Bad News 250 Ti's

[gmarascortt]

Just purchased a set of 250Ti's......should make me happy! Right?

UPDATE: Just partially unwrapped the new 250Ti's and I am just sick.

*both the tweeter screens are smashed in
*both grill frames are cracked and broken in two spots
*bottom edge of both cabinets are way more damaged than the sellers pictures indicated
*one of the bottom rear corners has severe water damage(still feels wet....actually) and looks to be unrepairable

I am afraid to totally take off all the shrink wrap. Scared I will find the real damage!

This is all before I even find out if they sonically perform.

Well....I guess I will contact and inquire what can be done between the seller, shipper, e-bay, and paypal.

I've got nobody to blame but myself!:banghead: I knew better...thats what hurts so bad.:crying: Please wish me luck.

[jbl_daddy]

Could have happened to anyone of us, mine came from 1200 miles away. Where did you find yours?
Mark

[gferrell]

I just hope something good turns out for you. We never like disappointment.

[gmarascortt]

Could have happened to anyone of us, mine came from 1200 miles away. Where did you find yours?
Mark


Mark,
Mine came from Los Angeles. I live in Seminole, Florida.....about 2,600 miles away!:eek: Alot can happen along I-10.

[gmarascortt]

Here are a few pictures.

[pathfindermwd]

Very hisheartening. They look like they can be salvaged, but it will take alot of effort. The bottoms are trashed, but you knew they had problems. Let them dry out, and sand them down; get the bondo out, paint them black. Did you have shipping insurance? The tweeters look as if they were damaged in transport. The Grilles can be made out of mdf, so that's not a problem. As long as the other drivers are o.k., it shouldn't be a total waste of money. Even if the woofers do have problems I have a friend who bought brand new woofers for his 250ti's to make sure they keep running, his original price was $2k, plus the grand he spent on the new woofers. I just bought 044ti replacement parts from another forum member, not cheap. My point it that even if they were in perfectly good shape, vintage gear costs money to maintain. We have all been there. Get what you can out of the seller/insurance, and get to work.

[gmarascortt]

Very hisheartening. They look like they can be salvaged, but it will take alot of effort. The bottoms are trashed, but you knew they had problems. Let them dry out, and sand them down; get the bondo out, paint them black. Did you have shipping insurance? The tweeters look as if they were damaged in transport. The Grilles can be made out of mdf, so that's not a problem. As long as the other drivers are o.k., it shouldn't be a total waste of money. Even if the woofers do have problems I have a friend who bought brand new woofers for his 250ti's to make sure they keep running, his original price was $2k, plus the grand he spent on the new woofers. I just bought 044ti replacement parts from another forum member, not cheap. My point it that even if they were in perfectly good shape, vintage gear costs money to maintain. We have all been there. Get what you can out of the seller/insurance, and get to work.


I can't agree with you more!

[doyall]

... Get what you can out of the seller/insurance, and get to work.

The problem I have run into when invoking the shipper's insurance is that the buyer will be reimbursed his cost and have to surrender the goods to the shipper. If you really want to rehabilitate the item(s), you have to wait for the goods to show back up on eBay and buy them again. It is a major PITA no matter what. I feel for you. Been there, done that.

[Titanium Dome]

The problem I have run into when invoking the shipper's insurance is that the buyer will be reimbursed his cost and have to surrender the goods to the shipper. If you really want to rehabilitate the item(s), you have to wait for the goods to show back up on eBay and buy them again. It is a major PITA no matter what. I feel for you. Been there, done that.

Yes, my experience as well. :(

[stony22]

that sucks. I hate shipping companies... From the pics so far they are salvageble. Pull the tweeters out and if you pull them apart simply pop the titanium back out. Try to smooth the covers as good as possible. As for the bottoms sand and bondo them and paint just the lower end black to the line around.( that is if the rest of the cab's are in good enough shape). The grills most likely can be glued and braced. Good luck eitherway. I would try to salvage them if possible to keep them alive..

[berf]

If you can get $200 from the seller for his bad packing you've almost got enough for a pair of replacement tweets. They show up on eBay fairly often, just never at a reasonable price. The grilles seems repairable, a good furniture guy could handle the bad veneer. In six months you'll forget this nightmare and have many years of enjoyment in its place.

[gmarascortt]

Thank you everyone for your kind and thoughtful feedback! And thanks for keeping me positive!:applaud:

[SEAWOLF97]

Pull the tweeters out and if you pull them apart simply pop the titanium back out. Try to smooth the covers as good as possible.

have you ever done that with 044Ti's ?? I have and documented it in a thread here, somewhere ....not quite as easy as you think ...and although they may then be workable, the creases are never all gone.


