Could you use a little advice on recently delivered speakers..

Hi David!  Just an addition to Wayne from Acoustic Energy’s response:

Especially, if you’ve never unbolted a driver before, be sure you wrap your free hand snugly around the base of the screwdriver when unscrewing each bolt. Depending on the driver involved, it may have a strong magnetic field that may cause your screwdriver to slip from the screw head and Damn! right through the driver’s surround.  And when replacing the driver, tighten each bolt sequentially, a little at a time, so at the end there is equal tension all around the driver.  And not too tight!

Good luck and happy listening to your new speakers!

There is a connection problem causing a "static" sound. This was most likely a problem BEFORE the speaker was shipped. Maybe the seller didn't even know it was there.

When you open the speaker you'll see if there are push clip connectors, These conections are prone to 'fretting' as they age. If one is bad, others are not far behind. As they age they also increase resistance. A weak point.

How old are the speakers? How much humidity have they been exposed to? Have they been sitting in a garage or storage warehouse?

An excellent up grade would be removing all press clips and silver solder them back on. Those cheap little tin clips are NOT good.

I'm with freediver 1000%!  I'm a seller on eBay with 100% feedback and lot of experience handling exceptions like this.  Call eBay.  They've always handled these kinds of things well when I've purchased things.

Your future challenges may arise at resale, if not repaired. The next buyer will likely detect the concerns you’ve expressed here.

In my experience, for anything that has significant weight, the only safe packing method is foamed-in-place.