trainnut1250BTW: insurance creates and interesting situation in that the post office will keep the item and give you the money - so a rare brass item is removed from the market if you make a claim with USPS
I have never successfully filed a clain with the USPS. I gave up and stopped buying damage insurance on packages several years ago.
Now they add it on automatically to Priority Mail, but I do not want it.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
riogrande5761 John, my experience has largely been polar opposite of yours. With MBK, pretty much all my orders over the past years within memory have been well packed, very well. Maybe you yours got packed by a guy who doesn't work there anymore - and shouldn't.
John, my experience has largely been polar opposite of yours.
With MBK, pretty much all my orders over the past years within memory have been well packed, very well. Maybe you yours got packed by a guy who doesn't work there anymore - and shouldn't.
Hello riogrande5761--
Yes, I know many have had positive experiences with MBK. In my return explanation, I put in writing that the item should never have gone out that way, that I had actually worked in shipping of model trains, and that the person who packed it should not continue to have a job. I used no foul language whatsoever, but voiced my clear displeasure strongly in writing. Perhaps the manager to whom I specifically directed my comments took it personally, but I clearly received the impression they did not want or need my business from their response, which totally ignored my specific written request.
My son simply wanted a properly packed replacement engine; that is all he wanted. We had a matching mate for it (bought locally) and my son wanted a second unit of the same thing. MBK opted to simply issue a refund (ironic for me, since getting a refund from other dealers and Ebay sellers for their defective merchandise has been at times challenging). Without the second unit, we ended up selling the one we had for something else, as my son wants to pull long trains. It was easy to get him a Genesis 2.0 unit instead that can pull the house, but obviously we lost a little money on that deal. I'm just trying to make my son happy to preserve some interest in trains (mostly he plays video games). My son really did not understand why MBK didn't just simply send a properly packed replacement. I had to explain that apparently Daddy made them angry. They did explain that they couldn't use styrofoam peanuts anymore due to environmental concerns and anticipated Maryland state law, but that was the only explanation we received.
(In 2021 Johnny has a Genesis DDA40X coming and a big DM&IR 2-8-8-4, both pre-ordered locally.)
It's fine, most locomotives I've been able to find elsewhere.
John
I do not personally know anybody who has ever won a dispute regarding damaged trains with the USPS.
When I have had items damaged in shipping they go to great lengths to blame somebody else. As a result, I often ship items without any extra insurance. In the very rare occasions when the buyer says it is defective, I tell them to keep the item (it's no good to me and I'm not paying for the return) and give them all their money back. I chalk that up to the risks of trading on Ebay. (I say trading because I'm not in it to make any money, only to recover something from items I no longer need).
SeeYou190 and the seller sent it to the wrong address!
and the seller sent it to the wrong address!
As a seller, I can tell you it is pretty hard to ship it to the wrong address, unless the buyer puts the wrong address in. According to eBay's rules, the seller is not supposed to alter the address at all. I have had people tell me I shipped items to their old addresses, and that it was my fault. Like I know there history of where they lived and went out of my way to send it there!
An "expensive model collector"
richhotrain eBay got overly protective of its sellers. Rich
eBay got overly protective of its sellers.
Rich
Meh, as a seller I would argue it has gone the other way.
drgwcs However it looked like the post office set an elephant ridden by an NFL offensive line on it......
However it looked like the post office set an elephant ridden by an NFL offensive line on it......
Just this week I got back a brass model that I had shipping out in the middle of October. The Priority Mail shoebox looked like it had been run over by a truck, then thrown into a lake, as the cardboard showed signs of being wet. Luckily, the model was wrapped in a ton of bubble rap, and appears to be undamaged. The Post Office is not what it once was when it comes to care.
SeeYou190I have never successfully filed a clain with the USPS. I gave up and stopped buying damage insurance on packages several years ago. Now they add it on automatically to Priority Mail, but I do not want it.
I believe that the automatic amount is only $50. If anyone wants more than that there is an adder.
I haven't responded this thread yet because I've never had a problem.
Most of the stuff I have received in the mail was over safely packed and I probably paid for that in shipping. Although I have received under safely packed things. With those I guess I've just been lucky.
Knock on wood
TF
Fragile? What's that?
USPS_Fragile by Edmund, on Flickr
Inside — a $1200 Overland passenger car! Yikes!
Opened the package carefully and was relieved to see that there was just a slight dent on one end of the inner Overland green box! Whew —
Overall I've had pretty good luck.
Regards, Ed
I like that one movie with Jim Carrey Pet Detective.
The package says fragile all over it. He puts it on the sidewalk out of the van and kicks a field goal towards the apartment door. He kicks It and Boots it up the stairs, down the stairs, down the hall all the way to the apartment and shakes it. The guy answers the door and says it sounds broken. And Jim says it probably is Sir and if you would just sign here please
Maybe think about that the next time you want them to put Fragile on your package
gmpullmanI wonder how much rising postal rates have to do with the problem?
Well, they also allow you to pad your shipping costs with handling fees and they give a great discount on shipping. I have sold some model train stuff on eBay, and while good packing is important to me, I'm always conscious of high shipping costs making my items non-competetive. So I went out of my way to find lighter packing materials (a combination of bubble wrap and packing paper works best). And sometimes I'll just explain in my listing: This is a 24-oz locomotive, it ain't gonna be cheap to ship!
When I buy, I am a little wary of free-shipping items, since that's a place a seller might economize. I know eBay will protect me for a return (and ding the shipper) but what a pain for all of us.