If you can get $200 from the seller for his bad packing you've almost got enough for a pair of replacement tweets.

that would be a good price ..you can always find anomalies to prove any point. I've also seen auctions where they were $200 each.

personally, if I'd paid that much for the pair + shipping ($500 ?) and had to do that much restoration to get them back to acceptable, a complete refund would be preferred. I haven't seen your test of the drivers, there may be more damage that you are not yet aware of.

it may take a while to find another pair, but why should you have to invest more time/money to fix the negligence of the packer/shipper ?


Very hisheartening. They look like they can be salvaged, but it will take alot of effort. The bottoms are trashed, but you knew they had problems. Let them dry out, and sand them down; get the bondo out, paint them black. Did you have shipping insurance? The tweeters look as if they were damaged in transport. The Grilles can be made out of mdf, so that's not a problem. As long as the other drivers are o.k., it shouldn't be a total waste of money. Even if the woofers do have problems I have a friend who bought brand new woofers for his 250ti's to make sure they keep running, his original price was $2k, plus the grand he spent on the new woofers. I just bought 044ti replacement parts from another forum member, not cheap. My point it that even if they were in perfectly good shape, vintage gear costs money to maintain. We have all been there. Get what you can out of the seller/insurance, and get to work.

I agree with most of this post.


So sorry for your pain, but don't suffer another moment with broken speakers.
go for a FULL REFUND, ship them back, and go buy 250tis from someone else ...

It may take a while, but be persistent, its YOUR MONEY and you did nothing wrong.

and this one.

[berf]

Last pair of 044ti's on eBay went for $135. I would hate to see another pair of 18ti's get scrapped but the last ones went for for way under $300. There's hope.

If the 250's were on a pallet and shipped upright were they damaged from being back to back or face-to face? If they were boxed were they damaged by being dropped or dragged on their face? I would think the most likely driver damage and shifted magnets would come from being dropped base or top down. You should be able to judge what happened to these.

I hate to see anyone's bad experience used as an example but this is a good argument for doing a local pickup on any speakers bought on eBay. I'd happily do a 2000 mile round trip using a 30 mpg cheap rental car or plane on the way out and a van on the way back to get a treasure home safe and sound.

[SEAWOLF97]

so what's the status ??? do they stay or do they go ? :dont-know:

[gmarascortt]

so what's the status ??? do they stay or do they go ? :dont-know:

Waiting on the seller and/or Paypal to figure out what they want to do about refunding my money......hopefully!

[gmarascortt]

OK everybody......here is the UPDATE:

After a hectic and stressful past 6 weeks, PayPal/Ebay has refunded me the whole amount paid(~$2700.00), including the original shipping.:bouncy:

Stressful, because I kept getting the run-around about shipping them back to the seller. I called at least 20 shippers. Eighteen of them would not come to a residence for pick-up and they would NOT secure and strap them down on the pallet. The other 2 wanted over $3000.00 to secure, package, pickup at my home, and ship! I did not have the means to deliver them to the shipper myself, nor would I get reimbursed for my time and trouble. I also felt...why should I? I did nothing wrong.....I was the paying customer who got cheated out of something that was promised. Either the seller was not forthcoming of the true condition of the speakers, or they were damaged during the shipping process. Either way, was not any fault of mine. The seller, who was a third party called, Sales Baron, "washed their hands" of the situation.
I also don't know why the shippers insurance was not brought in to this.

In the end, PayPal was committed to giving me the refund, but not organized enough, or committed to getting them shipped back to the seller. They were even disappointed and disheartened at their effort, or lack there of to get this done.

So.....their final decision was to refund in full AND let me keep the speakers!!:eek:


OK, here is the DILEMMA:

I would first like to state that this was NOT my original intention! I didn't mind paying for them.......was willing to go up to $3000! They are still half wrapped in my garage. I feel a little guilty and confused now.:confused:


WHAT DO I DO NOW?????? THESE ARE MY POSSIBLE OPTIONS:
1) Keep them, I ended up getting them for free. Clean them up and enjoy the sound they produce. NO..thats why I wanted a refund, they are not in the condition I am looking for.
2) Sell them outright in the condition they are. Maybe someone would enjoy them just the way they are!
3) Part them out on E-bay....drivers seem to be in great shape. The 044Ti are dented a little.
4) Keep speakers for spares.
5) Keep drivers and crossovers for spares for future use.
6) Use them until I find another pair.
7) Donate them.
8) Trash.


