Input on eBay question please!

[famous beagle]

I wasn't quite sure where to put this. I just want some opinions on this to see if I'm out of line.

I won this auction:

Apex 460 Studio Multi Pattern Tube Condenser Microphone | eBay

The seller described it as "very good condition" and says "please look at photos" as well. I checked out the photos and noticed that a bit of the badge on the bottom had rubbed off, one of the clips on the case was missing, etc. That was all fine with me, so I bought it.

When I opened the package, I noticed that the grill basket is quite clearly bent (see pictures). I went back to check the pictures in the auction, and I noticed that it's kind of noticeable in the pictures, but it also looks as though it could be an optical illusion. In the picture where the mic is at a 45 degree angle, it doesn't really look bent at all.

When I first saw the listing, since it said "very good condition," I wasn't even entertaining the notion that it would be bent, so even if I had noticed that in the photos (which I didn't), I certainly would have dismissed it as an illusion ---especially considering the 45 degree angle shot.

Anyway, so I want to return it, but there's the matter of who pays for return shipping. The auction terms state that I do, but ebay's policy is that if the item is defective or doesn't match the listing, then the seller pays, regardless of what the terms say.

I just wanted opinions on this. I think the seller should pay for the shipping. What do y'all think?

Thanks

Edit: I'd already contacted the seller (before this post) and told him I wanted to return it (and the reason), and he said "I'm sorry ... I didn't know it was bent; that's why I didn't list that in the description."

 

[Wish]

I'm not really seeing anything major. Is it on the right side in the picture?

Does the mike work fine?

Maybe ask for a few bucks back from the seller if the mic works okay, and bend it back into shape yourself.

 

[DM60]

If you got a good deal, it works, and everything is cosmetic, I would just give him a poor rating (if he does business a lot on Ebay, this is a motivator), then see what you can get out of him to make it worth your while.

Good condition is subjective really.

 

[famous beagle]

Thanks for the comments y'all.

Wish: The bend is definitely easier to see in person for sure. But in the pictures (the ones I attached), when you're looking at the front side (with the Apex badge), the grill basket is bent to the right. When looking at the back (with the cardioid diagram), it's bent to the left.

I actually didn't test the mic. By looking at it, I think it's pretty clear that the mic was dropped at some point. (I'm not really sure how else it would have been bent.)

DM60: I agree that "good condition" is subjective, but for "very good condition," I think just about anyone would agree that something like a mic shouldn't be bent. Maybe there would be a little dent in the grill, but this mic clearly had some trauma.

I'm not going to keep it. In fact, I already bought another that's in like new condition. I just want to know if anyone thinks I should pay for the return shipping.

 

[DM60]

I'm not going to keep it. In fact, I already bought another that's in like new condition. I just want to know if anyone thinks I should pay for the return shipping.

That is a hard one. I know some companies pay for return, some don't. It wouldn't surprise me if the guy pushed back on paying. That is money out of his pocket twice. Not saying he is right, just sayin'. It might not be worth the fight, unless you just like that sort of thing.

 

[famous beagle]

That is a hard one. I know some companies pay for return, some don't. It wouldn't surprise me if the guy pushed back on paying. That is money out of his pocket twice. Not saying he is right, just sayin'. It might not be worth the fight, unless you just like that sort of thing.

Well, normally I wouldn't mind so much, but this is a tube mic, which means it's a big case with a heavy power supply. I paid $33 in shipping charges when I won the auction, but when I checked USPS, FedEx, and UPS, the absolute cheapest rate I saw was $77! I don't know how he managed to ship it for $33. He's a pawn shop, so they're not a huge business or anything.

 

[DM60]

Well, normally I wouldn't mind so much, but this is a tube mic, which means it's a big case with a heavy power supply. I paid $33 in shipping charges when I won the auction, but when I checked USPS, FedEx, and UPS, the absolute cheapest rate I saw was $77! I don't know how he managed to ship it for $33. He's a pawn shop, so they're not a huge business or anything.

Wow! I really see your point now.

 

[Btyre2013]

send the beastie back, I had a similar problem with something and he has to give you your money back, you are entitled to it as a consumer and he'll have to pay the postage too, my thing was a very heavy poweramp and in the end I got the money back with postage paid for through ebay.

 

[witzendoz]

It's a Pawn Shop, ask them to pay shipping, I would bet that they paid about 25% of the selling price when they got it in.

I make a point of never buying from Pawn shops on ebay, they know nothing about the item and I would guarantee that it was not tested properly. It probably was bent when it was dropped during the break in at the studio it was stolen from.

