Should I be upset?

[RustyRatRod]

Well, what was the purchase price? You DID buy 30 plus year old USED stuff. Did you pay a kings ransome or did you get a screamin deal? Maybe he is just like the rest of us and cannot afford good packin materials and does the best he can. I know there was a seller had a boat load of consoles and shifters on here for WAY cheap. If it was him and you paid dirt cheap, then I'd shut up about it. I was at a friend's house recently when his shifter and console came in. It was packed about the same and was just fine. I know cause "I" opened and unpacked it. As cheap as it was purchased, I wouldn't have said one word about some minor damage like yours......and it IS minor. It CAN be repaired easily. Yeah, it sucks it got broken. But if it was insured, what do you really expect the seller to do? I've received stuff before that was packed so good, you would think it could survive a war but it arrived broken. Sometimes, it's just not all the sellers fault. I do however agree that is was wrong of him to just stop responding......BUT has he also stopped responding everywhere else on here? Mightta had some kinda family emergency come up. You never know. I say wait it out before assuming the worst. Dude mightta had a damned heart attack or somethin. I sure hope not, but you don't know what other people might have on their plate. I know mine is pretty frikkin full. How's yours?

 

[Backtobasics]

Well, what was the purchase price? You DID buy 30 plus year old USED stuff. Did you pay a kings ransome or did you get a screamin deal?
...then I'd shut up about it.
...and it IS minor. It CAN be repaired easily.

Stroker,
I consider you a respected member of the community, but I do believe you came off rough here. Regardless of what he paid, a buyer has a reasonable expectation that the item could be packaged better then some newpaper. Minor or not, he paid for a complete console, and the seller should have packaged it better. Had the seller packaged it for war, and it still arrived broken, that is one thing. By the photos provided, it appears the edge of the console was directly up against the wall of the box. I think he has every right to raise questions, especially when the seller is ignoring him.

 

[inkjunkie]

Retired from the PO......sure this would apply to FedEx and the Bug Brown Box. Packages move on convetor belts, go down slides, some of which are at a 45* angle. The package that comes down the slide and into the container after yours very well could be 65#. I used to tell customers (I was not in the retail end) if after packing your stuff you will not feel comfortable tossing it onto the floor and putting at least 100#'s of pressure on it, repackage it. The PO uses these containers that are called BMC's. You package very well could end up in the bottom of one of these BMC's with stacks of tires wrapped in 2's falling on top of it. When my wife worked at the plant where all the incoming parcels were processed at in Phoenix they had her and 3 other people repairing ripped up packages on both of the shifts...

 

[RustyRatRod]

Stroker,
I consider you a respected member of the community, but I do believe you came off rough here. Regardless of what he paid, a buyer has a reasonable expectation that the item could be packaged better then some newpaper. Minor or not, he paid for a complete console, and the seller should have packaged it better. Had the seller packaged it for war, and it still arrived broken, that is one thing. By the photos provided, it appears the edge of the console was directly up against the wall of the box. I think he has every right to raise questions, especially when the seller is ignoring him.

Thanks. I appreciate that. Maybe "shut up" was a little extreme. My point was though, that you NEVER know what somebody else is goin through. There are always two sides to every story is all I was gettin at. Didn't mean to come off over the top.

 

[rumblefish360]

I think B&B and S S have good honest points here. (Lets not get carried away on anything ill on it though. Ink junkie made a great post. Ink, do me a favor and make a new thread with a copy and paste of your post and think of a title like, Oh..IDK, something like;

"Tips on packing items for shipment"

"How to avoid shipping issues"

Avoid; "When good parts go bad when shipping"

LOL, I'll stick it.

 

[RustyRatRod]

"When good parts go bad" That's a goodun. LOL Makes me invision somebody gettin attacked by a rabid intake manifold.

 

[Backtobasics]

Thanks. I appreciate that. Maybe "shut up" was a little extreme. My point was though, that you NEVER know what somebody else is goin through. There are always two sides to every story is all I was gettin at. Didn't mean to come off over the top.

We cool!
:-D

 

[CUUDAK]

Ain't that the dam truth!!

Later,
Bruce B.

