Transaction Gone Bad...

[Larry]

I recently sold my Marshall TSL60 with matching 1960a cab to buy my Mesa F-30 to someone through eBay. It arrived to them today and they claim it does not work. I shipped it fully insured to them via Fed-Ex. The amp worked 100% when I sold it to them.
Now they are attacking me via email and my cell phone claiming that I'm a swindler and ripped them off. I told them if there is a problem to go through Fed-Ex since it was insured. What else should I do. I'm not one to sell a broken piece of equipment to anyone regardless of who they are or what circumstances. What should I do if he is to take this to the next level if there is one.

I'm just a bit puzzled right now

 

[rrhea]

Careful. They could be out to rip you off. You're right to suggest they take it up with Fed Ex.

RR

 

[GWDavis28]

Larry, that blows, sorry to hear that. I've never had to deal with that situation and hope I never do.

Did you get my PM?

Glenn |B)

 

[robelinda2]

life is just crap sometimes, especially when you are the good guy and someone tries to screw you over. I hope it gets sorted out soon, surely its a fed ex problem.

 

[Wide'Iwas]

This is a complex situation. If they paided with paypal get ready paypal with withdraw the money from your account then you wil get to fight this out for the next 30 days. So you will need to make a decision if the guy is too stupid to claim it then offer a refund if he ships it back to you at his cost and I sure hope you kept your serial numbers to check in case he switched them then after that relist. I have had that problem a few times its just buyer remorse they impulse bought it I had this problem with a whammy 1 pedal guy said it did not work he shipped it back and pedal worked fine so i gave him back his 200 bucks !!!

 

[Larry]

Did you get my PM?

Glenn |B)

Responded to. Thanks for the help everyone.

 

[Warg Master]

Fed Ex need to be notified immediately!!

 

[Big Poppa]

Larry
Here is my twist.

All Parties need the benefit of the doubt. You get it for shipping an amp via fed ex that worked. The buyers could very well be right that it doesnt work. Name calling on either side doesnt make amps work. Start by mutually agreeing that you both have a problem and try to fix it together.

Have the buyers take the amp to a marshall certified tech center and have them give answer two things:
1. Was the amp damaged in shipping?
2. What is the cost to fix the amp.

If the answer to number 1 by a neutral party is that it was freight damaged then all of the criminal talk goes away and Fed ex gets to be the bad guy. You offer to help in any way to pressure fed ex

If there is no evidence of feight damage then you offer to fix the amp at said marshall service center.

The cost to fix is more than likely minimal so in the event o it being freight damaged you may offer to split based on the estimate.

Please try his benefit of the doubt logic on them and see how it works

 

[roburado]

I don't know if I'd be terribly surprised for a tube amp not to work after shipping.

Story 1: I bought a Mesa .50Caliber + long, long ago in the dark ages when I was playing non-EBMM guitars. I took a turn with the amp in the back of my SUV, then the amp fell flat on its back. It fell pretty hard. When I got it home, it just howled like crazy. The amp was almost brand new at that time. I had to take it in for repairs. They had to replace some tubes, and I think they had to fix some wiring. I can't remember exactly. That was over fifteen years ago.

Story 2: Last month, shortly after NAMM ended, I was talking to Bruce Egnater about what power amp tubes they put in their amps. I guessed EL34s. He said they prefer to ship their amps with 5881s. We both agreed that EL34s have a mystique, but, in his experience EL34s have a high failure rate. They work and sound great for a while, and then, they fail. Apparently, it happens a lot. It's just an inherent problem with EL34s, he says. Groove Tubes people have noticed this too, according to Bruce. So, they [Egnater] prefer 5881s.

Since this was a shipped item (who knows what happened during that process), it seems entirely likely that something happened during the shipping process. Whether it's the EL34s that just took a little jolt to screw them up, or there was some rough package handling, or a little of both, I'm not surprised to hear that the amp doesn't work. I would think that it's just a simple little something that the buyer can have fixed easily.

 

[roburado]

Totally agree with BP.

 

[Astrofreq]

Man, I hope it works out for the best. It doesn't sound fun. Makes me thankful for all the smooth transactions I've had.

 

[beej]

Great advice BP - sounds like exactly the right thing to do.

Hey, things go wrong from time to time. Make sure to take the high road and everything should work out fine.

 

[Colin]

Sounds like BP has dealt with the public before

 

[germangallardo]

BP = THE Man

 

[Smellybum]

there are a number of 3rd party mediators available through ebay that take the sharp edge off the disgruntled communication process.

I have been on the receiving end of DOA gear and in the cases the seller just got me to get the repair done and then paid me on production of an invoice.

I have also shipped some monitors which were wokring but arrived intact but not functioning!- it's not easy to get to the bottom of it and the carriers don't always feel compelled to resolve the issue.

It all depends on how much of a quiet life you want - if you want it resolved quickly then it might just be easiest to bite the bullet and pay for the repair... I remember shipping one boogie 22 years ago and it was just a Tube that had been smashed in transit.....

Hope it gets sorted, but totally feel your pain - those emails seem very nasty when you are sure you didn't do anything wrong.

 

[Phrat]

Its really easy to instantly be suspicious in these circumstances (as I have in the past) but the inevitability of shipping large items through carriers is that things can go wrong. Remember at this stage to keep things cool and calm and do what you can to resolve the issue.

 

[brentrocks]

Fed Ex need to be notified immediately!!

+1

 

[CudBucket]

I buy and sell alot on Ebay and use Paypal all the time. If you shipped to a Paypal verified address, you are protected by Paypal from charge-backs. That means the buyer won't just be able to take his money from you. Paypal will contact you and you'll get a chance to explain. They'll probably hold the money from both of you until it's sorted out.

More importantly, if you shipped via fed-ex and it was insured, it's on the buyer to make a claim. Give him/her whatever info is needed: tracking number, etc. and they can call Fed-Ex.

I think the guy is trying to scam you because if it was damaged in shipping, it would likely be evident by looking at the box. I'd imagine this would have been the first thing he mentioned to you. Also, if this person is gear-challenged, he might not be able to check for something as simple as a loose-tube.

You're stance should be: "I shipped it insured, you should make a claim".

Dave

 

[Wide'Iwas]

Larry

keep us posted on the outcome if you remeber too!

 

[SteveB]

I wouldn't be too suspicious of fraud right off the bat... tubes are delicate creatures and they don't travel very well. It is quite possible that the amp was damaged in transit even if the packaging isn't horribly damaged.