eBay tragedy

[dysonman1]

I bought this very rare 1961 Lewyt cleaner about a week ago. Today it arrived. Broken. Why? The damn seller didn't use ANY packing material except Wal-Mart bags. Both wheels broken off, one in half. The hose connection is shattered, and some of the plastic is laying in the bottom of the box. When contacting the seller, (kellumbaby), they claimed it was MY fault. Thank God eBay will step in but I have to wait a week before they do anything.

 

[dysonman1]

Wheels broken off, one in half

 

[bagintheback]

Wow

That is by far the worst packing job I have ever seen. Truly a disgrace. I have literally bought bubble wrap in bulk, and save any packing material I can find, so I can know for certain anything I ship on eBay arrives safely. Four thick layers of bubble wrap,  plus newspaper or air bags, at a bare minimum. Why won't everyone else do the same? Their reputation is at stake! 


 


Any chance you can repair the machine? 

 

[rugsucker]

Lewyt

Tom,Was this without cord crank that might be more rare than with?Good news,bad news-I may have the hose inlet but it would be in a box somewhere behind many boxes somewhere behind Heritage renos that would require a ladder.
Why is no IQ test required to operate a computer??The seller thinks they have something rare that is of value,and in this case they did,but can't pack?!
I understand some claims now will pay for damage and let you keep the item.
But,keep the box!Perhaps kellumbaby or whoever packed can be shipped across the country in it until they understand the value of proper packing.Even good packing is not always good enough but this is bad.

 

[fantomfan]

How awful!

I probably would have screamed if a vacuum I bought arrived like that. So sorry that the whole thing is trashed, and it's even more of a shame that it's a rare vacuum cleaner, and it was somewhat expensive. I will be shocked if the seller didn't realize that the box would be MOVED around. I bought a Westinghouse Unplugged off of ebay 6 months ago, for a deal ($50, or so I thought.) Item arrived with the base cracked, not functioning and missing one of the tools. Luckily I recieved a full refund. I haven't bought a machine from this site since. I just hate it when guilty people blame their actions on someone else. I am always hesitant when making an ebay vacuum purchase. More than half of the time, I get junk.

 

[electrolux137]

~
~

"I feel your pain." I've also gotten stuff packed like this, and worse. Like the time I won a an all-original and (previously) gorgeous Model 510 Kirby. The seller sent it in the original 60-year-old carton, with strapping tape haphazardly slapped all over and around it. Then the clincher: The UPS idiot left the box on my front porch ... in the pouring rain. My computer monitor is -still- smoking from the message I sent to the seller about it.

Then there was the seller who threw a 75-lb. A.B.Dick Mimeograph into a large flimsy box with absolutely no packing. The thing got tossed and thrown about so badly that the 5/8-inch-thick solid steel cylinder shaft and the steel crank handle attached to it got sheared right off. Snapped in two like it was a toothpick. Incredible.

And then there was the moron who sent me a machine packed with 2-liter soda bottles, none of them quite empty. By the time the machine got here it was covered all over with dried, sticky soda-goo. Between that mess and the mess the machine already was, it was a horrific sight. The shipper had sent it to my church. The pastor just happened to come into the choir room when I was opening the box. He peered in, then jumped back with a start and said, "You need to take that right out to the dumpster. God only knows what sort of filth and bugs are in there!"

And for my final horror story, see the link below.

http://www.1377731.com/anotherlux/

 

[super-sweeper]

That's terrible, Tom! Another reason for me to stay clear of eBay! 

 


Charles,I remember that 510 story! Horrifying! Love the A.B Dick monograph, though! I have a few ads for those in my magazine stack! Is ink still available for those? A mimeograph would fit right in with my typewriter! 

 

[marks_here]

I still can't get over they said it was your fault, what the heck have they been smoking?? Or not?? Such a shame too, were those wheels kind of like the Mercedes star on them? Can you dispute not to pay for it?? Take pictures & send them to PayPal so show what they sent.

 

[kenkart]

I hope!

You give them the worst rating you can, I am reluctant to buy anything on ebay,and when I do I hold my breath until it arrives, I had a Canadian Electrolux arrive not quite this bad, but close!!

