Another treasure(s) destroyed GE Locomotive

[Sparky]

Exhibit C: The shifty CRT:

I thought for certain that the CRT was done for, but it lives.
It was pushed back about an 1 inch or less, shifted off its position (look at the bands).
The raster is normal for size, (that's how it looked before purchase) but me thinks it's no longer centered, as well as all wobbly in it's mount.
I haven't checked for an ion trap so that's enough testing.

[Sparky]

Yes I too suffer from the same problem. I won't ship without doing it right. Also the time, the effort and money to ship someone else's mistake back to them, well been there too. I bought a 9" Motorola (8BP4) set with just 2 sheets of paper and trash-in-a-box. well the cabinet (wood) de-veneered and was cracked...everywhere. Ratsnest in the TV and all kinds of bad things in it. I let the seller know and of course denied everything that it was "packed very well" yeah with every part of the cabinet touching a used broken up cardboard box. No refund and I wasn't going to ship it back at a loss. Good for parts only.

I also live in Orlando by the way.

Originally Posted by DaveWM

Correct packing requires an understanding of basic physics. I am pretty confident I could pack pretty much anything and have it survive, but it would not be cheap, and I would want to be paid for both materials and at lest a somewhat reasonable amount for the time to do it right.
So I am out no cash but prob at leas 1 hour of fabrication, take it to UPS, and have nothing to show for it. I HOPE it got there alright, I never heard back from either the seller or the buyer, no good deed...

[Sparky]

Yep at work I repair many 10's of thousand dollar machines. once every 3-5 years one will defy repair and is sent back to the factory to have voodo performed by trained witch doctors. They receive it in good order using a box in a box. When they ship it back, it's in a single box. Well you guess it they send a call tag and I re-double box it with proper instructions to ship in the exact boxes it arrived in. No excuses. This is performed with the chief witch doctor aka service manager.

When the weight exceeds the logic of a cardboard box or has pointy sharp things clawing their way out of their prison box, this calls for a road case.

I don't have the money for such shipping privately, but a box in a box would have been just fine in this case had not the seller just given a damn.

Now for a UPS (United Parcel Smashers) story. This TV was sent UPS by the way.
Many years ago when I was a lad of 22 or so, I needed to pick up a package after hours at UPS. I did so after work. I was told that I could wait in the receiving area as the truck had not arrived with my package which was out for delivery for some reason. The idea that I could wait for the truck behind the scenes so to speak, was that I had on the same color Dickies as UPS. I guess with all brain dead representatives that inhabit the UPS and USPS, I was okay, as I had the same uniform. Well, while waiting for my truck, I had the privilege of watching the UPS Apes in action. A a truck backed up to the dock (all indoor btw) they unloaded the trucks in this manner. Take a package out and throw it on the conveyor wheels. Fragile packages as marked, were give special attention. Pick them up and smash them down on whatever surface is handy, floor conveyor. Some were given even better attention. Drop-kicked across the conveyor to the head of the line. Nice work boys. This is a true story witnessed by me So. Eastern Mass. depot.

Originally Posted by Chip Chester

Sorry for your troubles, Sparky.

I ended up sending some of my empty factory shipping boxes to the sellers, for them to ship the deck back to me. Shipping big empty boxes is not cheap, but they all arrived fine, and it's the only way that UPS would stand behind their insurance.

If you've got the stomach to pursue more of the GE sets, and you have a set already to guide you, maybe you should build the ultimate "crate" that correctly supports the components and assemblies inside, as well as the outside case.
Chip

[wa2ise]

A couple years ago I bought via ebay an Aussie bakelite radio. You guessed it, it arrived broken in 3 large pieces. I was able to glue it back together, but one piece escaped out a hole in the box. Ended up filling the 2 square inches with hot melt glue and dark shoe polish (it was mostly on the bottom). It presents fairly well, but a close inspection will show the damage.


I got another of the same model radio in complete shape later. Better packing job.

[radiotvnut]

I've got a big 21" '53 Zenith wooden tabletop B&W that a friend gave me, after someone gave it to him. The person who gave it to him bought it off ebay and it was supposed to be working. The seller stuck this big monster TV in a box with only packing peanuts for protection. Needless to say, the set didn't work upon arrival. The CRT neck got snapped off and there was a fairly sized crack close to the bottom of the cabinet. Given how poorly it was packed, I'm surprised it wasn't damaged worse. I managed to track down a CRT for it and discovered it had no HV. It's been sitting on the shelf for the past several years. Maybe one day, I'll get to it.

