vintage sneakernet - taking a family vacation this summer?

[hargle]

I recently got burned by UPS shipping a 5170 1/2 way across the USA- it arrived broken.
I figure this would have been avoided if it had been hand delivered.

So, with family vacation time coming up soon, is anyone planning any journeys across the USA this summer who wouldn't mind being a mule for some vintage gear?

 

[Jorg]

Wow. Those UPS guys must be experts, being able to break a 5170..

 

[RetroHacker_]

Wow. Those UPS guys must be experts, being able to break a 5170..

Hehe. My thoughts exactly. I didn't know that a simple beating and manhandling could damage a 5170. You normally need something with a bit more oomph - like an angry elephant. Or that gorilla from the American Tourister commercials.

-Ian

 

[Chuck(G)]

To be fair, if one packs with the anticipation of mistreatment by any carrier, one avoids disaster.

The most important thing in packing large pieces of equipment is making sure that the object can't move around during transit. Styrofoam "peanuts" won't do this. Neither will wadded-up newsprint or dunnage.

But getting any seller to pack things right is all too often impossible. Sometimes it's worth paying for professional (competent professional, that is) packing.

 

[glitch]

To be fair, if one packs with the anticipation of mistreatment by any carrier, one avoids disaster.

Eh, you still get someone who tosses it off a dock or hits the box with a forklift. We pack everything at work using a combination of bubble wrap, closed-cell foam, and "Insta-Pak" expanding urethane foam bags in double-wall boxes, and we've still had things get utterly demolished by UPS. We've started putting ShockWatch stickers on everything, which break a glass vial if the box experiences a certain level of G-force for a certain impluse...no problems since then. Apparently the ShockWatch stickers are a good deterrent for bad handling, as they pretty much guarantee an insurance payout.

 

[kb2syd]

I'm with Chuck. Have to pack in anticipation of mishandling. I double box everything breakable, with closed cell foam in the inner box and peanuts outside. This has worked well for me so far. I will not ship certain things either. I have plenty of XT era stuff (monitors and computers) to give away, but no one wants to come get them and I will not ship them. Not worth my time to double pack an XT clone just to make back the cost of shipping.

 

[kishy]

I'm with Chuck. Have to pack in anticipation of mishandling. I double box everything breakable, with closed cell foam in the inner box and peanuts outside. This has worked well for me so far. I will not ship certain things either. I have plenty of XT era stuff (monitors and computers) to give away, but no one wants to come get them and I will not ship them. Not worth my time to double pack an XT clone just to make back the cost of shipping.

Seems this topic ends up in a variety of threads but...gotta ask...how is it that you can only 'make back the cost of shipping'? In what world is shipping included in the asking price by default? You don't spend any money in shipping the machine because the buyer pays you these costs. If the item costs $70 to ship but the asking price is only $30...so what? The buyer is paying $100 to you.

If you don't want to ship items because of the hassle involved, that's fine, but the reason as stated simply doesn't make sense (to me at least). Another reason that really isn't the business of the seller is items that, regardless of how well packed they are, are likely to arrive broken ("I refuse to ship this because it is too fragile and will probably break")...in this case it's the buyer's call if they want to take that risk or not...buyer pays for insured shipping, so if it's damaged, buyer can attempt to buy another with the insurance payout (which should go entirely to said buyer, because the buyer is the only one out any money - the seller only profited, via the asking price).

 

[Ole Juul]

This subject keeps coming up, and there are always two distinct points of view. Those that ship and receive in a functional (non broken) fashion, and those that ship and receive in a non-functional (everything broken) fashion. I find this difficult to explain, but my take is that (depending on where you live) very few computers and monitors are made locally and had to arrive at a store in some way. Do retailers actually accept a 50% broken rate? I can imagine a truck load of monitors arriving at Future Shop and the shipping guys going through a pile of rubble and picking out the working units for resale. Even egg vendors couldn't live with that. Though I must admit that I don't buy eggs off eBay. lol

 

[MikeS]

...You don't spend any money in shipping the machine because the buyer pays you these costs. If the item costs $70 to ship but the asking price is only $30...so what? The buyer is paying $100 to you.

