So, I bought this off eBay, and this is how it came. I 'm trying to get the end piece back into the back of the case and I can't figure it out. 
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eMac had a great fall, all the Kings horses and all the Kings men....
- Thread starter iF34R
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Oh, I'm getting a refund for it. Just trying to get it in the least amount of pieces to move it lol.
So, I bought this off eBay, and this is how it came. I 'm trying to get the end piece back into the back of the case and I can't figure it out.
I buy and sell a lot on eBay and I must say, that looks like one of the worst packing jobs I've ever seen! Did they just dump it loose into the box with a few pieces of styrofoam?
He said it was packed securely and the box was tight closed. When I got it, it looked like the tape was all stretched out. As soon as I cut that open, well, you see the pics.I buy and sell a lot on eBay and I must say, that looks like one of the worst packing jobs I've ever seen! Did they just dump it loose into the box with a few pieces of styrofoam?
I got it mostly back together, minus the front bezel since it's broken in pieces, and well, it doesn't power on so far.
He said it was packed securely and the box was tight closed. When I got it, it looked like the tape was all stretched out. As soon as I cut that open, well, you see the pics.
I got it mostly back together, minus the front bezel since it's broken in pieces, and well, it doesn't power on so far.
That's very unfortunate!
Most shippers don't realize how automated most of the shipping process is. Boxes get tossed onto conveyor belts, tumble onto their sides or upside down, et cetera. 99% of the way, packages are not handled by people and are just being thrown about by machines.
A post office worker explained a lot of this to me, years ago, after I'd naively written "This End Up" on one of my packages. She was very clear that there's really no human around to read such things; the sorting machines are content to just dump your box any which way they feel like.
So, things need to be packed in boxes TIGHTLY. If you shake the box and hear something banging around inside, it's going to bang around the entire way to its destination and probably arrive in pieces! Hence the need for lots of bubble wrap, packing peanuts, and so on; they prevent the box contents from moving during transit.
I hope you can find another system that arrives in working order. I suspect that eMac will never work again—at least not without a ton of effort.
If you will get refund, you're lucky!
Transport companies refuse responsability, if goods are not packed securely - so you would end up sorting things out with the seller ...
Take care of yourself, cause you're working close to the high-voltage CRT!!!
Transport companies refuse responsability, if goods are not packed securely - so you would end up sorting things out with the seller ...
Take care of yourself, cause you're working close to the high-voltage CRT!!!
I didn't even think about this! Good safety tip.
@iF34R Please be very careful working near that monitor. The capacitors in CRT monitors and TVs maintain a high-voltage charge for a LONG time. It is enough to kill a person or at the very least will send you flying if you touch the wrong thing.
Contact eBay customer support with a matter like this, not the seller. It's totally possible to ship a CRT computer across the globe, (apple and every other manufacturer did, after all?), you just have to know what you're doing and how to package it.He said it was packed securely and the box was tight closed. When I got it, it looked like the tape was all stretched out. As soon as I cut that open, well, you see the pics.
I got it mostly back together, minus the front bezel since it's broken in pieces, and well, it doesn't power on so far.
Clearly, this seller didn't and, at best, destroyed a working piece of history. At worst, he put a busted up eMac in the box and was trying to orchestrate a scam.
I always try to contact a seller before buying vintage tech on ebay asking what the packaging method will be. If I hear something I don't like, or don't get a response, I won't buy it.
Never use packing peanuts for anything heavy, which is nearly all electronics. That's exactly how these things break because packing peanuts shift out of the way. Bubble wrap is problematic too.
If you look at how Apple packed the computer originally, it was held in place with dense Styrofoam pieces. The right way to ship this is to use foam-in-place bags with a heavy double-wall box. Never use moving boxes which are actually lightweight.
I once had a TiBook shipped to me in a pouch/Jiffy bag. That did not end well.
The seller just refunded me without question or wanting the invalid returned. Fortunately, the eBay guarantee favours the buyer, so even with a difficult buyer you should get your money back. In these cases, the seller has to fork out for the return postage so disposing of this jigsaw is likely to become your next problem.
The seller just refunded me without question or wanting the invalid returned. Fortunately, the eBay guarantee favours the buyer, so even with a difficult buyer you should get your money back. In these cases, the seller has to fork out for the return postage so disposing of this jigsaw is likely to become your next problem.
