Author Topic: Why can't people pack items properly?! (Read 29969 times)

mmagin · « **Reply #75 on:** March 20, 2016, 04:28:52 am »

Had an experience like this that ended happily. Bought a HP 6002A (heavy power supply) on ebay. Seller (or seller's helper perhaps) sent it in a box that it just fit in without padding.

After evaluating it, I asked the seller for a partial refund (thus bringing it down from a good deal to a really good deal) and fixed it up. All it needed was new binding posts and a new nut holding the power switch. Also needed to recalibrate the current/power limiting. Back part of the enclosure is bent a little, but it has no effect on functionality.

They built those things tough. Fan is a bit loud. But if you need a linear 200W supply, it's nice.

XOIIO · « **Reply #76 on:** March 20, 2016, 05:19:15 am »

Good god, when I ordered the pushbar for my car from someone in the states, it arrived in a big ass box, so full of peanuts that you couldn't see anything else, and then the pushbar itself was wrapped in some pillows that were taped together so it couldn't get out, four I think. The thing is a hunk of metal and it had packaging that could probably have survived a nuclear blast, It's pretty big too, so the shipping wasn't super cheap. Sadly I didn't think to take any pictures of it in the box, but it goes on the car well. (and gives you an idea of scale)

I still have a good half a garbage bag of packing peanuts sitting around from it.

The fact that they have such a crappy effort put in to actual delicate equipment is insane. The packaging on cheap arduino bits from china is better than the stuff that cpu was in.

linux-works · « **Reply #77 on:** March 20, 2016, 05:29:03 am »

my HP precision also got banged up by a clueless seller:

this seller let me keep the unit (which I think works ok once I bent it all back again) and refunded me.

but still - its a crime to treat fragile classic gear like this!

ebay sellers, for the most part, are 'flippers'; which means they buy and resell and could CARE LESS about what the item is or how rare or special it is. they only want to buy and resell; adding essentially no real value to the world (sigh).

HwAoRrDk · « **Reply #78 on:** March 21, 2016, 03:29:34 pm »

A few years ago I bought a used PC motherboard from an eBay seller.

When it arrived, I found the only packaging it had in addition to the outer plastic bag was a huge length of bubble-wrap that had been wrapped round-and-round-and-round the bare motherboard about a gazillion times, then smothered in tape. The thing was almost round like a ball! However, the corners of the board still had virtually no protection, as the bubble-wrap had been applied only in a perpendicular manner.

I suppose I should have been thankful they at least used anti-static bubble-wrap!

Miraculously, after close inspection, there appeared to be no damage to anything. It ended up working perfectly, and still runs even to this day.

bitseeker · « **Reply #79 on:** March 21, 2016, 09:21:45 pm »

Sometimes? Amazon normally packs things improperly. So many things I've received were placed in the bottom of the box (no cushioning) and then had the pillow packs thrown on top. I've complained multiple times, but no one's listening.

Recently, they put a six pack box of soy milk on top of unprotected boxes of crackers and similarly fragile items. Amazon can't pack, period.

bitseeker · « **Reply #80 on:** March 21, 2016, 10:37:27 pm »

LOL, you may be right about that. It all boils down to the numbers.

ChunkyPastaSauce · « **Reply #81 on:** March 21, 2016, 10:52:39 pm »

I've had someone send me an optical assembly. It was broken when I opened the package... but I was pretty sure it was broken before being shipped. The seller then said must be shipping! He filed an insurance claim with the shipper, never heard from him again. I didn't have time to follow up on it then, but the seller made off with 2x sale price of a functioning unit on a non-functioning unit. Kinda lucrative for high value items..but it was only $100 (so he netted $200), maybe keeps the shipper from investigating or something.

firehopper · « **Reply #82 on:** March 22, 2016, 08:03:50 am »

Quote from: bitseeker on March 21, 2016, 09:21:45 pm

Sometimes? Amazon normally packs things improperly. So many things I've received were placed in the bottom of the box (no cushioning) and then had the pillow packs thrown on top. I've complained multiple times, but no one's listening.