[Electronic M]

Originally Posted by Sparky

Now for a UPS (United Parcel Smashers) story. This TV was sent UPS by the way.
Many years ago when I was a lad of 22 or so, I needed to pick up a package after hours at UPS. I did so after work. I was told that I could wait in the receiving area as the truck had not arrived with my package which was out for delivery for some reason. The idea that I could wait for the truck behind the scenes so to speak, was that I had on the same color Dickies as UPS. I guess with all brain dead representatives that inhabit the UPS and USPS, I was okay, as I had the same uniform. Well, while waiting for my truck, I had the privilege of watching the UPS Apes in action. A a truck backed up to the dock (all indoor btw) they unloaded the trucks in this manner. Take a package out and throw it on the conveyor wheels. Fragile packages as marked, were give special attention. Pick them up and smash them down on whatever surface is handy, floor conveyor. Some were given even better attention. Drop-kicked across the conveyor to the head of the line. Nice work boys. This is a true story witnessed by me So. Eastern Mass. depot.

This reminds me of a story from my uncle and aunt who used to work for UPS many moons ago. When loading or unloading a truck when there was no conveyor near there would be a bucket burgade(I know I misspelled that) like line of people tossing packages from one person to the next...If the package looked heavy the next person down the line would intentionally not catch it!

[kramden66]

i had a locomotive shipped to me some time ago , nothing special about the packing and it made it somehow , maybe they paid attention to all the fragile markings all over the box.

mike

[snelson903]

i have packed and sent items since i had my shop for 18 yrs ,and not one time have ever had a damage idem, its mainly how it is packed,if you dont take the time to box it like its going to be used as a football it will not make it .it must be doubled boxed with a dead space between with shock absorber of some kind , even put thin peaces of paneling in the dead space to prevent stabbing i know it sounds like alot but it works and it takes time but its better than a broken idem.

[bandersen]

Even if it's very well packed, the chassis and CRT might break loose and cause damage. I've had much better luck when the chassis and cabinet were shipped separately.

[Tubejunke]

Originally Posted by Sparky

I thought for certain that the CRT was done for, but it lives.
It was pushed back about an 1 inch or less, shifted off its position (look at the bands).
The raster is normal for size, (that's how it looked before purchase) but me thinks it's no longer centered, as well as all wobbly in it's mount.
I haven't checked for an ion trap so that's enough testing.

The raster doesn't look to be at all normal for size. There is definitely some vertical height and or linearity issues going on there, but that's no big deal. You can see the ion trap present in the second picture, so no need to worry about that. If it were gone, you wouldn't have a raster and the brightness of the raster that you do have lends me to believe that it is pretty close to proper adjustment.

[Sparky]

Yeah I already knew it had issues, all of no consequence to me for repair. The picture looked the same on eBay before its shipment, except of course it's now shifted and needs an alignment as well.

So thanks all for your comments everyone, now I have received a reply to my complaint of damage. The seller doesn't want to even see pictures of the damage, he just wants to send me a UPS call tag! Well thanks for asking me for options! So my question is this... I want the set, but I need to be monetarily compensated for my loss, aka $.

So how do I get a person like this who wants to damage it for good by having me ship it back in the same "box" or at my expense because I don't want to see it damaged?
It will take time and money to fix his blunder. I don't want to ask anything out of the norm. Your opinions I await. Tom.

Originally Posted by Tubejunke

The raster doesn't look to be at all normal for size. There is definitely some vertical height and or linearity issues going on there, but that's no big deal. You can see the ion trap present in the second picture, so no need to worry about that. If it were gone, you wouldn't have a raster and the brightness of the raster that you do have lends me to believe that it is pretty close to proper adjustment.

Looks like someone listens to the Moody Blues, what with your piles of trials and the like...

[wa2ise]

I figure that you should pack something in such a way that you feel comfortable letting it roll down a flight of stairs and not be damaged. Maybe two flights...

[Jon A.]

Originally Posted by Sparky

So thanks all for your comments everyone, now I have received a reply to my complaint of damage. The seller doesn't want to even see pictures of the damage, he just wants to send me a UPS cal tag! Well thanks for asking me for options! So my question is this... I want the set, but I need to be monetarily compensated for my loss, aka $.

I'm sure that everyone who has been following this topic already knows this, but I'll be the one to actually say it: that seller is a moron.

[Sparky]

Yeah we now he is a moron and other things which I have already called him offline, but what to do now.

1 Do I destroy the TV by shipping back at no expense to me in his box?
2 Do I ship it back at my expense hoping not to destroy it further, maybe he'll pay the difference?
3 Or do I keep it, starting a claim to get some money back?

Does anyone have a fair estimate to give seeing the damage in the picture for either time or $?

I still await your comments and opinions.

Originally Posted by KV-1926R

I'm sure that everyone who has been following this topic already knows this, but I'll be the one to actually say it: that seller is a moron.

[Jon A.]

I would choose option 3. Hopefully you have kept all communication.