The CRPF "Bad Packing" awards

[RDPipes]

I purchase a fairly rare Bakelite cased phone this morning on eBay and I advised the seller as usual to please pack it with plenty of padding etc. He replied with No Problem, "I hope there's enough room in the Flat Rate Box for the extra padding." I again advised him that if there is NOT enough room for padding that it should be put in a Priority Mail 12 x 12 x 8 box and it would mostly likely not cost anymore, only for him to reply "Gone Already." As if he intentionally did it in hopes of damage. I just don't get these sellers nowadays, he even has several negatives from recent sales already, one for damaged goods. Are they trying to be the worst of the best?

It arrived broken and the restoration of the complete phone is at this link:

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=27440.0

[JB-Alert]

Bad packing happens all too often!  The same day you posted I received a phone I ordered.  The packing was a few strips of paper in a box smaller than the USPS flat rate box.  The seller refunded and said the shipping vendor, UPS, said the damage was not their fault, there was no damage to the shipping box after sending them 6 pictures.

[RDPipes]

Bad packing happens all too often!  The same day you posted I received a phone I ordered.  The packing was a few strips of paper in a box smaller than the USPS flat rate box.  The seller refunded and said the shipping vendor, UPS, said the damage was not their fault, there was no damage to the shipping box after sending them 6 pictures.

Ah Gees! I really feel for ya, it is beginning to be a habit with eBay.
I don't know if there's just too many newbies with out a clue or like mine been doing it too long and got away with it too many times. Either way there's no excuse for not knowing how to pack. I've said time and time again, "if you can shake the box and hear and or feel things moving around it aint pack right!" A lot got this idea by saving packing material they'll save money but, that only works for a short time and then they may get hit with a $100 or more refund plus return shipping cost. Narrow minded people, when will they learn?

[Kellogg Kitt]

newbies with out a clue

I think that is part of the problem.  15-20 years ago, most of the phones I bought from eBay were almost OVERpacked, to the point where they were difficult to extract from the packing material -- wrapped in bubble wrap, encased in tape (much more than necessary to secure the bubble wrap), embedded in peanuts, in a box wrapped in multiple layers of tape.  Nowadays, too many of them are hastily packed.

I also wonder, with the rise of ecommerce and increased shipping volumes, whether the shipping process might be more rough now than it was years ago.

[RDPipes]

I recently purchased a Leich type 86 Beehive Magneto wall hung phone, I know just with those words you already know what happened. And you're right, in a thousand pieces, well my heart was anyway when I opened the box. What can one say? I contacted the seller and asked for a refund of the $15 I paid for it, not including shipping of course. But, whether I paid $150 or $15 it still hurts to see this phone like this. I hope to find a shell for the mag but, I think I'll probably have to purchase a whole mag (if I get lucky) to replace it. I wouldn't have wanted one of these for much more money to tell you the truth but, they do have a great Deco look to them. Enjoy Cringe with the photos below.

[tubaman]

 
Very sad, but they are impossibly fragile unfortunately.

[RDPipes]

Very sad, but they are impossibly fragile unfortunately.

Yes they are sir but, with proper packing as you know can be shipped unharmed.
I can't stop to wonder how many rare and irreplaceable items have been lost because
someones carelessness or ignorance of packaging there has been of the years.
This is certainly not the first item I've lost something to ignorance in packing and it
certainly won't be the last I suspect.

[HarrySmith]

WOW! That sucks, They are cool looking phones but getting one shipped and remaining in one piece is extremely unlikely. I think I would take the magneto case off and ship it separately if I had to ship one.

[RDPipes]

WOW! That sucks, They are cool looking phones but getting one shipped and remaining in one piece is extremely unlikely. I think I would take the magneto case off and ship it separately if I had to ship one.

Ya know Harry, I'm beginning to wonder if it wasn't shipped broken, there's a piece missing that is
no where to be found because I tried my hand at gluing it back together and came up short.
Very strange to say the least. 

[TelePlay]

It should be possible to not only get all of your money back (purchase plus shipping) but also make the seller pay a fine, say $500 US, to a non-profit telephone museum for the harm they have carelessly committed by being the person whose poor packaging methods led to the destruction of an ever diminishing number of these fragile, antique telephones.

[RDPipes]

It should be possible to not only get all of your money back (purchase plus shipping) but also make the seller pay a fine, say $500 US, to a non-profit telephone museum for the harm they have carelessly committed by being the person whose poor packaging methods led to the destruction of an ever diminishing number of these fragile, antique telephones.

LOL! Well, she refunded me the purchase price as that is all I asked for.
But, it is a shame that it survived all these years and then to have someone bust it to pieces in a short time.

[MMikeJBenN27]

What a shame.  I don't know why so many fools refuse to pack things correctly.  It is really messed up.  I hope you DEMAND your money back!

Mike

[RDPipes]

What a shame.  I don't know why so many fools refuse to pack things correctly.  It is really messed up.  I hope you DEMAND your money back!

Mike

Already refunded the purchase price Mike, that's all I asked for.

[rdelius]

Those Leich parts are thin and brittle Hard to find intact.

[RDPipes]

Those Leich parts are thin and brittle Hard to find intact.

Actually it was easy finding it intact, it was getting it intact that was the hard part, LOL!