Feedback profile - iualum

I originally bought the cab from TB, tried it at a rehearsal and decided it wasn’t for me. I also needed the funds back because of unexpected expenses that came up with my family. I put the cab up in the classifieds and TB user iualum contacted me saying that he was interested. Since I wanted to move the cab fast I agreed to sell it for $800 USD shipped to his door. (I'm in Canada and shipping cost me $150). On June 9, 2015 I received a PayPal payment and iaulum was advised that the soonest I could ship the cab was on the 15th because I was out of town for work.

On June 15th, I shipped the cab using UPS with the full declared value and full insurance. I sent him the tracking info on that day as well.

On June 22nd I received a message from iualum saying that he didn’t accept delivery because UPS was asking for a $63 brokerage fee. His position was that he wasn’t aware that he would be charged and that I didn’t notify him of any additional fees so the responsibility was on me. I honestly didn’t know this would happen since I always ship with Canada Post/USPS to the U.S.(this package was too big to ship with them). I realized later on that UPS gouges you with brokerage fees upon delivery. I tried to plead with him stating that I gave him a good deal but he didn’t budge so I ended up sending him a PayPal payment of $65.19 on June 24th. The extra $2.19 was for PayPal fees at his request which didn’t bother me because I didn’t have a credit card to pay UPS directly with.

On July 3rd he sent me a message saying that he received the cab but it was damaged and a PayPal dispute against me was opened. The damage was only cosmetic (the cab sounded fine) so I suggested that he take it to a local carpenter/wood worker and I would cover the repair. (At this point, even though the cab was insured I didn’t want to open a UPS claim. The shipping box was somehow undamaged so I thought it unlikely that they would rule in my favour. I also factored in the fact that they damaged it in the first place, so by asking them to transport it to the repair man and back, I would be running the risk of the damage happening again and more time being wasted.) iualum said that he would only be comfortable if Mike Arnopol (the original builder) looked at it. Since they were both in Illinois, iualum said that he was going to get a quote from him.

On July 3rd this is exactly what iualum quoted me in a PM:
* ~$250 for the repair work (material/labor).
* $40 for tolls (2 round-trips @ $20/trip x 2 trips).
* ~$60 for gasoline.

Total ~$350. With a standard international PayPal payment (including PayPal fee), it would be US$364.78.

On July 4th I saw that the amount had changed to this instead:

* ~$275 for the repair work (material/time/labor).
* $40 for tolls (2 round-trips @ $20/trip x 2 trips).
* ~$60 for gasoline.

Total ~$375. With a standard international PayPal payment (including PayPal fee), it would be US$390.79.

I asked iualum why the labour amount had gone up $25 and his reply was exactly this:

“Mike said $250, possibly as much as $275. I initially used the $250 amount, but decided to use the higher possible number. Should have used the higher number to start.”

I wanted the whole transaction to be over at this point so I talked to PayPal (since the claim was already opened against me) and I offered iualum a settlement of $390.79.

More than a week went by and the claim was still unresolved (which means he had not accepted my refund yet). I didn’t know why this was the case since I was giving him what he had asked for. I gave iualum a phone call and he told me that Mike Arnopol took a look inside the cab and said that someone had tampered with it so the repair was going to cost more than previously quoted. At this point I knew something was wrong since I knew this wasn't my doing. I gave Mike a call and after talking for a bit I informed him of the original owner. Mike was aware that the original guy had tampered with the cab so he decided to repair that part for free. I also asked Mike to tell me how much he was charging to do the repair since I was the one paying for it. Mike informed me that he was charging iualum $200. Shortly after this iaulum accepted the PayPal settlement.

I called iualum right after asking why he had lied to me about the labour charge and he responded that he wanted to be paid for his time. I pointed out that it was an outright lie and that he needed to compensate me for the amount of $90.79. He said that he would “think about it”. I haven’t heard from him since we had that telephone conversation.

I sent him a TB PM on July 28 telling him that he owed me $90 based on the fact that he lied about the repair charge and that I would be forced to leave negative feedback if it wasn’t resolved soon. iualum has not replied. It's been a month since that PM so here is my response.

I did everything in my power to make the transaction a success. I feel humiliated by the fact that I trusted iualum to give me a correct and honest repair quote. I should have communicated and dealt with Mike Arnopol directly in the first place. I guess you live and you learn. Not everyone on TB is as honest as you might think at first.

Excellent buyer.

Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the Zenith. It's a fun bass that looks great. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns and I'll be happy to answer.

I'll let you know if I hear of any get togethers in Chicago.

Scott

Communication was easy with prompt responses through PM's. Payment after questions were answered. All went very smoothly. A pleasant transaction.

Enjoy the amp!

Hey Matt, thanks again for the trade, I am loving the MB2. Hope you put the Veillette to good use!