I took the tour and orientation for UPS and seen first hand how the employees treat shipments here in Houston. One person drags a conveyor into a trailer and has to unload that trailer in a specific amount of time! UPS is the worst at package handling. I always ask for an alternative to shipping to avoid The Brown Truck!!! CARELESS!! They throw that stuff around like its garbage!! I could not believe how many packages were in the damage bin.

It also is the responsiblity of the seller/shipper to pack the product so there is less chance of product getting damaged. I too sell many parts and take care in boxing to be sure buyer gets it in the same condition as when I had it!! I shipped an Auto console in perfect condition to California without any damage, it can be done!!

 

[Revhendo]

I believe the original ad did say the attatching stuff for the top plate wasn't there, and maybe he didn't know about the other missing stuff. Not sure if I would. But still, it should have been packed way better. Always remember, bubble wrap is your friend.
And it's darn fun to play with also....

 

[scuba0331]

I work from home and the UPS guy will wave at me from my sidewalk and he still will throw the package onto the concrete landing in front of my door. WTF!

The Fed Ex guy will set the packages on the chair on the same landing.

I don't think it is a matter of UPS or Fed Ex its just attention to detail is all.

 

[rumblefish360]

"When good parts go bad" That's a goodun. LOL Makes me invision somebody gettin attacked by a rabid intake manifold.

He he he, Yea, that's acually something my wife would say. And think off. Car parts mysteryiously attacking workers at the plant after being carelessly dropped and kicked to the side.

Boxes would start to rumble and shake, then move on there own. Theme song or actually, that "Sound" (music) of just before "JAWS" attacks playing in the backround. Beeds of sweat coming off the forehead while he's hiding under the kitchen sink..black and blue bruises on his forehead....etc...

(Ok, were a wacky bunch here ....what the hell. Lifes to short not to think up crazy stuff....)

 

[inkjunkie]

I took the tour and orientation for UPS and seen first hand how the employees treat shipments here in Houston. One person drags a conveyor into a trailer and has to unload that trailer in a specific amount of time! UPS is the worst at package handling. I always ask for an alternative to shipping to avoid The Brown Truck!!! CARELESS!! They throw that stuff around like its garbage!! I could not believe how many packages were in the damage bin.

It also is the responsiblity of the seller/shipper to pack the product so there is less chance of product getting damaged. I too sell many parts and take care in boxing to be sure buyer gets it in the same condition as when I had it!! I shipped an Auto console in perfect condition to California without any damage, it can be done!!

Post Office is about the same. We used to have a machine called the sack sorter, but it sorted everything. Had air driven "batting rams" to send an object down a chute. Was not uncommon for this thing to hook on a flap of a box and just beat it to death. And until the machine jammed from it, we could not turn it off. So often times it was not just the original package that got the death sentence but several others. Keep in mind that the packages are loaded as they come down the chute, and if yours was the first one to hit an empty container there was a good chance something heavy will end up on top of it.

 

[dustermaniac]

I recently sold a pair of tires to a fellow member here and tried my best to wrap and tape up the tires together. This I felt would eliminate the tires getting damage on the white letters, so I packed them with the letters facing each other and used the strongest reinforced packing tape I could buy and taped the tires together and then shrinked wrapped the whole package and shipped these U.P.S. The quote I gave the buyer for the shipping was about 18.00 less than the actual cost, and this was my fault so I ate the extra costs and shipped these parts and they arrived out to his home with no damages. I guess it's all how you pack up the items you sell. My theory is I would not want to receive bad or broken parts from someone else . So I try my best to ensure that the packaging is what I would expect to see when I open a package as if I was to ship that same package.

 

[Frankie]

"Should I be upset"?

Well, you can, and then when you get past waste of time and effort, you can do something to correct the problem. How long that takes is your call.
Here's to making the right choice. :thumbup:

 

[needsaresto]

I agree 1000%, when we buy something, we are paying for a part we can USE....careless packing makes no sense....people who won't make the effort to pack parts properly shouldn't be selling. It's not even difficult to pack things the right way.....give me a break!

X2 !!!!. Goldfish is absolutely right,no excuses here just a piss poor packing job.However the part is easy to fix,simply epoxy the broken bit back on,do a little filling and sanding,primer and paint.

