One of my Dream Vacuum eBay Nightmare !!!

[danorob1]

So - I have been on the hunt for a NIB Eureka 6980 Whirlwind Canister - One showed up a few weeks ago on eBay - The person had one he used, and two new in the box Spares that had never been opened -
I was away and missed bidding on the first, but he was good enough to let me know when he put up the other listing, and I won that one -
I was at home depot today, and my partner called to tell me that it was delivered, but I was going to be disapointed because the FedEx driver actually stayed at the door to apologize that it had been destroyed during shipping -
She did not make him sign for it, and noted on the computer that the carton was destroyed -
The buyer is talking with Fedex to see about a resolution - Thankfully the canister was in an inner carton, that while water logged, was intact - The tools and holder must have fallen out of the carton, and the owners guide is ruined and stained, and never mind the carton itself being soaking wet and falling apart -
I can't believe FedEx did this - It is line they dropped it in a pond !!!! Fortunately it was insured and he took pictures prior to shipping - I want him to explain to Fedex that the carton and book had value as well since it was vintage and NIB - Oh... And the hose coupling to the canister had a broken piece that fortunately was inside and I glued it back in place - Very upsetting to say the least - They couldn't have damaged one of my Hoover air Revolves !!!

 

[gregvacs28]

Bad


Bad on the Seller for not Double Boxing. Shipping an item in the RETAIL box is not acceptable.

Vary BAD on Fedex. What the Hell did they do? Looks like a rescue from the Costa Concordia. Would like to the hear their excuse for this. "ah, ah, we..... It apparently..... let me check sir."

 

[danorob1]

I am going to have to assume that they either dropped it in a puddle/pond/lake/river,
OR
The truck had a SEVERE leak in the roof -
And yes, I had asked if it would be overpacked, but I think the seller had shipped VERY quickly before seeing me question -
Dan

 

[gregvacs28]

The more I thought about it....

I'd be hesitant to accept or deal with something that has been so covered, or soaked in "some" undefined liquid.

And shame on Fedex AGAIN for not disclosing what they know before the customer came in contact with such a potential danger.

What if this box was below another box containing some undisclosed containers or chemicals that leaked during shipping.
And the thing is, the vacuum is/was new, so you don't know what it's supposed to smell like. the smell of "newness" and some chemicals are not coincidentally similar.
I'd be really cautious to play with the new toy until you find out more.

You can always live another day to find another ACTUAL good find; but something that might be contaminated by a meth manufacturers sloppy package that leaked..... is it seriously worth damaging your health?

 

[completenutt]

So sorry that happened to you, Dan.

I've had several delivery nightmares, not quite as wet.. but still bad!


 


The machine is gorgeous, btw!!

 

[lesinutah]

Hey

The seller is a fool. The NIB people usually want box in mint condition let alone the vacuum. Sorry this happened but you will have good karma in future. I would not get upset it's not going to do much. Look for next opportunitiy.
Les

 

[human]

Yeah, bummer. Leaking trailers are more common than you might think. I used to unload trucks at a retail store and it was not uncommon for boxes placed close to the ceiling at the very front of the truck, especially on the corners, to get wet. FedEx really fell down on the job with that one.

 

[fan-of-fans]

I've noticed a lot of new items I've bought on eBay lately have been shipped in the original packaging and no outer box or wrapping. This isn't such a big deal for me as usually there's some foam padding inside anyway. But obviously the retail box is not meant really for shipping without an outer packaging. And I've gotten some things that had no padding inside but fortunately haven't gotten any damaged items yet. It can also be annoying when even though the item is new, I want to keep the original box, especially if it's something I collect, but there's shipping labels or tape stuck to it.

The items I've bought that were vintage with original box, the seller has usually placed it inside another box with padding around it.

Typically when I buy a new item from a company, they pack the boxed item inside their own logo box.

 

[countryguy]

Wow that is a shame. I had the same model. It was a fun vac.

Gary

 

[huskyvacs]

"The seller is a fool. The NIB people usually want box in mint condition let alone the vacuum."

Reminds me of the time I ordered a mint in mint box (but lightly used) Kirby handheld boat vac, and I picked his sale because it had a box and the box was prominently shown in the photos. Once I get it, the box is crumpled and wadded up folded about 6 times inside the other box the seller shipped it in. I managed to save the box and get it back into its original shape, but it looks like if you tried to straighten out a crushed pop can. Then to top it off, he didn't use any wrap or padding in the box. The vacuum had unsnapped all its parts in shipping and the dust bin opened and got dirt all over the inside of the box, but thank god it didn't break. Left him a big fat negative. I dunno what it is but it's like sellers do not understand that double-boxing an item does not make any difference in the postage cost.

 

[vacuumdevil]

That's a shame.

