iSMASHED It

[NewZenith]

A little over a week ago I won an auction for a pair of JBL LE8 full range drivers in Madison cabinets. I was elated, I have wanted to play with a pair of these for some time now; but the Asian market has driven the price beyond what I consider reasonable. Although these units needed surrounds they looked to be exceptionally clean and unmolested, I figured if I didn't like them I could get out of them without losing any money and wind up with a beautiful set of cabinets which I can fit with different drivers. A simple plan right?
Well imagine my surprise when I carefully opened the first box and discovered there was no LE8 mounted, just a big hole! Ridiculous thoughts ran through my head, did I pay $420 plus shipping for cabinets? Has the JBL value craise gained such a reputation that someone lifted these before they shipped? no; worse yet the driver had torn free of the enclosure and was bouncing around inside! Peering into the cavernous cabinet I saw my precious LE8 lying in a heap of flattened fiberglass, it looked like it had been in a car wreck. Well my reaction was visceral, a feeling of nausea gently set in. I knew at that moment that my plans had been foiled by the misfortune of chance nurtured by General incompetence. The i-soldit store claimed to have "professional packing" well I guess?
Anyhow the store made good by offering me a partial refund after some constructive debate. I have now started the painstaking process of reparing the damaged driver. I have included some photos of the speaker as I discovered it, note the lack of packing material; that's how I found it when I opened the box!
There is also a couple of photos of the partially repaired driver, I am in need of a new dust cap, if anyone is willing to obtain one for me I would be immensely appreciative.
NZ.

[johnaec]

I still can't believe how many sellers still think a bunch of peanuts are going to keep a 40 lb. speaker from just settling through them at the first indication of any gravity upset...

John

[NewZenith]

I still can't believe how many sellers still think a bunch of peanuts are going to keep a 40 lb. speaker from just settling through them at the first indication of any gravity upset...

John

Why couldn't they have just smashed my face instead? it would have felt better!

[Robh3606]

WOW!! That sucks!! Those looked really nice too.

Rob

[Titanium Dome]

Bummer. Another dream smashed by incompetence.

[kingjames]

It seems after they get your money they just don't give a SH*T after that.I don't know if you bought these off of ebay but there is a feature that you can use to get the sellers phone number.I use this feature called "contact information" to call the seller to let them know how they must be packed.

UPS requires 2 inches of packing material to surround the whole item that your shipping before they will pay out on a claim.

My HP520's and 120TI's arrived damaged as well as my L5's this is also why I got rid of those 3 pairs.The L5's were so bad I had to part them out.I did make a little money on them but I would have rathered had the speakers.Because these 3 pair were not packed correctly UPS refused to pay the claim on all 3 pair.

The anticipation of your new purchase is hard enough without worrying whether or not they're going to arrive in one piece.

My rule of thumb is now that I contact the seller and tell him this is the way they need to be packed and in most cases you will find the seller very accomidating,for all those who don't answer the phone I just withhold payment until I reach them.

I guess in the end we are still at the mercy of the packers (and that's not Green Bay) but if packed right and they still arrived damaged at least you can get your money back,

Like we have discussed here before I rather pay a forum member for his time and effort to pickup ,package and ship and it is this scenario that is looking better everyday.

[johnaec]

I just received another rack-mount unit yesterday off eBay. I sent two different messages to the seller, specifically emphasizing using *solid styrofoam packing* - I was even willing to pay extra. I mentioned solid styrofoam was needed to keep heavy gear from plowing right through peanuts, etc.

So what does he do?? He wraps the unit in foam rubber!! How the h@ll is that supposed to keep a 40 lb. unit from compressing it if dropped???

And you guessed it - 'arrived severely damaged!!!

And even though the seller didn't pack it correctly, if it hadn't been obviously dropped, it would have arrived OK. What's with the shipping companies these days??? Without exception, literally every package I've received in the last several months has been dropped hard!!

John

[kingjames]

sorry to hear about your shipping disaster. Did you at least insure it? Got to start insuring items that way we can start making these companies pay for their mistakes.

The XPL140's I just bought are being insured for $500.00 each and even though they are in original boxes I still worry about how they're going to arrive.

It's a shame that our hobbies here require heavy lifting and heavy shipping,makes you want to collect coins for a hobby.

[SEAWOLF97]

The XPL140's I just bought are being insured for $500.00 each and even though they are in original boxes I still worry about how they're going to arrive.

doesnt matter if you insured for $1000 each. If you file a claim , you will have to prove value (ie: copy of the auction) and thats the amount they will pay. AND figure on about a year collecting if its USPS.

[kingjames]

As long as I get back what I paid I'll be happy.not really happy but content.

[jim campbell]

i think that going after the sellers would be more productive.if enough of them get bad feedback and or have to refund maybe the message will get out that packing is important.i dont know if this is possible but the high probability of freight damage is one of the major reasons i gave up searching for another pair of jb's