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The CRPF "Bad Packing" awards

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

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Babybearjs

Thank God it was a original Western Electric 302... the new phones probibly would have survived....
John

Doug Rose

Last summer I received a Perfect North Galion wrapped in what appeared to be.......... Saran Wrap. No Sh*t.....Saran Wrap. Looked like seller wound a whole roll of it around the phone with the handset firmly wrapped in the cradle. Just as I asked them not to do.

Yes....I had emailed the seller in advance how I would appreciate the phone wrapped. I questioned them on it and the response was , no sh*t, " I thought this was better."

Well, he was right. It came perfect with no damage. I couldn't wait for Janet to come home, as I has to unwrap it to see if it was alright. I could not unwrap it, so I had to cut it with a knife and scissors. I showed her the shell of the Saran Wrap, I still don't think she believes me.....Doug
Kidphone

LarryInMichigan

#242
I have received at least a few phones wrapped that way after I explicitly asked that the handset be kept away from the phone.  It is at least better that leaving the handset to move freely and smash into the phone.  About a week ago, I received a D1/F1 and 684 subset with tenite cover with the phone base on top of the subset, with one thin layer of bubble wrap between them, and the handset in the cradle, with the whole set held together with bubble wrap and tape.  I held my breath until everything was separated.  I did not notice any damage, but I will never know how much paint or bakelite was scraped during shipment.

Larry

old_stuff_hound

I bought a Galion off eBay and I also left a note asking that the handset be wrapped to prevent it banging into the phone body. When it arrived, I saw the seller had placed the handset on the phone, set the phone in a box half-full of foam peanuts, and taped the box shut. That there was no external* damage to the phone still amazes me. I wrote the seller and the reply was, "Oh, sorry. Didn't notice your note."


*Unfortunately there was internal damage because the straightline(!) ringer was not attached to the baseplate and both the ringer and coil were destroyed.

TelePlay

#244
And the seller responded to my FYI about packing for shipment with this line:

"thanks for fyi, we have great success with the foam boxs but not with heavy objects like the phone, we take your advise in the future."

Well, if they knew foam boxes didn't work for heavy objects, like the phone, then why the heck did they use one to ship this heavy phone?  ???

Duhhhhhhhhhh!

Doug Rose

I just reread my post, just to be clear THERE WAS NO BOX, just Saran Wrap and a shipping label...Doug
Kidphone

jsowers

Doug, that was no box. That was a sarcophagus. As in mummy wrapping. You should've taken a picture of that one. Sounds like a phone cocoon.

To those who send instructions with their payment, I find that sellers usually ignore anything that comes with the payment. What works for me is an email through eBay sent BEFORE the payment and after the auction ends. The best sellers respond that they will pack it like I ask. And then there are some who think they always know better than we do, like Mr. Handi Wrap.
Jonathan

McHeath

QuoteI just reread my post, just to be clear THERE WAS NO BOX, just Saran Wrap and a shipping label...Doug

Unfreakingbelievable! :o

After countless bad shipping experiences I no longer bother to e-mail sellers and tell them how to pack, no one seemed to listen.  I just get what I get it seems, and usually they are okay and sometimes not.  Never seen anyone do totally moronic stuff like wrap it Saran Wrap and label it and mail it, or even this styrofoam cooler of death shipping box.  Geesh.  What are people thinking, that these phones are made from solid steel and are unbreakable?


Just4Phones

Just when you thought you heard it all........Can we have an EBAY seller moron of the year award?  Here is my latest EBAY shipping story:  I always send an email after payment explaining that I paid for my purchase and that the phone although sturdy is quite delicate.  The obligatory please do not hang up the phone and ship that way but to wrap the receiver separate from the body was added.  The seller responded "no problem and thanks for the heads up".  I got a request from seller through paypal a day or so later stating that the seller wanted an additional $12.00 for additional packing.  I never received this before and I was confused so I just chose to ignore it until the phone arrived.  Guess what?  Two boxed arrived  >:(.  The seller took my note to heart and cut the receiver off the phone with scissors and mailed the receiver in a different box.  Anyone have a red 500 receiver cord they are not needing? 

TelePlay

Quote from: Just4Phones on January 06, 2012, 11:13:37 PM
The seller took my note to heart and cut the receiver off the phone with scissors and mailed the receiver in a different box? 

I don't think there is a word or combination of words in any dictionary ever that would best describe that seller.

GG




On the other hand... here's a seller who definitely got the message:

260924083398  An ITI (Indian Telephone Industries) wall phone, one of the more interesting shapes of wall phones I've ever seen (vaguely reminiscent of Australia PMG 800-series) and in a nice bright yellow that goes well with retro kitchen colors. 

Seller says "Packaging - Phone will be wrapped in a generous amount of bubble wrap and then packed in a thick corrugated box, the corrugated box will be given a layer of thick thermocol on all sides for additional protection and then buffered with peanuts, hay or grass to secure the movement of the phone during transit."

While I've never heard of hay or grass being used as packing material, it's probably perfectly OK if enough of it is used. 

I bought a dark red ITI desk phone from that seller (not the ITI version of the 706, but an indigenous ITI design that has no approximately similar version anywhere else) and sent them my usual message requesting proper shipment and saying I give extra good feedback for same.  Phone arrived properly packed and in great shape, which I happily noted in feedback. 

IMHO the key to getting sellers to take notice and do this right, is to let them know you give extra positive feedback for proper packing.  Worked for me 9 times out of 10.

This even worked for a phone shipped from Russia, a somewhat-rare RWT Elektrim early 1960s model in ivory.  (RWT Elektrim is Polish, consistently high quality and very interesting designs.)  In the past every phone I've gotten from Russia had suffered damage one way or another, but this one came through intact and was in incredibly good condition.  Is presently on the workbench getting the usual going-over (it was in such good shape to begin with, that it jumped to the head of my queue).

old_stuff_hound

Quote from: GG on January 07, 2012, 07:26:57 AM
While I've never heard of hay or grass being used as packing material, it's probably perfectly OK if enough of it is used.

I'm sure it would protect the contents, but I'd advise anyone receiving such a package to burn the all hay or grass. Packing material is one way invasive weeds get spread. In my area we're fighting microstegium (Japanese stilt grass) that was accidentally introduced ca. 1919 via packing material.

Sargeguy

I won this sweet Western Electric OST Receiver for $155 on ebay.  I e-mailed the seller and ask him to pack it securely and warned him about how they are prone to breaking:







It can be super-glued back together without the crack showing, but is annoying.

Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409

twocvbloke

You could probably get a refund for it arriving damaged, after all, it's not as described and they didn't pack it to your instructions...

Sargeguy

I suppose I could, but that would mean I would have to send back the all original Western Electric 302A with 7-digit transmitter, 5-bar red magneto that it was attached to. 







C'mon, you guys didn't really think I would pay $155 for an OST reciever, did you?

 
Greg Sargeant
Providence, RI
TCI /ATCA #4409