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Another damaged amp thanks to FedEx or a dishonest Seller

Osibisa

Osibisa

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Purchased a 2270 off the bay which was delivered this morning. Seller's pictures had no damage shown and he swears it was in perfect condition when he had FedEx box it up.

Well although the was no obvious damage to the box, somehow the lower right corner of the faceplate is bent and the power button is broken. Strange thing is that there is abrasion where the f/p bent although nothing inside the box IMO could have caused it.

Sent pictures to seller and we had a friendly back & forth via email, then his tone changed accusing me of trying to swap his amp with an already damaged one. I am quite miffed at the accusation on several levels.

I'm going to keep the amp since I planned to install a black f/p anyway, but didn't expect to have to do it so soon!
 

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Thinking the same thing, although the seller said he watched it being packaged.

Guess I threw up a red flag to him because I asked about the f/p before purchase. I just wanted to make sure it was pristine.
 
That didn't happen while in the box. Nothing in the box could have caused that scrap mark, IMO.

And I said this in another thread - cracked solder joints are real. A 40 year old unit being dropped like that cannot be good for the internals. There could be damage that you don't see\hear.
 
Are the rest of the hex-bolts in place? Looks like the hex-bolt in this corner was replaced after the drop, probably sheared. Someone knows what happened.
 
I feel your pain. The face plate is not a good place for damage. Luckily you have a black face plate to swap it out with. Buying vintage gear and having it shipped all over is like playing the slot machines in a casino. Risky......but what can we do when its our passion?
 
That black scuffing on the side edge is a little suspicious. That's a very focused dent??? It takes a good sharp blow to dent that face plate in such a smallish area. And like you said if the packing material was undamaged then - well it's been said.

Me personally - I wouldn't have much faith in the rest of the unit.

When I was dealing with ebay I often recorded serial numbers. I HAVE had a few buys try to send me back a different unit. Or if I was buying I had the seller send me an identifying mark somewhere on the unit to be used as ID later, if needed. Had that one a few times as well.

Good luck and I do feel your pain brother!
 
righteous anger is usually hiding something, I suspect it was dropped as it was being packaged
then it was too late to back away -with the hope that you (stupidly) wouldn't notice it, then turnaround
and accuse you of theft (ballsy) even though you could video the damage and include the serial number
(but if a picture of the serial number wasn't taken by the seller prior to purchase) then yes
his knee jerk reaction was a pre-emptive anticipatory counter-attack.

if it was ebay and you weren't planning on changing out the face plate, I'd send it back. Sellers
need to understand that they need to guarantee the arrival in the same shape, condition, and operational
status as when it left the seller. getting angry about it is tantamount to full admission of guilt - particularly
if they say they were there at packaging. did the seller accompany the unit all the way to ensure
it wasn't opened up for inspection. or did he ignore that minor 10' drop.

the I-was-there-during packaging is the same as it-worked-the-last-time-I-used-it -
why would an innocent seller get angry about a unit being shipped 1-3 time zones
unless there was some reason. the buyer merely opened the box.

this happens to me - buying broken stuff listed as mint&working, buying brand-new
and getting something not working. Once bought a watch listed as brand-new.
came and not working. cheesy seller said "bargain" even though the price
was a little less than brand-new (but without packaging box).

steamed me enough to write an article for ebay on how to buy a watch.
 
I tend to agree with a comment Ohighway made earlier in that whoever packed it caused the damage and with Bob's comment

Good news is that closer inspection indicates no other damage, and I was able to temporarily power the unit up with no issues noted.
 
Terrible story. One bad experience is one too many. It's horror stories like this that have me sticking to local transactions.
 
Personally, I doubt FedEx would have gone to the length to replace the screw but not to try to straighten the corner. The whole deal stinks like the Blue cheese I just ate.
 
As I mentioned in the last FedEx execution. Always pack a stereo with the assumption that this is how they will be handled.

 
Bob said:
...Sellers need to understand that they need to guarantee the arrival in the same shape, condition, and operational status as when it left the seller...
Click to expand...

Unless the seller makes such representations to the buyer, that statement is just plain wrong.

That damage however looks like it happened prior to being placed in a carton.
 
restorer-john said:
Unless the seller makes such representations to the buyer, that statement is just plain wrong.
Click to expand...

Actually, I believe it is the seller's responsibility all the way to your door. Even if the courier loses it or damages it, you go back to the seller, not the courier. It's the seller's problem to sort it out with the courier since the courier is acting as a contracted agent of (typ.) the seller, not the buyer.
 
whoaru99 said:
Actually, I believe it is the seller's responsibility all the way to your door. Even if the courier loses it or damages it, you go back to the seller, not the courier. It's the seller's problem to sort it out with the courier since the courier is acting as a contracted agent of the seller.
Click to expand...

Irrelevant who consigns the package. The ownership of the amplifier changes to the buyer once payment has been made and the freight (paid by the purchaser in most cases) is entered into, on behalf of the owner, by the seller.

It is pretty black and white here in Australia and eBay's policies do not usurp any consumer laws or buyer/seller responsibilities. There may be differences in the US, but essentially, once your money has been accepted by the seller, the amplifier belongs to you. It is up to you to ensure it gets to you place in one piece.

A good seller busts his butt to help the buyers get their gear safely, but it is all done in good faith with absolutely no guarantees that can be leant on if something goes wrong. If a third pary, ie the carrier, offers guarantees on no-damage etc, then that is another story.
 
restorer-john said:
Irrelevant who consigns the package. The ownership of the amplifier changes to the buyer once payment has been made and the freight (paid by the purchaser in most cases) is entered into, on behalf of the owner by the seller.

It is pretty black and white here in Australia and eBay's policies do not usurp any consumer laws or buyer/seller responsibilities. There may be differences in the US, but essentially, once your money has been accepted by the seller, the amplifier belongs to you. It is up to you to ensure it gets to you in one piece.

A good seller busts his butt to help the buyers get their gear safely, but it is all done in good faith with absolutely no guarantees that can be leant on if something goes wrong. If a third pary, ie the carrier, offers guarantees on no-damage etc, then that is another story.
Click to expand...


Nope.

The amp may belong to me but it your responsibility to get it to me.
 
whoaru99 said:
Nope.

The amp may belong to me but it your responsibility to get it to me.
Click to expand...

I get what you are saying, but unless the seller explicitly says he accepts responsibility, there is only the premise that the entire process is entered into in 'good faith' and as long as 'reasonable' steps were taken by the seller, on behalf of the buyer, there is absolutely no-recourse available for damage or loss directly from the seller, damage or loss that occurs once the item has left the sellers hands.

Ebay may have a policy that they 'enforce' if people want to use their site, but it in no way supercedes our consumer laws. I dealt with it many times over the years, especially with consigned things that went missing or never arrived- especially back in the 90s when everything was manual con-notes. Things have gotten a lot better, but the basics haven't really changed.

Whole pallets of stock that disappeared from store orders, especially prevalent at Christmas time...
 
I still think in a case like this the seller is responsible. IMO, the agreement to ship the item directly to me as the final destination/end user makes it a destination contract for which the seller is responsible the item is delivered.
 
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