A lot of people balk at paying two or three times the cost of the item for shipping; it's psychology.

Another reason that really isn't the business of the seller is items that, regardless of how well packed they are, are likely to arrive broken ("I refuse to ship this because it is too fragile and will probably break")...in this case it's the buyer's call if they want to take that risk or not...buyer pays for insured shipping, so if it's damaged, buyer can attempt to buy another with the insurance payout (which should go entirely to said buyer, because the buyer is the only one out any money - the seller only profited, via the asking price).

Apparently you don't care as long as you get your money, but if I thought my EGA monitor would probably get smashed on the way to its new owner I'd also rather hang on to it; I wouldn't be happy about another one biting the dust, and having read the many threads about this very thing neither are most buyers, even if they do get the insurance money to go hunting for another one.

 

[MikeS]

This subject keeps coming up, and there are always two distinct points of view. Those that ship and receive in a functional (non broken) fashion, and those that ship and receive in a non-functional (everything broken) fashion. I find this difficult to explain, but my take is that (depending on where you live) very few computers and monitors are made locally and had to arrive at a store in some way. Do retailers actually accept a 50% broken rate? I can imagine a truck load of monitors arriving at Future Shop and the shipping guys going through a pile of rubble and picking out the working units for resale. Even egg vendors couldn't live with that. Though I must admit that I don't buy eggs off eBay. lol

I think that not only are the monitors in that Future Shop truckload packed in custom-designed shock-resistant boxes, but they're probably also not handled as carelessly by the cartage company as they would be by UPS or USPS.

 

[kishy]

Well, Mike, lol, not quite just the money to the buyer...what I mean is, if a seller is otherwise selling an item...generally one sells an item to get money, or gives away an item to do the recipient a kindness, but doesn't sell an item as a favour to the buyer...so it's the seller who should be taking the "if they're willing to pay and take the risk upon themselves, so be it - would suck if another EGA monitor was destroyed, but the person is willing to pay for adequate postage and materials, so..."

It's a risk the buyer takes...since the buyer is the person who wants the item, and the seller is not, or the seller would not be selling it

 

[MikeS]

Well, Mike, lol, not quite just the money to the buyer...what I mean is, if a seller is otherwise selling an item...generally one sells an item to get money, or gives away an item to do the recipient a kindness, but doesn't sell an item as a favour to the buyer...

It's a risk the buyer takes...since the buyer is the person who wants the item, and the seller is not, or the seller would not be selling it

Well, like I said you only sell/donate to get money or to do someone a favour; it may be hard for you to understand but to many people it's not about the money; they sell/give away items because they don't have the room or resources to use or appreciate them and want them to go to someone who can, not to get smashed on the floor of a UPS facility.

And FWIW considering the trivial (if any) profits involved most if not all items that I've sold were indeed sold at least in part as a favour to the buyer.

 

[kb2syd]

Seems this topic ends up in a variety of threads but...gotta ask...how is it that you can only 'make back the cost of shipping'? In what world is shipping included in the asking price by default? You don't spend any money in shipping the machine because the buyer pays you these costs. If the item costs $70 to ship but the asking price is only $30...so what? The buyer is paying $100 to you.

I have offered these machines for sale several times in several places. The offers were as high as $20 plush shipping. When you take out paypal's vig there is almost nothing left. I know how it SHOULD work, but it doesn't. No one seems to want to pay $100 for a functioning XT clone and another $100 for packing and shipping.

I have also sold things on EBay like this and the bids sometimes go up but other times just don't. It's not worth the time, listing fees and packing effort to loose 8% to paypal and 9% to EBay (pretty soon that'll be on the shipping too) and gamble on the bids just not being there. I can't and won't waste my time packing it for free.

I make good money removing viruses and fixing other people's problems. I'm not going to waste 2 hours of my time packing something for $10 per hour. It is a loss to me.

So, anyone want to pay $100 for a no-name xt clone plus shipping and packing materials? How about another $100 for a matching monitor. Better yet, come here to New Jersey and buy me a beer. I can probably find one or two complete units for you to take home. Much better way to spend my time.