I have been buying a few radios from ebay. I have made some great purchases including a reworked admiral that I was quite fond of. I say "was" because it came destroyed. This is the third one this month that had been destroyed. The Admiral had been packed in hard styrofoam and it with a thin layer of bubble wrap. The ones tha mae it are floating in a sea of those little air bags. Anyway, just frustrated to see so many good radios get destroyed. :(

It is sometimes possible to destroy a radio even if it was properly packed and boxed. You can try instructing the seller on good techniques, and insist on insurance.

I think that a small insurance sticker is much better than 10 or 12 red labels that say 'Fragile'.

hello guys,

i certainly share your pain. my terrible expriences have been with raw speakers. unless the seller is really aware of how fragile speakers are, they usually get damaged. i have had more raw speakers damaged even when educating the seller how to pack--face to face, bundle with shrink, then bubble, etc.

i have had more speakers damaged than ones who arrived safely. i could go on and on with stories but the one that takes the cake is this:

years ago, i won one of the orange basket, 8", treated cloth surround with whizzer, utah speakers. after writing and asking about how the speaker would be packed, i was told in the email reply that "i am an expert speaker packer". well, to no avail, i felt safe with this only to find horror when i opened the box. the seller put a 3 inch layer of peanuts in the box, put the RAW speaker face down (with no cardboard, not anything protecting any part of the speaker) in the peanuts, then dumped another 4 inches of peanuts to the rim of the box, bundeled it shut with tape, and sent it on. one can only imagine the condition it was in when it arrived. the seller would not help out because they blamed it on the USPS. as i did explain to him, no claim could be filed since the box was in perfect condition. what a joke.

i also know folks who have worked at all of the shippers. time is money and a lot of times the way packages are pitched, knocked around, and given the total lack of care, it is amazing that more are not damaged. i never worked at any of them, this is just what i was told.

i used to be an avid ebay buyer but as of lately, i have been putting up with more and more sellers who don't have a clue. anymore it seems to have become a hassle on the buyer's part.

sorry to hear about your damage.

steve

I feel your pain... had a complete dial glass shatter in a million pieces.. The guy packed the chassis in two boxes, and the inner box was too small,as the knob shafts were sticking out of it. It was only wrapped in bubble wrap poorly. Then foam and other like material in the outer box. Luckily he wrapped all the tubes tightly in bubble wrap and placed them in small flat rate boxes.. I was soo P.O'd that day, as i had got up early and had been tracking it frequently awaiting it to arrive.. Gladly he gave me a full refund, and i got to keep it.

There's another active thread about how tp pack radios and other artifacts. In this thread, I and others have given some good advice on how to pack. Unfortunately this doesn't do much for those at the other end who send to YOU. About all I can say is, be careful who you buy from.

I get both extremes. This week I got a box so huge it wouldn't fit in the trunk of the car. When I finally got it home it turned out to be a radio for a 53 GMC truck. A little overkill but the radio arrived fine. Then I get boxes where I ask, "Will a radio actually fit inside this thing?" Sure enough, and it's amazing how many of this type DON'T get damaged. But some do, and the worst offenders are the ones who "know how to pack", and go absolutely berserk when I tell them the radio arrived damaged. They're ready to sue the pants off UPS -- or FedEx, or USPS, whatever. They're the same ones who want to make a $900 claim on a $50 radio, and of course expect ME to take a bunch of pictures and write up all the reports to make the claim. Phooey!

After 15 years of putting up with this, you can see why I'm so skeptical when yet another person posts a message, bellyaching over how UPS damaged their radio even though they "packed it really well." UPS has packing instructions on their website. Follow these instructions. If you can't figure it out, take it to a UPS Store and have THEM pack it. THEN if damage occurs, just maybe I'l listen.

Yes, I'l admit that a properly packed set can still be damaged. I'll also tell you firsthand that not all UPS Store people do a great job of packing -- I've run into a few exceptions. BUT -- for the most part, do things the way they're supposed to be done and generally you'll come out fine.

I've bought about 20 or so Bakelite table radios off The Bay over the last two years, and three were received damaged. One was returned to the seller for a full refund of shipping both ways and the bid, and the other two I kept, with each being fully refunded.

I've bought dozens and dozens and dozens of portable tube and Transistor sets over the last 11 years, and can't recall any arriving damaged, so it really seems to be a problem with larger heavier sets.

I've learned to instruct the seller, REGARDLESS of his/her claim to be an "expert at packing" on exactly how I want it packed, because their feedback will depend on how I receive it. This usually prompts them to do it right (wrap it in MULTIPLE layers of large cell bubble wrap, place inside a box, fill a larger box with bubble wrap or an oversupply of styro peanuts, and place the smaller box inside it, being SURE there is no movement). I have gladly paid a bit extra to insure the packing was done to my spec.

"""""I think that a small insurance sticker is much better than 10 or 12 red labels that say 'Fragile'."""""

I talked to an ex UPS employee the fragile stickers do nothing NOTHING AT ALL

They just MIGHT even attract more abuse because someone got pissed about boss/no pay raise or whatever and decides to punch every fragile sticker box he can see

If the seller takes whatever to the UPS store and they pack it and insure it, no mystery who is responsible. Add to that Pay Pal, and well, buyer and seller do not lose in the end. Lots of BS in between, and surely not worth it for less than $100, which is why those small claims are usually granted without further ado. Assume good faith all around, and you'll prevail in almost all instances.

