[Beagle]

Quote:

 Who the hell thinks its ok to ship a pair of 500 dollar headphones in a cardbox board box with ABSOLUTELY NO PACKAGING MATERIAL.
 
My question is, what kind of damage can be sustained through the shipping process, and is it even worth me sending this set in for a service.  I doubt they will change out the drivers for a set of new ones if they were damaged at all. 

I wouldn't worry about the packing materials, or lack of. Looking at the condition of those headphones, it would be like worrying about wearing protection when you are about to make love to a pregnant woman.
 
If the phones seem to be working OK, I'd invest in a pair of new grills and new pads. If you have one of the original HD650's, I'd definitely say this would be the way to go. And later down the line, you can upgrade the cable.
 
 

 

[Aizura]

He probably didn't ship them with packing material because there isn't anything left to break on the headphones.

 

[dsan]

i was searching hd650 forums and found this. 
 
What do you have to do to thrash the outer grill like that????
they are very strong. Normal drop would not make that happen.

 

[titusgroan]

They are in an appalling state, this seller should be ashamed

 

[Uncle00Jesse]

You aren't alone. I bought a pair of hifiman HE-5 and a matching EF-5 amp to go with it from someone here on head-fi. Seller seemed like a stand up guy with good feedback. He said everything was in great condition. I got the goods, noticed the sound in the right cup going in and out, there was a major issue with cable connector on the right side, it was slightly dented and didnt twist properly no matter what cable you put on it.
 
To boot, the EF-5 ceased to work after two uses. Completely dead. Tried a new tube, power cord, the works. Dead. Tried to get in touch with him, said he was embroiled in some legal issues and I never heard from him again.
 
Moral of the story, if you buy stuff from this site (which for me is unlikely to happen again) NEVER USE PAYPAL GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Fearless1]

Quote:

You aren't alone. I bought a pair of hifiman HE-5 and a matching EF-5 amp to go with it from someone here on head-fi. Seller seemed like a stand up guy with good feedback. He said everything was in great condition. I got the goods, noticed the sound in the right cup going in and out, there was a major issue with cable connector on the right side, it was slightly dented and didnt twist properly no matter what cable you put on it.
 
To boot, the EF-5 ceased to work after two uses. Completely dead. Tried a new tube, power cord, the works. Dead. Tried to get in touch with him, said he was embroiled in some legal issues and I never heard from him again.
 
Moral of the story, if you buy stuff from this site (which for me is unlikely to happen again) NEVER USE PAYPAL GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

PM me, I may be able to help you, I have rebuilt two EF-5s to my liking, it may be an easy fix.

 

[LugBug1]

Quote:

You aren't alone. I bought a pair of hifiman HE-5 and a matching EF-5 amp to go with it from someone here on head-fi. Seller seemed like a stand up guy with good feedback. He said everything was in great condition. I got the goods, noticed the sound in the right cup going in and out, there was a major issue with cable connector on the right side, it was slightly dented and didnt twist properly no matter what cable you put on it.
 
To boot, the EF-5 ceased to work after two uses. Completely dead. Tried a new tube, power cord, the works. Dead. Tried to get in touch with him, said he was embroiled in some legal issues and I never heard from him again.
 
Moral of the story, if you buy stuff from this site (which for me is unlikely to happen again) NEVER USE PAYPAL GIFT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Feel free to name and shame,  For those who buy and sell on here it has to be based firmly on trust and respect. We should know if there is someone who is capable of selling damaged equipment and claiming it is otherwise.
 
Feel for you man.. I buy and sell a lot of equipment on fleabay uk and I've been stung before, its not good.

 

[vcoheda]

fortunately, i have never had any issues buying audio equipment from people on head-fi. this is probably due to the fact that i only buy from long-term members or people who i know/have dealt with previously. ebay, i mostly buy CDs; sometimes tubes. no problems there. i have also purchased a few items off audiogon. most transactions have gone smoothly. a small few have not but i managed to get refunds. bottom line is that you definitely need to be extra cautious when purchasing used.

 

[twizzleraddict]

Feedback is important when dealing w/used gear on forums but even that is no indication of a successful transaction. I've gotten screwed on 2 sets of speaker purchases on A'gon in the past, and these transactions were in the thousands of $$. Live and learn!
 
Hopefully there's a happy ending to the story but I'd be reacting the same way and saying What???????? 

 

[vcoheda]

a'gon feedback can't be wholly trusted because feedback, including negative feedback, needs to be approved by the receiving party before it will be posted. the site set things up this way because it understands that people are not going to purchase $1k equipment from someone who has a bunch of negatives.

 

[Bostonears]

a'gon feedback can't be wholly trusted because feedback, including negative feedback, needs to be approved by the receiving party before it will be posted. the site set things up this way because it understands that people are not going to purchase $1k equipment from someone who has a bunch of negatives.

 
Audiogon's feedback policy is practically criminal, allowing sellers to veto negative feedback. Even after that site underwent its major "upgrade", it still has this same sham of a feedback system.

 

[dsan]

Quote:

 
Audiogon's feedback policy is practically criminal, allowing sellers to veto negative feedback. Even after that site underwent its major "upgrade", it still has this same sham of a feedback system.

 
is there any other protection one can have when something like this happens?
All I can think is to file a dispute to paypal. which is not always the cleanest thing to do.

 

[twizzleraddict]

Quote:

 
is there any other protection one can have when something like this happens?
All I can think is to file a dispute to paypal. which is not always the cleanest thing to do.

 
It's likely the only thing you can do unless you use a third party intermediary to conduct the transaction with. This would be costly for smaller ticket items but for audiophile equipment costing in the thousands of $$, it might be worthwhile for both parties. The problem with buying sight unseen and person unknown is you never know what ulterior motive is behind the seller. 
 
PayPal disputes are lengthy though, but is at least SOME measure to protect yourself.

 

[draven5494]

I second the suggestion to file a Paypal dispute.  I had to file one last year and while yes it was lengthy and at times frustrating, I ultimately got my money back for a product that I paid for yet did not receive.