I saw this BIN:
link for $27.50 on ebay a few days ago. It looked like a good deal on a rare phone, so I pushed the button. After I paid, I looked back at the listing details and noticed that it showed Priority Mail medium flat rate for shipping, so I sent a message asking the seller to please ship the phone in a larger box with the non-flat rate which would be cheaper anyway than the medium flat rate. He replied: "Listing stated pm flat rate". I sent him another message asking to please use a larger box as the phone was very fragile but received no reply. The phone arrived today in a medium flat rate box. It sat for hours on my floor until I found the courage to open it. When I finally opened it, I found the phone in a brown paper grocery bag upside down in the box with the handset next to it. Amazingly, no damage apparently resulted.
The shell and handset are gray plastic. The two front corners are cracked near the bottom, as it visible in the listing pictures. The shell is warped a bit, but it is mostly in good condition. The plungers fit tightly thought the openings in the shell and stick in place, so I might have to grind out the openings a bit. The handset cord is breaking at the end of the stress relief by the handset, but I expect that I should be able to shorten it a bit. I gave the phone a quick try, and it does work, but there was alot of static, probably from the handset cord. All of the network parts and ringer are present and are from Connecticut (CTE). I hope to post some pictures once the phone has been restored.
I am quite annoyed at the seller for not only packing the phone poorly into a box which was too small, but also overcharging for the postage. I am thinking about leaving neutral feedback. I cannot understand why some people are just so obstinate.
At any rate, I think that I got a pretty good deal. Does anyone know how much these phone usually get?
Larry