MartyGrass Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 The PayPal claim on my receipt of a guitar that arrived "substantially different than what was described" in the eBay listing was ultimately resolved this morning. There is an important lesson for those who buy guitars. From the top folks at eBay and PayPal, if a buyer supplies a shipping label or negotiates any alternative form of transfer of the purchased item, there is no buyer protection. Period. In my case the seller wanted $100 for shipping but said if I sent him the FedEx label, he'd ship the guitar to me. Since I have a commercial FedEx account it only cost me $35. But I lost all protection there. It wouldn't have mattered if the seller set it on fire, ran over the guitar with a truck, and sent the remaining debris to me in a shoe box. I'm out of luck. This determination was made by the head of claims and disputes at PayPal after he knew all the facts of the case. This is the second time I've had a bad experience with the so called buyer protection plan. In fairness though, these PayPal guys have a very difficult job wading through all of the scams. They can only hope to create a resolution for each case, not perfect justice. Despite the long odds against FedEx paying for the damages, I submitted a claim to them. We'll see.
Steiner Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 That's interesting. I wonder if you have recourse based on the seller telling you he'd package the case. My heart goes out to you and that poor guitar. You want I should have my cousin Guido go and visit him?
DetroitBlues Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 This is scaring me a bit... my 150 is still in limbo...
MartyGrass Posted June 21, 2012 Author Posted June 21, 2012 There's no point in getting upset. I draw inspiration from lawyers and politicians. Everyday they deal with people they believe are idiots or worse- crooks and liars. Most of the time I don't, so I consider myself lucky. I heard an interview with Ice T recently that I thought was provacative and profound. He was asked how it feels to portray a cop when he must have hated cops back in his criminal gang days. Ice T explained that he never hated the cops. He knew what the law was and that he was breaking it. He viewed the cops as being on the "other team". He acknowledged they were good at what they did and he respected them, never hated them. As far as worrying about incoming guitars: be afraid, be very afraid.
nicknickhall Posted June 21, 2012 Posted June 21, 2012 I can't get over the idiot who slapped an address on a guitar case and consigned it to the shipper, or the idiots at the mailplace who accepted it for shipping that way. That's so negligent. Definitely amplifies my "fear of shipment" where fragile items are involved. The seller in this case should lose his sellers account. He is completely untrustworthy.
bolero Posted June 22, 2012 Posted June 22, 2012 man, what a nightmare!! Detroit, I pray every night that H150 makes it to you safely. I believe I packed it more than well enough to make it in one piece...I have shipped approx ~10 guitars before & never had any problems it's in a brand new TKL wooden case that holds it very snug. with detuned strings. and that's packed inside a gtr shipping box lined with heavy foam insulation & newspaper all around it is also fully insured
Tallershadows Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 This still seems like an unfair ruling. I can understand the decision if you had arranged for some unorthodox, alternative method of shipping such as having someone pick the guitar up and it was damaged on route. However, you still used an established company. The only difference is that you supplied the label. I think ebay and paypal are using their policy to make a blanket decision without weighing the fine details. The only saving grace is that for a little over $2000, you are going to have a one of a kind guitar that will be restored to new condition by the makers of the guitar. The history of this guitar is considerable from what you described. Considering a new H155 would cost over that, all in all, I don't think I would lose sleep over it. Still want to kick the seller's ass though...
tbonesullivan Posted June 25, 2012 Posted June 25, 2012 They probably rake it in with the shipping fees they charge, which is why they want to discourage people from using their own shipping accounts.
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