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The CRPF "Bad Packing" awards

Started by Dan, March 01, 2009, 04:54:43 PM

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Dennis Markham

John,

That's a real shame.  Some people just don't think.  I guess they think the box will go from hand to hand with no dropping, force or any other thing that will harm the contents.  She ought to send you a full refund.  If she wants it back she should pay shipping too. 

Sorry you were on the short end of this deal for sure....not to mention a good radio (beautiful color in your pictures) is damaged close to being beyond repair.

Dennis

TelePlay

Lady Luck was on my side today.

Bought this 302 for $32 total on eBay last week. The dial and hand set cord caught my eye. And the metal shell would be a keeper.

It came today in a box and packed that was, well, less that appropriate for shipment.

The box was obviously crunched down when being taped. Whatever was inside was moving around and I could hear an internal noise when turning the box over and over.

Upon cracking the main seal, I discovered the phone was double boxed, if you can call the Crunchmaster (an appropriate name for a box in which you want to have something destroyed, I would say) Cracker Box a shipping box.

Opening the box top, I found the phone encased in a bubble wrap cocoon with the front end of the phone facing up. Hmmm, not got so far.

I took the phone out of the box and set it on my bench to cut the wrap off. Didn't have to open it much to notice THE SELLER SHIPPED IT WITH THE HANDSET ACROSS THE CRADLE!. Opening up all of the bubble wrap showed the transmitter end of the handset resting very close to the plastic finger wheel. That made me nervous.

But, Lady Luck was on my side today and there was no damage to the handset or the finger wheel.

Oh, yes, I did send a message to the seller with the payment asking him to wrap the handset in bubble wrap and lay it next to the phone in the shipping box. That was on the 17th. I got this eBay message from the seller yesterday, the 22nd: 

I never see the "Buyer's Note" til too late. I hope it makes it safe, if not let me know, John.

jsowers

Those notes to the seller in Paypal payments go unread 99% of the time. You have to first, before you pay, write the instructions and send them in an eBay email and ask them to please let you know they've read them. I try to pour on the charm so it doesn't sound like I'm barking orders. Sometimes I wait a few hours to pay and other times I just pay right after sending instructions, if it's not a BIN auction. I never assume they know how to pack unless it's a long-time phone buyer or seller.

I've gotten phones shipped in all kinds of boxes and some of them were laughable, like Pampers boxes and shoe boxes. I've also seen disposable diapers (unusued ones, thankfully) used as packing material.

There is something habitual about sellers packing phones on-hook, so we just have to fight that urge. I'm glad you were lucky this time.
Jonathan

HarrySmith

I always send the instruction also, and also I word it carefully so as not to upset the seller. I also state that I will not send payment until they acknowledge my instructions.
Harry Smith
ATCA 4434
TCI

"There is no try,
there is only
do or do not"

unbeldi

Well, at least you got bubble wrapping.

I once opened this box.  This photo was taken just as I opened the box as shown.

Yes, that is a heavy wooden magneto subset with a B1 on top of it !
The height of the phone, as stacked, was higher than the box by about an inch, so the top flaps were bulged out.

TelePlay

Quote from: TelePlay on April 23, 2016, 08:46:26 PM
Whatever was inside was moving around and I could hear an internal noise when turning the box over and over.

What I was hearing was the ringer mount moving around. The grommets had dried out a long time ago and pieces of them were floating around inside the phone. So, will need to put in some new grommets to make it sound better when ringing . . .

Fabius

Not a phone but I hope you don't mind. Bought on eBay as I like this style of white bakelite radio. The seller only used tissue paper to wrap the radio. Smashed in the dial and broke a piece of bakelite off. I did receive a full refund and the seller said to keep the radio.
Tom Vaughn
La Porte, Indiana
ATCA Past President
ATCA #765
C*NET 1+ 821-9905

compubit

Had 2 phones from eBay show up yesterday. One eligible for this award, the other one for the ultimate protection award (styrofoam inside the box, peanuts for filling, then bubble wrap, then shrink wrap - took me 10 minutes to get the phone out ;-) ).

Anyway, here we go - yes, it's a basic late 70s modular 500, but I had plans to use it at work for a hotline phone (at least it wasn't a soft plastic model...).
A phone phanatic since I was less than 2 (thanks to Fisher Price); collector since a teenager; now able to afford to play!
Favorite Phone: Western Electric Trimline - it just feels right holding it up to my face!

