From David Joseph Sent Tue, Oct 4th 2005, 12:38
From David Joseph Sent Tue, Oct 4th 2005, 12:38
Several months ago I asked for advice on AH following
the purchase of two mint condition Roland 100M
systems, one of which arrived badly damaged due to an
extremely shoddy, indifferent packing job. I didn't
mention the name of the seller, preferring to give him
more time to hopefully develop a conscious and pay for
replacing the 191J rack, or at the very least, file a
claim with UPS. But his response was to do nothing,
not even so much as offer an apology. Now that Mr.
Lunenfeld is advertising more gear on AH I feel
compelled to tell you about my experience.
The 100Ms were packed in old, beat-up boxes that were
only slightly larger than the 100Ms themselves,
leaving only an inch of space for bubblewrap, and most
of that space was filled with styrofoam peanuts
instead. He justified the packing job by claiming that
the 100Ms were packed in the same boxes and shipped to
him all the way from Japan undamaged, therefore it was
adequate. Following this logic, if they'd been shipped
to him wrapped in newspapers and plastic garbage bags
and arrived undamaged, that would've been adequate for
me too.
Mr. Lunenfeld led me to believe he would ship the
following day after receiving payment, which I
promptly sent him via overnight express mail. More
than a week later I emailed to ask if he'd shipped the
100Ms and got a vague response informing me that he
was busy and he'd "try" to ship next week. That didn't
happen. Then he was "aimin" to ship the following
week. (Why can't people just say what they're going to
do, and then actually do it?) I reminded him (for the
second time) that it was very important he email the
tracking number so I could make sure I was home for
the delivery, and when he finally did ship the 100Ms
he didn't bother to let me know. So I missed the first
delivery attempt and my vintage 100Ms spent the day
bouncing around in a UPS truck, protected by a thin
layer of the world's smallest bubblewrap.
The tone of his emails changed dramatically once he
had received my money. Before sending payment I had a
very different impression of him. He seemed very
helpfull, communicating in full, coherent sentences,
offering advice, implying he would ship immediately,
etc. After I sent payment his emails were vague and
disjointed, giving the impression I was talking to a
completely different person, someone immature,
indifferent and/or mentally incapacitated. That
impression was confirmed when the 100Ms finally
arrived and I saw how badly they were packed, and
confirmed again when Mr. Lunenfeld refused to take
responsibility for the resulting shipping damage.
I have learned a lesson from this: Never assume the
seller knows (or cares) how to pack your purchase
safely, even if the seller has bought and sold enough
gear to fill a small warehouse. Never assume the
seller will show the same care and professionalism you
expect of yourself when selling gear. Always discuss,
in detail, how the seller intends to pack your
purchase.
Regards,
DJ
PS: I have still not located a replacement for the
damaged 191J. I might have to buy an entire 100m
system and sell off the modules. Anyone (other than
Ryan Lunenfeld) who has a 191J or 100m to sell, please
let me know.
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