How not to ship speakers...

[digital_dreamer]

(Moderators: If this post does not belong here, please move it. Apologizes in advance, as I don’t know where it belongs.)

I just got a Paradigm CC-470 from audiogon.com. The speaker was rated 9/10 and was in "mint" condition, according to a email reply sent from the seller. However, due to shoddy packaging and securing, the speaker was received in a less-than-favorable condition. No insurance was tacked on, but I fail to see how insurance would cover something that clearly wasn't the fault of the carrier.

I contacted the seller and told him I would be sending this product back, packaged properly, for a full refund. Surprisingly, I did get a reply. The seller wrote that he “packed it as tightly as I could imagine” and blames the carrier for mishandling the shipment. He told me not to send it back and that he would check with the carrier first regarding a claim. I don’t believe the carrier is responsible at all, as the photos will testify. I’m actually surprised they didn’t receive more damage, a testament to Paradigm’s build quality.

I’m not interested in the speakers in this condition. If I was, I would have settled for something of lower quality for a lower price. Anyhow, I’m sending them back. Wish me luck.

The following are the photos of the box and speakers. Boggles the mind what he was thinking. Likely, he just wasn’t.

Box could not be carried by built-in handles, as it was falling apart. Notice overlaping seam coming apart. No tape securing the seams or covering the gaps. No packing on three sides! Partial styrofoam on one side only.

Notice humongous, unprotected gap on bottom.

The following are the more obvious and visible areas of damage on the speaker enclosure:

I’m sure some of you have experienced something like this at one time or another. So, do you have any thoughts, or just sympathy?

regards,
MAJ

 

[Kai]

Looks like poor packaging and poor handling to me.
Sympathy for you.
Another reason I do not buy from private parties but that is just my personal preference. Others have had great experiences.
Good luck to you but I have a feeling you may be out of luck.

 

[Tomorrow]

I just last week had a similar experience with a couple of oak Infinity Reference bookshelves. The (fleabay) seller packed them ever so neatly GRILL TO GRILL, with bubble wrap surrounding the backs and bottoms of the speakers only. (Protection where ya really need it, eh?!)

The corners of the grill fabric were completely shredded and worn away, the veneer damaged, rendering a lovely pair of speakers into a second row Goodwill Industries sale item.

 

[corysmith01]

Wow, that is simply shocking that someone would even dare package, let alone ship a speaker like the CC-470 in that manner. I mean, that's a Dell box for crying out loud. And that styrofoam is definitely NOT what studio series Paradigms come with. I know cause I used to own them. They come with a much softer, much thicker styrofoam that slides around the speaker and forms a barrier. I can't for the life of me imagine actually walking out my front door with a speaker "packaged" like this and think "yeah, this'll totally make it there okay." Is this guy for real? What a joker.

 

[mustang_steve]

There is a reason why I insist ebayers ship a product in original packaging if possible, and if not, I request them to double-box...I'll pay extra for that piece of mind.

I got burned on a laptop lcd panel due to poor packaging...never twice.

 

[WmAx]

I once received a McIntosh amplifier shipped to my door exactly like that! I was horrified! However, by some miracle, no damage was incurred on the product.

-Chris

 

[mulester7]

I once received a McIntosh amplifier

.....aaahh....(ears perk up)....WmAx, youse still got it?.......

 

[WmAx]

.....aaahh....(ears perk up)....WmAx, youse still got it?.......

Sorry, no, that was years ago.

-Chris

 

[j_garcia]

He apparently doesn't understand what proper packaging means...

I got one pair of speakers from a private seller and even though he double boxed them (poory I might add), one grille was damaged. Fortunately, it was an easy fix.

 

[conseit68]

if i can ever get enough posts to put up my classifieds i will make sure that i pack corners and all after reading this posts...thanks guys.

 

[highfihoney]

name the seller.

from the pics you have showed us it looks to me like a 4 year old packed the speakers,you should give us the sellers audiogon username so the rest of us know to avoid him.

i do alot of buying on audiogon & after looking at that mess of a packaging job im certian that i want no part of that seller,you should also read audiogon's rules for trading on their site,no matter who's fault the damage was ALL sellers on audiogon are required to give a full refund to the buyer & not make the buyer wait on insurance.

now all the rules in the world dont add up to a hill of beans if the seller is a snake & just dont care but if he sells alot on audiogon they will barr him from selling if he dont comply.

file a dispute with audiogon asap.

 

[highfihoney]

I once received a McIntosh amplifier shipped to my door exactly like that! I was horrified! However, by some miracle, no damage was incurred on the product.

-Chris

Boy did you get lucky,most of the time any mac amp that was poorly packed gets wasted,when i bought the mc1201 amps the seller still had all the factory boxes but i was sweatin it waiting to see if they arrived safely.

 

[digital_dreamer]

Long story made short: I sent this CC speaker (pictured in the first post) back with the understanding that I would be reimbursed. (Don't call me naive!) I just got a email saying that he has relisted the speaker to help cover the cost of the reimbursement.

I just found the reenlisted speaker on AudiogoN. Caveat emptor!

regards,
MAJ

 

[highfihoney]

Long story made short: I sent this CC speaker (pictured in the first post) back with the understanding that I would be reimbursed. (Don't call me naive!) I just got a email saying that he has relisted the speaker to help cover the cost of the reimbursement.

I just found the reenlisted speaker on AudiogoN. Caveat emptor!

regards,
MAJ

Hmmmm,you should not have sent the speaker back to the ZERO feedback seller,now he has your cash & the speaker

There isnt a shipping company in the world that will honor an insurance claim on that packing job,for the package to qualify for declared value insurance it would have needed to be packed with atleast 2 inches of packing material on all sides.

I looked at his new ad & he didnt even bother to mention that the speaker was damaged durring shipping he just says there are 3 scuffs on it

 

[JaceTheAce]

You can take him to small claims court for misrepresentation of product. You have a right as a consumer, no matter if you purchased from a company or third party, to have the seller provide due reasonable care in packaging the product appropriately.

And, since he did business on the internet, he opened a contract of privity with every consumer of every state of the USA to do business. This means that if you take him to small claims court, he must show up at your local courthouse, no matter where he resides.