An EBay horror story..........(not).

[crevicetool]

Below are the actual conversations between myself and the seller of the auction I won on EBay. Here is the link to the auction. Obviously, its ended so you may need to click "see original listing" to get an idea why the vacuum is often refered to as a rocket.

The pictures of the machine are mine. The ones the seller sent me would not resize. But he did send pictures. Even more than I am including.

You hear so many bad stories about how things are packed by sellers, (in fact it has happened to me more than once) and it looked as if this seller had a sense of humor - so I ran with it, and he was up for it too......a real pleasure!

Hope you enjoy.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12122508278...NX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_230wt_1358

 

[crevicetool]

Dear seller
I will be restoring this machine back to its original look and purpose. I normally don’t make this request, but wonder if you could insure that the vacuum doesn’t suffer any further damage during shipping? I have had vacuums merely thrown into a box with some paper wadded up in there, and of course the things have arrived beat all to Heck! If packed loosely the twenty-five pound or so vacuum will shift around. It’s a shame this one won’t be made into a rocket pack…it would have looked really cool. BTW, you’re right next door! It seems to me that these machines usually come from New England or the Midwest.
Thanks,
Rick

 

[crevicetool]

Dear R:
I assure you, you will be pleased with the way it’s packed. I know that the USPS thinks “FRAGILE” means to “toss underhand” Glad to hear it will be restored, not many of these Universals around. Oddly enough the Universal brand is a New England based manufacturer (New Britain Connecticut).

Seller

 

[crevicetool]

(another view of the container)

 

[crevicetool]

If you hadn't noticed.....

He built it out of wood! Counterbored the screws (torx head) and straped the runners down to the base. (Also wood).

 

[crevicetool]

Dear R:

I think this will prevent shake, rattle, and roll. It’s ready to ship. My wife will take it to the post office when she gets back home, and I will post the tracking number for you.
Thank you again,
Seller

 

[crevicetool]

Dear Seller:

Dear seller:
WOW! That’ll be the best packing I’ve ever had to undo! I really appreciate it! Thanks for taking all that time to secure the “rocket” safely in its shipping crate. Its crazy packed. I’ll send you some pics back when it arrives.
Now, It’s gonna take me a while to unpack it, and I’ll have to get some tools together.
Let’s see,
Oxy-acetylene torch (check)
Jaws of life (check)
Staple puller (check)
And a toothpick (check)
Yep – got ‘em all here ready to go!
Talk to ya soon, Rick

 

[crevicetool]

Dear R:

Yep, I’m pretty good at packing (the more times you get married, the more times you can practice).
They make a multi-tool. I think it’s called a D-10. It should have it open in one pass…..

Seller



[this is a D-10]

 

[crevicetool]

Dear seller:
Well, the package arrived. There were no D-10’s in the area, so will be forced to blast. Once the necessary permits are granted, I’ll get to work on opening that container!
Actually, the machine arrived in great shape. You did a really great job of packing. I want to thank you very much. Look for a card in the next week or so in the mail. I’ve copied your address from the container you built.

Rick

 

[crevicetool]

Now, I realize everyone is totally bored with me and this brand of vacuum, so I'll keep this brief. The reason I had to have this machine was the fact that the hose coupler is different on this unit than from others that I have. This machine is a VC6700. Front view.

 

[crevicetool]

Blower end.

 

[crevicetool]

With hose;

 

[crevicetool]

Virtually identical machine but the earlier version with this type of coupling. This is an E65.

 

[crevicetool]

Front;

 

[crevicetool]

and blower end.

 

[crevicetool]

So, that's it.

 

[crevicetool]

It was not my intention to offend anyone with this post, just thought some might enjoy it.

 

[jfalberti]

That was cool!

Good to hear from you Rick.  Hope all is well.

 

[sopranojam85]

It's good to see people who don't take life too seriously. I wish everyone could just have a sense of humor, and find that fine balance between pun and serious logistics that is often lost in translation.