Recently, they put a six pack box of soy milk on top of unprotected boxes of crackers and similarly fragile items. Amazon can't pack, period.

I worked at a amazon warehouse in 2010 for 3 weeks before xmas, as a picker. but was told packers are supposed to pack 25 orders a hour I think it was. its hard to work in there. its like 90+ degrees in the middle of winter.

timb · « **Reply #83 on:** March 22, 2016, 09:06:24 pm »

Also keep in mind that, with Amazon, a lot of items ship from a warehouse close by. Everything I've gotten that was packed in just a box with a couple of air cushions or even just a bubble envelope came from the warehouse two hours away. Which means it saw, at most, two trucks.

Stuff that comes from the other side of the country is generally packed a bit better, with more air cushions, etc.

rsjsouza · « **Reply #84 on:** March 22, 2016, 09:48:38 pm »

timb, the packaging in your original post is very similar to what I received yesterday: a HP3314A packed with loose cardboard slices and very little popcorn material around, wrapped in bubble wrap with the corners of the equipment piercing the external crappy cardboard box. A big label on top of the box from the USPS said: "Received damaged". (pictures to follow)

Fortunately the exposed corners had just minor scratches and bends, which I can't tell if they were from the shipping or not, but I was angry anyways...

OTOH, a Keithley 191 I received a few days ago had a completely different packaging.

tszaboo · « **Reply #85 on:** March 23, 2016, 12:50:52 pm »

This week I've received an Atmel dev board from china. It was the shipping label folded into two, taped together. Some 5x5cm. I'm surprised it wasn't swallowed by some machine at the post office.

PedroDaGr8 · « **Reply #86 on:** March 23, 2016, 01:21:43 pm »

Quote from: linux-works on March 20, 2016, 05:29:03 am

my HP precision also got banged up by a clueless seller:

this seller let me keep the unit (which I think works ok once I bent it all back again) and refunded me.

but still - its a crime to treat fragile classic gear like this!

ebay sellers, for the most part, are 'flippers'; which means they buy and resell and could CARE LESS about what the item is or how rare or special it is. they only want to buy and resell; adding essentially no real value to the world (sigh).

If you ever want to part it out and sell the feet and stand off of that bad boy, hit me up. I have one that is near immaculate condition that is just missing the feet and stand.

On another note, I got a second 6114A to match my first one (it is funny knowing my post a while back followed by Robrenz research helped popularize these models). It seems like it was used in an environment with a lot of dust/grease because the switches are gummy and the pot is gummy as well. Which is just fine, because I did a Best Offer based on it having a the dent and assuming it broke something (so I got it for $50 shipped). Other than the dent the physical condition is immaculate though, no major damage. Even the dent looks better than in the pictures, certainly no damage. The seller shipped it DAMN well, packed it in bubble wrap followed by being encased by empty boxes in a much larger box. No way it was getting damaged.

sony mavica · « **Reply #87 on:** March 25, 2016, 05:59:21 am »

i brought a collectors edition of a ds game once shipped from the usa to new zealand and the when i got the item in the post it looked like it had been run over with a steam roller seller was nice and gave me a refund and said just keep the item

Galenbo · « **Reply #88 on:** June 26, 2016, 02:44:39 pm »

The same chinese seller can also pack properly and non-properly.

Because chinese LedCobSpots with a value of 4euro have to be sold here for 30euro for a Belgian business to not go broke, I ordered some on Aliexpress.
They were not good packed, but apart from a little scratch on the back of one they were OK.

So I ordered 75 units from the same seller, and this time they were packed very decently in a strong box.
Unfortunately this time EU-import-duties apparently based their import tax on how the box looked.
Next time I ask for the cheapest plastic bag.

batteksystem · « **Reply #89 on:** June 26, 2016, 02:49:46 pm »

Quote from: mij59 on January 21, 2016, 02:50:05 pm

I ordered 5 PCS 1W COB LED Filament from china, I received about 15 broken pieces in a plastic bag.

