Eddie Current customer service story

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by thoth, Dec 6, 2019.

?

How much is EC responsible for the lost amp?

  1. < 5%

    40.6%
  2. 25% (give or take)

    21.7%
  3. 50%

    23.2%
  4. 75%

    10.1%
  5. > 95%

    4.3%
  1. iDesign

    iDesign Almost "Made"

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    230
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Can you post a screenshot from usps.com showing the full tracking history for both packages? In addition, can you explain more about which US Customs & Border Protection Declaration form(s) you completed and describe in explicit detail how you marked those forms? Seeing the usps.com tracking history will confirm if the packages did or did not the clear the ISC Los Angeles facility. Once you post this information I can recommend next steps. You must also keep in mind that USPS codes are sometimes inaccurate and they may not match the actual status of the package.
     
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2019
  2. thoth

    thoth Acquaintance

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2017
    Likes Received:
    79
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Romania
    Package 1, lost. You can see it arrived at Woodland Hills and stayed there 5 days, including week-end.[​IMG]
    Package 2, recovered:
    [​IMG]

    The forms were from Romanian post, I don't know their codes. I declared content as "headphone amplifier", declared value 500 RON each (~ $120), no other info.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    Arrival at the Woodland Hills USPS facility doesn't mean an attempted delivery that day. Most likely, an attempt was made on Saturday August 24 or Monday August 26.

    Since you were told that the packages were undeliverable because the building was vacant, I am betting that it was a Saturday employee who was not used to delivering to this location. Again, the building looks like it's slated for demolition and the one building right next door on the lot is the old municipal courthouse which actually might be abandoned. Neither building has clearly visible address markings on them.

    Your package was likely immediately tagged for return back to sender. Even if Craig had signed up for e-mail alerts it likely might not have mattered.

    I had a package go back to Belgium once because I was one day late getting back to DHL. (I had e-mail alerts, but their tracking system sucked ass, and DHL only attempted to call me once).

    @Bill-P: I've already said it. I've been to this exact Post Office. This stuff happens every day. They can't help. Once something is done, it's done.

    There's a chance you might get your package back. USPS isn't going to send something heavy like that back by plane. It's could be on container ship making the rounds through Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Istanbul.

    It's taken me months to get stuff from Asia by boat.

    This is an unfortunate situation and we all feel for you, and your point that Craig could have been more proactive is valid; but as others have said: valuable stuff should never be entrusted to government or quasi-government postal services. It's like gambling that stuff will be lost. Heck the use of USPS is prohibited in the SBAF loaner program, and we even have an insurance reserve for lost and stolen packages.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2019
  4. iDesign

    iDesign Almost "Made"

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    230
    Trophy Points:
    63
    You should call: (201) 714-6000 and 1 (877) 227-5511. Given that both of your packages were returned, the US Customs & Border Protection declaration forms and addresses likely were not marked correctly. The items should have been returned under subheadings 9802.00.40 and 9802.00.60. Furthermore misrepresenting the value of an item on the Customs declaration is illegal and the price can easily be determined by US Customs & Border Protection. Your package is likely being held for these reasons in the New Jersey International Bulk Mail & Distribution Center and you should have USPS do a "tracer" on the package.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2019
  5. drgumbybrain

    drgumbybrain Science Nut

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2017
    Likes Received:
    2,219
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Lives in Fortaleza, Heart in Girona
    This thread opened my eyes about usps. What kind of courier SBAF uses in conus and Canada?
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    FedEx or UPS.

    We try not to ship to Canada for various reasons:
    1. Fascist Canadian customs.
    2. Lack of customs code for "loaners".
    3. General Canadian government paranoid about Canadians buying stuff from the US to avoid taxes.
     
  7. allegro

    allegro Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2017
    Likes Received:
    637
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Florida
    Absolutely: don't use USPS for high value shipments and never skimp on insurance. I prefer FedEx to UPS. @thoth I sincerely hope USPS finds your lost amp. Or you and Craig come to a mutually satisfactory arrangement if not.

    However consider once the Jotunheim R is in production you will be able to get state of the art SQ for $800 matched with the Raal SR1a's. I believe both will be shipped from either the EU or US, correct me if I am wrong. Fewer headaches for our friends in the EU.

    If I sell my current Kenzie it won't be to buy an EC Studio Jr or a DNA Starlett. Heck no, I am buying an $800 Jotunheim R and the SR1a's. No more tube rolling and head speakers that can be made like new just by replacing both ribbon cartridges for $350. That would give any prospective buyer of a boutique tube amp second thoughts.

    I suppose there will always be a market for expensive SET headphone amps but I bet it will shrink next year and builders will be expected to provide exemplary customer service. I have never heard a complaint about ampsandsound or DNA for example.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2019
  8. thoth

    thoth Acquaintance

    Contributor
    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2017
    Likes Received:
    79
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Romania
    Called both. First doesn't have general customer service, just some specialized cases. 2nd seems unrelated - customs and border protection. Hope what @purr1n wrote is true. But then why USPS considers a package lost after 3 months, if they deliberately send it with a ship that takes more than 3 months to return?

    The code "insufficient address" is incorrect. On the package that I got back return reason is "vacant". Note that the package I got back did not even reach Woodland Hills. Could it be that the address was flagged vacant in the system and all packages on their way to Craig automatically got returned?
     
