Shipping. Hard Lesson.

Dealing with a similar issue right now and perhaps my story may help others in the future.

Purchased a Celeste HT-5 from a new member a couple of weeks ago.  Questioned him as to his ability to package such a heavy item properly and was assured it would be professionally packaged by UPS.  His professional packaging consisted of the amplifier being wrapped in a single layer of bubble wrap, placed in an oversized, single walled cardboard box surrounded by light weight plastic airbags.  As you can imagine, the 69Lb amplifier was absolutely trashed upon arrival and the little plastic airbags were all deflated.

Tried to work with the seller to come to a mutual compromise but got the run-around until such time as I received a phone call from the seller's father indicating that his son was in college, didn't have time to deal with the issue, it was my problem and that absolutely no refund would ever be issued.  His exact words were... "I have your money and you will never get it back!"  :)

Opened a dispute with A'gon and they were fantastic.  Unfortunately the seller refused to comply with A'gon's ruling for a return/refund.

Now working with PayPal however I worry that PayPal may not abide by A'gon's policy with regards to damaged shipments.

One mistake I made, which may help others in the future is this...
I used my FedEx account to pay for shipping.  As a FedEx account holder, I am entitled to a reduced rate for International shipments.  I utilized my account to send the seller both the shipping labels and customs paperwork.  Even though I had the shipment properly insured, because the amplifier was not packaged according to either Audiogon or FedEx guidelines, FedEx will most likely not be paying out the claim.  I can't fault FedEx in this case as I agree that they can not be held responsible for negligent packaging.

The seller is using the fact that I had insurance with FedEx as his defence for not issuing a return/refund.  Had I just let the seller ship the item on his own dime, he most likely would have still reneged on his responsibility for a return/refund, but would not have the luxury of accusing me of trying to collect on both ends.

I had filed a claim with FedEx, at the insistence of the seller, prior to the phone call from the father and assured him that should any restitution be paid out by FedEx, I would forward it to him immediately.  As I am now honouring the fathers request not to communicate with his son, I have been forwarding all communication with FedEx, to the A'gon case worker.

Lesson here could be to always let the seller be responsible for all aspects of shipping.  Try to save a dollar and spend two :)

Update: UPS is giving us the run around. They filed the claim on Aug 14. They have the damaged amp back in the local UPS store. They said we'd have a decision and a check within 10 days. We checked back several times after the 10 day mark and were told that they were waiting for the higher-ups to make a decision. Today (17 days after the claim was filed) they are saying the same thing and will not give us contact information for anyone above the local store.

I have not called an attorney yet and don't want to do so. In the end it will probably cost me money to do it. But something clearly needs to be done.

Does anyone know if this sort of thing can be handled in small claims court?

n80

Update: UPS is giving us the run around. They filed the claim on Aug 14. They have the damaged amp back in the local UPS store. They said we’d have a decision and a check within 10 days. We checked back several times after the 10 day mark and were told that they were waiting for the higher-ups to make a decision. Today (17 days after the claim was filed) they are saying the same thing ... Does anyone know if this sort of thing can be handled in small claims court?

Yes, it most certainly can. Small claims courts (they go by other names in some states) usually have a limit for damages - it’s $3,000 where I live. With proper documentation and preparation, I have found small claims court to be an excellent avenue for resolution; I’ve successfully relied on it several times over the years.

Read your contract you might have agreed to arbitration. 

I have heard that that might be true. Right now I’m not sure how long I have to wait to do even that. 
As a reminder, this was not my amp. I am selling this gear for my wife’s aunt, a widow whose only child passed away. It was his gear.  This money is for her. So l’m not out anything no matter how this plays out. 
Right now it has become a matter of principle to me. The whole thing is UPS’s fault and in my opinion they are behaving shamefully.