On May 5th, 2005, I won an Ebay auction: "Kenwood am/fm tuner model# KT-8300 Works perfectly (Item #5770911736)"

I was at work when the auction ended, so it was a few hours later that I was able to get online and send the money to the seller, Robert Johnson aka robertj276 (robertjohnson2006@hotmail.com). I then called him on the phone to let him know that the money was in his Paypal account, and to ask about the shipping date.

He told me that he would pack the tuner well, and send it out the following day. (Friday) Included in the PayPal payment was a charge for shipping and insurance. Everything seemed okay so I thanked him and hung up the phone.

Friday came and went without any contact from Robert Johnson.

Saturday I sent him another email and asked for the tracking number of the package. He emailed me back and apologized, saying:

"the box I was using to ship it in was a little small for the tuner and bubble wrap so I found a new box and packed it.I will ship it monday.Sorry"

Sounds a little scary to me at this point, so I email him back, stating that the quality of the packing is more important to me than the shipping date, and that the tuner should be double boxed. I tell him Monday will be okay and leave it at that.

I wait until Monday and then inquire about the status of the tuner, leading to the following exchange:

Robert Johnson wrote:
>> I went to ship the tuner with ups with paypal but I didn't have funds
>> for it.So what I will do is I will go to ups and pay for it there.If I
>> miss the ups final pick-up just so it goes out today if its ok with you
>> I will send it fedex they go out later and will arrive in two days.
>>
>>
No problem. I'm more concerned that it gets here in one piece, than how fast it gets here. Fed Ex usually does a better job anyway.
Thanks for the update.
--
KevinO

At this point I still assume the tuner will ship Monday, or perhaps Tuesday. I let a couple of days go by to give him time to finish.

On Wednesday morning, I still haven't heard anything from Robert Johnson aka robertj276, so I email him again to find the status of the package. I get a response from him that evening, but I still have to ask again for the tracking number.

Robert Johnson wrote:

>> Ok the tuner shipped out today via FedEx ground and will arrive in 3
>> days.I am so sorry for the delay and hope it's not to much of a problem
>> for you.I have been very busy shipping and recieving murchandise so I
>> kinda got side tracked.But now it's out and will go out from FedEx at
>> 6:00pm today.
>>
>> Thank you for your purchase.
>>
>> Sincerely,
>> Robert Johnson
>>
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Tracking number?

--
KevinO

robertj276 sends me the tracking number and I can see the there is indeed a package coming FedEx and I look forward to Saturday when the tuner will arrive.

Saturday comes and so does the FedEx guy. I am immediately a little nervous when I see how small the box is. I can tell it is too small for the tuner. I open the package to find a tuner crammed into a box that was tight with the tuner alone in the box, never mind packing material. He has wrapped the tuner in two to three layers of bubble wrap and secured the wrap with priority mail stickers.

I carefully cut away at the bubble wrap to reveal a SMASHED tuner.

Robert Johnson, aka robertj276 (robertjohnson2006@hotmail.com) DOES NOT HAVE A CLUE HOW TO PACK SOMETHING.

Now I am pissed. He took 5 days to ship, after the time HE TOLD me it would ship, and he has lied to me at least twice in the process. I shoot photos of the carnage and send an email off to him with copies of the photos. I also leave a phone message on his answering machine.

Sunday evening he calls me back on the phone, and claims that he hasn't checked his email. I tell him the situation and he says he will check on the insurance and FedEx and that he will get back to me. I start feeling sorry for the guy so after a while I send him an offer of 50%, for what's left of the unit, knowing that his claim will probably be denied based on the poor packaging.

I send another email to him on Tuesday. I get no response. At this point I am out all of my money for the tuner, shipping and insurance. To say that I am tired of dealing with this joker is an understatement. It is now May 17th, 12 days since the auction ended.