Question Regarding New Item Damaged in Shipping

It's been a while since I've been active on this forum, and in audio.  I will not name names, will not provide additional information, my goal is not to sling mud, merely to understand if the practices of the "maker" and the "dealer" I am about to describe are, as the dealer is telling me, common in audio sales.

Facts:

I spent low 5 digits on a pair of mono block amplifiers. Shipped, they are 2 boxes of identical size and weight, about 85 lbs each. 

I did not use a credit card.

It appears that one of the boxes was damaged in shipping, however from the outside, it didn't / doesn't look like much of anything, however once the item is opened, you can see a little damage to the box, a little damage to the foam packing "clamshell", but not much.  

A speaker terminal was contacted by something sufficient to bend the chassis, and it isn't thin.  There's no marks of impact anywhere, it just looks as if pressure was applied to the terminal and the frame bent. 

All of my contact has been with the dealer. The dealer obtained a RMA, and asked me to ship the damaged mono back to the maker, at my expense, who will rebuild on a new chassis and send back to me at their expense.

I am being told that, despite the fact that the item was new when shipped to me "this is the way its done" in audio.  In other words, it is common practice among dealers and makers of high end audio to handle items damaged in shipping this way, and the buyer would bear the expense of getting the item to the maker for inspection and/or repair.

Is this accurate?

I appreciate any input you can provide.