To me its not about money or who prevails. I'm not a rich guy and count my pennies like everybody else. Its the disappointment to find my new anxiously awaited purchase damaged or destroyed. The hassle of going thru claims and recalcitrant ebay sellers just adds to the injury.
So yes, count me among the many that just don't feel comfortable anymore with ebay buying. One of my classic stories is a gal in Canada from whom I bought a small Bakelite set. I kindly forwarded packaging instructions and was told that she had over 1400 worldwide transactions dealing with rare china pieces so I need not worry.
Well, you can guess how that turned out. Sure, I got the busted radio and got my money back. What I didn't get out of the deal was the satisfaction and pride of owning the mint radio that I had purchased. That bothers me more than the money because the money is quite often re-imbursed.
While I have the floor, so to speak, I'd like to give a big-up to Bryan Gadow (bgadow) who is a regular here. Bought a junk chassis from him on the classifieds and he did a wonderful job of packing even though it was a cheap transaction. I think I bought something from Bryan a few years ago with the same satisfaction. Some people really DO understand how to pack.

hello all,

i can surely "relate" to the BIG disappointment factor when that fourth box lid opens and makes way to the contents. we finally find that treasure, whatever that may be, pay our hard earned money, anticipate its arrival, track it to our doorstep, the excitement sets in, and then ends up in despair, rage, depression, whatever, with a pile of pieces that could have been prevented with a little care.

my future wife (at the time) worked as a temp in one of the popular shipping carriers during the infamous nov and dec christmas rush. she could really tell stories on how packages were "moved". boy, she could tell stories. putting a "fragile" sticker meant absolutely nothing, insurance, nothing. a lot of sellers do "economy" shipping which is that pathetic Parcel Post. i was told that parcel post mail sits forever in the sorting facility and can get very much beat around while the sack or palet is waiting to be filled before movement. never worked there, but that is what i was told by a usps worker.

my experience when i was an avid ebay buyer from 2000 to 2010'ish, the shipping/packing problems were very very minimal. i can remember receiving a pair of wharfedale w70's packed so well with layers of everything that it took me an afternoon to open them up. a jackhammer would have been necessary at times to get these things out of the box with a hard hat and goggles. same with radios, tubes, raw speakers, speakers in cabinets with lattice fragile grills, tubes, and all the other good things we all collect. but what i have noticed is what has happened over the past 2 to 3 years. i have some ideas which are only assumptions, but as of late, what very few stuffs i did purchase, most has had compromised and careless packing as in thrown in a box, little or no internal packing of choice, wrap one strip of tape around it and off it goes.

some may disagree with my findings but i can only state what has happened to me as of late. between the packing issues, shipping issues, shipping price gouging, backyard techincians fooling around with the goods and then selling them as restored, all a hassle to me anymore. it is not what i used to be. up until a few years ago, i never had to concern myself with packing and shipping problems when winning an auction. it all seems as if buying is a big (really big) caveat emptor more than it used to be.

has anyone else noticed this ?

all is just my thoughts based on concrete experience. this post is not written to offend anyone in any way possible.


steve

Well, it happened again and I even emailed some instructions. Totally ignored with no response the email either. 1936 Kadette. It's nothing special but we just lost a 1936 Kadette 66 AM/Shortwave from the world. :cry:

As an aside, most sellers do not realize it is THEIR responsibility to get the package to the buyer. So it is the Seller who is responsible for either Self Insuring, or buying coverage. They try to put the onus on the buyer, but the seller is ultimately responsible for the item arriving and not be damaged.

Frank

I agree it's their responsibilty. This is my fourth destroyed or damaged radio. Most buyers have not given my any greif getting my money back except 1. Ebay stepped in and I got my full refund. I really hate buying from people that sell radios and they generally do not. So when they package, they treat it like everything else. Packing peanuts and a smidge of bubble wrap. I had another one Tuesday that was less than 1/4" from the sides of the box, wrapped in small cell bubble wrap and 2 wads of newspaper. It actually made it but knocked the bolts out of the chassis. No major damage. I emailed the seller and told them they were so lucky it was not in a million pieces and that I paid for quality packaging and I didnt get it. They refunded the shipping.

Never ever had a problem when UPS packs using double boxing.

Just got 2 emails from seller. The first one was very curt saying " Send radio back, then I'll refund you," Sent right after that was an email saying she would refund the radio, but not the shipping. My response:

Hello and thank you for the quick reponse.I can appreciate your offer, however, if you can see it from my point of view I paid for shipping and the item was supposed to arrive safe. That was my expectation and I am sure yours as well. Since the packaging was not sufficient to keep the item safe, I was not provided with what I paid for. You are asking me to pay for something that was not provided, safe shipping. Here are my expectations in the matter: Send you pictures so you know that I am telling the truth, refund of funds for radio and shipping since I was not provided the services I paid for. This is the only logical resolution that I can see. Thanks again for the response,John

I have a feeling this might be a tough one.

Agree with those who have gotten out of buying/receiving old radios/test equipment etc. through the mail/UPS whatever. It's just not worth it. If I shop at all it's Craigslist or eBay (sorted by nearest items first). I was just commiserating withy a fellow on the Hammarlund mail reflector on this very subject. There's a nice Comet Pro up for auction over on the west coast right now and I hoope it sells locally and somebody goes and picks it up. I've always wanted one but not enough to risk destroying it in transit. Maybe one will turn up here someday. If not, who cares.

You can always pay the premium and have the local UPS store pack for you and insure it and use paypal. It's on them. That way they will pay twice, once to you and once to buyer, and if they want the trashed set back, let'em have it on their dime.

If you don't get satisfaction, file an "item not as described" claim. eBay will take the funds from the sellers account immediately. Ebay will side with you, the buyer, and refund the full amount, including the shipping. They should also not require you to send the pieces back.

Frank

Exactly, except for the last sentence. I just went through this, and eBay sent me a return label to print out and attach to the return package. I simply had to drop it off at the nearest UPS pickup store.

All is well, the buyer agreed that things didnt go as planned and will refund me tonight. I am glad that worked out. Shows that some sellers still have class.