I am glad this story has a happy ending.
.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Soooo, here's the happy ending to this story: I just received my replacement locomotive, and it came wrapped in more bubble wrap than I think I've ever seen in one place. The locomotive, near as I can tell, is intact!
The person who I spoke to at Tall Firs took a personal interest in my case, and made sure to note on the invoice that the unit should be packed properly. They asked me to ship the broken locomotive at my own expense and they would reimburse me, which they did (including insurance).
Of course, it ain't over until I get it on the test track (tomorrow) and make sure the six-axle lady sings, but I am optimistic all will be fine. And it really seems to me like the folks in Milwaukee went above and beyond to make sure there was a satisfactory resolution.
Thanks to all who listened/read, lent moral support, and came up with new rhymes for our favorite retailers. :)
Aaron
A good outcome and good customer service on their part, Autonerd. Glad it worked out for you.
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
Update: I got Tall Firs on the phone yesterday and they were great. They asked me to email the pictures and looked at them while I was on the phone. They asked me to ship it back and they will reimburse me. I mentioned the difficulties I'd had buyng this locomotive, and the person I spoke with mentioned that they only had one of that road number in stock and would check to make sure it was in good shape and would then put it aside for me. (I told them I was OK with another road number.) They did say that because of the cost of the locomotive, they could not ship a new one until the old one was received, and I told them that was fine.
Of course, it ain't over till I have a non-broken Alco in my hot little hands, but I was very pleased with how they handled the whole thing. I expected them to do the right thing and they did.
Thanks all for your own stories, that made me feel better. :)
Most of my toys arrive via parcel in the past 15 years and I save nearly all the boxes and packing materials, which is mostly styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap or pillows. I have plenty of materials on hand when ever I sell anything, it gets packed well.
I prefer all items shipped to me have a at least 1/2 to 1 inch of material between the item and the side of the box as sometimes a box gets dented in on a side which could damage a model. Occasionally items get thrown the bottom of the box and packing material on top; those packers don't understand the bottom can get dented in as easily as the sides or the top. One guy shipped me a bunch of Tangent hoppers in the original Tangent shipping case/box like a glove with no cushion or padding but the box arrived with no dents thankfully. It did have fairly thick cardboard.
Fortunately I've had little issue despite occasional lack of protection. In one case I had an Intermountain 2-bay RTR covered hopper arrive with the model box crushed/accordianed somewhat from end to end. The model was undamaged surprisingly.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
NHTXI usually accumulate it in a lawn/leaf bag for each type and, if I need to pack something for shipment, the only cost is the actual shipping charge.
I save all the packing material I receive, and when I get a bunch saved up, I send "care packages" to each of my girls.
None of it hits the landfill directly from my house, and my kids get smiles-in-the-mail from mom & dad.
7j43k, the UPS store I do business with gladly accepts packing peanuts, clean bubble wrap, and air packs, so recycling that material is no problem. I usually accumulate it in a lawn/leaf bag for each type and, if I need to pack something for shipment, the only cost is the actual shipping charge.
7j43kHave any shippers actually tried the newspaper and found it failing? Or was it dumped because there was some new cutting-edge stuff?
I tried crumpled newspaper (from circulars sent in the mail) and it adds a LOT of weight, and I think that's the reason AirPak stuff is preferred -- especially for venders advertising free shipping. As it happens, I ran short of packing material and bought a pack of packing paper from a major chain retailer whose name rhymes with Tall Fart. I'm surprised how well it works, and the weight isn't too bad. I might stick with it.
gmpullmanIf I can help it I avoid purchases anytime near the Holidays. Often there are temporary workers, the order filling system is stretched thin...
You make a good point. I figured if anyone would pack something properly, it was Tall Firs! :)
We still get a newspaper (from a nearby city) six days a week, and two free once-a-week local papers, too, so no shortage of packing paper here. We also have a very comprehensive weekly recycling programme, so there's really very little stuff left that's actual "garbage" - most weeks, there's not enough to bother putting it by the road.
Wayne
It helps that I live close enough to Vein Curled to go pick up the stuff at the store.
Joe Staten Island West
tstageAlong those lines, I would be curious how much kraft paper compares in cost to bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts...
I found bubblewrap at 9 cents a foot, 12" wide
and
newsprint (new) at 7 cents a sheet
I suspect a sheet of newsprint (20" x 30") bulks up bigger than a foot of bubblewrap. Since we're using both to fill up the void between product and box, newsprint would appear to be cheaper.
