What to do when a boombox arrives broken?

[kraftmatic]

I purchased a boombox through eBay from a seller in Germany. The price was a little high but the unit was in good cosmetic condition and fully working. It arrived here in California after a few weeks. It was packed fairly well and appeared to be undamaged, however one of the tape decks was not functioning.

I contacted the seller through eBay, who replied that the deck was fully working when he packed up the unit. I believe he is telling the truth. His product photos show the deck working, he has a good selling reputation, and I've purchased from him before without problem.

So my question is, how should I respond? I know that some boomboxes will inevitably get damaged during shipping. Should I just accept that in this instance I was unlucky? Or should I ask for a partial refund? Because after all, the unit did not arrive in the condition that was advertised.

This has happened to me a few times and I'm not sure how to respond. I'm leaning towards simply accepting this as bad luck and moving on, which is what I've done before. But I don't want to be a sucker. What do you do in this situation?

 

[Northerner]

If he's reputable and has proof it worked before personally I'd just take it on the chin and accept it...probably not worth the grief and sometimes bad things happen and no one is to blame

 

[Superduper]

Problem with these old boomboxes is that they all need belts or always on the brink of needing belts. A change in weather and tension can diminish to where what was working one day might not the next. The exception is when a box is freshly rebelled AND serviced properly. This means brand new and correct sized belts, not just what one has in their tool bin that they can stuff in there. I know some folks reuse old belts in applications that require a longer belt (since old belts have already stretched) but they won't have the proper tension. Also, I've received boomboxes, at least 1 by a member in which a regular rubber band was used. In fact. A square rubber band where a flat belt used to be there. In any event, I don't think a warranty is applicable and as long as it in good cosmetic condition, I generally don't care since that's my primary concern.

 

[Reli]

I've had a couple boxes where the deck works only at a certain angle. Tilt it a few degrees and it stops working.

The worst are soft-touch decks.....so many things can go wrong with those.

Even if you receive a good working deck, odds are it'll break a few months later.

 

[redbenjoe]

you members are scaring me --
after reading all this --i need to acquire an ipod ( whatever TF that is )

 

[Ken]

you members are scaring me --
after reading all this --i need to acquire an ipod ( whatever TF that is )

...and let me be the first to offer to sell you one... imp: :devil:

 

[redbenjoe]

i really never had an ifone or ipod or any of that ' cute & handy ' crap

lots of walkmans tho

 

[Reli]

iTunes sucks anyway

 

[redbenjoe]

back to the topic --this has happened to me a few times also --

its a very tough decision to " $$Suck-it-up " when you paid the full competitive ebay price -
then get let down --you did everything right -- nothing wrong -

but if the seller did send it fast and pack it well and showed it working -
then he did well also
=============

a few weeks ago -- i received an ebay win hitachi --
its cosmetically PERFECT --sounds . looks and feels like brand new --
it even has ' that new box smell '

line-in is totally DEAD --deck plays as new -- but records NOTHING

its like a factory defect ??

 

[baddboybill]

Here's a good one. The description of the JVC 550 I had gotten off eBay stated it was restored with new belts and deck worked excellent. Well when I got it the inside of tape compartment had so much dirt I could not see how they expected it to work. So in situations like these I send message explaining what's going on and how the description states it's suppose to be. I ask seller what they will do about it and wait to see what they say. Sometimes they know to just refund partial amount and ask how much I think or they give amount. If you paid lots more than what you think is fair I would fight to get at least something back. Explain you need to take to technician and that will cost. Just my 2cents


Bad Boy Bill

 

[Ken]

The only radios I have ever received that were advertised as truly meeting the eBay definition of "used" i.e. completely working and turned out to be so were my Prosonic from Peter (stynger007) and my M-90 from an unknown eBay seller. Before my M-90, I must have had a half dozen boxes that just didn't have all their functions. I really don't think that most sellers have ever read the eBay definition of "used." They just glibly write "everything works" and leave it at that. I was scared to death to invest in an M-90 only to have it possibly come up short. Nothing like having your Tele Studio or Big Ben only work for a week or two, and I'm not talking belts, either.

Luckily, it didn't. Doesn't mean that next time I won't be fighting for some money back, though, again.

If he's reputable and has proof it worked before personally I'd just take it on the chin and accept it...probably not worth the grief and sometimes bad things happen and no one is to blame

...but only from a member.

Except Sin. I'm still pissed off about that Big Ben.

 

[kraftmatic]

Thanks for the responses. I've decided that when the seller seems to be telling the truth that I should accept his word and accept whatever bad luck might occur during shipping (as long as the unit is properly packed, and it was in this case).

The good news is that when I told the seller that I accepted his story and was not going to ask for a refund for the damage, he went ahead and refunded me $20 anyway.

 

[baddboybill]

Thanks for the responses. I've decided that when the seller seems to be telling the truth that I should accept his word and accept whatever bad luck might occur during shipping (as long as the unit is properly packed, and it was in this case).

The good news is that when I told the seller that I accepted his story and was not going to ask for a refund for the damage, he went ahead and refunded me $20 anyway.


Very cool


Bad Bad Bill

 

[fresh produce]

What did you get

 

[bklyn sound]

Very cool


Bad Bad Bill

I don't think the seller was out to screw ya...

 

[baddboybill]

Many sellers are honest but unfortunately things can happen in shipping beyond anyone's control. After all these units are 30 years old


Bad Boy Bill

 

[restocat]

Very cool


Bad Bad Bill

Good ending!

I usually do not bother the seller unless something is terribly wrong. Considering these electronics are 30 years+ old, nothing should be expected to work perfectly. faulty switches, etc are just part of the hobby.