NAD - Damaged in Shipping - We Have A Deal!

[fitz]

Saw a good deal on a Katana Mk2 100H at my local GC.
Searched the GC site for the matching 212 cab and FS.
Just one cab available, used with shipping, and the GA-FC footswitch was only available new.
Searched Reverb and found a listing for the complete set in excellent condition.
So I figured I go the reverb route and get everything all at once and for more than a few bucks less than piecemeal through GC, so I threw a lowball offer at it.

Well it showed up today in a flimsy box and kinda beat up by the brown gorillas.



One of the cab corners is half way ripped off, and there was an obvious impact across the front of the cab.



Seller has responded and said he paid for shipping insurance, and that he is initiating a damage claim with Reverb.
I've sent him more pics than I've posted, including the box he shipped it in.
Hooked it up and everything seems to work.
If I can get some cash back and not have to return everything, maybe I'll wind up with an even better deal.
(I think I can fix the cab damage fairly easily, but no one needs to know that...)

 

[Rocktane]

Hope it all works out for ya man. I hate it when stuff shows up damaged.

 

[fitz]

Forgot to ask - Does anyone have any experience with Reverb damage claims?
I've never sold anything on the site, and I've never received anything damaged before.
Seller said reverb is "pretty good and generous at shipping damage claims".
Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
TIA.

 

[BlueX]

Pity about the damage, when it was in such good conditions. On the other hand, you're the right guy to restore, and/or modify, it.

Hope the claim handling works out.

 

[fitz]

Pity about the damage, when it was in such good conditions. On the other hand, you're the right guy to restore, and/or modify, it.

Hope the claim handling works out.

Thanks,
Here's a few of the listing pics.

Seller said "some superficial minor scratches".
Those chunks weren't missing when he took these pics...

 

[StrummerJoe]

That sucks @fitz288

I've never had to file a damage claim with Reverb. I've been lucky with my purchases and anything I sell I overpack.

This seems partly the fault of the shipper for flimsy packing and part of the courier for being rough with the item.

Hope you get it resolved. Good luck!

 

[Tatzmann]

flimsy Box...there you have it.

Did he say "I know how to package
an amplifier!" "I have done this before!" ?

Yeah, sure he has done it before...wrong.

He effed up your amp, not the brownpants.

 

[Matthews Guitars]

Shipping insurance is no substitute for good packaging!!!!

Just shoving it in a cardboard box is not packaging it for shipment.

Pack it like you expect it to be dropped from four feet and thrown across a driveway. Then it should survive without damage.

 

[ricksdisconnected]

hope it goes in your favor bro.

 

[fitz]

flimsy Box...there you have it.

Did he say "I know how to package
an amplifier!" "I have done this before!" ?

Yeah, sure he has done it before...wrong.

He effed up your amp, not the brownpants.

Shipping insurance is no substitute for good packaging!!!!

Just shoving it in a cardboard box is not packaging it for shipment.

Pack it like you expect it to be dropped from four feet and thrown across a driveway. Then it should survive without damage.

You guys both nailed it.
The speaker side of the cab was facing in.
The damaged rear corner was from the flimsy box, and the crushed MDF on the front was from where the head smacked into the cab face.
Better box and something more between the head and cab would have got here just fine.
But it is what it is now.
If I get some cash refunded, I can fix it.
I'd rather have it not f'ed up, but I can live with getting a better deal.

hope it goes in your favor bro.

Seller just messaged me that Reverb customer support is working on a solution.
If I'm not happy, it's getting a better box and a ride back to the seller.

 

[fitz]

Seller sent me a screen shot, so at least I'm fairly sure something is happening.
Looks like it may be a few days to find out exactly what.

 

[XTRXTR]

I figure if I sold any of my rackmount amps I would build a wooden frame for it to set in just like mounting it in a rack. Then cover it in plastic bag and box it. Then any gaps would be filled with that can spray foam stuff for insulation or fixing a hole in the dry wall. Whether Styrofoam or not all 6 sides would be defended and then maybe a second box.

 

[C-Grin]

Bummer

 

[Matthews Guitars]

I actually think I have a valid business case to start up a professional packing and shipping service based on my long experience shipping literally thousands of items up to and including freighted items weighing over 400 pounds. I've been an ebay seller for 21 years with over 2000 items shipped and in all that time, I've literally had NO damage claims due to shipping damage for anything I have shipped. I had BEFORE I became an ebay seller, but once I started selling and shipping things regularly, I learned very quickly.

I could teach master classes in it. I KNOW how to do it, and I have to believe that there's always somebody in your local area that could offer the same level of quality packing services. If they can do it at a FAIR price, it's worth doing.

I'm not at all afraid to invest in good packing materials because it's always cheaper than the cost of a returned item and lost sale.

I buy full 48" by 108" sheets of polyethylene or urethane foam from from my local vendor in any thickness from 1/2" to 3" and fabricate custom fitted foam inserts for valuable
items, in both standard dimension and custom made heavy wall cardboard boxes. I have invested a hundred dollars in packaging materials to ship a single high value item to its new owner. And since doing that benefits ME, I absorb the cost. It cuts down my profit margin a bit but a destroyed item due to shipping damage hurts much worse. And I know how difficult it is to get any common carrier to actually pay off on a damage claim. It basically takes a biblical miracle or an act of Congress to get UPS to pay up. Or both. So rather than risk that, I have learned how to pack an egg to survive a fall off the top of the Eiffel Tower. (But I'm not sure there's anything I can do to make a Marshall head survive the same fall without adding a parachute to the package.)

