes of identical size and weight, about 85 lbs each. 

I did not use a credit card.

It appears that one of the boxes was damaged in shipping, however from the outside, it didn't / doesn't look like much of anything, however once the item is opened, you can see a little damage to the box, a little damage to the foam packing "clamshell", but not much.  

A speaker terminal was contacted by something sufficient to bend the chassis, and it isn't thin.  There's no marks of impact anywhere, it just looks as if pressure was applied to the terminal and the frame bent. 

All of my contact has been with the dealer. The dealer obtained a RMA, and asked me to ship the damaged mono back to the maker, at my expense, who will rebuild on a new chassis and send back to me at their expense.

I am being told that, despite the fact that the item was new when shipped to me "this is the way its done" in audio.  In other words, it is common practice among dealers and makers of high end audio to handle items damaged in shipping this way, and the buyer would bear the expense of getting the item to the maker for inspection and/or repair.

 

Is this accurate?

I appreciate any input you can provide.

 

 

gthirteen
helmholtzsoul
111 posts
 

I'm positive shipping has nothing to do with packing. A lot of people think otherwise.

If there's no outside damage and no inside damage, that's not packing or shipping it's a mater of inspecting a product before it ships. 

You have the proof it was damaged, the seller can't prove it wasn't shipped that way. 

The seller is responsible for the packing. The shipper is responsible to deliver the package to the buyer's agreed location, in one piece without visible damage. 

The transaction is over when the buyer receives his property in the condition he agreed too, NOT the seller. "AS IS" does not mean you get to throw a 65lb amp in a cardboard box with peanuts and say "Good By".

I learned that 10 years ago on EBay. I instruct people how to pack, my equipment. If they say anything that would lead me to believe they wouldn't pack the equipment correctly. I put them and Ebay on notice before they even ship the product. I recommend they take pics as they pack. With no pics it better be a perfect packing job and sent freight strapped to a pallet in a bubble.

Cary pulled that with me. I got the whole 10.5K back. They actually sent the two boxes ground. My FedEx driver knew I would reject it..
I told Cary to take a flying _____ at a rolling donut. Never use ground on expensive equipment. Never, ever, EVER. Cary insisted, so did I..

jwillox
177 posts
 

The manufacturer should send you a “cal tag” to return the damaged unit (at their expense), and send out a new one as soon as the damaged one begins to track. 
 

t  hi minimizes down time for a customer while protecting the manufacturer as well. 
 

not **that’s* the way it’s done. 

deludedaudiophile
493 posts
 

@rsf507 ,

When you buy something, there are clear terms of service.  When I buy on Amazon, Amazon takes total responsibility for delivery. It is right in their terms of service. When you buy on Ebay, the seller is ONLY responsible for what they have stated, no more, no less.

We have no idea what the sales terms were the dealer (and buyer) agreed to. I have no seen the sales order. Have you?  If shipping was included in the price, then that is pretty much always on the dealer. If shipping was extra, then the dealers responsibility may end with good packing, which as I noted, is not clear hear. It is all in the fine print, and the buyer (op) has not provided that detail.

geof3
1,125 posts
 

@deludedaudiophile

Regarding EBay, that is 100% incorrect. If an item is damaging during shipping it is ALWAYS on the seller to make good. Even with insurance. Regardless what the seller “says” or otherwise. EBay and PayPal have the means to enforce that if required.

Regarding the OP, as previously mentioned the dealer should be on the hook for this one. It is possible there is a “damaged in shipping” clause of some sort on their “policies” page, but unlikely. Let’s be clear, it is simply the right thing to do for the dealer to make good. So many companies these days have garbage customer service. There is still a Golden Rule. It’s depressing to see it abused by so many…

kerrybh
99 posts
 

Customer service is not what it used to be and the dealer could certainly have done better from the sound of it. With that said, the place to start is a careful reading of the sales documents. After forty years in the law business I've seen many circumstances when the contract assigned responsibility in an unexpected manner. For an expensive piece of equipment I would expect the sales document to address shipping and related issues but without knowing what is in the documents it's guesswork. 

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