[moodyrn]

Thanks. I first gave the seller a chance to make right on this. Because from my experience with a 2325, I knew what would happen if the seller was unwilling to work things out. The absolutely right thing to do would have been to send me a prepaid shipping label to ship it back. With this, he would have lost the money on shipping both ways, but ebay and paypal would have refunded his seller fees(about 13%, they refund nothing if it goes to escalation). So that alone would have taken care of shipping one way. He still could have gotten close to what I paid him by doing an auction. I bought it at a really good price on a buyitnow. I saw one almost this bad go for similar money on a buyitnow. So in the end, he still would have made some money. That would have been a good solution for both of us.
 
But he was unwilling to do anything. He kept driving the fact that it was a parts repair. But the faceplate in the listing was mint, and he couldn't understand that fact that he was still responsible for getting it to me in the cosmetic condition listed. Heck, technically I could have filed a case on all of the missing parts alone when he advertised only a couple of transistors were missing. But instead, he said maybe I was trying to scam him by swapping his faceplate for a broken one from a 2505 I already owned. When I picked the box up, I knew it was damaged because you could hear broken glass inside the box. So I took pictures of the whole unboxing process. But he still decided to go there. And after ebay refunded all of my money, I sent him a message saying he could have it back as long as he paid for shipping. I waited over two weeks and never heard back from him. That's when I decided to try to restore it and keep which ever I liked best between this and the 6200.

 

[Pudu]

Once you're done, make sure to send him a nice photo of the finished product.

 

[moodyrn]

Lol

 

[LugBug1]

Great work as always moody! She looks stunning now. 
 
Well, big day for me today... I'm moving house 

  In the last few weeks I've sold off 90% of my vintage to ease the load 

 But to be fair I only listen to 10% of them anyways. So I'll be gone for a while until I get settled in and set back up. Then I can start buying new (vintage) stuff because I'll have a whole new converted attic to fill up! Which will be a no wife zone muhahaha 

 
 
Don't miss me too much guys

 
 
 
(also, I remember telling you guys about me being made redundant end of last year, well I've managed to secure a new job in the same place. So new job, new house I'm a happy bunny!)
 
Now the stressful part... 

 

[analogsurviver]

  Great work as always moody! She looks stunning now. 
 
Well, big day for me today... I'm moving house 

  In the last few weeks I've sold off 90% of my vintage to ease the load 

 But to be fair I only listen to 10% of them anyways. So I'll be gone for a while until I get settled in and set back up. Then I can start buying new (vintage) stuff because I'll have a whole new converted attic to fill up! Which will be a no wife zone muhahaha 

 
 
Don't miss me too much guys

 
 
 
(also, I remember telling you guys about me being made redundant end of last year, well I've managed to secure a new job in the same place. So new job, new house I'm a happy bunny!)
 
Now the stressful part... 

Good luck ! - with everything ...

 

[analogsurviver]

  Thanks. I first gave the seller a chance to make right on this. Because from my experience with a 2325, I knew what would happen if the seller was unwilling to work things out. The absolutely right thing to do would have been to send me a prepaid shipping label to ship it back. With this, he would have lost the money on shipping both ways, but ebay and paypal would have refunded his seller fees(about 13%, they refund nothing if it goes to escalation). So that alone would have taken care of shipping one way. He still could have gotten close to what I paid him by doing an auction. I bought it at a really good price on a buyitnow. I saw one almost this bad go for similar money on a buyitnow. So in the end, he still would have made some money. That would have been a good solution for both of us.
 
But he was unwilling to do anything. He kept driving the fact that it was a parts repair. But the faceplate in the listing was mint, and he couldn't understand that fact that he was still responsible for getting it to me in the cosmetic condition listed. Heck, technically I could have filed a case on all of the missing parts alone when he advertised only a couple of transistors were missing. But instead, he said maybe I was trying to scam him by swapping his faceplate for a broken one from a 2505 I already owned. When I picked the box up, I knew it was damaged because you could hear broken glass inside the box. So I took pictures of the whole unboxing process. But he still decided to go there. And after ebay refunded all of my money, I sent him a message saying he could have it back as long as he paid for shipping. I waited over two weeks and never heard back from him. That's when I decided to try to restore it and keep which ever I liked best between this and the 6200.

It is all sorts of sellers - on ebay or otherwise.
 
But the pattern, confirmed over time, is something like this :
 
The condition and quality of packaging is INVERSELY proportional to the price paid.
 
Seems illogical at first - but I have received items advertised in the auction as "almost better than new", with correspondingly high winning bid, with premium shipping paid for, in sometimes derelict condition, delivered by the cheapest possible unsigned for ( and therefore uninsured ...) method the seller could possibly find -
 
AND
 
I have also received "defective" units , with packaging that would put original manufacturer's box to shame - for peanuts. 
 