Ed
tstageI agree, Ed. My point was that newspapers - once prolific and ubiquitous - is no longer either.
I lament the passing of the daily paper, too, Tom. We had three in Cleveland at one time. I remember touring the big presses when I had a Plain Dealer route myself. In high school I used to run the Linotype machine! Hot lead — yes indeed. I still use some movable type as HO car weights
Cheers, Ed
gmpullman tstage Therefore, I think if shippers went back to using newspapers for packing, there wouldn't be enough "medium" to go around - by a long-shot. There are lots of kraft-paper alternatives. Krinkle Paper is like shredded excelsior (when was the last time you got a package filled with excelsior?) And several types of paper padding: https://tinyurl.com/ybywgpmm And expandable wadding? https://www.uline.com/Grp_39/Paper-Cushioning There are alternatives. I had a package a while ago that the item was "stuck" between plies of a very light-tacky glue that left no residue but protected the item very well. Cheers, Ed
tstage Therefore, I think if shippers went back to using newspapers for packing, there wouldn't be enough "medium" to go around - by a long-shot.
There are lots of kraft-paper alternatives. Krinkle Paper is like shredded excelsior (when was the last time you got a package filled with excelsior?)
And several types of paper padding:
https://tinyurl.com/ybywgpmm
And expandable wadding?
https://www.uline.com/Grp_39/Paper-Cushioning
There are alternatives. I had a package a while ago that the item was "stuck" between plies of a very light-tacky glue that left no residue but protected the item very well.
I agree, Ed. My point was that newspapers - once prolific and ubiquitous - is no longer either. Kraft paper does make a good alternative but would still likely cost more than newspaper, when people were trying to get rid of in the past.
Along those lines, I would be curious how much kraft paper compares in cost to bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts...
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I just received a locomotive from an eBay seller that went above and beyond. He:
Before the package arrived, the seller (w/2,900+ sales & 100% positive feedback) sent me an email to inform me the above and to mention that he also was a model railroader. My guess is that he's experienced what Aaron did recently and wanted to ensure that any of his buyers didn't also go through that same experience.
And the cost of S&H for the locomotive? <$10 for the nearly 1,200 mi trip.
tstageTherefore, I think if shippers went back to using newspapers for packing, there wouldn't be enough "medium" to go around - by a long-shot.
7j43kI do wish that all the bubble wrap (and still occasional popcorn) were replaced with something that I could toss into recycling. Like crumpled newspaper. Have any shippers actually tried the newspaper and found it failing? Or was it dumped because there was some new cutting-edge stuff?
Have any shippers actually tried the newspaper and found it failing? Or was it dumped because there was some new cutting-edge stuff?
Ed,
The proliferation of newspapers is not what it used to be - e.g. when we held newspaper drives to collect money for our elementary schools when I was a kid. Nowadays, newspapers are struggling to compete with the "up-to-the minute" internet and readership is down. So, some newspapers have chosen to pare down the size of their printed issues...or print them less often...or chosen to go digital.
Therefore, I think if shippers went back to using newspapers for packing, there wouldn't be enough "medium" to go around - by a long-shot.
Of all the items I have ordered and had delivered, only two have ever had an issue.
One from "vain curled" (took me a while to figure that one out... I was thinking "what on earth rhymes with curled?" and somehow, it just skipped me for a few minutes that I needed to remove the "e" from "curled" and think of "brain whirled"....) was squished by that "rhymes with Med-express" company when they delivered it into my mailbox. (Which was also illegal I will point out... Idiots.) But, that locomotive was saved by the good packaging job, as there was not even a mark on the locomotive box, let alone locomotive.
(Incidentally, my boss had a issue with "Med-express" as well, where they "could not find his address." and he handled it, by politely pointing out the fact that "brown has no problem!" )
And one other locomotive from a shop that got transplanted to another state, which, somehow, the locomotive was shipped in, of all things, (good grief!) a BUBBLE ENVELOPE!!!!!! (Marked "Fragile" with a sticker at least.)
While I did complain, (with pictures), the locomotive packaging (somehow, miraculously) saved the unit. (The shop did apologize, seems the owner was out and had a different person "guarding things" who wasn't used to shipping models, and offered a replacement, but I did not make them replace or refund for only a damaged loco box. I did ask that, when he has someone else "guarding things" to either hold off on shipping, or give a packaging lesson firs however....)
My last "tall firs" (got that one right off the bat) order was replacement wheelsets for a P2K unit I was given that has the "cracked gear disease" they are notorious for, was shipped in a box, wrapped in bubbles wrapping, big enough to fit their book in!
