Bought a Trem-O-Verb on Ebay (horror story)

  • Thread starter Thread starter dirtyfunkg
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dirtyfunkg

Well-known member
And it showed up today.

Here is the original ad's description:

Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier 100 watt all tube head. Great amp.. has been used but not abused.
Those of you that have used Mesa amps from the mid 90's know how great they sound. Big Bold American built tones!!

Some wear marks on the tolex and handles are present (see pics). I tested the amp and i was able to get great tones out of all 4 voicings and both channels. Power tubes are fairly new... all other tubes I believe to be original. Reverb does NOT work... I have removed the reverb unit and inspected it... seems fine... could be as simple as a tube replacement (I cannot guarantee that of course). I have not tested the fx loop... so I can't verify whether it does or does not work. I will ship with the single button factory footswitch and the reverb unit. GREAT amp for a Low price.
SOLD 100% AS IS... DUE TO AGE.
Click to expand...

No footswitch showed up as advertised, a rectifier tube was shattered, and most importantly, the headshell was broken (see the photo). I have no idea if the actual amp works because I don't have a cab at home (and it is late!) but I'm scared to even test it without getting a tech to look at it first.

For those of you with experience on a situation like this, how should I proceed? He shipped USPS and it has an insured mail sticker on the box. It does not look like it was packed very well. Newspaper and packing peanuts only. No corner guards, bubble wrap or anything with any significant cushioning capability, and the box was easy to push (softer cardboard). I don't know how much responsibility falls on USPS and how much on the seller.

I've already sent the seller a message through eBay detailing my issues.

He has a 100% positive rating on eBay (203 ratings overall) and I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, but man, this is bad! And considering this is one of those amps I've wanted for several years ever since around when I started playing guitar (this is the Soundgarden, Incubus, and Jeff Buckley amp), I am SUPER bummed out!

Here's the entire photo album: https://s1314.photobucket.com/user/dirty ... 20Delivery


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This sucks

I've had similar things happen, but not as bad as this

Take as much pictures as you can
Keep all the packaging and take pictures of it

If the packaging was bad, USPS probably will not want to give you (or the seller) any money back
You probably will have to file a claim with paypal
 
Not packed well enough, I suspect most carriers would deny any claim.

Take plenty of pics, notify seller for a claim...if he's not willing to take action, initiate it through eBay.
 
Well for one, I'd say that surely happened during shipping and you don't have a seller trying to screw you, but if it was packed poorly that is on him. I'd see what the guy says and go from there.

One option is to see if you can get a replacement headshell from Mesa. Might be the cheapest option on getting it up and going again, and I would think the chassis itself is likely fine.
 
Depends if ya want to keep it? If the chasis isn't fucked up, and amp works, you can get a quick quote from Mesa on a new headshell...they do that.

Glass probably isn't covered. I'd be pissed at seller for packing like that...most idiots don't pack more than they have to.
Since he said 100% as is, I feel it isnt as advertised, or at least didn't show up to u as is in his pictures, so u can ask for your money back, and he can deal with it.
 
One good thing is that the headshell wasn't shattered

You can glue it back with wood glue, it will look fine if done properly, but don't expect to carry the amp using the handle anymore. FWIW I have repaired a headshell this way before and it turned out pretty good

BognerRepair1_zps2d0c2f25.jpg
 
PS...New mesa headshell will be around $300.
 
eBay will take care of you no problem. Pack it back up and ship it back to the guy for a refund.
 
Send it back... No point in paying for something like that...
 
Please note that shipping insurance is for the seller/shipper, not the buyer/receiver. So any money you need to get back comes from the seller: it was his responsibility to get you the amp in the as-described condition. Whether USPS is liable for the damage is a dispute between USPS and the seller, not you.

I'd demand a partial refund to cover a new headshell or just send it back; depends on how good a deal you got.

The amp probably will function OK. Mesa's are tough. I bought a '00 Triple Rec that I knew previously had been dropped by UPS hard enough to shatter all the big tubes and crack the headshell in various spots (not as bad as yours, though). When it was shipped to me, UPS dropped it again hard enough to crack the headshell in completely new spots. Put in new tubes and it fired right up. A pot was messed up, but I dont know if that was shipping damage.
 
I've found eBay's dispute process to be terrible. I bought something which, immediately after I bought it, I rec'd a notice from eBay that they pulled the listing because they though it was a counterfeit, but they'd protect me. Sure enough, it was a counterfeit. I made a claim, the Seller refused to accept the return, and my claim was denied by eBay.

