I got BURNED!

Damn it, I know with as much buying online as I do it was bound to happen...but did it really have to happen on the most expensive piece of gear I have bought to date?

I bought a Whest ps30r phonostage off of usaudiomart. spoke with the guy several times, I was assured it was in excellent shape with less then 60 hours of use. I thought about it for days but after reading all the glowing reviews I decided to take the plunge and pull the trigger. Shipping was fast and the transaction was pleasant all around.

Today I picked up the unit from fedex and headed home very excited. I unboxed it and immediately noticed a problem, when turned over there was a definite clunk like something was loose, well I had to open it up to set the gain and load setting , as per Whest instructions, anyway so I opened her up and was knocked over with a serious burnt smell, there are burn marks on the inside cover where the power supply is and the power supple is what is loose. it can be moved up and down on its bolt. I tried plugging it in but the unit wont come on at all, nothing, nada.

I am so angry right now, this is obviously something that happened before shipping, the seller straight up sold me a D.O.A. unit. I have already sent him a polite email asking how he would like to proceed and will be opening a paypal claim tonight.

I was so excited to have my first real piece of serious hi fi. My first taste of the high end and it turns out to be a lemon.

sorry guys, I just had to vent......
 
Be a gent, proceed slowly and firmly, and hopefully get this sorted out.

Very sorry for your situation.
 
Sorry to hear of this and I wish you the best dealing with the sob that did this to you. Hopefully paypal will see things your way.
 
Sorry to hear that. I got burned selling a DAC on the big auction site earlier this year. It really stinks what some people will do. :mad:
 
Sorry to hear of the problem.

I must say I think you may have jumped the gun a bit by immediately saying you will be filing a PP claim before first ascertaining how he intends on handling the situation.

I hope it all works out in any case.
 
At least you have Paypal protection... beware of any seller that insists on "Friends & Family" payment.
 
Sorry to hear of the problem.

I must say I think you may have jumped the gun a bit by immediately saying you will be filing a PP claim before first ascertaining how he intends on handling the situation.

I hope it all works out in any case.

Well I am waiting to hear back from him before opening a claim. I sure hope he makes it right.

here is a photo of the inner top panel burn marks



link to the power supply movement video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rfQP9xipYM&feature=youtu.be
 
looks like lots more than 60 hours use ...
the transformer is maybe missing a nut ..if so it could be wedged inside and shorting something out
 
looks like lots more than 60 hours use ...
the transformer is maybe missing a nut ..if so it could be wedged inside and shorting something out

do you think the burn marks on the inside top panel could happen from normal use? Aside from those burn marks there is a real serious burnt smell when you open it up. Not sure that could happen during shipping.
 
it wont burn during shipping unless it was on fire at the time of packaging .
some units do run hot though and mark the inside surface ..cant say whether that one runs hot or not .
in any case it shouldn't smell of burning
 
It's good that you got pics of the burned areas. Those might come in handy.
Hope it all works out for ya.
 
Work through the paypal/ebay claims process. It can take a while, but I got my money back when a supposedly "like new" tuner arrived broken. I know it didn't happen in shipping as parts were missing, and the box was not torn or open!

In my case, the seller had almost no ratings. Ebay shut him down in fact. Now I always watch for the seller rating, and haven't been burned again.

What was the seller's rating?
 
It was on usaudiomart.com not ebay. First time I've done business on that site.

The seller has gotten back to me and not surprisingly he is making a insurance claim through fedex. I am waiting for him to call me back, we'll see how this plays out.

I've emailed Whest but they are in London so I don't expect an answer back till tomorrow at the earliest. You guys think this could be repaired?
 
It was on usaudiomart.com not ebay. First time I've done business on that site.

The seller has gotten back to me and not surprisingly he is making a insurance claim through fedex. I am waiting for him to call me back, we'll see how this plays out.

I've emailed Whest but they are in London so I don't expect an answer back till tomorrow at the earliest. You guys think this could be repaired?

No Don't do that it goes right back to him, and get your money back. Honestly, I suspect that this person is going to look to circumvent Paypal. This is not shipping damage. If the money is not returned in a few hours, file the claim.

This is a person trying to cheat you, they deserve no consideration. I would suspect they got a plan in place already for how to drain the account. It's probably already empty.

Sorry to hear of your misfortune....

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Well I just spoke with him and he seems bewildered as to how this could happen in shipping, me too. He says he has filed a claim with fedex and it usually takes 5 days to get a response...... dang this sucks.
 
Well I just spoke with him and he seems bewildered as to how this could happen in shipping, me too. He says he has filed a claim with fedex and it usually takes 5 days to get a response...... dang this sucks.

I wouldn't wait to file the Paypal claim. It's obvious that he's trying to pull one over on you.

cubdog
 
I wouldn't wait to file the Paypal claim. It's obvious that he's trying to pull one over on you.

cubdog

I agree. File now.

I have been taken for a ride on a cartridge once too, when it was inspected by the rebuilder it was obvisous it was catastrophically damaged. Do not give this guy time to play a game. Tell him to transfer the money back now, and you over night it back to him. Costs you some cash, but best to let him deal with the "insurance claim". Thieves lie....don't let him do that.

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Start the complaint in the eBay resolution center now. It's not an instant process anyway, so you really lose nothing by opening the case now, and you can close it any time if you actually felt the need to do so.

This damage obviously can't happen during shipping. He is just looking for someone else to scam; if not you, then fedex. Don't play along.
 
Yeah, I went back and forth on a JBL amp I got a few years ago - wasn't packed well, had a nasty smell, and since I checked it without plugging it in, there were all kinds of burn marks on the circuit board. Guy swore he'd had it tested before he shipped it, then completely disappeared. Ebay got me a refund, but it was very touch and go for a presmoked piece of junk.
File your paypal complaint RIGHT away, for the specific problem ...
 
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