Aaaargh! Damaged in transit!

Searing75

Active Member
just received two beautiful Fortes that I purchased off of EBay. Only problem is that the top back corner, and the bottom of two corners on the other, were damaged. I know. I know. Having these things shipped is a bad idea, but the seller said they would be double boxed, and packed by a professional shipping company. He/she did a decent job, but the corners could have been protected a bit better. Sooooo frustrated! The seller is putting in a claim with FedEx, and I sent a bunch of pictures.



Chris
 

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Here are a few shots of the boxes.
 

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Speakers like that have to go on pallet crates, it's a nightmare at FedEx distribution/sorting centers. I have a friend that worked at the one here in Wilton, CT a few miles from my house and he said routinely stuff was mishandled/damaged because they need to handle so many packages in a set time. Big boxes like that can get jammed up on conveyors and they use other boxes to ram through the blockages, sometimes literally riding a box down the conveyor. I had a few expensive electric guitars get ruined and they were shipped in hard cases! One had a forklift fork stab that went completely through the case and cracked the neck and the other actually still had boot prints on it from some idiot standing/riding on it and again, the neck was cracked. They paid the claims but it still sucked as two original Dean USA guitars from 1978-79 were destroyed
 
By double boxed did they mean no padding between the two boxes? That doesn't look severe enough to cause that much damage otherwise.
 
By double boxed did they mean no padding between the two boxes? That doesn't look severe enough to cause that much damage otherwise.
There was no padding between the two boxes at the corners, other than some foam sheeting. Any drop on a corner, as the boxes show, would cause the damage. As it happen.
In the before pics, the corners are pristine. I matched the grain in the before sale pics with the speakers, and they are the same ones. It happened during shipping.
The seller seems to b a good person, and was genuinely saddened by the damage.
 
I'm gonna barf.
Just as I'm to get FedEx delv'y on a turntable tomorrow.
Making good on a shipping claim is no firkin privilege.
It's like adding insult to injury.
Feel for ya.
 
Do not trust in so-called "professional shipping companies" to pack this stuff correctly. They'll make all kinds of promises and forget all about them the moment you walk out the door. Big speakers and such should only be handled by freight companies.
 
Sooooo frustrated! The seller is putting in a claim with FedEx
Somehow I knew it was gonna be them before even opening this post to see who the shipper was.
I typically wont use FedEx for big heavy/bulky items like speakers,,,if the seller insists on using them I'll usually pass on the item(s)...

Sellers like using that carrier for big heavy stuff simply because their quotes are usually the lowest.
I usually message the seller before finalizing the transaction and let them know I dont mind paying extra for another shipper.

Shame that it has to be that way. :dunno:

Anyhow sorry to see the carnage,just trust that I feel your pain as I've BTDT with that carrier in the past. :mad:

Bret P.
 
What does a damage claim like this usually entail exactly?
Depends who's filing the claim,as only one of you two can file the claim.
It's far easier for the sender to file the claim,but then you have to hope he's gonna stay on top of things.

If you were gonna file the claim,the main thing you would need is a signed/dated letter from him stating that he does'nt intend to file a claim.
Other than that it's pretty straight forward,pictures for documentation,a copy of the receipt stating value,that sorta stuff.

They're pretty good about paying for the most part,but it IS a bit of a PITA and you get NADA for your aggravation and disappointment.

Anyhow all the info on filing claims is on the FedEx website and they're fairly easy to get ahold of on the phone as well.

Good luck with this.

Bret P.
 
Depends who's filing the claim,as only one of you two can file the claim.
It's far easier for the sender to file the claim,but then you have to hope he's gonna stay on top of things.

If you were gonna file the claim,the main thing you would need is a signed/dated letter from him stating that he does'nt intend to file a claim.
Other than that it's pretty straight forward,pictures for documentation,a copy of the receipt stating value,that sorta stuff.

They're pretty good about paying for the most part,but it IS a bit of a PITA and you get NADA for your aggravation and disappointment.

Anyhow all the info on filing claims is on the FedEx website and they're fairly easy to get ahold of on the phone as well.

Good luck with this.

Bret P.
The seller has already filed the claim with FedEx. He asked for my phone number, and said FedEx may call me. My question is: What will be done? Will they return the damaged speakers to the seller for a full refund? Or, will they have me keep them, and pay me for the damage?
 
whomever has the insurance (usually the seller) gets whatever the settlement would be...when this happened to me, the seller kept my money AND the settlement and I was out the cost of the speakers...so much for the sellers high rating on Audiogon (at the time)...I was able to get him removed from Audiogon but never received anything from anyone...

mine too were "professionally packed" by the UPS Store (despite previously working out they would be sent VIA a speaker store that had the original boxes) and what arrived was a poorly packed, broken mess that were not in original boxes...

I would imagine a good seller would refund you your money and seller would keep what little they might get from the shipper...

Good luck with yours...

Bill
 
You will be lucky to get half of your investment in my experience. It is always the seller's fault for not packing it properly in their mind. Short of using a nuclear containment vault, large speakers are always at risk. Just a short drop can rip a woofer off the baffle. I will say, if Fedex packs it and there is damage, they will cover the cost provided you can establish value.
 
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