I would at least seek compensation to help cover repair costs.

 

[RustyRatRod]

I recently sold a pair of tires to a fellow member here and tried my best to wrap and tape up the tires together. This I felt would eliminate the tires getting damage on the white letters, so I packed them with the letters facing each other and used the strongest reinforced packing tape I could buy and taped the tires together and then shrinked wrapped the whole package and shipped these U.P.S. The quote I gave the buyer for the shipping was about 18.00 less than the actual cost, and this was my fault so I ate the extra costs and shipped these parts and they arrived out to his home with no damages. I guess it's all how you pack up the items you sell. My theory is I would not want to receive bad or broken parts from someone else . So I try my best to ensure that the packaging is what I would expect to see when I open a package as if I was to ship that same package.

Yeah you gotta good point. I do similar things sometimes when I sell stuff. If the shippin is more than my quote....I just eat it as part of the purchase price. My customer can just have that savings. That's a good attitude. Stuff like that comes back to you.

 

[greenhornet]

Yeah you gotta good point. I do similar things sometimes when I sell stuff. If the shippin is more than my quote....I just eat it as part of the purchase price. My customer can just have that savings. That's a good attitude. Stuff like that comes back to you.

I eat a crap load on shipping to the west coast, most of my buyers are on the west coast.. I can't go by the fed ex and ups website quotes because I have to go through a middle man to ship with either... Big parts you have to pack tight or a lot will fall under the "oversize" rate.... I shipped some small block holley mopar valve covers to cali via ups and it costed me twice as much as if I shipped them "anywhere" east of the mississippi... I shipped an A-100 dash pad to cali yesterday through the post office, $16.77 parcel post or $30.28 priority... Obviously I shipped it parcel post with delivery conformation because I only charged the guy $18.00 shipping... BUT--- theres no excuse for bad packing no matter what the situation is...

 

[lou3500]

I have done the same thing i have forgot to click on the residential block on my ups screen[i'm the ups shipping guy at my job] never forget for items my busness sends just my stuff. So i eat the difference not your falt i'm forgetful. Greenhornet i ship stuff every day and ups has some rates that are horrible depending where.

 

[greenhornet]

I have done the same thing i have forgot to click on the residential block on my ups screen[i'm the ups shipping guy at my job] never forget for items my busness sends just my stuff. So i eat the difference not your falt i'm forgetful. Greenhornet i ship stuff every day and ups has some rates that are horrible depending where.

I can ship to Canada cheaper than I can ship priority to cali through the post office...

 

[cosgig]

Now you guys are making me nervous. I just sent a package of very delicate and fragile 69 Cuda grills to a buyer in Sweden. I have them entombed in 2" of rigid foam lining the entire box, then the parts are wrapped in bubble wrap, then wrapped in fluffy insulation and fit snugly into the tomb. The box is thick triple walled cardboard. I'm sweatin' bullets that they arrive safe. I did send them by USPS International Express with a 3 day transit time to minimize the handling, at a cost of $155.00. I'm picturing that ram thing just pulverizing those delicate surrounds!!!AAAAKKKKK!!! Thanks guys, I think I'll have a shot or 5 of some scotch to calm my nerves until Friday!!! Geof

 

[scamper340]

I just went back and read the original seller's post, and I missed the part about the retainers not being part of the deal. My mistake, thanks for pointing it out. However, the plastic rails for the ashtray are not mentioned and are pretty hard to come by. And by the looks of the original pictures, they are there.
As far as making repairs, I have a console here already that was repaired, and for some reason, the repaired areas are glossy, even though it was painted with semi-gloss paint(out of a gun by a pro). I guess I could just paint it gloss and it would look fine? Looks awful to me, those spots stick out like a sore thumb.
As far as the price, i paid $100 for the console, and another $25 for shipping from OH to PA. The seller was apparently OK with the selling price or else he wouldn't have accepted my offer. So am I to understand, if I paid the full asking price, I would have gotten a better packing job? The only newspaper used was to wrap the top plate, there was no other packing material in the box. The box was flimsy and barely held closed with a strip of clear packing tape. There was a lot of room inside for the console to slide around in. Also, what I paid for was exactly what was being advertised by the seller. Yes, it was a 30+ year old part, but it wasn't all busted to crap. And like I mentioned before, those 2 spots aren't the only damage.
I see a lot of variation in the responses to the post, that's why I wrote it. To see whether or not I was out of line in my thinking. So, is anyone interested in a broken console, how about you Stroker? I'll make you a heck of a deal and I promise to send it to you the same way I got it, LOL! :-D
Anyway, thanks for the replies, both good and bad. That was the purpose of the post, to get some other viewpoints.