But, when I called, it was all straightened out, quickly.

Bottom line, after making your claim to eBay, expect to have to call eBay.
 
If you decide to return it, don't do anything (like send it back) until eBay tells you to. If the seller files an insurance claim (and that's on him, not you, since he purchased the insurance), USPS will likely want to inspect it on your end before you send it back.
 
Send.
It.
Back.

eBay is greatly biased on the buyers side.
 
You wanted this amp, right? So let's take stock of what we have first.

1. Get to the nearest music store. Bring your amp and borrow some tubes from the store, plug it in, and make sure everything is working. Mesas are tanks, and the chassis looks good, so I bet it'll still work.

2. Contact the shipping company and notify them of the damage. Even if it's not their fault, do your due diligence and find out if they can replace what's broken, whether it's through insurance, through the shipping company's liability, ect.

3. Mesa will charge around $300 for a new headshell, or you can commonly find spare headshells on ebay, on your local CL, and I've even seen them sold at Guitar Center. Average price is about $100. I know a guy that can build you whatever you want for around $250, and it will be better than what Mesa offers.

I'm in the same situation as you because some suck bag from Guitar Center in New York didn't ship my amp properly. The idiot even removed the STR-415s from the amp and bubble-wrapped them, but he placed the tubes DIRECTLY UNDER THE HEADSHELL. Are you kidding me? What a fricken dunce.

The local GC advised me to contact corporate and have them reimburse me for the tubes, which are ridiculously expensive, and they still haven't returned my calls, responded to email, anything.

Sorry to hear about your amp. I really hope this all ends well for you, and in the end, you have a fully operational, perfect amp. It sounds like you've certainly waited long enough for it!
 
That sucks man...

The only thing you can do is message the seller again. If no reply in a few days file a claim on ebay. (the waiting game on ebay is bad)

I would say if YOU could somehow get the insurance money and have it be more than you paid, I would go that route.

But since it is through ebay I doubt that is possible.

Best of luck and that is a bad deal. In the future I would ask any seller to pack the tubes seperately and mark them in the order they were loaded in the amp. That won't stop a broken headshell if dropped but will save you a shattered tube.
 
I'm going to try and get it to my practice space tonight to give it a test. With one recto tube blown, I'm going to have to try it with the diode rectifier, but it shipped with EL34's... can I use the diode rectifier for EL34's? It says not to on the back of the amp. I don't have any 6L6 amps, so I don't have any 6L6 tubes laying around.

My ideal situation is for him to provide at least part of the money for a new head shell (I'm thinking we could go halfway on that front, so $150ish right there), he buys a rectifier tube and has it shipped to me ($20-25 value), and he sends the footswitch he said he was going to send, or sends money to compensate ($50 value from Mesa). So I guess I'd be looking for a re-fund around $200-250.

I got the amp for $735 including shipping, so I did get a good deal on it but I knew the reverb wouldn't work, the FX loop would be a question mark, and the amp was cosmetically beat up. I figured the reverb and FX loop would be easy fixes, but a new headshell, more footswitches, and new glass was not really in the cards from the get go.

I do want to restore some type of value to the amp in the event I have to sell it at some point. In the condition it's in, I figure I'd be lucky to get $300 from someone if I were to sell it.

All that said, the easiest solution would probably be to ship it back to the seller, but I would hope/expect that he pays return shipping.

I'll present the two options to him and let him make the call on how he wants to procee--IF the amp works. If it doesn't work, I'll ask that he take it back.

I appreciate all of your input here. I've messaged him through ebay and asked him to call me so that we can speak over the phone and try to find a solution. I really don't think there was any malice on his end and I'd like to think he would want to make this right. I know I'd feel horrible if I were on the seller's end of this, and given his ebay feedback, he seems to have a track record of only positive transactions. I'm not trying to screw him here.
 
I had a RK amp whose head shell broke in transit (UPS) and I filed a claim for the insurance and the paid for the new headshell (it was a custom purple suede so approx. $750). Was a major pain in the ass and took a couple weeks iirc.

Tubes breaking in transit are hit and miss, sometimes happens usually doesn't.
 
So he got back to me and so far is being really cool about it. Regardless he's going to have to file a claim with USPS. He has all of the photos and I'm happy to take the amp (and packaging, including broken tube shards in the box) to USPS to have them inspect.

I'm confident it will work out alright in some way or another, but I'll keep you posted if there's any interest.
 
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