Members rog951 Posted December 9, 2005 Members Posted December 9, 2005 Well, spent last week travelling and when I got back, I had a package waiting for me. My long-awaited classical guitar had arrived! I noticed that the bottom of the shipping carton was a little deformed, but nothing too incredibly bad. I didn't give it a second thought. I got home on Saturday evening and brought the package inside. I waited until Monday morning to let the temperature stabilize completely before opening the shipping carton. Came shipped in a TKL hardshell case. Now, I knew going in that this was a player's guitar. There were quite a few dings on the soft cedar top and I expected that from the seller's description. Then, I noticed the damage. The side of the guitar is cracked where the top meets the side at the very bottom of the lower bout (where the end strap pin would be if there was one). It looks like the side was just pushed in a few millimeters; about a 3" crack total. I contacted the shipper and he swears it wasn't cracked before he shipped it. So, I reported the parcel damaged with UPS. Any idea of my chances of recouping enough $$$ to pay for a repair? I've heard that it's a million-to-one shot getting anything outta them. Anyone know a good repair guy around the Maryland/Virginia/Washington DC area? Any idea how much a crack repair might cost?
Members Cldplytkmn Posted December 9, 2005 Members Posted December 9, 2005 ask the seller if he/she has any pictures of the area of the guitar before shipping... of course tell him its to give to UPS for proof of damage, but in reality you really need to find out if it actually ocurred in shipping.
Members rog951 Posted December 9, 2005 Author Members Posted December 9, 2005 Originally posted by Cldplytkmn ask the seller if he/she has any pictures of the area of the guitar before shipping... of course tell him its to give to UPS for proof of damage, but in reality you really need to find out if it actually ocurred in shipping. Thanks for the reply. Already done but haven't heard back from him yet. Interestingly, I saw pictures of just about every other angle of the guitar before I paid for it. Maybe happenstance but still a little disconcerting. BTW, the damn thing still sounds great. Pretty sure I'll just keep it unless the repair costs are huge. Any ideas?
Members Dave W. Posted December 9, 2005 Members Posted December 9, 2005 That's a bummer. I ship a lot with UPS. First, it had to be insured or forget it. Second, the package damage needed to be pointed out to the driver at the time of delivery, by whoever signed for it. Best bet is to have something like that shipped to a business address, residential deliveries don't have to be signed for. Third, unless the box showed clear damage, and the case in side also showed damage, UPS will say it wasn't packed properly to withstand "normal" handling. Also should have been shipped by air if it is very valuable, that gets handled better. Had my custom ordered Martin Red labeled to the dealer, cost an extra $50. Bottom line is I think you are spitting in the wind. Sorry, but that is what I have learned the hard way, ground shipments are rough and tumble.Dave
Members lalatingstrings Posted December 9, 2005 Members Posted December 9, 2005 oh that sux.im so sorry.i have that guitar and it is an AMAZING classical.i totally love it.maby it is worth getting fixed.how much did you pay for it used?i got mine new for 979.good luck,great guitar.
Members rog951 Posted December 9, 2005 Author Members Posted December 9, 2005 Originally posted by Dave W. That's a bummer. I ship a lot with UPS. First, it had to be insured or forget it. Second, the package damage needed to be pointed out to the driver at the time of delivery, by whoever signed for it. Best bet is to have something like that shipped to a business address, residential deliveries don't have to be signed for. Third, unless the box showed clear damage, and the case in side also showed damage, UPS will say it wasn't packed properly to withstand "normal" handling. Also should have been shipped by air if it is very valuable, that gets handled better. Had my custom ordered Martin Red labeled to the dealer, cost an extra $50. Bottom line is I think you are spitting in the wind. Sorry, but that is what I have learned the hard way, ground shipments are rough and tumble. Dave Your experience sounds a lot like what I've heard from others. This is my first claim and my expectations for success are very low. The guitar was shipped via UPS ground from a business to my residence. Although it was insured, no one was there to sign for delivery and it sat outside for a day or two before I got home. So UPS could rightfully say the package was out of their control for that period of time. One corner of the outer carton was deformed but the hardshell case looks fine. I would say the packing job was average at best; some crumpled up packing paper was stuffed in the box and the guitar was inside the case with no extra packing. So, as you said, I'm spitting into the wind. Any positive outcome would be unexpected. I think this thread will soon turn into a "crack repair" thread!
Members rog951 Posted December 9, 2005 Author Members Posted December 9, 2005 Originally posted by lalatingstrings oh that sux.im so sorry.i have that guitar and it is an AMAZING classical.i totally love it.maby it is worth getting fixed.how much did you pay for it used?i got mine new for 979.good luck,great guitar. Thanks! It really is still 100% playable and sounds great. The crack is a minor one, but I'm a little worried that it is in the area where the two sides meet the top at the butt end of the guitar. I'm certain it could be fixed, just not sure how much it will cost. I've found some pricing online for straight crack repair ranging from $10-$20 per inch. Not bad considering this crack is 3"-4" long at the most. BUT, there I could see there being some additional cost since the crack is near the binding, etc, etc... I paid right around $500 including shipping for the guitar w/ TKL hard case. Even overlooking the crack, it's a little more dinged up than I hoped for (especially the top), but nothing that affects playability or sound. Hey, at least I don't have to be concerned too much with scratching it! The back is pretty much unmolested and I love that "burled walnut" look! I was expecting a darker tone from a cedar-topped guitar, but it's actually fairly bright. I like it a lot!
Members guit30 Posted December 9, 2005 Members Posted December 9, 2005 If it was shipped in a HC case, it did not get damaged in shipping, was it used?Jim
Members Dave W. Posted December 9, 2005 Members Posted December 9, 2005 Originally posted by guit30 If it was shipped in a HC case, it did not get damaged in shipping, was it used?Jim Not necessarly, if the case is not a glove tight fit in that area, a good hard drop will have the guitar moving inside the case. It could then crack when it hit the side of the case. rog, sounds like find a good tech and invest another $100 if it sounds that good. Best of luck.
Members rog951 Posted December 10, 2005 Author Members Posted December 10, 2005 Originally posted by Dave W. Not necessarly, if the case is not a glove tight fit in that area, a good hard drop will have the guitar moving inside the case. It could then crack when it hit the side of the case.rog, sounds like find a good tech and invest another $100 if it sounds that good. Best of luck. Interestingly, this guitar fits into its case tighter than any other I've seen. I'm almost afraid it's TOO tight in there. The case is a TKL, generic case. Anyway, I felt around inside the case and there's no obvious protrusion or anything like that that might cause this type of damage. I'm thinking that it's unlikely that it happened in shipment but I couldn't rule it out completely. The seller has no pictures of the butt end of the guitar available. Maybe a coincedence, maybe not. UPS just emailed me and they want to pick up the package and have it inspected at my local facility. I'm half tempted to call the whole thing off. I mean, do I want to risk even more damage by having these ass clowns toss the guitar around even more that they have already? Maybe I can arrange to take it down there myself...
Members gibson185 Posted December 10, 2005 Members Posted December 10, 2005 It is the sellers job to contact UPS, not yours. The seller is suppose to get the item to you in the condition it was described. IMHO, most of the time when they say, "it must have been damaged in shipment," it's a load of crap. UPS and FedEx are not that bad. If you used PayPal or a credit card, you may be able to get a refund if the seller refuses and I will bet he will. You can keep it and fix it on your own dime, if you want, but you shouldn't have to.
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