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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
 
Polk432,
I threw in the towel. The cost of shipping the item back plus the fact that I can get screwed even if I do puts an end to this. I was caught in this bind before with PayPal. They reversed themselves and the seller ended up with the returned item and the money. I'm too old to play these games anymore for a couple of hundred dollars.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Sabai, wow, you basically hijacked Etmerritt33's thread over a couple hundred dollar tweak? Maybe next time you should just start your own thread. I mean I feel bad for anyone who gets screwed, but that's life, it happens to buyers and sellers.
If you have that much to say, start your own thread, don't hijack another's.
sabai
2,027 posts
 
Jmcgrogan2,
With all due respect, I am responding to Polk432 here. If Etmerritt33 feels I have "hijacked" his thread then I am sure he can speak up for himself. With all due respect, no one's name is attached to any thread. This is an open forum.

Your "shove-off" is noted.
dhl93449
455 posts
 
One thing sellers/shippers can do to protect themselves from rutheless shippers is to use shock detection devices called "shockwatches". These are little accelerometers that trip if the package is exposed to a "G" rating over a certain amount. Once tripped, its obvious (they cannot be reset). One type uses a ball bearing suspended by four springs in a clear plastic case. You can stick these on the inside box of a double box, for example. If a G force higher that the rating is experienced, the ball pops out of the springs and you have a jumble of parts. You want to scare the heck out of a UPS clerk, just point out the shock watches on the box.

When we used to ship very expensive semiconductor manufacturing equipment we used these, and they were indispensable for filing claims with shippers later, esp if there was "invisable" damage or no obvious damage to the packing materials.

I have also found that over-insuring tends to make shippers handle packages more carefully. Not sure fire, but insuring an amp for $1000 generally gets UPS attention because they do not wnat to come close to paying that claim.
jp1208
502 posts
 
I recently recieved some expensive speaker stands from an up and coming speaker builder who shipped these things in a single thin ply box with about zero protection around these stands. They snapped in half where they were only glued together. Easily the most horrendous packing and build job EVER! The mfgr did nothing to help and there was $1000 in insurance paid. UPS wanted to inspect the contents before shipping but the mfgr said everything was fine and signed off on the disclosure. I was the one who needed to file a claim and then after the outcome the mfgr would go from there. There was no way I was going down this road with UPS and they already told me the mfgr signed off for all the packing. I ended up re-gluing and then screwing the pieces back together. These stands are not your ordinary stands. They hold some expensive crossover parts and the wire that is attached to the crossovers were the only thing holding these stands together. The mfgr new this would be a pain in the A$$ and took the stand that it was not his fault and to let him no what the status is after filing.

This dude has no clue how UPS works and is building and shipping speakers in the DIY market and it will always be the burden of the buyer if anything goes wrong.

I understand exactly what Etmerrit is talking about and when we take special care in shipping items we expect the same in return. Hurry up and get it out the door usually doesn't work out to well.
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