So I get home from a board meeting last night to find my wife oddly nervous and fidgety. She has purchased a ZW for my birthday on eBay as a surprise. (My birthday is next week)
She thought that at $146 plus $14 shipping and handling for a ZW in good condition in its original box it was a great deal. I concurred, but wondered why she was telling me about my surprise a week early.
Then she showed me what UPS brought: A perfectly fine example of an early 250 watt ZW in its original box…
And NOTHING else! That’s right, the seller wrapped PACKING tape around the ORIGINAL BOX, and then slapped a SHIPPING LABEL onto the box, and sent it from Burbank, CA to Burlington, VT!!!
Can I ask: what is the POINT of making a big deal out of having AN ORIGINAL BOX if you’re going to wrap it in SHIPPING TAPE?!?!
The good news is, I plan on throwing the box under the layout and using the ZW for its intended purpose. But if I were a collector…
More importantly, is the transformer ok? Have you tested it out yet?
Ebay feedback is creepy. Even if you made good in all aspects of a purchase, the seller can still leave negative feedback in retaliation for something you said about him/her. You should wait to make sure your transformer works properly before considering any feedback at all.
One of my buddies had it happen to him a week ago. Negative feedback from a seller just for saying “Shipping box small and damaged, may have lost some cards.”. It happened on March 15th. I just looked it up.
Jon; First of all - HAPPY BIRTHDAY !! (next week)… a ZW is a nice gift-- your Little Honey is a thoughtful gal.
I have come to the conclusion that even amongst “seasoned train people”, many do not realize what the original boxes may be worth. eBay and this Forum can be credited with opening alot of eyes; mine included…
Jim, the change was supposed to be effective February 20. But I wonder whether that might mean for auctions beginning then, so that a seller could not complain that the rules had been changed in the middle of the game.
Happy Birthday ! I’m a seasoned “E-Bay” person. My 100% positive rating is important, to me. I certainly would try contacting the Seller before posting any feedback.
From my personal experience, this has always worked out in a mutual satisfying exchange. Perhaps, the Seller was not aware of the significance of the box and only quoted what he had read in other listings when he prepared his own. If there is no replacement box available, you may be able to negotiate a credit or partial refund. (Sometimes, the Seller will absorb the shipping cost. You never know!)
One thing, I would suggest…Before you attempt the contact, make sure that the item is satisfactory so that the only contention is the box.
" Fast service & nice item BUT inadequate packaging caused damage to item’s original box."
I just went to my ebay account and I can leave any feedback I want, Positive, Negative or Nuetral. Same as always, no changes at all. I believe in the rating system, it has worked for me over the years quite well. I think it’s important to check when buying items. I’m putting up a bunch of trains this week on ebay and I don’t know much about them but people will see my feedback on other items and know that I’m an honest seller, that combined with really good pictures is a great way to sell. Greg
I once had a little old lady ship a 226E engine and tender in a box with nothing more than a couple of wads of newspaper. It showed up with a broken cab, broken coal pile and a broken tender truck. Oh and the tender frame was mashed up into the shell. And from the auction pictures they where in good condition when the pictures were taken. I was hot for a while, but I fixed it and glued the cab back together and let the water flow under the bridge.
The best one was a huge lot of three complete sets, two 225E sets and a 2020 set plus track switches and a couple of extra engines al thrown into one big box, stuffed in so tight they couldn’t move with absolutely no packing around them at all. The only thing that broke that time was one of the 225E pilots. Now I guess I should mention these were restoration quality trains only as they came as flood victoms from Katrina (the price was right) so it wansn’t a big deal and again it just wasn’t worth complaining about.
Greg, A word of advice. I wouldn’t use that overused line “I don’t know much about them” when selling trains. Most of us assume that the seller is using that as an out, since he really knows he is selling a bunch of junk, but doesn’t want to say so. I have seen sellers that have been selling trains for years, state that they don’t know anything about trains, etc. I usually go right by those listings. Just my [2c].
Your problem brought a chuckle to myself. I sold a twin neck Fender steel guitar I’d owned for years on Ebay to a gentleman In Quebec, Canada. He was surprised I had placed the two cases with all the components in cardboard boxes, before shipping him the items. Seems most folks just plastered a shipping label on the original hard cases, sealed them with duct tape, and sent him the collectable steel guitars w/original cases. Of course duct tape and original cases are not a collectors best friend.
I e-mailed the seller last night. He called me on the phone within 15 minutes, and was very concerned as he has a whole storage unit of trains he is selling on consignment for a local storage company. It seems a collector in the Burbank, CA area didn’t pay his bill for the unit, and so it all goes.
He said that selling trains has been unlike anything he’s ever experienced. For instance, is it true that some trains need to be sold together as a unit while others can be sold singly? Apparently he sold a UP Alco dummy A to a guy who thought he was getting an A-A.
So he is now taking care of the situation with me, getting a local TCA member to guide him on the rest of the sales, and will pack everything else properly.
Alls well that ends well.
Jon [8D]
PS: My ZW? It works, but I will replace the cord and the rollers, check the circuit breaker and whistle diode disks.