K_19
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2008
- Posts
- 3,072
- Likes
- 64
Hi Everyone,
For the sake of not derailing the Woo Audio Appreciation thread that this was originally in, I'd like to move everything over here (if mods can move the relevant posts from that topic that would be great). Here is my original post:
"... I'm absolutely devastated right now. damn. The WA6SE amp, which I was anticipating so much for the last two weeks or so, arrived at my house battered and broken.
My most expensive Head-fi transaction ever went terribly wrong...
The unit arrived with the box totally mangled, and apparently opened for earlier inspection probably at the customs. The tubes insides were COMPLETELY shattered, with some of the glass shards going into the insides. The unit itself was riddled with scratches and dents, and the volume knob came loose free from the unit itself (as well as one of the feets attached to the bottom). I immediately opened the units to clean it free of glass shards, hoping that the Woo being a robust unit that it is, would at least work (I still had the tubes I'm using for my WA6). Unfortunately this wasn't the case; It powered on and sparked my Sophia rectifier, gave a nasty tube hum, and had ZERO volume in the right channel, for whatever reason. I opened the unit and saw the insides which looked completely fine (didn't see any loose wires or anything), but obviously I'm not electronic technician so I have no idea what is wrong here... Was completely heartbroken at this point. To add insult to the injury, the total duty fees I paid for it was $140.
I've contacted the seller to see what he can do about the this problem, so I won't go into it further or blame anyone just yet, but just needed to vent here. Ugh. This is like a horrible nightmare coming true.
"
"I don't want to expand on the issue TOO much just yet on behalf of the seller (I'm seeing what he can do about this first), but I do feel that everyone should know about this, so...
- No, it was NOT packed in Jack's original packing materials. I do understand that the seller may have disposed of it though, not necessarily his fault.
- I did feel that it was somewhat inadequately packaged. The seller only used bubble wraps and newspapers around the amp, and just the paper boxes for the tubes. No stryrofoam, which would have REALLY been nice as added protection.
- Everyone, please remember when shipping delicate products with sensitive electronic components and glass, that the package be marked as "FRAGILE". From what I've seen on the box the seller failed to do this.
In all, I do believe that either USPS or Canada Post was responsible for pretty much all of this. They probably threw and tossed the box all over the place (the amp literally looks like it's been through an explosion of some sort...). Inexcusable really. But I did feel that the amp could have been packaged better on the seller's end. Hopefully he'll learn from this experience as well as the every future sellers that may be reading this...
I'm pretty much at a loss of what to do now. I've taken pictures and will upload it (I don't really want to disgrace this appreciation thread with pics of the Woo that looks like it's been through a nuclear blast, so I'll refrain from posting it here) then send it to the seller and wait and see what he can do. Apparently there's nothing I can do on my end as a buyer for the insurance claim process (it's all up to the seller to do this), but the seller DID insure about $650 on it which will hopefully recoup SOME amount of our transaction. Basically, everyone's a loser here and I feel bad for the seller also. I suppose this is a lesson learned in online transactions and shipping on both of our ends, and harsh and costly one at that.
Still shocked. I'll get over it soon hopefully. I may buy it new from Jack (if I do, I'll surely buy directly from him) or maybe I'll try another amp, I dunno, it's far from my concern now... nonetheless, thanks for the condolences everyone. I really appreciate it."
"I've taken the pics and am in the process of sending it to the seller. I really do wish that I had a better camera, and have better skills in taking pics, but doing what I can.
It's all up to him afterwards. As I've said apparently there is nothing I can do as a buyer in insurance claims, it's upto the seller to make the claim and go about it. Of course, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to help him in the process."
Here are couple pics I've taken (I can take more... it really doesn't cover the extent of the full damage)
So, I emailed and PM'ed the seller (who will go nameless for now to give him a chance to straighten this out) last night and I am waiting for his response and I haven't heard back much yet. I do realize he may have other commitments and may not have checked his email or head fi... how long should I wait for response before I get REALLY worried about it? 3-4 days? A week or two?
Also, the debate was going on about who's to bear the financial responsibility of this. I've offered the seller to split up the costs and be done with it, and learn from both of our mistakes (I'm the type that really just prefers to avoid headaches if possible, compromise within all reason and move on with life). I do think that the seller inadequately packaged the item, but either USPS/Canada Post or Canadian Customs obviously handled this VERY roughly at some point... so I'm not sure if he should take all the blame for this. However, many people in the original thread don't think so. Your honest opinions would be appreciated.