 

[dysonman1]

This is the model without the cord reel crank. In the picture with the description, it showed the hose connected to the machine. The description stated one of the wheels had been repaired. That's it. Slipping a Wal-Mart plastic bag around a vacuum is NOT packing it well. The wheels could be glued back on if I didn't want to pull it along (and for the Museum, it probably wouldn't do anything but get displayed). However, the hose connector is another story. I've never seen one of these rare models in person - and felt the Museum needed it. To have something so rare arrive damaged because of carelessness is overwhelming. I did send a message to the seller asking them to refund my money - before I involved eBay and Paypal, but they told me it was my fault (didn't explain why) and said I get nothing back. I left negative feedback immediately and contacted eBay for a refund.

It's so upsetting when something THIS RARE arrives broken. And the seller knew it was going to the Vacuum Cleaner Museum, as this is where I have these things shipped. The seller described it as "rare" in the listing, so they must have found out somehow that very few exist.

 

[kenkart]

I know EXACTLY

I bought a 1933 GE Hotpoint mixer a while back, when it arrived both jade bowls were broken into a million pieces and the base was broken, one of the rarest mixers ever ruined by stupidity...all they used for packing was a few baloon looking things that of course were broken.

 

[tolivac]

Bet some of these shipping problems could have been averted if the person sending the goods paid to have them PROFESSIONALLY packed rather than haphazard packed by themselves.Would save money in the long run.Item arrives to the customer in good condition,seller-sender gets praised.Then he is reccommended for future business from other folks.I had some vacuums sent to another member here and paid to have them packed at the UPS place-Was worth it.They arrived OK.And if the shipper screws up the item-he is then responsible for it-not you.CYA!And then this is another reason I just won't use EBay-too many bozos on it for a quick buck and broken goods for you from bad pack jobs.As we have seen the items did not withstand the shipping companies "baggage smasher gorillas"!That being the conveyers and lifts the packages get handled by during their journey.And careless delivorymen to add to this!Like they throw packages on or off trucks.An item as large and heavy as the mimeograph machine should be CRATED rather than put in a simple box!

 

[electrolux137]

~
~

Whenever I get a vintage vacuum cleaner on eBay, I send the seller clear instructions on how to pack the machine, noting that my feedback for them will reflect their compliance (or lack thereof) with my instructions.

I offer to cover the cost for a strong carton, bubble wrap and styrofoam peanuts, so there's no excuse for someone to improperly and carelessly pack items for me.

"Another hard lesson learned."

 

[kenkart]

Donald gets...

Leftover foam rubber sheets from work, I line the box with that, then bubble wrap and peanuts..

 

[super-sweeper]

What job lets you take home sheets of foam rubber? Can't imagine what! 

 

[kenkart]

They throw it away on occasion!

And you know who gets it!..it is about 2 to 3 inches thick, very firm, and has a peel off sticky back, I cut it to fit the box, then peel off the back and line the whole thing....its not something he can get every day, just once in a while.

 

[super-sweeper]

Wow, seems uneconomical to throw it away, but good for you! 

 

 

[luxy1205]

Charles Lester

I've shown my husband your pictures of your model xxx that was damaged. Believe it or not, there is HOPE for that vacuum being repaired back to stock!!! I know you don't know my husband's capabilities and I'm not bragging, he is not like most people, actually never met another person that can do what he can! He just turned 50 and is an expert metal fabricator and restores $200,000 show cars for a living! He can fix the metal, and the rivet problem where you would never know there was a problem with it! Also, he knows how to pack a box!!! Ha ha! He has built a hand made guitar and shipped it to Japan. Also, mailed an acoustic guitar to California with no problem. He actually spent 2 hours hand crafting a skeleton for the acoustic! We believe that if you mail something it will be thrown up against a wall and have stuff slammed upon it! Ha ha! If you would EVER consider your xxx to be fixed, you can email me. I could even provide you with pictures of what he can and has done! I would love to help you!!! -Michelle

 

[davetranter]

Packaging

I once spent a few weeks working in a freight depot. The things I saw there beggared belief. The item you are packing may be fairly light, and you may feel that it will not burst it's box in transit. The problems start when your lightweight item is followed off the conveyor by a Ford transmission, or something similar. I saw a carton of 3 dozen fluorescent tubes followed off the conveyor by an electric motor (about 10HP).... The fluorescent light carton immediately resembled a banana...... The sad thing is that some 'sparky' would have been waiting on site for that delivery the next morning....

The only way I buy from Ebay is 'collection in person'.

All best

Dave T