I built two crates to ship some super expensive anamorphic lenses on motorized sleds to a movie theater that bought them from me. It was a full day's work to build two crates but it was worth doing. They came out as virtual works of art. And they paid off. These expensive and delicate units arrived in perfect condition and I made thousands of dollars in profit.

I know this is a weird rant, but honestly....if you're going to ship stuff, pack it properly. Don't make excuses. You MUST know what a decent packing job is, and what just won't make it when subject to the tender abuses of USPS, UPS, or FedEx. So pack it right because it's always cheaper and people stay happier when it doesn't get smashed in transit.

 

[Leotis]

I got a combo in the mail once that had the back brace crushed in and the power transformer was hanging by wires. It had been dropped hard/far enough that the PT ripped loose from the mounting bolts. That deal was direct with the builder though, so he totally took care of it.

 

[MemphisMarshallMan]

Wow. Sucks that the cab was damaged. Excellent that Reverb is stepping up though.

 

[gscottdg]

I actually think I have a valid business case to start up a professional packing and shipping service based on my long experience shipping literally thousands of items up to and including freighted items weighing over 400 pounds. I've been an ebay seller for 21 years with over 2000 items shipped and in all that time, I've literally had NO damage claims due to shipping damage for anything I have shipped. I had BEFORE I became an ebay seller, but once I started selling and shipping things regularly, I learned very quickly.

I could teach master classes in it. I KNOW how to do it, and I have to believe that there's always somebody in your local area that could offer the same level of quality packing services. If they can do it at a FAIR price, it's worth doing.

I'm not at all afraid to invest in good packing materials because it's always cheaper than the cost of a returned item and lost sale.

I buy full 48" by 108" sheets of polyethylene or urethane foam from from my local vendor in any thickness from 1/2" to 3" and fabricate custom fitted foam inserts for valuable
items, in both standard dimension and custom made heavy wall cardboard boxes. I have invested a hundred dollars in packaging materials to ship a single high value item to its new owner. And since doing that benefits ME, I absorb the cost. It cuts down my profit margin a bit but a destroyed item due to shipping damage hurts much worse. And I know how difficult it is to get any common carrier to actually pay off on a damage claim. It basically takes a biblical miracle or an act of Congress to get UPS to pay up. Or both. So rather than risk that, I have learned how to pack an egg to survive a fall off the top of the Eiffel Tower. (But I'm not sure there's anything I can do to make a Marshall head survive the same fall without adding a parachute to the package.)

I built two crates to ship some super expensive anamorphic lenses on motorized sleds to a movie theater that bought them from me. It was a full day's work to build two crates but it was worth doing. They came out as virtual works of art. And they paid off. These expensive and delicate units arrived in perfect condition and I made thousands of dollars in profit.

I know this is a weird rant, but honestly....if you're going to ship stuff, pack it properly. Don't make excuses. You MUST know what a decent packing job is, and what just won't make it when subject to the tender abuses of USPS, UPS, or FedEx. So pack it right because it's always cheaper and people stay happier when it doesn't get smashed in transit.

Preach! I always pack things as if I were shipping them to myself. I spend more on packing and shipping than I charge (usually), and have had only one item returned “defective” - wasn’t a shipping issue and I kept and still use the returned item.

 

[David Rivers]

Shipping insurance is no substitute for good packaging!!!!

Just shoving it in a cardboard box is not packaging it for shipment.

Pack it like you expect it to be dropped from four feet and thrown across a driveway. Then it should survive without damage.

i agree, if its shipped properly..maybe double boxed..and bubble wrap.. makes all the difference!!

 

[David Keller]

Saw a good deal on a Katana Mk2 100H at my local GC.
Searched the GC site for the matching 212 cab and FS.
Just one cab available, used with shipping, and the GA-FC footswitch was only available new.
Searched Reverb and found a listing for the complete set in excellent condition.
So I figured I go the reverb route and get everything all at once and for more than a few bucks less than piecemeal through GC, so I threw a lowball offer at it.

Well it showed up today in a flimsy box and kinda beat up by the brown gorillas.

View attachment 104227

One of the cab corners is half way ripped off, and there was an obvious impact across the front of the cab.

View attachment 104228View attachment 104229View attachment 104230

Seller has responded and said he paid for shipping insurance, and that he is initiating a damage claim with Reverb.
I've sent him more pics than I've posted, including the box he shipped it in.
Hooked it up and everything seems to work.
If I can get some cash back and not have to return everything, maybe I'll wind up with an even better deal.
(I think I can fix the cab damage fairly easily, but no one needs to know that...)

 

[David Keller]

Bought a Hamer Special on Reverb a few months ago and it arrived with a cracked head stock. Reverb and seller stepped up. I returned the guitar for a full refund. The seller had insured it through UPS. I was very pleased.