Implications of shipping damage

p. rex

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
Hello all,

I've been away from the AK forums for quite a while, but the vintage stereo bug bit me again and I bought a gorgeous Yamaha integrated amp (a CA-1000). Tragically, it was damaged in shipping. One corner got smashed, splitting the case and scraping one faceplate corner. The shipping expense was enormous (I had it sent to the U.S. from across the Pacific), so I may agree to a partial refund as an alternative to inflicting more shipping cost on the seller. My thinking is that the faceplate damage is probably repairable (not perfectly, but well enough) by a decent auto body shop and that I can have a new cabinet built. As it happens, my folks' handyman of many years is a gifted carpenter and cabinetmaker who I think will give me a fair deal, and the automotive restorer I work with should be able to recommend someone who is good with aluminum parts. I know this may not strictly be economically rational, but the amplifier is special and deserves to be saved if possible.

Anyway, I just got my step-down transformer and am going to test for function. My question for you guys is this. If I am going to make an informed decision on whether to accept a partial refund, I want to thoroughly check the amplifier internals for trauma. None of the pot shafts seem bent and none of the switches appear to be broken, so I'm cautiously optimistic. Where should I look for damage from the drop? Are there any functional checks I should make?

Also, I know this is a long shot, but if anyone has a CA-1000 parts unit on hand, that would affect my decisionmaking.

Thanks in advance, y'all.

Cheers,

Rex
 
Get a refund total. And you challenge sale and offer to ship back. show pics. etc.. they don't want it back. so nego from there.
 
I’ve got ya, Binkman. I’m just figuring out my options. Obviously, the starting point for any negotiation is that I’m within my rights to send it back for a full refund of all costs. But the seller may well prefer to refund most of the purchase price and avoid the hassle and cost (to get back an amp of seriously reduced value). I have to decide if that’s something I’d want to entertain.
 
First I think you should file complaint with the shipping company (or refuse the delivery all together). It may be too late for this since it looks like you have the gear at your place unpacked. Second, do what Binkman said, ask for a full refund from the seller. Shipping damage occurs but if gear was packed properly, it should sustain drops. It looks like this wasn't the case.
 
I just read up on this integrated. What a sweet unit! And consequently, what a sin that it wasn't packed properly.
 
You guys guessed correctly. It was poorly packed. It was wrapped with small bubble wrap and surrounded with thin styrofoam board (and not enough of it) in a repurposed DVD player box. I thought I didn’t have to instruct the seller on how to pack the damn thing, since he had plenty of positive feedback from sales of audio gear, some of it vintage. Last time I ever trust someone on that.

Mostly I’m angry that because he was so foolish (I mean, do people really not understand how packages are handled in shipping? Or how a heavy object can bash its way through thin, flimsy materials?), and now this formerly-beautiful TOTL amplifier is damaged.

I’m about to test it for function so we can know how bad the damage is. It’s my understanding that I’ll be expected to hold on to the amplifier while the post office processes his claim. Is that correct? I am supposed to bring it to my local post office so they can assess the damage. I guess the EMS liaison people will connect with the origin country’s postal service.

*Edit* Okay, I just hooked it up and now I’m really angry. If it didn’t work, or it let the magic smoke out, I’d just have been sad. But it works, AND IT SOUNDS AMAZING. Ugh...
 
I'm surprised you think folks have any idea about how shipping boxes are handled or if they have any clue about shipping materials. It is more than obvious that the world is full of dolts on so many topics and packing to withstand the rigors of shipping is one of them. People have No idea at all.

Because this was not shipping damage but poor packing, I hope the claim is denied, but that you get full compensation for the cost of repair if you so choose. Shame about such a nice chunk of gear but it happens all the time.

Good luck with the recovery of repair costs.
 
BS is spot-on. We all know how packages are transported and handled. It is the responsibility of the shipper to package an item properly, and there are far too many cited instances where this is NOT the case. I have personal experience with several instances, and there are literally hundreds/thousands of similar stories.
 
You probably have no idea how hard that shipper worked to get the foam peanuts in there to protect that super-delicate dial pointer.

I'm not laughing at you, but just shaking my head at the level of ignorance some seem to have achieved. Worse yet, I fear I may be hexing myself. I have another unit expected in a day or two, and I cringe every time I receive a carton.
 
Well, I’m about to haul the thing off to the post office for a damage/packing assessment. We’ll see what they have to say.

And those clowns did a number on that Sansui (9090?).
 
And those clowns did a number on that Sansui (9090?).
You mean the guy that thought peanuts were designed to protect a 52-pound piece of electronics? Can't have anything that compresses to nothing, shifts as it moves or loses air. That unit should have been immobilized in some styrofoam sheets of good thickness so that the inner box allowed absolutely no movement of the item at all. Then a nice 2" protective layer of building grade styrofoam sheet to hold the inner box inside the outer box.

Once a peanut is compressed, it is junk. Once a bubble pops it is junk. Neither is designed to be packing material for anything heavy.
 
Reminds me of a 60's "Samsonite" luggage ad where they threw a suit-case in to a young gorilla's cage to play with.. tossed the sucker all over and didn't open. but appro. memory.
 
You mean the guy that thought peanuts were designed to protect a 52-pound piece of electronics? Can't have anything that compresses to nothing, shifts as it moves or loses air. That unit should have been immobilized in some styrofoam sheets of good thickness so that the inner box allowed absolutely no movement of the item at all. Then a nice 2" protective layer of building grade styrofoam sheet to hold the inner box inside the outer box.

Once a peanut is compressed, it is junk. Once a bubble pops it is junk. Neither is designed to be packing material for anything heavy.

Coincidentally, I had an SX-1250 shipped to the midwest from the Carolinas, packed by a UPS store. Huge 36" cubic single-wall box, stuffed with more foam peanuts than you'd find for free on Craigslist, and yet it somehow made it to my door with no damage. It had shifted to a lower/outer corner with only a couple of inches of peanuts left in place to cushion it, and a couple more handling incidents might have destroyed it, but karma was with me that day. http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/found-pioneer-sx-1250.502388/page-3#post-6687419

It's incredible how clueless even these "professional" shippers can be.
 
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