seeking advice-->ebay horror story

[Mr.Golden]

Hello all, I just purchased a 1973 model T from ebay in presumably great condition. Price tag was $1050.00 USD, shipping included.

Here is the link, I recommend taking a close look at it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160079227662&sspagename=ADME:L:RTQ:CA:1

The model T arrived in pieces, literally. The chassis appeared not to be connected to the tolex case and therefore had quite a ride. Everything was detached/dismantled upon arrival. It looked as though someone had taken a crowbar to it, I kid you not.

I brought it to my amp tech who happens to be very good and he assured me all was not lost. He believes it was the sellers fault for not properly packing the amp. The seller used mostly foam rubber and only one box to ship. Ideally, he would have used a box twice the size or used two boxes, one going into the other with two inch styrofoam buffers in between. If this was the case I would not be making this post. To make matters worse, he did not remove the tubes from the chassis and now they're all destroyed. That one is a no brainer.   

My amp tech also advised me to get the seller to pay for the damages as I payed through pay pal and have a pretty strong case so far. I will be getting several quotes from several techs to confirm the repair quote's authenticity.

This is the general repair run down:

Quad of 6550 tubes- 4 @$54.00(retail top quality) =$216.00 USD
3 Broken vintage knobs- ? are these still available?
Bright control bent/potentially wrecked- min $5.00 CDN
Smashed in power switch- $17.00 CDN
Bent Chassis (Bowed the Length)-Labour cost @ $80.00/hr CDN
Loose or detacthed filters, capacators, and other wiring damage-Labour cost @ $80.00/hr CDN

Here is the fisrt batch of photos....

[Mr.Golden]

Here's some more....

[Mr.Golden]

and some more...

[Mr.Golden]

I would like to get some opinions of the cosmetic value lost due to terrible shipping. How much value have I lost? The tolex also has several tears in it not apparent in the original photos. I could've cried, really.

Thank you all for taking the time to read through this. It is appreciated.

Matt Golden
Edmonton, AB Canada

[stanner]

i feel shittee about that.
why are there people like that out there?
Model Ts are my favorite amps(and a lot of other people too).
i think if that had happened to me i would have rounded up a posse and hunted down that guy!
there is no excuse for first abusing an amp like that and second screwing you on ebay.
damn

[IKOH2OH]

 

1st get a written recepit from the amp tech, detailing all the damages, most likely cause, and total cost of repair.

Scan it, and send as an e-mail attachment to the seller and to the shipping company. Perhaps this can avoid some nastiness.

Was it insured for damages?

Try a few times, using rational, polite, but firm and decisive wording.

If no satisfactory soulution, then go to e-bay, and pay-pal.

And, there still could be legal means for compensation.


This is a sad story to begin, but, there could come an Awesome ending.


IKO

[rick.heil]

Jeez, that seller sure did a number on that amp... yikes.  Should be a crime.

[Oli]

hi,

whats that. i just got a sunn sorado, sent by airmail from the usa to germany (!) and it was 100% - no problems.

hope u get it fixed!

greetings

oliver

[JoeArthur]

That is awful. With that much damage I would have expected the box to be more banged up - but yeah, that is a lousy packing job. And if the chassis wasn't attached to the cabinet... just really lousy.

Seller has a return policy - I would use it and send it back with tracking. You might file a SNAD with paypal (assuming you paid with paypal) for extra precaution prior to sending it back.

If your repair quotes ain't in writing from the techs, get them in writing.

[pickinatit]

Wow!!  And I thought that I had e-bay troubles!
Really sorry!

[Mr.Golden]

Thank you all for your empathy.

UPS will be inspecting the box it was shipped in and the model T too. I'm pretty sure their going to pit it on the seller at which point I'll open a Resolution Dispute on PayPal. I have gotten some pretty dynamic quotes from different techs though. I suppose everyone works at their own pace but I've been quoted as low as 3 hours labour to as much as 10. I'll go with the smallest to be fair and to ensure a succesful result because I REAAALLLLY DO NOT WANT SEND THIS BACK. I will if there is no reasonable solution though. Like I said earlier, my tech is really good and can do it all. In fact, if all goes well I'll post the restoration pics too. This amp needs some serious luv'n and that's all I want for her. 

But does anyone have any leads on how to find the original knobs that Sunn amps used? I only really need three for sure, maybe more. And what is cosmetic value worth on these old amps anyway?

Thanks again.
 

[Whip Chop!]

Good luck with this! I am so glad the T I got a couple years ago was packed well but it's always something you worry about. Yes, show us restoration pics when it's done!

[fatlizzard]

This is what My 1967 200S arrived looking like after bad packing (tossed in a cardboard box)by an e-bay seller,Unfortunately I paid with a postal money order to Canada and the seller did not purchace the extra insurance he was supposed to! Both transformers broke loose and took out all tubes!!!!!

[fatlizzard]

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