Was I Wrong for not accepting this MK V?

[JAZZGEAR]

As the amp was in his store, it was still "in transit", as they hadn't sent it to you yet. As far as a contract goes, you'd never pull that off in a courtroom.

This is all semantics, mind you. If you took this to court, you'd win, because your product was "damaged in shipping". However, let's say the product was in great shape, and you knew they opened the box because they left you a note inside that said "HAHA, we opened this!"...you wouldn't stand a chance in court with your "contract".

Also, there is no "title", that only applies to cars and trucks. Business Law 101...I'm no lawyer myself (but my wife is), but it's obvious you're not either as this is actually Contract Law, Business Law applies to partnerships and corporations. If the amp was actually YOUR property, it wouldn't have shipped to the dealer, AT ALL. If the dealer chose to, they could have sold "your amp" to another customer and told you that yours is still on order. That amp, from the time it shipped from Mesa until the time the dealer shipped it to you was their own stock. Being an authorized dealer practically makes them a part of Mesa Boogie, I seriously doubt that Mesa Boogie would side with you simply on the principal of not opening the box. Delivering the best quality product is their goal, not shipping boxes with unbroken seals. The boxes we receive are not intended to be product boxes, just shipping boxes.

But as I said, you did the right thing, you should not have kept that amp.

I'm not a lawyer (my wife is a corporate Accountant and I am in Finance), so we are well versed on contract/business law for the state and region we operate in. And FYI....there is such a thing as title on items other than vehicles, houses, boats etc -- . It may be a virtual title (not a paper type), but it does exist. Title for the sake of this argument, is just another way of representing ownership it does not have to take a physical form (look it up, it's in your Business 101 book :mrgreen: ) When I placed my order with the shop, conditions were specified and agreed to - that created a contract (it was in writing in -- in the check-out area); he took the order, and agreed to it with those terms. Otherwise, other than calling me and sending a confirmation e-mail agreeing to this, he would not have processed the order . No he took it and said no problem (paraphrased of course). That right there, supersedes any of the stuff you reference above.


I clearly stated, the Dealer had ownership of the amp while it was in transit...as I had no "contract" with Mesa Boogie (they don't sell direct). The in-transit period for me began when the amp was handed off to UPS/FEDEX, etc en route to me; not when it left Boogie. When it left Boogie, it was the Store's order not mine. There was no contract between Boogie and me at this point. The contract between Boogie and me went into effect when the amp was shipped from the store to me -- in the form of my 5 year warranty. Anyway, we are going way off track now. And we can argue business law back and forth till the cows come home. Fact is, the amp was returned and I got my $$s back. And I will never again order a heavy high value item this way...especially when I have the option to buy locally. That is the lesson learned by me.

And, had the item arrived in new condition, I would not have returned it simply because the box was opened....why would I waste my time in court to argue a point just on the matter of principle? I don't have money to burn like that. Sheesh!

 

[Iconoclysm]

You're right, I didn't intend to get this far into the discussion. Bottom line: you can ask until the cows come home that the dealer doesn't open the box - but it's probably better they do, to verify the contents, write down the serial, whatever it is they need to do. And if it's their policy to do so, don't expect that your request will be carried out, even by the guy who promised it would. But also do not fault the dealers for doing this, it's an operation, better that they have a procedure than none.

 

[JAZZGEAR]

You're right, I didn't intend to get this far into the discussion. Bottom line: you can ask until the cows come home that the dealer doesn't open the box - but it's probably better they do, to verify the contents, write down the serial, whatever it is they need to do. And if it's their policy to do so, don't expect that your request will be carried out, even by the guy who promised it would. But also do not fault the dealers for doing this, it's an operation, better that they have a procedure than none.

Right, but only that I dealt with the Sales Person and Owner -- both one and the same. You can't agree to something and then later say it's your policy to do the opposite. That's where the problem lies. Had he said no, we open every box, I would have canceled my order and went elsewhere.

 

[Iconoclysm]

You're right, I didn't intend to get this far into the discussion. Bottom line: you can ask until the cows come home that the dealer doesn't open the box - but it's probably better they do, to verify the contents, write down the serial, whatever it is they need to do. And if it's their policy to do so, don't expect that your request will be carried out, even by the guy who promised it would. But also do not fault the dealers for doing this, it's an operation, better that they have a procedure than none.

Right, but only that I dealt with the Sales Person and Owner -- both one and the same. You can't agree to something and then later say it's your policy to do the opposite. That's where the problem lies. Had he said no, we open every box, I would have canceled my order and went elsewhere.

He could have made an exception for you but what I'm saying is that if it's their policy, the odds of anyone actually honoring that exception when it really comes down to it are low at best. I've seen it happen so many times.

 

[Shang Chi 66]

For whatever it,s worth, I asked my salesman to open up my amp and check it out, and his response to me was, " oh no man, that,s to be your honor for that first new "car" smell to hit ya!" And I thought that was way cool for him to bring that up!

Now, my sitch was different, as I was picking my amp up from the store...but you can best believe that I opened and fired it up right there before I left the shop (this place was about 100 miles away from me) to be sure everything was right.

To me, weather or not they had the ethical or legal right to go into your amp is one thing...but the fact of how shoddily, and without care they repackaged it and sent it to you is what got me.

When you purchase something new, you want/expect to recieve something that not only is new, but appears new, and that includes the packaging...at least that,s how I feel about it

But what hasn,t been mentioned yet is the killing part; they went in it to"check it out", but still shipped an amp that was faulty...you,d think that if they opened it up, they,d at least fire it up to make sure that it worked properly before it left their store. Unless of course it was damaged on it,s way to you, which was highly possible after the way it was "repackaged"...

They took a 2 thousand dollar piece if equipment, and sent it to you looking like some hastily thrown together box of donated can goods for a food drive...not good!

It,s water under a bridge now, but you were dead on for not standing for it guy.