Buyer wants a return and requesting full refund. Help!

The shipper required OEM packaging or double boxes. To me, I personally would not ship a guitar in bubble wrap. It not about padding and more about movement
The sharp points simply aren’t designed to support the weight of the guitar during shipping. These guitars really need a custom case or packaging designed to support the weight and movement of shipping at the thicker part of the body, so that the points never see stress. Just my engineering 2 cents
 

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So guys, what are you doing when you ship a 50 lb amp head? Are you just dropping the amp off at UPS/Fed Ex and saying here - pack this and ship?

I ask because it seems even they would not be able to do the best job. But I get that then it is 100% insured I guess. I also ask because I see a lot of positive transaction feedback on RT with folks saying things like: "He packed it to survive a nuclear bomb" OR "@ABC always packs well" etc.

So would it be wise to pack the amp yourself the way you would want it, and then take the box to UPS/Fed Ex and have them put your box in one of their boxes and have them ship? That seems like a doubly good way of making sure it is done right.

Thanks all you fine folks for your input and advice!

I reached out to the buyer and offered a partial refund of $400 for him to keep the guitar, and he accepted! So now I'm only out $400 instead of 800. I am happy with that!
Thanks for sharing your story @Metalhex. If anything, show this thread to the buyer. Maybe he will see/feel that you made an honest mistake and only accept the cost value of getting the guitar fixed (which could be $400 I guess, but I doubt it).

Also, sounds like a $400 mistake but if 1 or 2 other brothers here learn something and it saves their ass in the future then maybe you can consider it all worth it. Paid forward if you will. That's how I look at life anyway :dunno:
 
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So guys, what are doing when you ship a 50 lb amp head? Are you just dropping the amp off at UPS/Fed Ex and saying here - pack this and ship?

I ask because it seems even they would not be able to do the best job. But I get that then it is 100% insured I guess. I also ask because I see a lot of positive transaction feedback on RT with folks saying things like: "He packed it to survive a nuclear bomb" OR "@ABC always packs well" etc.

So would it be wise to pack the amp yourself the way you would want it, and then take the box to UPS/Fed Ex and have them put your box in one of their boxes and have them ship? That seems like a doubly good way of making sure it is done right.


Thanks for sharing your story @Metalhex. If anything, show this thread to the buyer. Maybe he will see/feel that you maid an honest mistake and only accept the cost value of getting the guitar fixed (which could be $400 I guess, but I doubt it).

Also, sounds like a $400 mistake but if 1 or 2 other brothers here learn something and it saves their ass in the future then maybe you can consider it all worth it. Paid forward if you will. That's how I look at life anyway :dunno:
Well, your choice is to either do it yourself, packed well enough to withstand anything...and hope for the best. Or, if you don't want to chance it, have the shipper pack for you and pay through the nose to do it.
I have not used them to pack; I trust my ability to do it right. So far so good...but I also know that if there is damage, I'm screwed. Because that's what UPS/Fedex will do...always blame it on packing. With guitars, I've received them without a hard case, and no damage..but If I'm selling one I buy a case and use it...just too much of a risk not to.
 
Well, your choice is to either do it yourself, packed well enough to withstand anything...and hope for the best. Or, if you don't want to chance it, have the shipper pack for you and pay through the nose to do it.
I have not used them to pack; I trust my ability to do it right. So far so good...but I also know that if there is damage, I'm screwed. Because that's what UPS/Fedex will do...always blame it on packing. With guitars, I've received them without a hard case, and no damage..but If I'm selling one I buy a case and use it...just too much of a risk not to.
Right. That's why I'm suggesting you/I wrap and box it the way you want to receive it, and then take your box to shipper to have them pack your box in one of their bigger boxes and then ship. That way, you are almost 100% guaranteed you are protected and the item arrives as intended.
 
Well, your choice is to either do it yourself, packed well enough to withstand anything...and hope for the best. Or, if you don't want to chance it, have the shipper pack for you and pay through the nose to do it.
I have not used them to pack; I trust my ability to do it right. So far so good...but I also know that if there is damage, I'm screwed. Because that's what UPS/Fedex will do...always blame it on packing. With guitars, I've received them without a hard case, and no damage..but If I'm selling one I buy a case and use it...just too much of a risk not to.
I used to think my packing would survive anything..................well.... 'ANYTHING' seems to happen alot these days...........so I decided to abstain from shipping expensive music gear...........:dunno::scared:

I'll let the music retailers deal with the issues!
 