I'll update as this (hopefully) makes progress.
For the sake of not derailing the Woo Audio Appreciation thread that this was originally in, I'd like to move everything over here (if mods can move the relevant posts from that topic that would be great). Here is my original post:
"... I'm absolutely devastated right now. damn. The WA6SE amp, which I was anticipating so much for the last two weeks or so, arrived at my house battered and broken.
The unit arrived with the box totally mangled, and apparently opened for earlier inspection probably at the customs. The tubes insides were COMPLETELY shattered, with some of the glass shards going into the insides. The unit itself was riddled with scratches and dents, and the volume knob came loose free from the unit itself (as well as one of the feets attached to the bottom). I immediately opened the units to clean it free of glass shards, hoping that the Woo being a robust unit that it is, would at least work (I still had the tubes I'm using for my WA6). Unfortunately this wasn't the case; It powered on and sparked my Sophia rectifier, gave a nasty tube hum, and had ZERO volume in the right channel, for whatever reason. I opened the unit and saw the insides which looked completely fine (didn't see any loose wires or anything), but obviously I'm not electronic technician so I have no idea what is wrong here... Was completely heartbroken at this point. To add insult to the injury, the total duty fees I paid for it was $140.
I've contacted the seller to see what he can do about the this problem, so I won't go into it further or blame anyone just yet, but just needed to vent here. Ugh. This is like a horrible nightmare coming true.
"I don't want to expand on the issue TOO much just yet on behalf of the seller (I'm seeing what he can do about this first), but I do feel that everyone should know about this, so...
- No, it was NOT packed in Jack's original packing materials. I do understand that the seller may have disposed of it though, not necessarily his fault.
- I did feel that it was somewhat inadequately packaged. The seller only used bubble wraps and newspapers around the amp, and just the paper boxes for the tubes. No stryrofoam, which would have REALLY been nice as added protection.
- Everyone, please remember when shipping delicate products with sensitive electronic components and glass, that the package be marked as "FRAGILE". From what I've seen on the box the seller failed to do this.
In all, I do believe that either USPS or Canada Post was responsible for pretty much all of this. They probably threw and tossed the box all over the place (the amp literally looks like it's been through an explosion of some sort...). Inexcusable really. But I did feel that the amp could have been packaged better on the seller's end. Hopefully he'll learn from this experience as well as the every future sellers that may be reading this...
I'm pretty much at a loss of what to do now. I've taken pictures and will upload it (I don't really want to disgrace this appreciation thread with pics of the Woo that looks like it's been through a nuclear blast, so I'll refrain from posting it here) then send it to the seller and wait and see what he can do. Apparently there's nothing I can do on my end as a buyer for the insurance claim process (it's all up to the seller to do this), but the seller DID insure about $650 on it which will hopefully recoup SOME amount of our transaction. Basically, everyone's a loser here and I feel bad for the seller also. I suppose this is a lesson learned in online transactions and shipping on both of our ends, and harsh and costly one at that.
Still shocked. I'll get over it soon hopefully. I may buy it new from Jack (if I do, I'll surely buy directly from him) or maybe I'll try another amp, I dunno, it's far from my concern now... nonetheless, thanks for the condolences everyone. I really appreciate it."
"I've taken the pics and am in the process of sending it to the seller. I really do wish that I had a better camera, and have better skills in taking pics, but doing what I can.
It's all up to him afterwards. As I've said apparently there is nothing I can do as a buyer in insurance claims, it's upto the seller to make the claim and go about it. Of course, I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to help him in the process."
Here are couple pics I've taken (I can take more... it really doesn't cover the extent of the full damage)
So, I emailed and PM'ed the seller (who will go nameless for now to give him a chance to straighten this out) last night and I am waiting for his response and I haven't heard back much yet. I do realize he may have other commitments and may not have checked his email or head fi... how long should I wait for response before I get REALLY worried about it? 3-4 days? A week or two?
Also, the debate was going on about who's to bear the financial responsibility of this. I've offered the seller to split up the costs and be done with it, and learn from both of our mistakes (I'm the type that really just prefers to avoid headaches if possible, compromise within all reason and move on with life). I do think that the seller inadequately packaged the item, but either USPS/Canada Post or Canadian Customs obviously handled this VERY roughly at some point... so I'm not sure if he should take all the blame for this. However, many people in the original thread don't think so. Your honest opinions would be appreciated.
I'll update as this (hopefully) makes progress.