A player orders an expensive monitor from an offer. The device arrives heavily damaged, but the damage only becomes truly visible after unpacking. The seller doesn’t want to send him a replacement.
What happened to the player? A player ordered the Samsung Odyssey Ark through a shipping platform. He paid around $1,500 (approximately 1,400 Euros) for the offer. The MSRP of the model is according to Samsung about 2,100 Euros. The monitor was delivered to him by UPS.
But when he unpacked the monitor at home, he was quite astonished: Because when the device finally stood on his desk, he saw the severe damage to the display. He reported the damage to the seller, but the seller does not want to send him a new device. Now he at least hopes that the seller will refund his money (via Reddit.com):
I got it from woot for $1,500. They asked for a picture of the damage, but I was already told that they will not send a replacement.
Hopefully, I will get my money back sometime today.
Particularly annoying: The player explained in another post that the severe damage to the monitor was not visible from the outside. Only after he removed the packaging and stood the device upright on the table could the broken left side of the monitor be clearly seen. The buyer reports himself (via Reddit.com):
The damage was only visible when the device stood upright and I had removed the packaging. The company asked for a picture of the damage before they would process a refund. I plugged it in to get this picture for them [the seller].
Do not accept damaged packages
The journey to your home is long: On the way from the seller to you, numerous people and devices are involved before you can finally unpack the package:
- The seller packs your device and the loader pushes your package further for transport.
- The carrier ensures that your device is transported securely and the vehicle owner is responsible for ensuring that the vehicle is roadworthy for transport.
- The package courier brings the package to your door.
Basically, something can always go wrong. And if it’s the package courier at the very end who accidentally drops your package in the hallway.
What should you do if the package is damaged? Sometimes, however, damages are only partially visible externally. If you open the package at home and then find damages, you should report it promptly. You can claim damages to the package contents up to seven days after receipt.
If it is a so-called concealed transport damage, it is even more important to report the damage immediately. Because after 7 days, it is presumed that the goods have arrived undamaged at the destination, making a return more difficult.
So if you’re assembling your gaming PC, but your parts arrive over several days, you should still open the packages and check the purchased hardware as far as possible.
What other advice is there? Consumer advocates recommend unpacking the package in the presence of the deliverer (via verbraucherzentrale.de). Because with the signature, the recipient confirms not only receipt but also that the package has arrived in proper and good condition. In the specific case of the player with the monitor, the severe damage to the device would also not have been visible.
Among players and experienced buyers, it is now recommended to record the unpacking of high-priced and valuable devices with a cell phone or camera under all circumstances. Because then you can prove to sellers that the damage already existed and you are not the culprit.
In a particularly frustrating case, Amazon accused a father of returning a fake graphics card to the warehouse. However, he received the counterfeit product from Amazon itself. Only he could no longer prove the counterfeit as Amazon had disposed of it. It took almost 5 months for the father to get his money back: Gamer buys graphics card on Amazon, receives fake product – seller denies refund until the return of the “correct” item
