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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
helomech
1,519 posts
 

Give Paypal some more time to resolve your dispute, but don’t let more than 30 days pass before filling a claim with the CC company. Either way, I believe you will ultimately get your money back. I had to file a CC dispute against Home Depot last summer. The CC company immediately credited my account for the transaction sum and told me I wouldn’t be charged any interest while they were conducting their investigation. Ultimately they decided in my favor but it took a few months. 
 

Last resort would be taking the seller to small claims court but I highly doubt it will get to that point. 
 

Sorry that happened to you, I’ve been there, once it was a seller who actually had 100% positive feedback on the “other” Audio site. The guy sent me the completely wrong preamp and despite that, i still lost about $40 in return shipping cost. Unfortunately, this is the risk we take these days in order to avoid paying retail prices and taking a bath if we subsequently decide to sell the item. And it has gotten much worse post-Covid, with all the noobs to the hobby. 

capricho74
1 posts
 

I went through an identical transaction as OP. I filed a PayPal claim and it took 3 months for PayPal to rule in my favor. I was required by PayPal to obtain a repair estimate from a third party service center. 
 

filing a claim with UPS was fruitless as the seller failed to pack the item in accordance with UPS’s guidelines. UPS only honors such damage claims if the item was insured and met its packing guidelines. 
 

Paypal customer service was frustrating to deal with as each time I talked to an agent about the status of my case I would get a different answer. 
 

OP should send copious pictures of the damaged speakers, get a repair estimate, and send the shipping services packing guidelines. Then wait and be patient. 

gnaudio
51 posts
 

Audiogon won’t do anything either, I’ve had similar situations where they only side with what the PayPal dispute results are.

ghdprentice
6,408 posts
 

This is an excellent thread. So, it reveals a possible reality of trying to save a few bucks… what is the aggregation of hours fighting if something goes wrong? 
 

Personally, I came up with a guideline for myself… “don’t buy something on line from third party that I can’t just write off as a stupid move without feeling bad or financial consequence. 
 

For any significant audio purchase, dealers / visa only. Something goes wrong, I want one phone call or email to have it fixed. Life is too short. So, Echo (Portland), or Upscale, or Pearl Audio (Portland) are folks I trust. They will make it right in one phone call. The $2 dropper bottles from China… they arrive broken… I toss them in the garbage and order from someone else. 
 

But that is me. My approach to life. Others have different approaches.

timlub
2,039 posts
 

It is most likely that the seller did sell a quality product with good intentions.  It is also likely that the seller was clueless of how to package the speakers to ride undamaged.  Terrible situation.  If my scenario is correct, the seller would be at fault and responsible. I hope that the seller is honest. For some people this would be a very hard financial hit, either way, the responsible party needs to step up. Good luck with this. 

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