Purchase on Audiogon arrived not as described


Hello,

I purchased a speaker pair through Audiogon that was listed as a 10/10 falwless pair. The speakers arrived damaged. They were not properly packed they were piano gloss finish and only packed woth a single layer of a very thin fabric cloth and one layer of bubble wrap in a flimsy single layer cardboard box single boxed.

The speakers arrived 11/30 (Thursday) and due to work I wasn't able to open the package until the night of 12/1 (Friday). I took photos of the unboxing process and I was surprised to see how little packaging therewas for a 50lb+ speaker pair with piano gloss finish. I was extremely careful unpacking the speakers and after unwrapping them I saw the damage. One speaker is busted on the bottom with a crack, the other speaker has 3 large strike marks and chips to the edge.

 

Within minutes of seeing the damage I contacted the seller. I have no way of knowing if the speakers were damaged in transit due to poor packaging or if the seller scammed me. I contacted the seller within minutes of seeing the damage and explained the situation. The seller immediately became defensive and said I had plenty of time to evaluate the speakers and that I probably didn't like them so I purposely damaged them. This offended me and was quite ridiculous. The speakers were at my house for one day and I didn't unbox them until I had the time the next day. The speakers have remained in the original packaging taking up space since this date.

 

I tried to communicate with the seller and the seller completely stopped answering messages through audiogon. I filed a dispute through Audiogon and linked the seller Audiogon's policy on selling and items not arriving in the condition listed. The staff at Audiogon managed to get ahold of the seller and told me the seller was not being reasonable. They advised me to file a PayPal claim. I filed my claim on 12/3 after spending two days communicating with the staff and trying to have them be a middleman to communicate between the seller and I. The seller never responded.

 

I have now been waiting for weeks on the dispute with paypal. The seller responded to the dispute and is fighting to keep my money. I offered to send the speakers back to the seller from the beginning and properly package them how I would have liked to receive them packed. I am worried about paypal being so slow and have heard stories of paypal siding with scammers before.

newtoaudio100

lowrider , a pair of speakers packed in a single factory box is not unusual, especially for a stand mount...I've had a few pairs of monitors and a floor stander that were factory shipped in a single box...

Always, ALWAYS, insist on insured shipping for the full amount if the seller is paying for shipping.  If you are paying, then spring for fully insured shipping yourself.  It is my experience in Lakewood, Ohio that the UPS store here will not accept a high value insured shipment that is not double boxed with proper protection.  They opened a very expensive ($2,500.00) camera lens in front of me which I was shipping insured to make sure it was properly packed.  It was very well packed and they taped it back up as good as I had it when I brought it in.  The owner told me I wouldn’t believe how poorly packed some people tried to ship things insured.

jl35,

I agree, I had a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 100 Monitors (one box) and a pair of big Klipsch RP 800F’s (1 box each) both factory shipped in single boxes, but both were extremely well packed with form fitting styrofoam linings and seriously heavy cardboard boxes.  Two good sized gouge holes in one of the Klipsch boxes but no damage to the speaker.

My second contact (after the seller) in a situation like this would be my credit card company. Everyone else is a middle man.

@jl35 

That's right, monitors or bookshelfs can be shipped in one box. For some reason I thought the OP bought floorstanders.

I've never come across floorstanders shipped together.