It all boils down to the seller; some are professionals, making 1000% effort in order to get the item to you in condition they themselves would like to receive their purchases; at the minimum costs to you that still allow
for such a service. There are "amateur" sellers that go even more extra mile, foot, milimetre or whatever in this regard.
 
On the other end, there are sellers of high end gear, masters of hiding any defects, with item descriptions that would make anyone remotely interested in buying that item drool, packing that "high end" item like it was a bunch of potatoes. With "fixed" shipping rates, making sure to gain in the process.  Always try to check seller's feedback, particularly negative ones, if any; should that raise an eyebrow regarding condition/shipping damage for that particular seller,  I suggest passing on such a deal.
 
Trouble is, with rare vintage items, such sellers might be the only game - on the planet...

 

[Xenophon]

It's all across the board...I've purchased stuff from sellers with a clad platinum rating that turned out to be misdescribed or sloppily packaged and sometimes you do things that look like an invitation to disaster but turn out really well.  I once purchased a pair of Tung Sol 5998 from a seller with mixed reputation who stated that they looked good externally but that he hadn't tested them and explicitly sold 'as is' with no guarantee at all and no returns.  He also stated that he didn't want feedback.  Price was about half of what a reputable seller would ask.  I took the gamble...best tubes I ever purchased, absolutely mint condition.  Contacted him and it turned out that he was a militaria wholesaler who had purchased the contents of a decommissioned army storage facility.....HUNDREDS of tubes among it...if I had known....  He wasn't interested in maximising his profit, just wanted to shift it all ASAP.  
 
Latest thing:  for the SX-1980 I purchased shipping was indicated as 'DHL' from Poland to Belgium at 60 EUR.  The monster weighs 40 kg packed-->sure enough, shipping via DHL turned out to be >200 EUR but the seller ate the increase, extremely correct guy (I did agree to a slower shipping option).  BTW:  gonna try it out coming weekend, flying over to my place in Europe tonight.  Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[PhoenixG]

Congrats on the 1980, and nice job on the Mac! 
I just mailed my fisher 800c to argybargy for a modernization - I'll let him say if I packed it well. 

 

[Skylab]

Moody that is one nice restore. Great work!!!!

 

[Rossliew]

Anyone have experience with a Luxman L&G R3800 receiver? Seldom see these units up for sale and there is one locally which has not been fiddled with internally..any feedback is most appreciated!

 

[moodyrn]

Thanks everyone, and congrats lugbug on the new house and job. I'm really happy for you and I sincerely hope you won't be gone too long.  And congrats xenophon on scoring the 1980. It must have been really hard to come by given your location. 
 
Now back to shipping issues. I still can't understand why these sellers just don't get it. I've sold quiet a few vintage irons on ebay myself and I've never had anything come back on me. I make sure that the item is packed as well as it can be. I did have one mishap of a tube being bad in a tube tuner. I have the buyer the option of returning it or giving him a partial refund to pay for a "nos" tube he found. I have lost on shipping a few times, but nothing too significant  with the exception the first 2325 I sold that I charged 75.00 for and it cost me 180.00(ups did all of the packaging). Now I just make sure I charge enough for shipping to at least cover most of my packaging materials. And if there's a difference of more than a few dollars, I refund it.
 
A good example of things being done right was the ma6200 I bought a little while after the 2505. Here's pics of what was in the listing.

 

 

 
But the seller packed this as if it was a show piece. It was double box and encased in multiple layers of foam and bubble wrap. The shipping was 70.00, but he refunded 30.00 of it since it only cost 40.00 to ship. The difference between this and the 2505 is, this is actually how the 6200 looked before I bought it. The 2505 faceplate was mint before I bought it. So it would seem the 2505 seller would have been the one to go all out on packaging(one small piece of bubble wrap...really?). The 6200 probably couldn't have gotten much worse lol.

 

[SpeakerBox]

Shipping really is an art.  I have developed a system for doing it right:
 
1.) Three layers of bubble wrap - to the point of where it will almost bounce.
2.) Use spare cardboard to build a shell around the bubble wrapped item - all taped securely.
3.) Place that inside a real box with foam or other buffering material between the cardboard shell and box.
 
They would really have to go out of their way to destroy it.  So far no issues.
 
Still working on my 1250 - about to order some parts.  I hate to say it but I still think that at moderate listening levels my tricked out Sherwood 7100A beats it, but we will see.

 

[Silent One]

 
Good luck ! - with everything ...

+1

 

[Skylab]

I love how the late afternoon sun hits my little sanctuary...

 

[Argybargy]

Nice! I like how the lava lamp accents all the warm wood.