That's because majority of the chinese seller are not profession in what they selling. They sell every kinds of things, it would be okay for common household products, but for electronics like this, sometimes they just don't have the sense to take pre-caution on that.

bitseeker · « **Reply #90 on:** June 26, 2016, 09:22:22 pm »

Yes, it's a good idea to see what else a particular vendors sells and how often they sell the kind of product you want vs. other things. If, for example, most of their sales is clothing and you want a fragile piece of electronics, they may not be well versed in proper handling.

TerraHertz · « **Reply #91 on:** June 27, 2016, 02:11:21 am »

The answer to the title, is that many people are simply stupid, and also many people flatly don't care about anything. Just going through the motions.

A couple of my experiences with idiots carelessly packing:
http://everist.org/NobLog/20130215_The_Q_meter.htm
http://everist.org/NobLog/20160429_first_of_the_last.htm

Another one was back in 2003. I bought a large rackmount HP 3964A instrumentation tape recorder. Very cheap apart from the expensive shipping from the USA. The seller sort-of tried to pack it adequately, but didn't really think about the large heavy box being tossed around. So the recorder arrived with some damage. I complained to the seller, and he offered to send me a replacement for just cost of shipping. (He had several.) I accepted, he sent it, and it too wasn't adequately packed and was damaged in shipping. So now I have two. Was able to put one together with some patching of a broken fiberglass cover.

tggzzz · « **Reply #92 on:** June 27, 2016, 10:52:20 am »

Inspired by this topic, I've asked the inverse question at www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/how-do-people-pack-delicate-instruments-properly/

Your thoughts and experiences are welcome.

pelule · « **Reply #93 on:** August 11, 2016, 07:23:42 pm »

Have made a lot of bad experiances. One of the worst was a prior fully operating precision tools (Datron 1281, $3k) after global shipping. It was such badly packed it got heavily damaged.
Good thing: seller refund the tool, thus I had no loss.
But my heart is still crying as this very nice tool died such a stupid useless death.
PeLuLe

azer · « **Reply #94 on:** August 11, 2016, 08:12:44 pm »

I hear TiN is looking for a new project

Though I think it would be worth it to hack a new display on there and get it to a working state.

Cubdriver · « **Reply #95 on:** August 11, 2016, 08:47:28 pm »

PeLuLe, that's horrible! I wonder what people are thinking the way they pack things sometimes.

-Pat

Brumby · « **Reply #96 on:** August 12, 2016, 03:35:49 am »

That was indeed cringeworthy.

* shudder *

lowimpedance · « **Reply #97 on:** August 12, 2016, 05:02:43 am »

Jeez I feel your pain just looking at the result.
With a bit of attention to the packing the seller would have had his money, but now they got nothing to show for it. Just dumb.

Assafl · « **Reply #98 on:** August 12, 2016, 05:16:40 am »

Try to send artwork (I mean the kind that the insurance company gets involved).

They'll send you to a real packer that will build a wooden box - with screws - not stapled! Fit it with foam insets. Wrap the artwork with art cloth (leaves no residue). In a huge bag (to protect from dampness) and fit it perfectly in the wooden box. Foam cubes are then added to support it in the middle. Sides are then screwed in. Takes them 20-30 minutes per box.

It ends up costing >100$ but no carrier will touch it otherwise.

Got to wonder how one packs Chiuli glass vases and installations...

Cubdriver · « **Reply #99 on:** August 12, 2016, 10:00:19 pm »

FWIW, I just added a post showing the packing process I use for heavy things over in the above linked 'how to pack things properly' thread in the repair forum.

-Pat


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Author Topic: Why can't people pack items properly?! (Read 29969 times)

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