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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.

 

 

gthirteen
fzman1956
5 posts
 

Speaking purely hypothetcailly, one of 3 things could have happened here.

1. it was boxed and shipped that way (by the manufacturer, in essence)

2 It was damaged in shipment, ini spite of there being no visible outer damage, and the shipment being signed-for/acceoted by the recipient

3,. it arrived in perfect condition, and was damaged post-shipment.

Interestingly, no one took the dealer's or the manufacturer's 'side' on this one. I was not party to any part of this transaction or series of events, so I cannot really speak to the facts. Outside of the OP, none of you can either. 

As to the notion that 'this is how it is done...' I would ask what the terms of sale were, and whether and what sort of return policy was in place, and who paid for shippng in the first place.When you return something in general, you have to 'bring it back' to the store. They don;t come and get it, and you don;t get reimbursed for your gas or time for the return trip.

Shipping was a service, and was provided. 2 85LB boxes are usually best sent via freight, strapped to a pallet, but that costs a lot more than the usual carrier's ground service.

I am not takins sides here, and hope the OP gets his amp taken care of, but i think we need to know way more detail about this transaction to make more specific claims about who should pay for what.

larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,009 posts
 

Did you ask the dealer if it was insured before they shipped it?  Was it shipped direct from the manufacturer.  Would it have made sense to check with the seller if he or the manufacturer insured this item against damage?  Did you call the seller before you opened the box and sent them a picture of outside damage?  Did you ask the seller if he shipped these with insurance protection?  Why would you ever pay by check in the first place?  Weren't you aware credit card purchases are protected by the credit card company?  If you could cover the expense by writing a check, you could have paid for this purchase in full when your credit card statement came in the mail.  I buy most everything by credit card for this reason.  We simply pay off our credit car balance to incur zero interest using the purchase protection a credit card offers.  Why anyone would pay by check these days is beyond my comprehension.

rsf507
2,353 posts
 

Lots of good questions have been asked but no response from the OP! Hello @gthirteen 

deludedaudiophile
493 posts
 

The golden rule appears it is always someone else's problem and I am never responsible. Read the contract, you may be responsible.

"Customer Service" went out when people stopped paying for it. Everyone expects the cheapest price possible, and cotton glove service.

gthirteen OP
358 posts
 

A few additional facts:

 

The invoice contains a line item for shipping. 
Shipping insurance was purchased, according to the seller

The seller and I discussed alternatives for shipping.  I made it clear that I was using the Seller or makers shipping service of choice and paying for it, because in the unlikely event that there was a problem, it needed to be someone else’s problem, versus my problem.

The purchase was made over the phone, after emails and text messages. 
There is no “purchase order” “contract” etc, other than our communications beforehand. 

I appreciate all of the comments, input, etc., however please see my original post for the one question that I am trying to answer.

 

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