OT: I have a P-P-P-P-Powerbook! situation on my hands..

[program_insect]

Haha, this is great...

 

I recently sold one of my Technics 1200 turntables on ebay. Everything was going smoothly until I got an email from the buyer stating that the turntable had been damaged in transit. I found this puzzling since I had packaged the item very well, but I prepared to contact UPS and get the problem resolved. I was waiting on him to supply pictures of the damage.

 

After a suspicious 3-day delay (if it was me, I would have emailed pictures right away), he sent me the pictures. As soon as I looked at them, I knew something was up...the turntable in his picture was very dusty, when I had made sure to clean my item before sending it. To top it off, all the settings on the tonearm were different! I suppose he expects me to believe that he changed the counter-weight, anti-skip, and tonearm height settings before noticing the damage....riiiiight...

 

Here's a comparison shot, his picture on the left and mine on the right:

 

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/7773/picture18fi.png

 

 

Which leads me to my reason for posting here...my first reaction was to write him a nasty email and tell him to get lost. But now that I think about it, doesn't this little bit of scumbaggery deserve a greater return of the same? Should I try to get him to send the broken turntable to me in order to get it "fixed" (i.e. give to a DJ friend who needs it)? Or is there some greater karmic justice awaiting this fool?

[keanu reeves]

what does he want you to do? partial refund? want you to fix this other random 1200 at no charge to him?

[MartinHines]

I am not convinced the item was not damaged in transit. Do the pictures he sent show damage? It sounds suspicious, but maybe he did play around with it and has a dusty apartment. Could he have damaged it himself?

 

Do you have a Serial Number of the item? If so, have him take some pictures of the item including the Serial Number. I would suggest he take the item to a valid repair shop for an estimate. You could then call the repair shop directly to make sure the Serial Number of the damaged unit matched the one you sent.

 

Did he keep the packaging? (this would be needed for a claim). Did he inspect the box before receiving shipment?

Was the box itself damaged?

 

I would put the burden on him to file a damage claim, get an estimate, etc.

 

Alternatively you could have him ship the item back to you (at his expense) if the claim is unsuccessful.

 

Bottom line, you should NOT just send him some money.

[LameAim]

Looks mighty suspicious.

 

I agree with Martin - don't throw out the claim of damage outright, but put it on him to take it to some local shop (with contact numbers on the web) that you can call and ask concerning the damage and serial number info.

[stikygum]

I wish we could another P P P Powerbook situation on our hands, that's too much fun, and as a precursor to anyone having these kind of problems, you know where to post. I'm in to do my part!

 

For this, I'm w/ Martin, the first step would be to make 100% sure it's the same one w/ serial # and he's not trying to pull something off. Have him do the work to take it in, but point out it's necessary work.

[mytee2.0]

please {censored} with this person if it is infact a scam.

 

[program_insect]

He also included a picture of the packaging (at my request) and it looks immaculate:

 

http://img54.imageshack.us/img54/4599/picture0178np.jpg

 

Unfortunately, I made a mistake by not taking the serial number down before sending it. Lesson learned. But it doesn't matter anyways...he has my real turntable, so HE knows what it is. It would only come in handy if I needed to verify it with a third party, but I don't want to go that route yet.

 

There is no shadow of doubt in my mind that this is a different turntable. Exhibit B:

 

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/1340/picture0157cy.jpg

 

Notice the thick mat of dust on the lever arm? That isn't "two days of dust collected after receiving item", it's "just pulled Uncle Fred's turntable out of storage after 12 years". The tonearm settings, the general level of blemishing (I babied my decks, and this guy didn't), it's a different item.

 

Also, although I'm no mechanical engineer, it is a serious stretch of the imagination to suppose that the packaging (heavy-duty box with generous peanut padding) could have been compromised in just such a way as to break of that tab, but not do greater damage to the tonearm itself. The table was shipped with a sturdy dust cover encasing the face of the unit. Given the unstressed condition of the box, it's just not physically possible for this to have been damaged like that.

 

So he's trying to pull a fast one, but not trying very hard or well. I have a moral dilemma now...since he knew the item was insured, is he really trying to scam UPS, not me, and he just wants me to play along? If so, would vengeance really be justified?

 

So I think my next move would be to probe his intentions a bit. I'll say that the only way to make it right is if I pay for the whole repair out of my pocket (since I feel so bad for him, yadda yadda). His reaction to that will determine if he is willing to scam me directly or not.

