What do you do when...

Serendipity

You pay for a used piece of gear and it arrives damaged? And then the seller does not respond to any emails?

- Frustrated

Edit: I am not able to contact the seller via telephone.

F1nut

More details please. Can you call the seller? Is he/she away for the holidays? Was it packed with the original materials/carton? Was it insured?

Serendipity

Let's just say - I made some VERY dumb mistakes and I'm too embarassed to tell. On a positive note, I did learn a lesson this time about buying anything used online (especially audio gear and HT stuff)...

If you want, you can PM me.

danger boy

either he didn't pack it right, or he didn't pack it right for shipping. if it was damaged by the shipping company. you can file a claim for damages, if he was a numb nut and didn't pack it up right for shipping. then I don't think the shipping company will pay squat.

keep trying to get a hold of him. if it was an ebay auction.. you should have a email receipt that will have his mailing address.. send him a letter certified mail and see if he responds to you. include your cell phone number and ask him to call you ASAP.

good luck.

WilliamM2

If it was an ebay auction, you can get all his contact info, including phone number. It is somewhere in the dispute console. If you paid with PayPal, I would give him a couple of days to respond, and if still no communication, start a "Item not as described" dispute. It's his responsibility to get the item to you in the condition described.

If all else fails, and you paid with a credit card (paypal or direct), you can file a dispute with your CC company.

Serendipity

WilliamM2 wrote: »

If it was an ebay auction, you can get all his contact info, including phone number. It is somewhere in the dispute console. If you paid with PayPal, I would give him a couple of days to respond, and if still no communication, start a "Item not as described" dispute. It's his responsibility to get the item to you in the condition described.

If all else fails, and you paid with a credit card (paypal or direct), you can file a dispute with your CC company.

No, it was not an ebay auction.

treitz3

If you don't mind me asking, what type of gear was it?

Serendipity

treitz3 wrote: »

If you don't mind me asking, what type of gear was it?

It was a projector. I'm just revisiting this thread because I want to consider my options at this point in time.

danger boy

so I don't remember, is it damaged beyond repair?

Serendipity

danger boy wrote: »

so I don't remember, is it damaged beyond repair?

Basically, since I didn't buy the projector off eBay (which has a buyer protection program), audiogon does not have a protection program with their transactions.

I don't know what to do at this point.

danger boy

if the seller did not respond to any emails. then it's no longer his problem. but your's. take it to a qualified repair shop and get an estimate on repairs.. then proceed from there.

Serendipity

danger boy wrote: »

if the seller did not respond to any emails. then it's no longer his problem. but your's. take it to a qualified repair shop and get an estimate on repairs.. then proceed from there.

I did, it costs over $1500 to replace the circuit board that is malfunctioning.

Serendipity

To make things worse, my parents are pretty upset about what happened and it seems like I am taking the blame for something totally ridiculous. After all, it was my hard-earned money, not anyone else's...

danger boy

dang that's expensive to get repaired... next i'd contact the manufacturer of the projector and see what they say... i'm really surprised that a board costs that much dinero. It's prob like a $3 chip on the board or something..

sorry, not making fun of your situation.. but often times.. repair shops will quote you a price on replacing a board that is just swapped out with a rebuilt or new board.. when your original board only needs an inexpensive piece replaced.

sorry, but at this point i don't know what else you can do? If the seller was honest that it was working when he sold it, then it somehow got fried when you hooked it up.. then it's your problem. but if he sold you a POS broken projector and you can't get a hold of him. then it's unfortunate, but again, it's your problem to get it fixed.

one last thing.. try taking it to a mom and pop TV/projector shop.. they often times have better repair shop rates.. just an idea.

good luck.

Serendipity

The projector was well over $14,000 new, so I'm not surprised that a single board costs $1500. The problem is that I'm in a difficult situation right now and everything is a mess here, this really sucks.

danger boy

well.. sorry man. it is a major bummer.. have you tried looking for a non functioning one like yours on Ebay? then buy it in hopes that the board that failed in yours in still good in the other non functioning one? just an idea.. not sure if you could find another one that someone is just parting it out.

Serendipity

danger boy wrote: »

dang that's expensive to get repaired... next i'd contact the manufacturer of the projector and see what they say... i'm really surprised that a board costs that much dinero. It's prob like a $3 chip on the board or something..

sorry, not making fun of your situation.. but often times.. repair shops will quote you a price on replacing a board that is just swapped out with a rebuilt or new board.. when your original board only needs an inexpensive piece replaced.

sorry, but at this point i don't know what else you can do? If the seller was honest that it was working when he sold it, then it somehow got fried when you hooked it up.. then it's your problem. but if he sold you a POS broken projector and you can't get a hold of him. then it's unfortunate, but again, it's your problem to get it fixed.

one last thing.. try taking it to a mom and pop TV/projector shop.. they often times have better repair shop rates.. just an idea.

good luck.

