Advice needed: 128K sale, is this a scam???

[fly96a]

I shipped a 128K classic mac to a fellow and 3 1/2 weeks later he tells me the corner of the case is chipped. I packed it sufficiently (bubblewrap), the box showed no damage, and he says he waited 3 1/2 weeks to open it.....this from a fellow that was sending me mails of "where is the Mac?? What it looks like is, and maybe I am wrong, he tried to open it and since it had never been opened in the 20+ years, he cracked the case. (this fellow works on macs!). Does this sound like a possibility? Is there a weakness in the corner, if not or if so, could you please comment?
thanks

 

[Hrududu]

If he cracked the case, thats his bad. You shipped it to him, it arrived, and if he didn't buy insurance then I think you're in the clear. However, that plastic on those Macs isnt that brittle. I've been inside several SE, Classic II, 512k and even a 128k and never broken anything. Its possible he got inside to poke around then over-tightened one of the screws putting it back together and busted it. Where is he saying the damage was? If its on top, then the bolts are inset, so a corner shouldn't get damaged while trying to access the inner parts. Has he sent you pics of the damage?

 

[gkarris]

Maybe a scam.

A friend sold a vintage truck, hardly played with, in the box, and the buyer disputed (and sent pics) of a well-played-with truck, and no box saying that's what he got.

FYI, you can't really insure these things for shipment. If you read the fine print, it usually says "You cannot insure items where time and/or rarity determines its value". The Bluebook value on a 128K is $0.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Morals of the story

Take digital photos of the goods before and after packaging them to prove their condition. Let the buyer know you have photos.

State in your terms of sale that the buyer must take shipping insurance, that the package must be signed for on delivery, and that any claims for shipping damage need to be taken up with the courier within 3 days of delivery.

Anything that is fragile and doesn't have the original packaging, needs to be double boxed. (item - padding - box - padding - box) I don't know how much bubblewrap you used, but less than 2 inches thick is inadequate for a box that's dropped out of a truck and lands on its corner.

Some items, PowerMac G5's and MacPros in particular, should never be shipped without the factory packaging. Their high weight and shape makes it far too likely that the force of an impact will be taken on the handles/feet, which being aluminum, will bend like a good thing. The machine has to be isolated from the box by high density closed cell foam. Regular foam, peanuts and bubblewrap are not suitable.

 

[rhett7660]

Take digital photos of the goods before and after packaging them to prove their condition. Let the buyer know you have photos.

This is great advice. I do this on all my transactions whether they are in EBAY or otherwise. I also place the photos inside the package. It doesn't matter to me if they bought insurance or not, they still get the pictures.

I can't tell you how many times this has saved me.

 

[Consultant]

Some shippers such as USPS might have a minimum free insurance, but there might be a time limit for filing a claim.

What kind of person receives something and don't inspect it? Hope you have a clear return policy.

This is great advice. I do this on all my transactions whether they are in EBAY or otherwise. I also place the photos inside the package. It doesn't matter to me if they bought insurance or not, they still get the pictures.

I can't tell you how many times this has saved me.

Good idea.