Solar Panel Update - problem with shipping

Solar Panels Damaged during shipping - it's a problem

We ordered 3 x 220 Watt Solar Panels from a company via Amazon. All three were damaged upon arrival. They probably worked, but the damage to the frames was something that I could not hide if they were mounted atop our Bimini on Eximius. Everytime I board the boat, I would see those damaged panels and you know how those scratches itch! So I returned them. I took a couple of weeks to get the money back into my amazon account. 

I have searched online many sites trying to find a local company where I could pickup the panels and inspect them before taking delivery of them. None! There was one local company that had panels almost the size I needed but they were literally 2 times the price! So 3 panels would go from $700 up to $1400!

I have previously purchased BougeRV panels, worked great both on the boat and at home ( Solar Hot Water Pump system ) so I ordered three 200Watt panels from them. Their reviews on Amazon were really good and they included details of their packing in their Ad. 

Yesterday, the 3 panels arrived. Two were perfect but the 3rd was destroyed, it had obviously been damaged in transit, the frame on one side was actually bent, the box was concaved on one side. The glass on top of the panel was shattered into several thousand pieces, totally ruined.

Of course I contacted the seller and am expecting a response within 24 hours, of course, it's Friday, so I don't expect a reply till Monday.  I was able to talk to customer service, they were on the ball and didn't hesitate to escalate it up to the Returns dept. That's a good sign!

The good news is that I can go ahead with the install, I'll use one of the panels as a template for the 3rd panel and mount the two good panels, new wiring and the new MPPT controller ( see my other post on the entire process of planning and installation.)

Meanwhile, I won't hold my breath until Monday ;)

Paul

Update - Sunday June 25th

BougeRV have been responding and their latest email indicates they are going to replace the panel directly ( not via Amazon ). Their Customer service is staying on top of this issue. They are getting ***** right now. 

Update - Monday June 26th

So far I'm impressed by the customer service at BougeRV, there was an email waiting for me this morning which indicated they are shipping the new panel and that I can toss out the broken one. Understandably, the busted panel is not worth the shipping.