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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
sabai
2,027 posts
 
I had a recent near-death experience with a pair of speakers that arrived within a fraction of destruction. The box was dropped from a height. I was lucky -- thanks to my insistence on TRIPLE boxing.

I was not so lucky recently with another poor-packaging shipment. The Ebay seller finagled a positive feedback from me with the promise of a refund. He ended up with the positive, the goods and the money.

This time round I hope I'll be lucky -- waiting on the PayPal claim.
polk432
1,142 posts
 
Sabai, sorry to hear of your loss. You seem to know how things should be packed. I hope you can recover some of your loss. Positive is meaningless if you file a claim, at least for something sold on ebay. Please list the sellers ID, so that if he lists anything cheap I'll be the first to buy it then leave negative feedback. I'd get others to do it too. Sellers like him piss me off and ruin things for sellers that care. I am usually 99% in favor of the sellers, but not irresponsible ripoffs. Best of luck.
sabai
2,027 posts
 
Polk432,
Thank you. His ID is joe0506jj.

For me it is the principle here. I don't like to lose $246 -- but it is not the end of the world. The issue is that seller misrepresented the offering then tried to put the blame for damage on the courier -- and me. This is the kind or sleazy dealing that I do not appreciate at all.

If I am at fault in a transaction I take responsibility and I pay up. I was the seller where there was a very minor blemish on a small tweak that I had honestly not even noticed. The buyer was trying to make it into a federal case. I quickly paid up. I never let a buyer walk away unhappy.
sabai
2,027 posts
 
Polk432,
I forgot to mention that the seller is also claiming that the tampering must have been done by customs. But the package was only opened for inspection by customs when I arrived to pick it up.
sabai
2,027 posts
 
Polk432,
I just read where I will have to pay for return shipping to the seller. That means upwards of $100 not including the $46 in shipping I have already paid -- for a $200 item. I decided to end the dispute. It does not make any sense to throw good money after bad. I was caught in a similar bind a while back and PayPal requested the seller put the money back in my account. He did not follow through and there was nothing to stop him. Then PayPal reversed themselves on a technicality. The seller ended up with the goods and the money. Which could well happen again in this case. The heck with it. This is not worth all the hassle.
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