TelePlay

Quote from: compubit on May 18, 2016, 10:29:11 PM
Had 2 phones from eBay show up yesterday. One eligible for this award, the other one for the ultimate protection award (styrofoam inside the box, peanuts for filling, then bubble wrap, then shrink wrap - took me 10 minutes to get the phone out ;-) ).

Anyway, here we go - yes, it's a basic late 70s modular 500, but I had plans to use it at work for a hotline phone (at least it wasn't a soft plastic model...).

Quite the shame.

Seller should refund and let you keep the phone. If so, you have either a parts phone or one in need of a new housing (relatively cheap on eBay in black, red is a bit harder to find). If so, try the forum "Wanted" route.

dsk

You have to know that handeling of parcels may be a little rough, a parcel may fall several yards down, and end on a floor, or having trouble in the sorting system...  http://tinyurl.com/zxq3pjc

dsk

DavePEI

The Telephone Museum of Prince Edward Island:
http://www.islandregister.com/phones/museum.html
Free Admission - Call (902) 651-2762 to arrange a visit!
C*NET 1-651-0001

TelePlay

Yeah, I can see that happening (and that even looks like one of the boxes I received recently) if the weight distribution of the box, the incline and the belt speed was just right but if I were the Postmaster at that station I'd fire the employee on the spot for not only not stopping the destructive action but also deciding to take a video of it for YouTube.

TelePlay

#417
Some days I open up a delivered telephone box, shake my head and promise never to ever by anything else on eBay forever, or longer.

Fabius posted this topic (in humor, maybe)

     http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=17885.0

  and I was intrigued by the image, a black number plate and a felt bottom. AE_Collector thought it might be a Navy ship phone with a dial that glowed in the dark and felt on the bottom to keep it quiet. Don't know, it was his theory.

So, I bought phone for less than $28 total and  the second picture below is what was sent. A very nice metal housing SC 1243 with a bit of chrome and nice original cloth cords, not the interesting AE 40 shown in the listing.

Contacted the seller and after a few back and forth messages, convinced him he did not sent the phone pictured, what I thought I was buying (knowing the description and listing title were not for that phone) but instead sent the SC (sent him a photo).

I asked if he still had the phone pictured and he did and he said he would ship it to me right away and he would pay for return shipping for the SC. I said I would wait until I got the phone pictured before sending the first phone back.

Fast forward 10 days. The phone arrived, 3rd image below.

A beat up $13 flat rate USPS box arrived today (used once before and again to me) and upon opening saw the AE 40 and black number plate. I was getting excited until I tried to take the phone out of the flimsy packing material (grocery store shopping bags) and cut my finger. With one of the 47 cards in his deck, he packed it so poorly that a corner drop of the box busted out a front corner and left a crack in the housing.

Sent a message to the seller explaining the situation including it wasn't worth shipping back to him because he could not sell it on eBay like that. Told him I was will to keep the first phone and pay him $30 plus shipping for this phone but not have to buy a new housing (I just don't need another project so a replacement housing for $45 total - from Doug Rose through eBay - is worth the time saved to get this phone back into original condition).

So, another piece of history having survived 65 years or so destroyed with a 3 minutes poor packing job, by the seller. I'm waiting to what he wants to do. I'm hoping he says let's call it even and I get the SC and the damaged AE 40 for $28 total.

This purchase was double frustrating with a double surprise and today, a high level of frustration. The bear bit both of us on this deal. Sure which he wouldn't have lot those 5 cards.

Doug Rose

OUCH!.....This will be a perfect replacement.....goes out in the morning thanks and sorry....Doug
Kidphone

TelePlay

Quote from: Doug Rose on April 12, 2017, 07:01:49 PM
OUCH!.....This will be a perfect replacement.....goes out in the morning thanks and sorry....Doug

Thanks, Doug. I'm sure yours will arrive undamaged.

Been working with the seller. I offered to pay half the cost of shipping the busted phone and calling it even, I keep the busted phone. He came back and said keep the busted phone, no need to pay half the shipping and I keep the SC 1243 I paid a total of $28 for to start this journey. So, for $28, I got two phones, one needing a housing. Seller was very reasonable. If he would have invested in $5 of bubble pack, it would have turned out so much better for him.

Unfortunate and frustrating, but a somewhat happy ending for me, sort of, I guess.