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New Heresy III speakers arrived damaged... WWYD?


ironman

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Like Sam S., I also received damaged Klipsch speakers.  I bought a pair of brand new Heresy III's from Electronics Expo (authorized Klipsch dealer) and took delivery of them this morning.  The boxes showed typical minor wear from shipping, but nothing that immediately stood out to me.  As soon as I unboxed and inspected them, I found edge damage on both speakers.

 

On the rear right edge of one speaker there is a small spot that is crushed in (photos 1 and 2).  On the other speaker, the front left edge has a small spot that is slightly indented and discolored (photos 3 and 4) and the rear right edge has a small spot that is crushed in even worse (photos 5 and 6).

 

Upon closer inspection of the boxes the speakers came in, I see that the edges corresponding to the damaged areas have indeed been crushed in.  And since there was no styrofoam packing along the edges (only top and bottom caps), that damage was transferred directly to the speaker edges.

 

Now I'm not sure what to do.  On the one hand, the damage is minor and only one of the three spots is visible when the speakers are set against the wall, and I'm not crazy about the idea of sending them back only to find similar or even worse damage on the speakers they send me next.  On the other hand, I paid for brand new speakers and I shouldn't have to accept and live with any kind of damage.  I also don't like the idea of allowing Klipsch to get away with the incredibly asinine practice of shipping their speakers without any styrofoam or cardboard packing along the vulnerable edges.

 

What would you guys do?

 

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1 minute ago, Maximus89 said:

Damn. What’s up with all the new speakers arriving damaged? Only trust Cory


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Excuse my ignorance but who might this Cory person be that keeps being mentioned?

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4 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Same as last post, send them back.   Shipping services are super careful about heavy and delicate items.  Alway have been, always will be.  The next pair you get will more than likely not have the same damage.  

 

Yeah, I think I will have to do that.  I am also going to contact Klipsch about their packaging practices, not that it will do any good.

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2 minutes ago, Maximus89 said:

Damn. What’s up with all the new speakers arriving damaged? Only trust Cory


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'll tell you what's up... the people at the Klipsch factory in Arkansas think it makes sense to ship their delicately finished speakers in thin cardboard boxes with nice styrofoam caps but with nothing to protect the cabinet edges.

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I think the packaging for the heritage speakers is less than robust. My Forte IIIs arrived banded to a pallet. But there was still a hole in one box that looked like a forklift blade had punctured it. I was extremely lucky that it didn't go all the way through to the speaker. These should be double boxed or at the very  least, have thicker boxes. Not sure I would even consider having fedex or big brown handle these.

 

Shakey

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19 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

 Shipping services are super careful about heavy and delicate items. 

What planet do you live on? Please take no offense. Stuff gets damaged all the time especially by Fedex and UPS. If it was palletized and delivered by freight your chances are much better.

And @ironman send it back, get your dealer involved to the point they don't want to ever hear from you ever again. And start a dispute with the shipping company if you have not already.

NEW IS NEW.

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I had to send a pair of Cornwall’s back because of shipping damage. Once again, I’m compelled to point out that as wonderful as their speakers are Klipschs shipping boxes are woefully under engineered.   The box material is way too thin and the corner edge  protection is minimal.    After my first pair showed damage, I actually went to the distribution center of the dealer where I bought mine and looked over several pairs before picking one. Every single pair had dings and dents to the box;  par for the course considering how big and how far they travel. So if it’s predictable the speakers will get knocked, then Klipsch  really needs to improve their packaging

 

 These are the best speakers I’ve ever owned but they were the most poorly packaged of any speaker I have owned. 

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1 minute ago, ODS123 said:

I had to send a pair of Cornwall’s back because of shipping damage. Once again, I’m compelled to point out that as wonderful as their speakers are Klipschs shipping boxes are woefully under engineered.   The box material is way too thin and the corner edge  protection is minimal.    After my first pair showed damage, I actually went to the distribution center of the dealer where I bought mine and looked over several pairs before picking one. Every single pair had dings and dents to the box;  par for the course considering how big and how far they travel. So if it’s predictable the speakers will get knocked, then Klipsch  really needs to improve their packaging

 

It really is so stupid.  They have these nice thick styrofoam caps protecting the tops and bottoms, with nothing protecting the edges.  All they have to do to avoid 99% of these damage headaches is to add four long pieces of styrofoam to wrap the edges.  How hard can that be?

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I guess it's fine to contact Cory, who is an authorized dealer, and a good guy.....but be aware that he can do absolutely nothing after the products are released from his warehouse, just like any other dealer.....after it's in the hands of Big Brown or Fedex, it's a virtual free-for-all....Best thing to do is to take multiple photos of the boxes even before you unpack, possibly meet the delivery person at your location and have them note that there is damage to the boxes if that is the case, and then take more photos of the speakers after unpacking.  Immediately contact the seller to let them know the situation, both by phone and following up with email for documentation.  If returning, contact the seller and have them send you a return shipping label and then set up a pickup date and time with the delivery service.

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Even with placing the speakers in an insulating & padded double wall carton & then INSIDE of a 2nd double, or even triple, wall carton won't necessarily guarantee their safe arrival.

These items we so relish are both heavy and bulky so damage is surely to occur from drops, mis-handles, and speed demon lift truck operators. 

Direct shipping to end user will continue to be risky with the current packaging being used.

Exposure to such losses may be lessened by bulk shipping to various distribution points (by pallet) & then requiring Pick-Up-Only (within end user's same county or some predetermined distance radius).

YMMV

 

 

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30 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

That was sarcasm buddy come on now? OBVIOUSLY things get damaged all the time as the recent posts will confirm.   I myself have had several pair of speakers DESTROYED in shipping, not just damaged.  

Sorry

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Man, sorry to see that. I did return mine today with prepaid label to go back --- but consider that I had to burn a day off work on the day they were delivered, and I happened to be off today anyway, but I had to lug them over to UPS. I've thought about how long it would take me to drive to Cory (yes I did PM him), or even to Hope to pick up in person. It's a shame that that would even be necessary. Good luck with your return, Ironman. I was going to drop an e-mail to Klipsch today, but when I went to their contact page, I got a 3rd party site that looked unaffiliated, so I didn't. Maybe the mods on this board can pass info. like this on --- and maybe some policies might change.

 

Or bubble wrap around the speaker might also help in shipment.

Edited by Sam S.
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It can happen with any company with cheap packaging.  I've never understood the minimalist packing approach of styrofoam top and bottom and then nothing on the 4 bare corners.  Some manufacturers do use a really thick right angle cardboard on the corners that does help against things hitting those corners ....which is very vulnerable.  Double boxing wouldn't matter if the if the inside box has nothing to support the corners.  Seriously....how much more of an expense is it to use 1" thick right angle styrofoam and thick/solid cardboard on the corners to protect such expensive things being shipped?  Hell, add it to the cost.  Years ago we had a couple of manufacturers that had their butts handed to them in costs of returns because of poor packaging.  They finally fixed it and dealers were happy.

 

Now, I've never seen their packaging on the inside personally so I'm only speaking from past experience.

 

Send them back.  There's no reason for that on such expensive speakers no matter who the company is.  You hit it out of the park with a new and improved product only to fail at the very last second and take away those "warm and fuzzy feelings" after plopping down hard earned money.

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When I bought my original Forte's new in 1988 they were completely encased in thick foam and cardboard outer shells split in two halfs placed in an additional carton.  Shame the bean counters have thought that they have trimmed costs by decreasing the packing material used but they are losing in the long run on damaged returns.  Save $20 to lose a $100.

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