What do I do?? I really do feel a little guilty now.

Thanks for listening, Geno

[svollmer]

I'd say go with number 5 and hope to find a really beautiful pair in the future; you deserve it.

[rdgrimes]

Actually there are a few shipping companies that will pick up and pack/palatalize for reasonable costs.

Anyhow, I'll buy the crossovers no questions asked if you decide to part them out.

[louped garouv]

i vote #6

and hope that maybe you can run into a cabinetmaker who would be interested
in a side restoration project...

and keep looking for the cherry pair you want...

if the cabinets are still shot on the current pair,
if and when you manage to obtain a really nice pair....

you could bring them out for when you have parties --

and not worry too much about them :)

how bad are the woofer cracks? repairable?

[SEAWOLF97]

My question is : how did the original owner come out in this transaction ?

if he/she was compensated, then there is no reason to return them. Now
ASSUMIMG that is the case, then use and enjoy them and keep a lookout
for replacement cabs or find someone who can make them right again...

IMHO :blink:

[gmarascortt]

My question is : how did the original owner come out in this transaction ?

if he/she was compensated, then there is no reason to return them. Now
ASSUMIMG that is the case, then use and enjoy them and keep a lookout
for replacement cabs or find someone who can make them right again...

IMHO :blink:

Tom, the owner of the speakers got paid through PayPal probably the same day I originally paid for them. I can only assume that PayPal/e-Bay has some sort of insurance to cover these types of disputes. :confused:

A few years ago. I sold a motorcycle seat on e-Bay. I said it was brand new and mint. After 1 month, buyer said it was used and a piece of junk. We disputed, I won. Buyer got refunded full amount, and they did NOT want the money back from me. He had to ship me back the seat, which was damaged on purpose. I sold it on Craigslist for $100 more than what I originally sold it for on e-Bay.

The only thing I can think of is insurance?!?

[louped garouv]

could be a 'self insured' type of situation also...
where they figure x amount of deals will go south, and not be "resolvable"
to both parties satisfaction.... in those cases they, at their discretion,
can resolve it, pretty much....

their % take is significant enough to work it that way....
i would think at least.... :)

[Lee in Montreal]

Hi Geno

Protect yourself. Because Paypal decided that you should keep the speakers, doesn't necessarely means that the seller agrees. Send a registered letter to the seller mentionning that you will keep the speakers temporarely and that he has 10 days to arrange boxing and shipping (if he wants them back, of course). After 10 days you are no longer responsible for them. You will have proofs on your side if the seller decides to go at you.

[gmarascortt]

Hi Geno

Protect yourself. Because Paypal decided that you should keep the speakers, doesn't necessarely means that the seller agrees. Send a registered letter to the seller mentionning that you will keep the speakers temporarely and that he has 10 days to arrange boxing and shipping (if he wants them back, of course). After 10 days you are no longer responsible for them. You will have proofs on your side if the seller decides to go at you.

Hey Lee..

The seller received payment and I would think that leaves him out of the equation. I hope! Don't you agree??

[rusty jefferson]

My question is : how did the original owner come out in this transaction ?



I think he ate it to keep the 100% rating, assuming he had one.

The normal procedure would be to ship something expensive with insurance. When it gets damaged in transit, the seller initiates a claim with the carrier. The buyer makes the damaged goods available for inspection, and a resolution is reached through the carrier. Generally, the seller would return the funds, and the insurance co. (carrier) would reimburse the seller for the amount the item was insured for, or some part thereof. Sometimes, the insurance co. takes possession of the goods, sometimes, not.

I'm guessing the seller didn't insure them, even though responsibility of safe delivery is his.

[SEAWOLF97]

The seller, who was a third party called, Sales Baron, "washed their hands" of the situation.

see, the seller was not the owner. Sales Baron doesn't care, they were merely an agent,
taking their 30 percent to make the listing and do the procedural grunt work.

the actual owner is prolly running around with his hair on fire as he has no claim in all this,
SB most likely says "tough" and is stepping out of the deal, tho it looks as though they may
have contributed to the damage with poor packing. And there is no clue as to who
actually owned them ? :crying: (doubt that SB is going to be any help)

[louped garouv]

Hi Geno

Protect yourself. Because Paypal decided that you should keep the speakers, doesn't necessarely means that the seller agrees.

I think that based on the paypal TOS, that would then be a dispute between Paypal and the seller, right?

[opimax]

I have interest in almost anything for spare parts,mostly the Xovers :(

Mark