Another ebay horror story.

[cj7hawk]

So I get a nice computer arrive, good price, two 360K disk drives installed... Nice ! I'm looking forward to this even if the computer is broken and can't be repaired.

Then it arrives and I look. It's like somene wrapped it in plain thin card and a single layer of bubble wrap... As I peel it away, my worst fears... The drive latches are completely unprotected, and it's obvious this thing has been dropped directly onto the drive latches, which protrude well outside of the case. One is cracked and both are pushed all the way into the drive fascia with enough force that the drives have been twisted in the case despite being fully fixed in place. The bubble wrap and card is clearly imprinted with the shape of the drive latch where it was dropped into the drive latches.. More likely thrown by the courier. A 10Kg console, smashed down onto the latches.

Neither latch can move and the drive itself is so buckled that even a diskette can't be installed.

Not to mention the case looks like it was thrown from a moving vehicle ! It's buckled and twisted.

These things get described with words like "Premier" and "Rare" and I know that much is click bait often, but yeah, they are rare and people who buy them actually want to receive them intact... Water ingress, dirt, the occasionaly carcass... These are normal. But why oh why do we get entire computer consoles shipped in brown card wrapping without any protection for protruding parts?

The back of the computer survived mostly intact so it looks like it didn't get dropped on that side, though the plastic covers of ports are all cracked, but that I can live with... Why oh why did they destroy the drive latches???? Not even a this way up or a fragile sticker in sight...

Another computer destroyed forever by Fedex! I can only hope at least Ebay refund it, which sucks, because despite some surface grime, the computer ( A PC-8801 ) looks to be in pretty good condition before the couriers destroyed it.

 

[cj7hawk]

You can see that it's just two layes of brown paper, not actual card, and not ripple card - very lightweight wrapping.... And the drive latches and impressed into the card showing how much force they were under... It takes a lot of force to crack a piece of plastic like this. It's also in direct physica contact with the drive fascia, and you can see it's been hard enough to distort the drive in the case. The case itself is warped too, while the original photos showed it all regular.

I'm crying that people can wrap computers like this.

 

[DeltaDon]

I had two different sellers ship me laptops wrapped about the same way. With each one I poured the pieces out of the packaging. Total loss in both cases. Full refund for me and zero dollars for the sellers. But they saved a few bucks on the packaging. I guess the idea going through some people's heads is to lose money on each sale, but make up for it with high volume of sales? Yikes!

 

[pbirkel@gmail.com]

I always make it a point to add a polite, heartfelt note to the seller requesting proper packaging, spelling it out specific to the item. If the shipping charge listed for the item isn't commensurate with proper packaging then it's not reasonable to expect to get it. I have a particular distaste for packing pillows; they're ready to completely deflate upon just a surly glance. Use should be mercilessly restricted to low-mass low-density objects. I see that Amazon has even reduced to tossing in just a couple of pillows and leaving a significant fraction of the package completely empty (rattle, bump, slide, ...). Anyway "I feel your pain" ...

 

[cj7hawk]

I had two different sellers ship me laptops wrapped about the same way. With each one I poured the pieces out of the packaging. Total loss in both cases. Full refund for me and zero dollars for the sellers. But they saved a few bucks on the packaging. I guess the idea going through some people's heads is to lose money on each sale, but make up for it with high volume of sales? Yikes!

Seller was really good and made a very fast refund and apology and didn't even try to blame the courier. In this case the seller came from a country where they probably take good care of parcels and ship them carefully so likely little more than a dust cover is needed there. But the shipping gets really rough here and the computer didn't survive. I am still crying because it looks like it would have been very fixable before it got smashed. And I've been wanting one of these

I think this seller does cater to collectors and just didn't think it through since the box is steel and all, and most of the computer is protected. Had the drives been recessed I think it would have survived just fine, but on this model the latches stick right out. It sucks just as much when the sellers don't get paid either, but Ebay and Global Shipping always get their cut.

Just sad all around this time

 

[Eudimorphodon]

So… did you have to send the wreck back? I mean, yes, this sucks, but if it’s “just” the drive mechanisms can you just chuck some Flashfloppies in there and have some fun?

 

[seat safety switch]

Ugh, that sucks. The mkIISR case is pretty stout, though, so hopefully it survived. It is worth a check inside; I would assume the power supply and floppy drives protected the bulk of the machine and the thin sheet metal at the front crumpled if anything. Even though it seems like most of the damage is on the front, you may also want to check the expansion card riser's plastic mounts as they get bent or broken easily.

The tabs on the inside that hold the motherboard up on the front fascia also usually break even without rough treatment, but you can epoxy those back on. While you're in there, it's a good excuse to snip the clock battery as well.

The mechanisms and levers should interchange with other left-handed TEAC drives, so at least you have a source to try and fix the eject levers. I also have gotten a pair of Goteks working really well with my mkIISR in the past.

I have a FA that seems to have gotten crushed by a stack of other heavy e-waste in a recycling facility - the case is taco-shaped - and it's still running. I want to make some new levers for it.

All the PC-88s seem to get grime trapped in the powder coat. A quick mixture of baking soda and water will scrub it right out with a toothbrush.

 

[austfox]

@cj7hawk

Let me know if you want to try again. I have one that I haven't yet powered up, so no assurances it boots. Cosmetically is good to very good condition, and guaranteed to be packaged a lot better than what you have experienced (posted from Sydney).

Steven.

 

[shirsch]

I always make it a point to add a polite, heartfelt note to the seller requesting proper packaging, spelling it out specific to the item. If the shipping charge listed for the item isn't commensurate with proper packaging then it's not reasonable to expect to get it. I have a particular distaste for packing pillows; they're ready to completely deflate upon just a surly glance. Use should be mercilessly restricted to low-mass low-density objects. I see that Amazon has even reduced to tossing in just a couple of pillows and leaving a significant fraction of the package completely empty (rattle, bump, slide, ...). Anyway "I feel your pain" ...

There was a point when I made the same sort of appeals. Never worked. As the old saying goes: "You can't fix stupid". I've reluctantly given up on purchasing vintage systems that require shipping. The crowning event was a Xerox 802-II thrown into a weak, oversized box with a dirty old winter coat wrapped around it for padding. Why the CRT wasn't broken is a mystery to this day.