 

[hellion_locdogg]

As far as making repairs, I have a console here already that was repaired, and for some reason, the repaired areas are glossy, even though it was painted with semi-gloss paint(out of a gun by a pro). I guess I could just paint it gloss and it would look fine? Looks awful to me, those spots stick out like a sore thumb.
.

Sounds like a good sealer primer was NOT used. Repair it, sand it well and use a few good coats of good primer then paint it whatever color you want. It should look just fine.

 

[caferacerx]

sounds like a good sealer primer was not used. Repair it, sand it well and use a few good coats of good primer then paint it whatever color you want. It should look just fine.

x2

 

[greenhornet]

I just went back and read the original seller's post, and I missed the part about the retainers not being part of the deal. My mistake, thanks for pointing it out. However, the plastic rails for the ashtray are not mentioned and are pretty hard to come by. And by the looks of the original pictures, they are there.
As far as making repairs, I have a console here already that was repaired, and for some reason, the repaired areas are glossy, even though it was painted with semi-gloss paint(out of a gun by a pro). I guess I could just paint it gloss and it would look fine? Looks awful to me, those spots stick out like a sore thumb.
As far as the price, i paid $100 for the console, and another $25 for shipping from OH to PA. The seller was apparently OK with the selling price or else he wouldn't have accepted my offer. So am I to understand, if I paid the full asking price, I would have gotten a better packing job? The only newspaper used was to wrap the top plate, there was no other packing material in the box. The box was flimsy and barely held closed with a strip of clear packing tape. There was a lot of room inside for the console to slide around in. Also, what I paid for was exactly what was being advertised by the seller. Yes, it was a 30+ year old part, but it wasn't all busted to crap. And like I mentioned before, those 2 spots aren't the only damage.
I see a lot of variation in the responses to the post, that's why I wrote it. To see whether or not I was out of line in my thinking. So, is anyone interested in a broken console, how about you Stroker? I'll make you a heck of a deal and I promise to send it to you the same way I got it, LOL! :-D
Anyway, thanks for the replies, both good and bad. That was the purpose of the post, to get some other viewpoints.

Wish I lived closer, I'd fix it for you for free... I know exactly how you feel, it's a downer getting your parts damaged.. I bought a used comp cam and lifters awhile back, the seller had marked which lobe the lifters went on with a black sharpie, before he packed them the dumbazz sprayed them down with wd-40, by the time thay got to me 4 lifters were still marked, all the others the sharpie wore off due to the wd-40.. I WAS FURIOUS!!!!!

 

[Dartnut]

I learned my lesson about unhappy buyers, (I actually sent it for free and he screwed me on the shipping anyway) I still haven't recieved a nickle!
The next item i sell will be packed in a black box like the airline recorders, and lots of before and after pics too.
Paypal only for me after this adventure, and no squawks or excuses.
When someone doesn't respond or try to sort out the problem with you in p.m.'s you know he's at fault.
Live and learn.
I've recieved a few items i bought on here with no issue, but i guess there's still a few bad apples who don't get it.
Thanks to the FABO members here who police this stuff through their threads and opinions. Especially Paul (Greenhornet) who has helped me a lot.
I lol at the "when good parts go bad" comment earlier!
This is not intended to be a rant, or a thread hijack, just a heads up to buyers and sellers!
Let's all get along and enjoy the a body hobby the best we can.
Guys, resolve all issues before it gets to this!
I think we're pretty damn reasonable people here overall.
O.P. lick your wounds and get on with it, and seller, man up and be more professional.
Tom.