None of the mom and pop TV shops around here deal with high-end projectors. Sure, they do repair service for compact LCD/DLP projectors like the ones used in an office conference room, but they have never worked on high-end ($12,000+) units that are usually reserved for home theaters.

Serendipity

danger boy wrote: »

well.. sorry man. it is a major bummer.. have you tried looking for a non functioning one like yours on Ebay? then buy it in hopes that the board that failed in yours in still good in the other non functioning one? just an idea.. not sure if you could find another one that someone is just parting it out.

Yes, but I don't have the money!!

Face

With the classes you're taking, you may be able to handle fixing it on your own. Call the manufacture and get a price on the part.

I hope you left the loser a bad feedback on Audiogon.

m00npie

Wow Alex, you were not kidding when you told me at Sal's that you got screwed by someone on AudiogoN. If it were me... if the item is less than 1k, than the best course of action is just to eat it and move on. If it is greater than that, you need to find out who this person is and where they live. If possible, take them to small claims court or have at least an attorney send them a letter.

Perhaps you have done this already. If an attorney is too expensive, then send them a letter and create your own letterhead referencing a waste management company in NYC:D Maybe that will get their attention.

Serendipity

Thanks for all the quick replies. I really appreciate it.

It looks like I am going to tackle fixing this myself, as in my Electrical Engineering classes I have access to lots of test equipment such as oscilloscopes, DMM's, etc. It will be a challenge though...

first capital

For the first time ever, I have a backup G90 projector here if the unit ever needs servicing.

Maybe the fellow on ebay can help?

Serendipity

m00npie wrote: »

Wow Alex, you were not kidding when you told me at Sal's that you got screwed by someone on AudiogoN. If it were me... if the item is less than 1k, than the best course of action is just to eat it and move on. If it is greater than that, you need to find out who this person is and where they live. If possible, take them to small claims court or have at least an attorney send them a letter.

Perhaps you have done this already. If an attorney is too expensive, then send them a letter and create your own letterhead referencing a waste management company in NYC:D Maybe that will get their attention.

You know anyone from such said company?

Serendipity

first capital wrote: »

For the first time ever, I have a backup G90 projector here if the unit ever needs servicing.

Maybe the fellow on ebay can help?

Maybe, but that projector model is a bit newer than the one I have, which is an older model Sony.

madmax

This whole thing sucks. If you think Ebay is any better you are mistaken. It can happen anywhere, anytime to anyone. On the good side, it was probably physical damage to the pcb (worked ok before shipping) and you should be able to find that and repair it yourself. Best of luck!
madmax

Serendipity

madmax wrote: »

This whole thing sucks. If you think Ebay is any better you are mistaken. It can happen anywhere, anytime to anyone. On the good side, it was probably physical damage to the pcb (worked ok before shipping) and you should be able to find that and repair it yourself. Best of luck!
madmax

Who knows, as I had the seller personally deliver the projector to my place. So it may have been broken before I got it...since it wasn't shipped via a delivery company, he brought it over in his SUV.

Which sucks even more, because if it were physical damage, I could easily see it but in this case it complicates things...

madmax

I was thinking more in terms of a broken track sort of problem from a possible board flex during the move. Bigger tv's often have this sort of problem. You are not going to see that sort of thing but much time with an ohm meter can find it. If he had a disfunctional item it certainly seems strange he would take the chance of delivering to someone. You never know though. Again, I think you will be able to find the problem.
madmax

WilliamM2

He brought it over personally, and you didn't hook it up to check it out?

treitz3

I would follow this up with a call to the local police department. Explain the situation. Though the seller would most likely not deliver the projector damaged, you never know now a days. In his advertisement, did he say, "as-is" or in working condition?

The fact that he does not answer his e-mails leads me to believe that he knew it wasn't working and that it's no longer his problem. That's just my take though. I would follow thru with the FBI if need be if it was an interstate sale and most definitely follow up with any and all leads.

If it was done on purpose, this kind of crap needs to stop whether it be on CL, Flea-Bay, local paper or whatever. It drives me absolutely bonkers that criminals get away with some of the things they do.

Serendipity

WilliamM2 wrote: »

He brought it over personally, and you didn't hook it up to check it out?

I did power it on to check it out. However, I did not connect a source to the projector, since I didn't have a cable. A while later, when I connected a source, all of the problems surfaced.

madmax

No chance it could be an input setup issue?
madmax