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Audiogon members poor packing and shipping damage

Need to get this off my chest and hope it will help other members avoid shipping damage claims. I recently purchased a preamp and a pair of Magnepan 3.7 speakers off Audiogon. I am going to keep this general and leave out the member names. Both items arrived damaged and IMHO the root cause is largely very poor and careless packing.

The 3.7's had the ends of the box secured with one narrow piece of strapping tape on each end which came off during shipping and the ends of the box flapping wide open along with the outer box loose where it should have been taped. With the preamp the seller did not bother to remove the tubes or install the protective screws on the bottom that protect the internals from shipping damage.

In both instances I have taken on trying to get the problems resolved, so far at my expense, and I am just aggravated at having to do this.

I would never think of letting any piece of audio equipment leave my house so poorly packed. I routinely take hours to carefully pack and also to document the entire process with digital pics so if there are any issues with shipping I have good documentation. If you read my feedback it reflects the extra effort I take. No one will ever be able to say there was shipping damage due to my poor packing job and no box I pack is going to arrive open.

I don't know how other Audiogon members feel about this or how many other members have experienced this problem but I just want to point out that sellers have an obligation to the buyers to pack the items correctly. As we all know shipping damage claims are a super pain for all involved and especially the buyer. Right now I've got one claim going with a major shipping company and it will be weeks if I am lucky to get a resolution and my money back and also get the 3.7's back from the factory.

Just a ton of inconvenience and aggravation when I should have been able to unpack, set up, and enjoy.
etmerritt33
elberoth2's avatar
elberoth2
1,223 posts
 
Sabai - I'm not positive your negative feedback will ever be posted. I have similar experience once, gave the seller a well deserved negative feedback (for the first time in 8 years !) but he instantly disputed it.

AudiogoN took the sellers side (even though I supplied them with a detailed explanation and images), claiming that over 3 weeks has passed since the seller had shipped the unit he had no control over what was happening with the unit in that time. They did not even want to listen when I told them that I'm from Poland (which makes the shipping take longer) and showed them the paper with the date unit was delivered to me.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Swampwalker...lol!! You are right of course, I guess I've been fortunate in that I've never received any original packaging that was in such horrible condition and I take proper precautions when storing my equipment boxes. It does make you wonder though, just what kind of people own some of this high price gear. Not just boxes, I've seen equipment with huge dings, dents, scratches, discoloration, etc. I'm constantly amazed how folks can spend so much money and care so little for these items. I guess the answer is to some a couple grand is not so much money. ;)
sabai
2,027 posts
 
Elberoth2,
I think this will be the same outcome in my case. I live in a remote area and it took weeks for me to to have it shipped over and to arrange pick-up. The seller is not interested at all in hearing the reason for this delay -- of course. If he hears it then he will have to respond to the issues -- item damaged on arrival -- poor packaging, which he denies -- and item tampered with -- back removed and improperly replaced -- for who knows what reason. He actually did respond to the latter point -- by claiming the shipper must have tampered with it !! My only recourse may be to try to post the details on the forum.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
Sabai, post the details, and I hope you used paypal and put in a claim. I would not buy a thing from anyone on here that are making excuses for an item being old, shipped 20X, old original boxes etc. Those people are irresponsible sellers with no ethics or just trying to get rid of junk at the expense of someone else. Conveyor belts travel at 25 mph so you need to double box even if using original packaging and re-enforce the inside and outside of the inner box on all sides top and bottom.
tbg
5,263 posts
 
I have so often commented about UPS, but will reiterate. I cannot imagine how they stay in business. They are more expensive that FedEx Ground and only note the "shock in their system" to account for damage done in their shipping.

This case really sounds like seller's incompetence in packing, however. I certainly have experienced this. Once when I still used UPS, I went out to their office to pick up a turntable. I took one look at the package with holes and open flaps and refused it. I am not sure that is even an option anymore. The seller was outraged. I told him to learn to pack.
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