I did get one damaged Alco PB that was covered under USPS insurance (which I as the buyer did myself). They paid the claim. I think the loco is repairable, so... score! :)
Tangent: Once I bought a cheap ($10 +$12 shipping IIRC) camera lens that was not as described (wrong mount). Filed a return and buyer tried to convince me to keep it, then offered a half-refund saying he was losing money on shipping or some such nonsense -- I can't remember the exact argument. I reminded him that I too sold on eBay, and that I could see the discounted shipping costs, and knew full well he paid $6 to ship and charged me $12. I ended up filing a complaint with eBay, got my $22 and sent him back his lens at his expense. The pleading poverty really bugged me.
I have start to cull my collection and for the most part they have been LifeLike (Brown and Blue box) original packaging that I then pacakge in an outer box with some combination of pellets, bubble wrap/air pillows to insulate from the outside box. Maybe the the poor packaging results from those who choose to let E-bay estimate shipping. I stopped doing that years ago when actual shipping cost exceeded the sale price.
I received the worst packaging possible from an eBay seller today.
They just wrapped a walthers cornerstone box in inside-out wrapping paper and wrote my address on it.
The contents were luckily all OK, but the box was destroyed.
I recently purchased and received a 2-car set of MTH passenger cars that came inside a Priority Mail box with no additional padding or cardboard to protect the front view window in the product box. The top of the Priority Mail box was noticeably squashed but, thankfully, nothing was broken on the cars. While I had no choice but to leave the seller a positive rating, I did mention in the feedback that the packing was merely "okay" and could have been better.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Well I have been pretty lucky. My Brass 4-6-6-4 Challenger was packed very well they literally buried it in bubble wrap! Took 5 minutes to unravel but the loco and tender were in great condition. Put them on the track and they were just fine!
I gotta say I may have only encountered poor packaging on a shipment once but it wasn't damaged.
What gets me is the sellers that go overboard on their packaging that you end up paying for if you want something bad enough.
I have so many box and freight cars from eBay, it's not even funny. Mainly the ones I buy are under $15 as I kind of have a rule for myself like that.
A lot of those sellers do not overpack and just wrap them in bubble wrap and put them in a small cardboard box. Then they send them through the mail free shipping or $2 or so.
I had this seller I was conversing with through eBay about why his shipping was so expensive and he told me about the elaborate way he shipped it. I told him about all the boxcars I've gotten with the bubble wrap in just a small box in the mail and I never got a broken one.
He emailed me through eBay and thanked me a few months later because his business increased. He told me when I order from him from now on, my shipping will be free. He had good prices on his freight cars. It was the shipping expense that would kill you.
I mean how can you buy a $15 freight car and pay $7.50 for shipping, .....Not even!!!
Now what really gets me (No offense to my Canadian Friends as I know there will be none taken) is you're looking at a $12 boxcar you're interested in. You get to the bottom of the listing and it says, $23 shipping from Canada, .....Yeah right!!!
Although I did pay double the price for shipping then the car from Canada once. It was a rare car I really wanted that I lost in an auction. I guess I must have really like that one!
I don't know if it's just my luck but I experience over packed things more often than I like from eBay. I would rather pay less for shipping and take a chance of something getting broken. I would think the shipper would as well. It would probably pay off statistically in the end
I bought an old Atlas FP-7 off of eBay. The description said "no box," but the price was very good. The seller wrapped it thoroughly in bubble wrap, then placed it in a box with newspaper. Unfortunately, he didn't remove the couplers. The couplers attach to the shell front and back, and in this case, were Kadees. My theory is that the loco moved around in the box, and the front coupler hit a side and caused the shell to get damaged:
I contacted the seller, and he apologized and immediately refunded my money. He told me to keep the loco. The mechanism was good (after I removed some plastic from the front truck), so I offered him $5 for it. A little MEK, and some jigsaw puzzle time, and it's good enough to be a 3 foot model:
Gary
SeeYou190 Are other people seeing this? -Kevin
Are other people seeing this?
Kevin) Unfortunately, yes I am. People just dont seem to understand the delicate nature of Model Railroading, thusly, they have absolutely no clue trains are to be shipped BOX-IN-BOX.
No excuses, no exceptions, no if-ands-or buts..... BOX-IN-BOX period!
PMR
Gary,
Your FP7 reminds me of my Kootenay Park that Rapido sent me as a replacement for one that had crooked lettering:
IMG_2481 by Edmund, on Flickr
IMG_2482 by Edmund, on Flickr
There was little indication of damage on the outer packaging but inside was a different story. Rapido apologised and sent another, but they were out of that name and had to send me Tremblant Park.
All's well that ends well. Cheers, Ed
As a seller, I do things on eBay. One, I make it clear that I am the original owner of the item, so I now all about it. Two, I make clear that I will package it securely in its original box for shipping. Potential buyers appreciate knowing those two pieces of information.
As a buyer, I rarely buy used items, in fact almost never. I never buy used or even like new items where it is obvious that the seller is not a model railroader. That is usually evident in the description.
Alton Junction
gmpullman Gary, Your FP7 reminds me of my Kootenay Park that Rapido sent me as a replacement for one that had crooked lettering: There was little indication of damage on the outer packaging but inside was a different story. Rapido apologised and sent another, but they were out of that name and had to send me Tremblant Park. All's well that ends well. Cheers, Ed
Ouch. Were you able to repair it, or reletter the replacement?
garyaWere you able to repair it, or reletter the replacement?
Rapido sent a perfect Tremblant Park. I was OK with a different name. They said don't bother returning the cracked one so I gave it to my nephew thinking he could take the time to repair it (there was some damage to the intricate interior as well).
IMG_6762_fix by Edmund, on Flickr