Appropriate handling for misrepresented/broke items, or items that don't arrive

[jzucker]

I have two purchases that have gone awry. (I know - i definitely have the worst luck).

1. First is an amplifier that I bought from Ontario through reverb. It arrived with the box completely crushed, several large holes in it and a USPS sticker on it that says "Received in damaged condition" which I guess was stuck on there when it was handed off from canada post to USPS. There is no cosmetic damage to the amp but it exhibits motorboating effect and I've done some initial diagnosing on it, replaced all the tubes and the behavior is still there. I don't want to take it to a local repairman because a) I don't have a good tube amp repairman and b) if the repairman can't find the problem, i'm screwed. The seller filed a damage claim but it's now been over a week since I filled out the damage claim to canada post and i've heard nothing back.
2. A benedetto Bambino I purchased (through paypal with protection), outside of reverb never showed up. It's now been 7-8 days since it shipped from CT and it was sent USPS priority 2 day, USPS has no scan of it other than it arrived in MA a week ago. They can give no progress on it other than saying it will arrive later than expected. They literally don't know where it is. USPS is doing a tracer on it and supposedly will have an answer tomorrow about whether they can locate it.

From both the buyer and seller's point of view, ethically when do you offer/expect a refund?

My point of view on a damaged item is that the insurance claim is between the seller and the shipper. When faced with this situation as a seller, I would issue the refund right away as long as the buyer is willing to work with the shipper's claim department. In the case of the missing item, if the shipper cannot determine where the item is and if it were me, I would file a missing shipment claim and refund the buyer right away.

What are your thoughts?

[gitman]

"If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all..."
Sorry for all the trouble you're facing here but judging from my own experiences with USPS I predict a long wait ... Some 2.5 years ago one of my students
bought a B120 from Roger Borys and he shipped it to Frankfurt/Germany where someone stole it, re-labeled a different+empty box and sent that off to Okinawa where it stayed...
Because Roger is a stand-up guy he built a second guitar and that shipment went through without a hitch. However, it took him 6 months of un-nerving communication with the carrier before they a) admitted that something went wrong while the guitar was in their system and b) he received a title for a re-embursement. Not sure how much he actually got back from them. He said it was an absolute nightmare dealing with these people.
You are in a better position compared to european customers because over here the seller is NOT responsible for the shipment once it's handed over to the shipper. So don't lose hope.

[whiskey02]

Sorry you're having problems Jack, but glad you're reunited with the guitar! Perhaps you won't appreciate my comments just now but here they are anyway.
You are a very good player and seemingly quite astute with guitars and amps; you probably know just "want you want" and what you "expect and demand" from a piece of gear better than many players. That is, you have high standards, in a good way. Unfortunately 99% of people selling gear online are nimrods trying to sell their sh$t online. You just had a good experience with Gruhn, not a surprise. I think for what you've must have paid in shipping through out US and abroad, that you might be better served by traveling to Nashville or NYC to pick out just what you want. One can have great luck buying online, but it is good luck. How many times have you played a bunch of guitars at a store or show, and maybe found one that you liked or none that you'd buy? All those dogs you've played are for sale online, and some buyers are gonna get stuck with them, and that lucky sob is gonna score a great guitar that they'll love.
In short, you're too good of a player to take chances.
And now for my most controversial remark; you play well enough that no one listening really cares what guitar you're playing when you post a video, you can make em' all sound good!

[Gilpy]

USPS seems to be having some very long delays. An “overnight express delivery” that I sent recently took 2 weeks.

[jzucker]

Sorry you're having problems Jack, but glad you're reunited with the guitar! Perhaps you won't appreciate my comments just now but here they are anyway.
You are a very good player and seemingly quite astute with guitars and amps; you probably know just "want you want" and what you "expect and demand" from a piece of gear better than many players. That is, you have high standards, in a good way. Unfortunately 99% of people selling gear online are nimrods trying to sell their sh$t online. You just had a good experience with Gruhn, not a surprise. I think for what you've must have paid in shipping through out US and abroad, that you might be better served by traveling to Nashville or NYC to pick out just what you want. One can have great luck buying online, but it is good luck. How many times have you played a bunch of guitars at a store or show, and maybe found one that you liked or none that you'd buy? All those dogs you've played are for sale online, and some buyers are gonna get stuck with them, and that lucky sob is gonna score a great guitar that they'll love.
In short, you're too good of a player to take chances.
And now for my most controversial remark; you play well enough that none of really care what guitar you're playing when you post a video, you can make em' all sound good!

I hear what you're saying regarding gruhn and NYC but the days of walking into gruhn and visiting manny's and finding a dozen '60s gibson archtops is long gone. Several folks have told me recently that they visited a bunch of high end shops in NYC and there were few old archtops. Lots of eastmans, ibanez, some newer gibson and a lot of cheap stuff. I do check the listings at lark street and several other places but it's not like it was 10 years ago. When the pandemic is more manageable i'll take a guitar hunting trip but realistically, in 2022 the instruments are (unfortunately) more likely on reverb and ebay than in brick and mortar shops...

[vintagelove]

I've been selling high end vintage recording equipment for almost 20 years (hence the name vintagelove). If an item is damaged in shipping, it is between the seller, and the shipping company. It is imperative that as a seller, you insure the item for the full value, and bombproof the item. If they didn't do that, it's their fault, not yours Jack.


About the amp, do you have a soldering iron? Perhaps get permission from the seller and "chopstick" around to see if you can find a damaged solder joint. It just sucks to send an amp back for what could be simple, especially when amps are easy to damage because of their weight.

Then again, unless it's something special, great amps are everywhere. The easiest fix is to put it back in the box and return it.

[Gitterbug]

CNN yesterday ran a video report on freight train looting in LA. Thousands and thousands of items get stolen from Union Pacific's railway cars and containers, which are easy to break into. Ground littered with torn packaging and things the thieves didn't want after all. After that sight, who can trust a valuable guitar in the hands of couriers? Or believe in tracking info?

[Litterick]

CBSLA has the story; another good reason to shop locally.

[jzucker]

I've been selling high end vintage recording equipment for almost 20 years (hence the name vintagelove). If an item is damaged in shipping, it is between the seller, and the shipping company. It is imperative that as a seller, you insure the item for the full value, and bombproof the item. If they didn't do that, it's their fault, not yours Jack.


About the amp, do you have a soldering iron? Perhaps get permission from the seller and "chopstick" around to see if you can find a damaged solder joint. It just sucks to send an amp back for what could be simple, especially when amps are easy to damage because of their weight.

Then again, unless it's something special, great amps are everywhere. The easiest fix is to put it back in the box and return it.

This amp case is really screwy because the seller is in canada so I don't want to pay the international freight (not to mention insurance) to send it back unless I get a pre-paid label. However, the seller shipped it outside of reverb and for those cases and because the seller issued a damage claim, reverb requires that the buyer wait until the the seller's carrier's claim finishes processing. They told me that this delay is a requirement because of the non-reverb-purchased label. They have sent me the link to this policy 3x now and all 3 times I have replied back saying that I should not be held hostage by the seller's choice of where to purchase a label and have asked to speak to a supervisor but they have ignored my request at any turn. I could contact my CC company but the first thing they will tell me is to send it back and that they will then reimburse me...

And yes, I could poke around with chopsticks and re-solder some connections but as soon as I do that, I own it so if I don't definitely solve the problem, i'm stuck.