I won an eBay auction for an IBM 5151 Monitor that was utterly destroyed in transit. The seller's packing job seemed above average. There was a foam pad plus bubble wrap within an inner box which was placed in an outer box containing additional packing material. I do think they could have added a bit more padding, seeing how thin that foam is, but I cannot fathom how UPS managed to totally smash apart the shell of the monitor. One side was totally shattered and as you can see there are fragments that are little more than plastic dust. I could understand a fall from a stack of boxes causing a crack or two, but with two boxes combined with at least a modest amount of cushioning that's about the worst I'd have expected.
Is there anything here worth saving, or is one for the recycling center (assuming they'll accept it in this condition)? Perhaps the knobs and cord could be of use, but I don't know CRT repair, so it's doubtful I could utilize anything beyond that myself. The picture tube appears to be intact, so it might be possible to transplant it into another shell, but it's a shame as this one was nearly pristine with almost no yellowing. I'll probably hold onto it until I can find another. Then perhaps I'll give this one away if there's anything of value left, or discarding it if not.
Is there anything I can do on my end to help prevent this kind of damage? I hate to advise sellers regarding packing, considering if it's subsequently damaged the blame could be placed on me. Plus he did a decent job. Even if he'd done a little better it's hard to imagine it surviving that journey unscathed. Perhaps the biggest mistake was conducting the transaction at Christmas time.
Is there anything here worth saving, or is one for the recycling center (assuming they'll accept it in this condition)? Perhaps the knobs and cord could be of use, but I don't know CRT repair, so it's doubtful I could utilize anything beyond that myself. The picture tube appears to be intact, so it might be possible to transplant it into another shell, but it's a shame as this one was nearly pristine with almost no yellowing. I'll probably hold onto it until I can find another. Then perhaps I'll give this one away if there's anything of value left, or discarding it if not.
Is there anything I can do on my end to help prevent this kind of damage? I hate to advise sellers regarding packing, considering if it's subsequently damaged the blame could be placed on me. Plus he did a decent job. Even if he'd done a little better it's hard to imagine it surviving that journey unscathed. Perhaps the biggest mistake was conducting the transaction at Christmas time.