Looks like I am forced to update this further. I'm going to be an optimist and assume I was not sold a broken pump as a scam. That being said I received the pump yesterday and the pump's outlet and impeller were damaged significantly enough that the impeller grinds against the caved in cover (as if someone has taken a hammer to the front of the pump). The pump was placed in a box with absolutely no packing material or cushioning, so I am left to assume that the damage was caused by it bouncing around. To his credit, davidwinn101 eventually agreed to refund my money, however the way he approached our conversation is pertinent to the members of this forum in case anyone else is considering purchasing equipment or livestock from davidwinn101.
In response to my complaint that the pump was damaged due to being placed in a large box with absolutely no cushioning, he stated, "I am not marineland and this is a $50 pump, which is why it was not packed as though it was $300." To me, that's really a terrible approach to take with regard to selling equipment and I believe is worth alerting the larger reef2reef community about. I don't believe the price of an item should dictate whether or not it arrives safely and I for one would want to deal with seller's that acknowledge their mistakes without hubris. In some cases simply balling up newspaper is sufficient, in others packing peanuts or bubble wrap may be needed, but to me it is the responsibility of a seller to try and mitigate any damage that would be caused by an item being tossed around. Obviously the postal service can be rough on items and obviously accidents and mistakes happen. However, I believe a seller should at least attempt to prevent unnecessary damage and that if an individual is willing to pay for an working product, the seller should reasonably attempt to ensure the items arrive safetly.
In any event, I don't mean to come on here and simply shame davidwinn101, I simply want to provide my experiences with the community in case it's pertinent to anyone else in the future.
In response to my complaint that the pump was damaged due to being placed in a large box with absolutely no cushioning, he stated, "I am not marineland and this is a $50 pump, which is why it was not packed as though it was $300." To me, that's really a terrible approach to take with regard to selling equipment and I believe is worth alerting the larger reef2reef community about. I don't believe the price of an item should dictate whether or not it arrives safely and I for one would want to deal with seller's that acknowledge their mistakes without hubris. In some cases simply balling up newspaper is sufficient, in others packing peanuts or bubble wrap may be needed, but to me it is the responsibility of a seller to try and mitigate any damage that would be caused by an item being tossed around. Obviously the postal service can be rough on items and obviously accidents and mistakes happen. However, I believe a seller should at least attempt to prevent unnecessary damage and that if an individual is willing to pay for an working product, the seller should reasonably attempt to ensure the items arrive safetly.
In any event, I don't mean to come on here and simply shame davidwinn101, I simply want to provide my experiences with the community in case it's pertinent to anyone else in the future.