I would definitely be calling "tall firs" and asking for a replacement unit, with a better packaging job, and sending those pictures as evidence of someone's "less than stellar" shipping skills.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
7j43kI do wish that all the bubble wrap (and still occasional popcorn) were replaced with something that I could toss into recycling. Like crumpled newspaper.
At work, in the shipping and receiving area, they have a machine that perforates corrugated cardboard and turns it into packing material.
Old boxes become the packing material in new boxes, and it can all be recycled.
"Everything we do leads to a cleaner, safer, and healthier environment."
I think the only thing model train related that I got damaged was from an eBay purchase, and it was not a shipping problem. The model was still sealed in a plastic bag inside the box, and the broken off piece was not to be found inside the bag - so the break happened before the model was actually packaged. This was when Stewart was still a seperate company from Bowser, and they sent me a replacement painted shell.
That pack job looks like it was sent out by someone at the end of the day, who used the last air pillow and didn;t feel like running to some other part of the warehouse to get another pack of them because it was their quitting time. I seriously doubt that was any sort of 'standard' way of doing things there at Tall Firs. Also, interesting that the previously shipped model, PLUS the one left in stock at the seller, AND this one all had the same broken piece - not a shipping problem, I suspect, but a miscalculation on the packaging by Bowser that perhaps allows too much pressure on the fine detail parts at that location. Or some poor handling instructions to the person at the Chinese factory that put the things in the box. Still no excuse for shipping it like that though, risking far worse damage. I once got a hard drive from a seller on Amazon that came that way. I never even opened it up, KNOWING a hard drive shipped loose in a very much larger cardboard box was not going to be long for the world. Thing is, this was fuilfilled by Amazon, so THEY are the ones that packed it. They offered me a free exchange, with free overnight shipping for my troubles, and I EXPLICITLY spelled out that the issue was the packing. Guess how the repalcement one came shipped? Yup. Exactly the same. Against my better judgement I hooked it up and it actually worked fine, no SMART errors or anything. About 9 months ago. Last week a drive failed in my server - guess which drive it was? Because of the way things are set up, I lost nothing but some available free space. I wish I could afford it - I'd make the whole thing with SSDs, no mechanical junk. Those things you cna nearly throw against a wall without damage.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
I do wish that all the bubble wrap (and still occasional popcorn) were replaced with something that I could toss into recycling. Like crumpled newspaper.
I DO realize that bubble wrap and styrofoam have a place. I shipped a ZW transformer:
across the country. It arrived with handles intact (HOORAY!!) because it was carefully placed in a box that was otherwise filled with popcorn. Newspapers would not have worked.
For HO, I think locomotives, even if in their original special cradles, should probably not be shipped in paper. But half a dozen freight cars? I'd think yes.
Of course, choosing the correct packing material might further confuse the life form that packed the item in the topic's original photo.
SeeYou190I had trouble with "Tall Firs" also when I first read this post. It was like my brain ran into a "wall" over "ther" and could not put it together.
OK, now I got it. This thread has been a fun quessing game on all the names.!
OK, now lets do it again!
I can't complain, close enough for me to drive to, if I really need something that bad. Not in the best part of town. Although not the worst.
Mike.
My You Tube
You guys are just too straight forward thinking! Us old Europeans have learned to think in detours...
(Takes hat and coat and hurries out of the door ...)
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
SeeYou190 I had trouble with "Tall Firs" also when I first read this post. It was like my brain ran into a "wall" over "ther" and could not put it together. -Kevin
I had trouble with "Tall Firs" also when I first read this post. It was like my brain ran into a "wall" over "ther" and could not put it together.
Rich
Alton Junction
I have had many packages damaged from many different dealers who shipped very poorly packed items.
Whenever possible I buy in person at an actual train shop or the Timonium train show. The best packing shippers include MB Klein, Train Station (Ohio), and Western Depot. I buy in person from the retail store associated with Toy Train Heaven, so do not know about their shipping. I also buy in person at MB Klein, but usually mail order from them.
Walthers can charge an awful lot just for items, so I do not buy from them.
On Ebay I only buy items from dealers who have no hassle returns AND nearly perfect feedback. I have returned several items.
John
richhotrain Woe is me. I can't figure out what rhymes with tall firs. Rich
Woe is me. I can't figure out what rhymes with tall firs.
Shame on you, Rich
Even I got it, and I am not a native of the British Western Colonies!
"Well there", Rich...You should be able to figure it out now???