Another broken phone

[MMikeJBenN27]

I always remind the seller to please pack it properly, and if it arrives broken, I will be demanding a refund.

[markosjal]

I recently saw a cheap pre- war WE302 (metal) I  think it was on Facebook. Seller was in the region but still far. Seller refused to  meet half way (40min  drive each), and insisted on shipping . I declined shipping as this is exactly the the kind of base   that would do damage to the handset if not very carefully packaged.

[MMikeJBenN27]

That is messed up.  The last few times I bought a plastic phone, I sent them a picture of how to pack phones, as I too have had phones arrive damaged due to poor packing, despite telling them to please pack it properly, really ticking me off.  So many just don't understand or care about how to pack fragile items.  They won't accept the fact that if it can move around and is not well padded, it probably will be damaged.  They also don't understand that "Fragile, Handle With Care" on the box does not help.  And now, the Post Office no longer allows "Special Handling".

Mike

[poplar1]

I recently saw a cheap pre- war WE302 (metal) I  think it was on Facebook. Seller was in the region but still far. Seller refused to  meet half way (40min  drive each), and insisted on shipping . I declined shipping as this is exactly the the kind of base  that would do damage to the handset if not very carefully packaged.

I have received very few broken handsets, even though most sellers "leave the receiver on the hook", even in an oversized box. I can see why the seller didn't want to spend close to an hour and $5 - $10 worth of gas to deliver a $25 phone.

I don't even worry about broken plastic housings on 302s, since I can't even get $8 on ebay for a good housing. If you need F1 handles, I can send you some for the cost of shipping. Sorry, I can't drive to west coast: (Last time I did that was in a 1970 Cadillac for a Drive-Away company which charged the owner for delivering his car from Atlanta to CA.  They paid me $30 a day for 7 days, but it cost me only $100 for gas in 1974.)

When we were buying 302s in early 1990s for $20 each from ACI (which had the $0.11 per pound contract for all the "lease junk" from the nearby AT&T Service Center), they were 2 to 1 plastic, but probably 1/3 of the plastic ones were cracked. So of course we cherry picked the ones we wanted out of each gaylord of about 180 302s.

BTW, metal 302 housings were made from late 1936 - early 1942, then again in 1946.  Plastic started in 1941.