When Will We Learn?

As a buyer, you cannot make a seller into a better shipper.  

I never agree to pay for shipping.  If they want $2000 plus $100 shipping, I offer $2100 and they ship it.  this eliminates any ambiguity who is responsible for shipping.  Until you recieve it in good condition, the seller is responsible.  When you give advice on shipping or pay extra, you are muddying the waters.  

I always make it clear that shipping is thier responsibility, that I am in no hurry so take whatever time needed to ship it safely.  that is all I say.

When I am the seller, I operate the same way.  I take responsbility for shipping.  I've done a lot of shipping, plus I'm an engineer/physicist so I know what it takes to protect a package.  So I never have shipping damage...well almost.  I did have a component of an amp inside the amp become dislodged during shipping and I worked with the buyer to get that fixed.  

If a seller doesn't agree to ship on their nickel and take responsiblity, then pass.  there are other peices of equipment out there.  If they seem uncertain about their shipping abilities, I pass.

Jerry

These kind of concerns are why I either buy through a dealer or through a company  when used… like Echo, or Upscale. My audio equipment is the second largest investment I have after my house. Buying used makes sense, but worrying about shipping, and perhaps a seller that is less than perfect is just not worth the stress. 
 

Choosing the right audio component has lots of uncertainty and  requires a great deal of effort. Throw on top of that, uncertainty about the seller, shipping, all possible ways you can get taken advantage of… not worth it to me. What are you going to save? 
 

I buy from dealers and companies that take the worry about shipping and condition of a component out of the equation. I can sleep at night. I know I am going to get what I paid for.

Perhaps it was buying my first car (used) in Chicago, from a completely dishonest jerk. I completely got taken. I ended up paying more for the repairs than the initial cost of the vehicle. I don’t like worrying any more. Seeking a “great deal” can have costs.

I had a pair of Thiel Viewpoints destroyed in shipping.  The price was great, the shipping was terrible.  In retrospect I should have sent him the packaging.  The price was so low it was clearly someone getting rid of something he didn't care about.  Had I taken an hour or two and made padded boxes he could've just dropped them into it would've been worth it.  

I usually only buy through Audiogon, TMR, USAM and have had very good results, with only a couple of disappointments on shipping issues. I am transitioning from a full suite of Dali Helicons in my main A/V system to Aperion Audio speakers. I found a pair of the excellent 6Ts just an hours' drive from home on Audiogon and will pick them up this weekend (they had been listed for several months and had gone unsold because seller was not willing to ship, evidently). The 6C center  came up on ebay, and it looked like the seller knew his stuff.....the speaker was priced very reasonably and was in pristine condition, with a shipping charge of $83. This was a FL to NC deal (700 miles), and that seemed fair due to the size/weight of the speaker. I couldn't afford to pass it up, because this model is seldom seen for sale, especially in this condition at the listed price ($175). A one-inch layer of solid Styrofoam underneath the speaker would have prevented the damage from happening, and the seller used pieces of that elsewhere in the box, but almost as as afterthought, not strategically placed. He (somewhat) over-protected the top of the speaker and under-protected the bottom.....I should have hired carlsbad2 to warn him that most damage comes from below, not from above. That damage being the result of being dropped from too great a distance, in most cases.

I try to avoid shipping but you can’t always buy locally. I’m in Mass so often times I just go to NH as there is no sales tax. There are a few good dealers that make it worth the trip. Audio Visual Therapy and Fidelis in Nashua are great to deal with.

I just had my second transaction with TMR and it was great , fortunately each piece arrived safe.

Earlier this year I bought an open box turntable from HiFi Heaven and it was so poorly packed I was lucky that it arrived unscathed. Really lucky. It was so ignorantly packed I will never do business with them again. They absolutely did not care.

For used gear I only buy and sell locally. Not worth the hassle and risky do to shipping and often the package is heavy adding to the risk.