I have not used them to pack; I trust my ability to do it right. So far so good...but I also know that if there is damage, I'm screwed.
I feel like a broken record, but I had a successful claim paid out after self packing and using the third party insurance through Pirate Ship. Based on your advice I will never ship without a third party insurer, but it does seem like the two options for the best peace of mind are: either have UPS/Fedex pack your gear, or pay for third party insurance on your shipment. Thorough documentation must be kept, including photos/videos of the packing job pre and post shipment, as well as all communications between buyer/seller.

OP glad you reached a deal with the buyer!
 
Sorry this happened to you. Usually if a buyer contacts me right away to tell me something is wrong, I have to take the return back. Its a cost of doing business. I bought a Quickrod years ago of some TGP member. I paid family/friends via paypal and he could have screwed me. The amp arrived in full working condition, minus the headshell which had imploded in shipping. He took it back, and took responsibility no questions asked. Ideally, that should be every seller.

If I were the buyer and it arrived like that, I'd be unhappy too. If I'd just spent the money, I'd want the guitar to arrive in the condition described.(Its not like he's nitpicking a tiny scratch or something). If I were in your shoes, I'd offer a refund once the guitar is back in your possession (With no additional damage done to it on the trip back to you). The pieces that broke should be safely secured somewhere in the box so they can be glued back on as well). Once you have it back, I'd try and glue the pieces back together, or sell it as-is, minus the damage.

Things happen, share this thread with him if there's still an issue. hoping it works out for both of you.
 
Do I have any leg to stand on if I tell him "well you knew it wasn't coming with a case so you took a chance/I stated no refunds/returns" kind of thing?
No way, PayPal is the worst. They side with the buyer every time. (Not every time, but like 999 out of 1000 times)

There are a lot of scumbags out there. I could see him break it because he had buyers remorse. Figured he would get a refund for sure that way.

There are a lot of really bad guys out there, but, to me, when it’s a fellow guitarist/musician who is scamming/cheating/stealing from you, it elevates them to a whole new level of scumbag.

PayPal needs to initiate an arena of retribution option where a jury of the victims friends decides the scammers fate. Offshore of course, so no laws apply, not even the Geneva convention. See how many scammers try to pull their scams still knowing someone will be waiting in the arena of retribution ready to harvest their organs with no anesthesia to pay back what they stole.
 
long story short. I bought a guitar from Japan and it arrived damaged. It was not packed well at all. USPS left it in my porch with the headstock sticking out of the box. The seller( who has a good reputation ). Sent me $200 right away and I filed a claim with USPS and he with Japanese shipper. I had to take the guitar to the post office and leave it with them. Ffw 4 months he got the settlement of $450 that they paid from a bogus repair estimate that I prepared. He promptly sent $350 of it to me and I went back to the post office and got the guitar. It has a chip in the headstock but otherwise plays perfectly
 
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All the shipping an buyer's remorse horror stories I read about is 100% why if I ever decide to sell something I will only list it here.
I feel like if a RT member had buyer's remorse they'd fess up and ask if they could send it back instead of pulling some bullcrap stunt. I'd likely say sure as long as they understand shipping is on them.
On the other side I think people here would be understanding of something getting fucked up during shipping and we can work out a partial or full refund no issues.
Either way I think a resolution would be a lot more honest and amicable than dealing with some turd on Reverb or eBay.
 
I feel like a broken record, but I had a successful claim paid out after self packing and using the third party insurance through Pirate Ship. Based on your advice I will never ship without a third party insurer, but it does seem like the two options for the best peace of mind are: either have UPS/Fedex pack your gear, or pay for third party insurance on your shipment. Thorough documentation must be kept, including photos/videos of the packing job pre and post shipment, as well as all communications between buyer/seller.

OP glad you reached a deal with the buyer!
I remember reading that, and that is very good news that the 3rd party ship will do the right thing. I have dealt with the UPS before where they turned down my claim, I appealed, contacted someone higher up at a regional UPS headquarters and still got nowhere.
Thankfully Pirate Ship has not only saved us money on shipping costs, but your result gives hope that Pirate Ship will do the right thing by us IF something arises.
 
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