[warpus]

I once sold a guy a Vermona DRM1 drum machine. He tried connecting it directly to his speakers (no amplifier) and told me the unit was broken and didnt make any sound. He insisted that I give him his money back. I apologized and had him return it to me and I gave him his money back. Sometimes its just not worth it. But in your case though, I wouldn't suggest that as he'd probably send you his broken one.

[kooki_sf]

packing peanuts shrink enroute sometimes. just a heads up, i have had a package show up that was orriginally packed tight with peanuts only appear to be filled halfway.

[wetwareinterface]

peanuts wont protect a heavy item like the 1200.

those things are like 20 pounds in weight.

foam peanuts only protect low weight items with large surface area to weight ratios.

 

you are gonna be responsible for any damage in shipping as ups weight requirements and packing instructions clearly state no foam peanuts only styrfoam blocks for an item of that weight. so no he aint gonna be scamming ups just you. if he used pay pal you are also gonna be screwed as you used peanuts and they will refund the guys money due to that being in their guidlines for sellers as well to not use.

 

if no pay pay basically be prepared for negative feedback but keeping the cash.

 

best scenario is just email the guy stating you have the original serial number written down and to have him take unit to a repair shop for estimate and leave you repair shop name so you can call them back using information directory assistance. also suggest to leave positive feedback for each other as negatives won't resolve either your situations and he'll take the easy way out.

 

this will prevent him from going forward any further with a fake claim.

[XorAxAx]

 

Originally posted by program_insect I'll say that the only way to make it right is if I pay for the whole repair out of my pocket (since I feel so bad for him, yadda yadda). His reaction to that will determine if he is willing to scam me directly or not.

 

That's the worst thing you can say. If he's scamming, he likely does not care where the money comes from. He'll just go along with whatever and hope that a check arrives.

 

Your best bet is to pursue a damage claim with UPS. If they deny it (they always do at first), keep trying. Be very helpful (to the seller) and persistent (to UPS) in pursuing the damage claim, but NEVER offer to send money directly. You did not ship a damaged product, so this is not your problem. This is a problem between the buyer and UPS, and your job is to assist both sides at reaching a resolution.

[program_insect]

Strangely, he already left me positive feedback, so he'd have to retract that which would be suspicious. I have his money (from a money order), and there's not much else he can do in his position. Even if it WASN'T a bogus damage claim, I could still choose to do nothing if I wanted to, but that's not my style. But since it IS a bogus claim, I have the option of messing with the guy a bit, that's all.

 

I have no desire to waste my time going through UPS damage claim process just to play into this joker's hand.

 

By the way, that's interesting about the styrofoam peanuts and heavy items. I've received many heavy items that were only packed in peanuts, and all were fine. I could see UPS using that as a loophole to avoid a certain subset of damage claims, though.

 

Well, I'll post more details if anything interesting happens.

[MartinHines]

 

Originally posted by program_insect Strangely, he already left me positive feedback, so he'd have to retract that which would be suspicious.

 

Once feedback is posted, it can only be removed by mutual agreement. He can't retract it by himself.

 

 

Originally posted by program_insect But since it IS a bogus claim, I have the option of messing with the guy a bit, that's all.

 

 

Are you 100% sure the claim is bogus? I know you think it is based on dust levels, but it would be equally bad if this person were on the level and you were wrong.

 

You might consider emailing him and being honest about your suspicions, something like:

-- I have reviewed your pictures and honestly I am a little suspicious about your claim. The pictures you took after only having it x days show (then detail all of your points here), which compared to the pictures I have blah, blah, blah.

 

One alternative which could really prove YOUR unit was damaged would be for him to ship it back to you (at his expense). You could then:

-- verify it is your unit (hopefully you could distinguish it from another unit)

-- get it repaired

 

If you felt it was your packing that caused the problem you could refund his money. If you still felt the packing was fine but HE damaged it after he received it you could refund his money MINUS the actual cost of the repairs.

 

Just FYI, heavy items in packing peanuts WILL easily shift around in a box. I once had a relatively heavy item shipped to me that way and I could shake it myself and feel the interior item moving. Luckily in my case the product was itself packed in its own retail packaging. I personally use tons of bubble wrap which I tape up making a cocoon.

[pizzamon]

Not to take away from your F'd up problem, but what does this have to do with a p-p-p-p-powerbook?

[keanu reeves]

 

Originally posted by pizzamon Not to take away from your F'd up problem, but what does this have to do with a p-p-p-p-powerbook?

 

 

http://www.zug.com/pranks/powerbook/

[pizzamon]

nice. thanx.