 

[gregvacs28]

Send buyer a Note


Don't hesitate, when buying online, to send a seller a message KINDLY letting them know that you expect your purchase to be carefully packaged.

When I was doing more vacuum collecting and bought a lot of stuff, I would always send a polite email letting them know. I would even specify what type of packaging and what areas to make sure are protected during shipping. If something is sold in the original box, be sure to let them know it IS part of the sale and needs to be double boxed and protected like the vacuum.

Most sellers want to please their customers. Letting them know what it takes to get positive feedback is a relief for most.

Only once did I have a seller balk, in which case I asked to cancel the sale, they did, and I avoided a liability.

Always remember to reward sellers that package a difficult thing carefully and leave positive feedback.

 

[danorob1]

In the end all was OK... Sort Of...

Hi All ...
.
So - The seller and I have been in continuous contact with about 20 e-mails going back and forth since yesterday. .
In the end, Except for the tiny chip in the Canister Hose Fitting which was not in a stress point, and superglued back PERFECTLY and is not noticeable, the rest of the contents were perfect -
.
The power nozzle was wrapped in the original foam sheet, and in the plastic bag, taped closed - and was 100% perfect except for a tiny shard of white plastic which was maybe .5-1mm long that I found inside the power Nozzle - It ended up going on the very front of the white brush-roll cover where the cover met the base - Again it was inside, not structural, and hidden when the cover was reinstalled over the brush-roll... Could have happened during production or assembly at the plant for all i know...
.
The Canister which was made in Sweden, came wrapped in a thick foam sheet, which was then wrapped into a plastic bag that was taped closed, then packed into the inner canister carton which had 1" foam sheets on each end, and them packed into the outer canister. Electrolux/Eureka did this will all the canisters they imported from either Sweden or Hungry - So the canister was 100% Perfect -
.
Both wands were perfect and rust and damage free - Just like new - The attached power cord on the wand was also perfect as were all the plastic fittings on the wand, and power nozzle - Except for the previously mentioned chip which was repaired, the hose was also perfect -
.
The only concern I had yesterday was that the bag with the attachments and tool holder were missing - I assumed they were gone and fell out of the carton sometime during shipping - This morning I had a follow up visit with the surgeon who did my hip replacement on October 3rd, for a new set of X-rays to be sure everything was still where it should be! - Our driveway is three cars long, and as I got to the bottom of the driveway, I saw something on the side of the driveway near the lawn - It was the bag of tools and holder! - They must have fallen out of the carton when the drive took it out to deliver yesterday -
.
Now - I wanted one of these light blue Eureka versions for the last 15-20 years - I had the dark blue kenmore version of this years ago, but sold it 18-19 years ago when I stopped collecting, and sold off or gave away most of my vacuums - I always regretted getting rid of it since it looked a little like a Model G Electrolux -
So while having the original carton would have been great, but I would rather have the vacuum itself and not the carton itself which is drying out in my garage, but is destroyed for all intent purposes -
.
The seller came back to me about an hour ago and said Fedex offered to refund me all of my money if I gave the vacuum back to them, or I could keep the vacuum, and get a $50.00 settlement payment for the damage to the carton... Since I HIGHLY DOUBT I will ever find another brand new one in the box, I opted to keep the vacuum and take the $50.00 settlement -
.
While someone had mentioned they would not want the vacuum because of not knowing what the water damage was from, (Chemicals, A Meth Lab, Etc.), we actually now know - Fedex confirmed with the driver that when the truck was loaded, all the cartons on the truck for delivery yesterday were in perfect shape when loaded - It turned out that mine was one of the later deliveries, and as the drive worked her way to the end of the truck where my carton was located, she found that the truck had a MASSIVE leak in the roof, and MANY, MANY of the boxes had been soaked - She had reported it to the terminal, and personally rang every door of anyone who had damage to their packages to tell them that the packages were soaked, not to sign for it, check the contents, and then decide if I wanted to accept the delivery as is, call to have it picked up and reject the delivery, or file a claim... My partner was home for the delivery yesterday and explained everything she had told him - He said the driver was very apologetic and made a note on the computer as to what had happened -
.
So- In the end I am EXTREMELY happy to have this in my possession - I will take some detailed pictures and post them tomorrow so everyone can see what a new 20-year old Eureka 6980A looks like !!!
.
Dan

 

[madman]

So basically the only casualties were the box and the manual? Could've been way worse. And you get a $50 check! Yeah it sucks, but you're in good shape.

 

[danorob1]

YES - In the end I was in good shape - The vacuum is perfect and new - Which is how it will remain for now - I can't bring myself to dirty it !
.
Since this thread was a little long I posted the pictures in a new thread...
Thanks,
Dan