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So, I recently bought a Tascam 246 from a guy through Craigslist with the plan to fix it up and sell it. This is the model I was asking about replacing the VU meter bulbs on last month. I went through and cleaned it up nice, with new belts, pinch roller wheel, idler tires. I tested all the channels and it was great. I sold it on Reverb, packed it up good and bought the shipping through them. I mistakenly chose UPS but I figured that I'd packed it carefully enough and that it would survive even with those monsters handling it. Of course it shows up to the buyer with a crack on the top right corner . I bought the shipping insurance through Reverb prior, so the buyer told me that he planned on having it fixed and knew a place and everything. He said he did some tests and that it was just a cosmetic issue so he would take it to this shop and get the estimate and they would reimburse.
A week goes by and then I get an email saying that the buyer no longer wants to go through with the repairs and they want me to refund the money to him and to find a reputable repair shop to give me an estimate on what it will cost and they will hopefully take care of it. I'm pretty annoyed here because there's no way any shop is going to be able to replace the cracked corner and now I'm stuck with a busted machine. I live in NYC as well, and it's not as easy as throwing it in the backseat and driving to a repair shop. I'm dependent on the subway here so even getting it to NJ Factory Repair is a $70 cab ride. I don't really understand how I'm being forced to take it back and suffer the loss because of careless shipping and handling. I feel for the buyer as this exact thing happened to me once when I bought a 4-track once and it arrived with a cracked corner (seems like they enjoy throwing boxes at UPS) but I took it up with them and received a check after a little back n' forth.
Has anyone here ever dealt with this before? I have sold Tascam 244's and 246's before and have always packed them well (and went through USPS until this time) and never had anything go wrong. I personally don't think I am responsible for this as I sold it as-is with the guarantee that it would work as described. How then, am I forced to take it back because they fucked it up? Also, the buyer says that he's going to go ahead with the repairs and then suddenly a week later changes his mind? How do I know he didn't mess it up when he was doing whatever tests he said he was doing? What would you do in this situation? I'm afraid he took it to the shop and they said it was more damaged than he had originally thought and now he obviously just wants to get rid of it. What a mess.
A week goes by and then I get an email saying that the buyer no longer wants to go through with the repairs and they want me to refund the money to him and to find a reputable repair shop to give me an estimate on what it will cost and they will hopefully take care of it. I'm pretty annoyed here because there's no way any shop is going to be able to replace the cracked corner and now I'm stuck with a busted machine. I live in NYC as well, and it's not as easy as throwing it in the backseat and driving to a repair shop. I'm dependent on the subway here so even getting it to NJ Factory Repair is a $70 cab ride. I don't really understand how I'm being forced to take it back and suffer the loss because of careless shipping and handling. I feel for the buyer as this exact thing happened to me once when I bought a 4-track once and it arrived with a cracked corner (seems like they enjoy throwing boxes at UPS) but I took it up with them and received a check after a little back n' forth.
Has anyone here ever dealt with this before? I have sold Tascam 244's and 246's before and have always packed them well (and went through USPS until this time) and never had anything go wrong. I personally don't think I am responsible for this as I sold it as-is with the guarantee that it would work as described. How then, am I forced to take it back because they fucked it up? Also, the buyer says that he's going to go ahead with the repairs and then suddenly a week later changes his mind? How do I know he didn't mess it up when he was doing whatever tests he said he was doing? What would you do in this situation? I'm afraid he took it to the shop and they said it was more damaged than he had originally thought and now he obviously just wants to get rid of it. What a mess.