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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
curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,193 posts
 

Sorry to hear of your bad experience. 
I always ask for pictures of what I’m buying before I send money. I had an awful experience with KEF and because I had pictures of the boxes still on the skid on my and pictures of the unpacking and pictures of the speakers set up,  After a FULL YEAR, I got them replaced.
 

All the best.

8th-note
350 posts
 

Thanks to the OP for posting this. Lots of good information and advice on this thread.

I have been unwilling to buy speakers unless I could pick them up myself. In the most extreme example, I drove from Washington state to Georgia to buy a pair of Thiel CS6 speakers (170 lbs each). I was able to visit my daughter in Minnesota so what the heck, I was halfway there.

There seems to be several morals to this story but the main one is that we should not assume that the seller is honest or competent, especially if he has no feedback. There is a lot that can go wrong with shipping a fairly heavy set of speakers or any component without its original packaging. Murphy's law applies.

toro3's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
toro3
301 posts
 

@chocaholic 

The more I get to know people, the more I like my dog.

Agree 100%. Trying to decide if this quote will be a bumper sticker on my my Maserati or if I should really lean into it and put it on my tombstone. Decisions.

I was pretty active in the used market as both a buyer and seller this past year. I saved quite a bit of money, but unsure if it was really worth it given the stress. This is a nightmare scenario I always had anxiety about. Patiently saving a little longer seems less stressful.

I drive 13 yr old base model Nissan btw.

roxy54's avatar
roxy54
7,706 posts
 

@riccitone 

Well said. It is sad above all that someone like this seller would pollute what is normally a trusted community.

newwater
14 posts
 

Used audio business from private sellers really depends on network patrol and listing of previous transactions and sellers reviews on previous sales. To just list products and minimum support is like Craig’s List. Unfortunately unreliable and to be expected. 

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