Alan.

 

[miroslav]

You could haggle over the return shipping...if you have a good case, you can convince them to pay....but back to Canada....it's not going to be cheap, and I bet he might only cover the same amount it cost him to ship to you.

Here's what I would do...test the mic
If it works with no issues...the basket thing is easy enough to fix. Just take it off and straighten it out.
You can dent/bend those even with poor handling...so I would no assume it was dropped.

At any rate if it works... either keep it as a stereo tube pair (for $160, that's pretty cheap)...or sell it yourself.
I mean, for an Apex, I wouldn't lose much sleep over it, especially if the mic works as it should.

 

[ido1957]

Open a case on eBay, insist on him paying return shipping. He can send you a Fedex sticker or something. No harm in trying.

 

[Wish]

I am not sure why you wouldn't at least try out the mic and see if it worked. Honestly, I don't even see anything in the pictures, so as mentioned previously, it might be a mic mishandling situation, instead of a mic drop.

It was shipped to you, so it got banged around a little on the way, I am sure. Maybe the screen got bent during shipping. If the mic works okay, I don't see what the big deal is. It's not a high priced item....but the seller kinda gets screwed on shipping both ways for a cosmetic flaw?

I don't know...seems much to do about nothing.

Asking for a few bucks back from the seller sits better with me.

YMMV.

 

[famous beagle]

I am not sure why you wouldn't at least try out the mic and see if it worked. Honestly, I don't even see anything in the pictures, so as mentioned previously, it might be a mic mishandling situation, instead of a mic drop.

It was shipped to you, so it got banged around a little on the way, I am sure. Maybe the screen got bent during shipping. If the mic works okay, I don't see what the big deal is. It's not a high priced item....but the seller kinda gets screwed on shipping both ways for a cosmetic flaw?

I don't know...seems much to do about nothing.

Asking for a few bucks back from the seller sits better with me.

YMMV.

Thanks for the comments. Like I said, though, the bend is much more obvious in person. It's not just a bend in the grill. I guess I was misleading a bit by saying the grill basket. It's not the grill that's bent (actually, it is a little, but not much). It's the metal beam that wraps around the top of the grill. That's what's bent (and noticeably in person).

There's no way someone could have accidentally bent this by just mishandling the microphone. I mean .... unless maybe they had just become a superhero earlier that day and hadn't learned their own strength yet or something. Either it was dropped, someone sat on it, something fell on it, or someone banged it with a hammer or something. But to me, it looks like a classic example a drop. In person, it's not subtle and looks much more like the attached picture.

I'm not out to screw any seller out of shipping. I believe him that he didn't notice it. Even though I noticed it within seconds of holding the mic in my hand, I suppose they could have bought it (or given a loan on it) without even testing it and possibly never even took it out of the bag. It was in a protective pouch inside a padded hard-shell case packed in a box with adequate packing material. There were no marks on the outside of the box (or on the HSC) to indicate trauma, so I'm 100% sure it was this way when he shipped it. (As I said, when I really look for it, I can see it in one of his auction pictures---just not all of them.)

Somehow he managed to ship it to me for $33. I don't know if he just ate a bunch of the shipping cost, or if shipping from Canada to here is a lot cheaper, because I couldn't find any option less than $70 to ship it back. I don't expect him to pay more than $33 for the return shipping, and if $70 is the cheapest I can find to get it back, then I'll split it with him.

Again, I already bought another (like new) one, and I can't afford to keep this (bent) mic because I bought this with the intent on performing the Fox mod on it (changing the diaphragm, transformer, and a bunch of other components). So I need the money from this mic to pay for those parts.

If the seller refuses to pay for return shipping, then, assuming the mic works, I can bend it back into shape (most likely) and sell it for a discounted price (disclosing everything in the sale).

But the whole point is that I paid good money for a mic that was supposed to be in "very good condition," and that's not what I got.

By the way, I'm not just trying to validate my decisions or anything here. I really do appreciate the input and opinions. I'm just trying to explain myself better.

 

[famous beagle]

Well the seller came back and has agreed to pay the return shipping charges (I was able to find $61.50 through UPS) and give a full refund, so all is cool.

---------- Update ----------

The Apex 460 is a mic that can be modded if you're into that kind of thing. That one might be a good candidate if it mostly works.
Get the seller to refund some money for being less than "very good condition". I'm guessing he would rather do that than take it back.

Oh yes, that's been my intention all along!