Amp Damaged in Shipping - Question

Meeotch

Meeotch

Well-known member
So I bought an amp on Reverb that was damaged in shipping. Luckily there hasn't been any drama yet with the seller after I sent detailed photos and explained the situation. I went ahead and requested a refund through Reverb, and the seller is going to initiate the return process on Monday.

The packing job was poor, and the box got pretty beat up in transit. He had it packed by a packing service called Wagner's Wrap Pack and Ship and UPS was the courier. He said he paid for insurance, but I'm not familiar with how UPS handles these types of claims - I know if you pay to have UPS pack an item, and it gets damaged, claims are pretty smooth. But if a 3rd party packs it, I have no clue.

Anyways, I'm going to need to source a new box and packaging materials, and I'm just wondering if it's assumed that I get stuck with the time and cost of this process? Or would insurance pay to have me just drop the amp off at a UPS store and have them pack it? If anyone has gone through this process before, please chime in. Thanks!
 
In my experience they usually ask you to get a quote on fixing it and then reimburse that amount (or an estimate that says it's totaled). If the Reverb guy is just accepting a return then you don't really have to worry about the claim, but a nice guy move is sharing photos of the damage and pack job. You're probably on the hook for return shipping but if the seller is nice maybe he gets that cost included in the claim and reimburses you (or maybe negotiate this with him to front you the ship fees for him to include in the claim).

This actually worked in my favor once since I was shipping to GZA anyway so wound up getting the new stuff covered too since it was all on one invoice.
 
Fuck that, send it back due to damage. You don't need to worry about the claim process, that's the seller's problem. They should provide you a return label, (Reverb), and refund your money when the seller receives it back. Shouldn't be any drama. Request a refund online, and the seller should accept it. Get Reverb involved for a return label.

If you paid via PayPal and they dick around, file a claim. You'll never see Reverb work so fast. They get pissed when you do it, but they'll get the hint real quick. Otherwise, you'll play email tag for 2 weeks, and I don't play that shit. I play the PayPal claim card, tell them Reverb's dragging their feet, and they light a fire up their ass. Works every time.
 
Thanks, yeah no way am I on the hook for return shipping, but I just wasn't sure if the assumption is that I spend $20-$30 and a couple hours of my time with a proper packing job, or if there is a means of just bringing the amp to UPS and having them pack it? I'm not worried about getting a return shipping label but that's only half the battle IMO.
 
Reverb as well as all forums should have a mandatory amp packaging video. You should have to take a test after watching the video that proves you viewed it and learned from it. If you can’t duplicate what you see, you can’t ship an amp. There are so many Imbeciles out there that for whatever reason can’t package an amp or guitar properly. It’s mind blowing. Laziness? Some sort of mental disability that robs the packager of rational thinking and problem solving? I haven’t a clue. Once you’ve watched the video, and you’ve taken the test and passed, there should be severe repercussions if you ship a poorly packaged amp, even if it arrives ok, you’ve proven that you’ve failed to properly follow instructions and you’ve proven you can’t be trusted. You will no longer be in the circle of trust. Lifetime ban from the forum on the spot.
 
mooncobra said:
Reverb as well as all forums should have a mandatory amp packaging video. You should have to take a test after watching the video that proves you viewed it and learned from it. If you can’t duplicate what you see, you can’t ship an amp. There are so many Imbeciles out there that for whatever reason can’t package an amp or guitar properly. It’s mind blowing. Laziness? Some sort of mental disability that robs the packager of rational thinking and problem solving? I haven’t a clue. Once you’ve watched the video, and you’ve taken the test and passed, there should be severe repercussions if you ship a poorly packaged amp, even if it arrives ok, you’ve proven that you’ve failed to properly follow instructions and you’ve proven you can’t be trusted. You will no longer be in the circle of trust. Lifetime ban from the forum on the spot.
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Lifetime ban, after the public whipping.

People dont want to spend the time to properly pack. They figure their not making enough on the sale. They're pissed they had to cut their price to make the sale.

And they figure insurance will cover them, but if its not packed correctly insurance won't cover them. The Paypal or Reverb return policy will cause them to eat the damages.

Too late by then. I've had irreplaceable rare speakers destroyed by idiots packing jobs. Thats the real shame.
 
If you paid by credit card, they can cancel the transaction, then it’s on the seller to make you whole, as you have your money and his amp.
 
njshred said:
If you paid by credit card, they can cancel the transaction, then it’s on the seller to make you whole, as you have your money and his amp.
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In my experience, you have to be careful with that. Paypal requires the buyer to cover return shipping. PP and CC companies are going to want to see proof of return to seller before closing out the transaction.

I've had sellers try to dodge the return delivery to delay the refund.
 
TooMuchGear said:
In my experience, you have to be careful with that. Paypal requires the buyer to cover return shipping. PP and CC companies are going to want to see proof of return to seller before closing out the transaction.

I've had sellers try to dodge the return delivery to delay the refund.
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If the seller blew the money and doesn't have it to do the refund, they likely will stall...
 
That sucks. It’s been a few years but I received a broken headstock on a guitar and the guy did not pay for insurance. But he did refund me. I paid for return shipping just to be done with it.
 
I'd wait to see what UPS wants you to do. Even if it's a 3rd party, they still need to comply with standards to carry UPS. I would think that should still work in your favor for any claims by the seller. They may just come inspect it and pick it up, crap packing and all.

edit: oh wait, you went through reverb, they don't have return instructions? I thought they had a lot of protections for buyers. I would ask them who's paying for packing and return shipping.
 
This happened to me, but I was the seller and I packed the EVH 100w Stealth in the original box just the way it had been packed when new. FedEx obviously dumped it from a top shelf and it landed on a corner. A transformer came loose and took out all the tubes like they were bowling ball pins. Buyer filed a PayPal claim before he even contacted me. PayPal immediately yanked the funds from my account. Buyer said I had packed everything right, sent photos for m to forward to FedEx. FedEx refunded my shipping fees and then asked how much I'd take for them to let me keep the amp, since they had no use for it. I forget what I offered, but they paid me the full eBay sales price and sent it back to my house. I had Howard from EVH repair it for $200 and then I sold it again for even more. Worked out pretty well for me.
 
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