  9. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    You can't trust USPS tracking unless it's Express mail. The packages are not necessarily scanned at each location with updates on the web. I've received shipment tracking status after packages from USPS were delivered to my door.

    USPS considers packages lost after you tell them that they are lost. You need to wait seven days after expected arrival to file a lost claim. After this, USPS will spend three months searching before officially acknowledging that the package was lost.

    It may be different in this case because USPS is not officially who you shipped with. They are simply handling the last leg of the journey that originated in Europe.

    It's pointless trying to understand USPS. This is a "company" that will lose x10 more money in 2019 than Tesla. It would be gone if rural communities did not need to be served.

    For now, you may just have to wait, resting in this feeling of unease and discomfort. And it's possible that we may never know what happened.
     
  10. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2019
    Likes Received:
    956
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Voted.

    I say keep an eye on Craigslist New Jersey.
     
  11. iDesign

    iDesign Almost "Made"

    Joined:
    Oct 26, 2015
    Likes Received:
    230
    Trophy Points:
    63
    Can you post the address you wrote on the Declaration forms and gave to Poșta Română? This way we can understand if you formatted the address incorrectly. A lost package claim can be opened or considered lost between seven and seventy five days of inactivity depending on the method it was shipped. In this case your package could have been transferred and held in a warehouse due to the issues I outlined in my previous post, and thus, you or a broker need to contact US Customs & Boarder Protection.
     
    Last edited: Dec 9, 2019
  12. PTS

    PTS Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2016
    Likes Received:
    1,069
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
    I would suggest to Craig that he put up a few signs (that read 'Eddie Current' and the address) around the building so non-deliveries can be avoided.
     
  13. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

    Staff Member Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 24, 2015
    Likes Received:
    89,771
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    Padre Island CC TX
    It's my position to not advise or suggest anything for someone else's company unless first asked. And if asked, the outdoors sign would be the last of priorities. There are probably a dozen control points (between seller and customer) where if effectively done, would have prevented this entire mess. I am passing no judgment.

    For all we know, USPS junk or regular mail might not have been picked for a period a time, resulting in USPS categorizing that address as "vacant".
     
  14. Psalmanazar

    Psalmanazar Most improved member; A+

    Pyrate Slaytanic Cliff Clavin
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2015
    Likes Received:
    5,345
    Trophy Points:
    113
    At least Craig responded. A few big, scummy “pro” audio companies take a long time to respond to service requests on gear that actually needs to be used. Even getting a cheap temporary replacement to do a quick job might cost you money upfront but keep you a client in the future. I just lost 100 bucks to Gibson that way.
     
  15. yotacowboy

    yotacowboy McRibs Kind of Guy

    Pyrate Contributor
    Joined:
    Feb 23, 2016
    Likes Received:
    10,684
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Location:
    NOVA
    Home Page:
    Seriously, set up an alert on Hifishark.com if you suspect something like this.
     
  16. JK47

    JK47 Guest

    At the least, ask Craig to be on the look out for someone asking him for a power supply only...
     
  17. Mindbender

    Mindbender Acquaintance

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2019
    Likes Received:
    81
    Trophy Points:
    18
    Location:
    Anywhere the Wind Blows
    I have to ask the question: What is Thoth's recourse if the EC amp magically appears on his doorstep tomorrow?

    Specifically, will he need to contact Craig (again) to request that he repair the faulty unit? Or has his bridge with EC finally burnt up from all of the hostilities?

    I'm assuming that there wouldn't be any questions about Thoth fully insuring/declaring the unit as much as possible.

    Also - should Thoth should look for a local tech to fix it out of pocket at this point?
     
  18. elmoe

    elmoe Friend

    Pyrate Banned
    Joined:
    Apr 23, 2019
    Likes Received:
    956
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Phoenix, AZ
    Thats what I would do. First I would take that f***** apart and check all solder points and make sure its wired for 220V though. Sounds like it might not be.
     
  19. philipmorgan

    philipmorgan Member of the month

    Pyrate BWC
    Joined:
    Sep 28, 2015
    Likes Received:
    3,790
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    In the wind, so to speak
    Home Page:
    Idle curiosity: would be cool if a high-ish volume shipper (@schiit ?) with actual data on this could weigh in on USPS reliability vs. others. Everyone seems to generalize from their individual experience to the whole. I totally get that in certain zones the USPS experience sucks ass.

    My NBM got shipped via FedEx and nicked, so if I did the generalize-one-bad-experience thing I'd be ranting about FedEx.

    I'm actually in the black about $700 on USPS. A guy paid me to CLA his rare Sinar Norma camera once. I shipped it back to him USPS (insured, cause I'm not that kind of gambler) and it never showed up. I was mortified. We processed the claim and got paid easily and quickly.

    Weeks later the package showed up at my house. The label had fallen off and the box sat in the local USPS depot facility... who knows. Anyway, The guy got his camera and a bonus $700 or whatever it was on USPS' dime.

    Again, idle curiosity, but is there an equivalent to airlines "on time percentage" but for shippers?
     
  20. allegro

    allegro Friend

    Pyrate
    Joined:
    Nov 4, 2017
    Likes Received:
    637
    Trophy Points:
    93
    Location:
    Florida

Share This Page