Just won a soft plastic 554. It appears to be Rose Beige!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/131303970712
Harry,
I think it might be light beige? Rose beige has a white numbered dial plate and light beige has a black numbered dial plate. Also, seller states phone is from 1964? Hope I'm wrong.
-Frank
Yeah. I forgot about the number ring. Oh well.
Phone arrived, sort of. Not well packed and broken! Now I an glad it is just a plain -60 beige phone after all!
Contacted seller and sent him pictures. He is going to Post Office tomorrow to open claim.
I like the dial number card.
The number card does look very nice and displayable. I'm sure you can use it for a display phone!
That card and the open fingerwheel is what caught my eye. If I return it I think the dial card might fall out 8)
Would the post office actually pay out on a claim like this? Some responsibility has to be assumed by the person who packed the item to ship doesn't it? He better not show them your pictures of how he packed it.
Terry
There goes another one.
Survived 50 years just to have this done to it. :'( :'(
He asked me for pictures of the box to show the post office, those are what I sent him! I do not think they will pay either. Depending on how he responds tomorrow I think I am just going to ask for a full refund.
I think asking for a full refund is the way to deal with it. By eBay's rules, it is the seller's responsibility to deliver the item intact. He can try to get the claim approved from the post office. They will probably grant it, I suspect, since the box seems to have been crushed externally.
It is rare that a box gets so wrinkled in shipping, and it takes quite a bit of force to do so. Sellers should never reuse a box for this reason.
Under Ebay rules as I understand them, even when asking for and receiving a full refund, buyer is still responsible for paying for the return shipping. And seller not only forfeits the amount of sale, but still has to absorb (refund the seller for) the original shipping charge. Result: post office gets $12.65 x 2= $25.30, seller is out $12.65 + his original cost for the phone, and buyer is out $12.65.
Last time I tried to collect on a damaged phone, postal clerk explained that they wouldn't refund shipping because the post office fulfilled their responsibility by delivering the item (even if it was damaged).
I got a full refund, including shipping. He has not asked for it back.
What a shame, especially since that phone was made the month I was born.
Larry
A bit of careful gluing, sanding and possibly painting (if need be) and it'll look like new again, all's not lost, that's a given... :)