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They sure live up to that moniker. It was packed in outer box by them at my expense. I am done with them. Will try FedEx if I am stupid enough to try shipping fragile electronics ever again. I own 3 Pioneer reel to reels, two 707s and a 909. I won't be shipping those no matter what. Local sale only.
I packed the tuner in the inner box with bubble wrap and foam cushion, and provided to them. They packed in outer box supposedly with adequate cusioning. I wonder if they dropped the dern thing at the store before they got it packaged in the second box...
Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Mark Twain
The sale was for $510, shipping cost was addl. $110.
They refunded me $500.
I went ahead and refunded the buyer his $510 plus the $60 I charged him for shipping.
UPS did not refund the $110 I paid them for shipping. And EBAY took $80 commission from me.
So I am out a few hundred. And buyer is out the sales tax they paid, I did not refund that and EBAY would not...
No more UPS shipping for me. I'll give my stuff away or dumpster it before I ship UPS again.
Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Mark Twain
Received a check from UPS for $10 less than the value I claimed of $510. They said that the claim process only works in even hundreds (I think that's a crock but nothing I can do).Also, I paid $90 for shipping above the selling price of $510 for the tuner.
And UPS refused to refund the $90 shipping fee I paid them to destroy the tuner :)
So all in all I am out a couple hundred on the EBAY transaction, but at least the buyer got almost all their money back.
The state of Maryland took $80 from the buyer for sales tax and I did not refund that. He could fight with the Maryland I guess about that.
Lesson learned: In the future, I ain't shipping nothing worth more than about $10 via UPS. I am done with them...
By the way, this is my second bad experience with UPS. About 20 years ago I bought a $1K amp from audioadvisor, which they shipped via UPS (Musical Fidelity A1-2008 Class A amp, a wonderful sounding amp).
When I arrived home from work the day the amp was supposedly delivered, there was a sticker on my door saying delivered, but there was no amp to be found. That day there was a crew literally two feet away working on the neighbor's lawn. I presume one of them grabbed the amp but all I know is that there was no amp when I got home.
The kicker is that the UPS delivery person claimed I had signed for the package, which of course I did not since I was at work. And of course my signature was not on the UPS receipt attached to my door.
I had multiple conversations with UPS, they refunded audioadvisor which shipped me a replacement amp. And the UPS delivery driver called me about a month later saying he got fired. Which he should have been I guess since he lied about the signature for receipt of the package (although I do feel bad still to this day about his getting fired).
Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Mark Twain
Edits: 08/24/22
When I divested myself from all my old Mcintosh gear, we drove it up to Audioclassics in Vestal NY. The trip took us two days but I'm happy with the results. Sending gear is fraught with hazard.
Sim
Yeah I don't want to go through this again so I will change my plans for divesting myself of my gear.
Not sure what the alternative will be however. I don't want to deal with Craigslist nonsense either so aside from dumpster my options are limited.
There are a couple "used hifi" dealers here in Vegas but I would rather give my gear away to individuals than for pennies to a dealer.
Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Mark Twain
I wish I could say that Fed ex is better in all respects, but they are not. I don't think they are as rough when it comes to handling the packages, but they are just as bad when it comes to filing a claim. I just try to package defensely, but nothing is assured. Shipping audio gear was much better, and LESS expensive, when I got into the hobby in the early 70s. Damage was much less common.
Yeah I am modifying my downsizing plan. No more shipping except perhaps books!
I have 3 Pioneer reel-to-reels, a PS audio P300, a large tube amp, and other gear I will no longer consider shipping. Pickup only from now on.
Either EBAY, or if one of the local hifi dealers wants to come over and make offers. I won't even consider driving the units to their shops for viewing because then they have you over a barrel. They know you don't want to lug the stuff back home from their shop so you only get lowballs.
Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Mark Twain
.
Edits: 08/14/23
Good luck getting any satisfaction or payment from UPS. Wont bore you with the details, but I shipped an insured parcel to Canada. Part of the shipment was damaged in transit. UPS refused to deal with the problem. Offered several different excuses. I finally gave up, gave the buyer a partial refund. Im told this is not a lone incident, lately.
Your pictures made me feel a bit ill this morning. I'm sorry you had to experience that, and hope you're able to find new glass.
Below is a link to a PDF of "How to ship a McIntosh" I just found using a Duck Duck Go search. It gives good advice, especially the "insist it is shipped in a carton designed for your McIntosh unit". Additionally I'd also recommend removing the front knobs, as any impact to them, however slight, can transfer that energy directly to the front glass.
Again, good luck, and hopefully the insurance will cover the damage.
I received an email yesterday from the local UPS store that did the outer box packing, saying that the damage claim had been approved.
They said it will take a couple weeks for the local store to receive a check, then they will call me to pick it up.
I asked again if they wanted the unit themselves for salvage or inspection but have not received reply.
Hopefully the claim will cover sale price of $510 plus shipping/packing charge of $110.
We'll see...
Don't wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.
Mark Twain
...a factory box is key.I have home-brewed my own Mc packaging a few times. Its not cheap to get right and it is very time consuming.
Its a PITA, but bolting the unit to a piece of plywood cut to fit tightly in the inner box has worked well for me.
You have to assume the item will be poorly handled by the carrier and take preemptive measures.
Dean.
reelsmith's axiom: Its going to be used equipment when I sell it, so it may as well be used equipment when I buy it.
Edits: 06/24/22
I spoke with a former McIntosh owner about this thread, via email, and he said Audio Classics bolted his Mac to plywood too, when it was shipped to him.
I agree with you that an owner has to take extreme measures when shipping fragile items. I've seen pictures of McIntosh units, knobs removed, with plywood covering the glass, with appropriate holes drilled to accommodate shafts.
It's one of the things you just can't be too careful with. It's nice to hope your package is going to be treated with ultimate care. But when you imagine a distribution center with tens of thousands of packages moving through it each day, something's occasionally going to fall of a convertor belt or be dropped by someone.
I have not used UPS ever since they smashed a vintage Nakamichi cassette deck I sold to a guy in Ohio. He refused the delivery, and UPS returned it to me with the side smashed in. UPS refused to honor the insurance, claiming inadequate packing. Total bullshit. It required examination and approval by the counter person, who examined the box and packing before she finally sealed it up for shipment. It was approved by her. It honestly looked like it was deliberately thrown from a 20-foot height onto concrete.
I have used FedEx ever since and have not had a problem in over 10 years.
F**k UPS.
mg16
Just read your post. UPS used exactly the same bs about the carton not being adequate for shipping WITHOUT ever inspecting the carton, which was the original shipping carton from the manufacturer.
Bummer-
That really hurts-
When I worked for Roger Modjeski, he wanted packaging to survive a 3' drop onto concrete....
Happy Listening
I am of the belief that where the package came from and where it is shipped to makes all the difference. Most of our packages from UPS and FedEx look like they came from and were delivered by the neighbor next door.
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