While I advise to always use caution when working around CRTs AIO Macs have a bleed off resistor which should eliminate the stored charge in a short period of time.
I work with a lot of the old Compact Macs (from the original 128K on up) and before doing so I always attempt to discharge the charge for safety reasons. I cannot think of a single instance where, after about an hour, there had been a charge remaining (if there was it was too small to cause an arc when I attempted to discharge it).
Again: This is not to say don't be careful as there's the possibility of electrical shock (perhaps the bleed off resistor has failed, or wasn't installed, or in other electronics is not present, etc.). The only way to know for sure is to attempt to discharge it yourself. However I would say with the majority of AIO Macs the charge has been bleed off in short order.
Wow, that's actually pretty impressive. The eMac may have been the toughest machine Apple ever made! The thing was essentially a 50lbs rock, built to withstand all the abuse school children could throw at it. The Nokia 3310 of computers. That dude wasn't just terrible at packing the thing, he is literally the worst there has ever been.
Anyone who has worked at UPS or any other large logistics company understands the need for solid & tight packaging. Peanuts just dont work for anything of weight really - said object will just tumble inside the box and break (ie: the above poor emac). What a waste of a cool mac. Check out the pics below of what the innards of a UPS hub looks like. You understand quickly how boxes slide & roll down steel chutes freely then jam up on top of each other at sorting points.
![UPS chute1.jpg]( "UPS chute1.jpg")
![UPS chute 2.jpg]( "UPS chute 2.jpg")
So you can see how automated it is. There are zero human hands that touch your parcels except at three primary points - When a package is loaded on or unloaded off a truck and when it is sorted in between trucks. It's the nature of the business so pack well and pack tightly. I worked UPS as a second job in the late 90s to augment a poor 2nd line cook wage at the time. Those steel chutes opening up on you during Christmas season is a memory that I_will_never_forget.
Teamster bennies killed tho and the breakfast burrito guy during our 15, rolled some delicious fatty $2 burritos.
So you can see how automated it is. There are zero human hands that touch your parcels except at three primary points - When a package is loaded on or unloaded off a truck and when it is sorted in between trucks. It's the nature of the business so pack well and pack tightly. I worked UPS as a second job in the late 90s to augment a poor 2nd line cook wage at the time. Those steel chutes opening up on you during Christmas season is a memory that I_will_never_forget.
Teamster bennies killed tho and the breakfast burrito guy during our 15, rolled some delicious fatty $2 burritos.
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I've got sent a precious FlowerPower safe and sound, rolled in bubble-wrap and padded with stuffed-in foam-layers at all sides and corners and I swear, that I could have thrown the box out of a 1st floor-window without causing any damage on that iMac G3 at all... So proper shipping of that stuff is possible and it's not rocket-science.
"Stupid is who stupid does...." - that moron, who packed and shipped the emac obviously didn't use a single brain-cell, while doing it ...
And I have to agree @Hrududu (first time I happen to think about that at all): eMacs really seem to be the most robust all-in-one CRT-devices I ever came across ...
B S Magnet
macrumors 68040
Anyone who has worked at UPS or any other large logistics company understands the need for solid & tight packaging. Peanuts just dont work for anything of weight really - said object will just tumble inside the box and break (ie: the above poor emac). What a waste of a cool mac. Check out the pics below of what the innards of a UPS hub looks like. You understand quickly how boxes slide & roll down steel chutes freely then jam up on top of each other at sorting points.
View attachment 885443
View attachment 885444
So you can see how automated it is. There are zero human hands that touch your parcels except at three primary points - When a package is loaded on or unloaded off a truck and when it is sorted in between trucks. It's the nature of the business so pack well and pack tightly. I worked UPS as a second job in the late 90s to augment a poor 2nd line cook wage at the time. Those steel chutes opening up on you during Christmas season is a memory that I_will_never_forget.
Teamster bennies killed tho and the breakfast burrito guy during our 15, rolled some delicious fatty $2 burritos.
That spiral slide looks like what one might see as a water slide at an amusement park.
Also, two-buck breakfast burritos — heck, even five-buck breakfast burritos, if such a thing existed here — will always make me feel hungry and salivate instinctively.
Lastly: all hail the vital importance of unionized workers!
I've bought extensively over the past few years, mostly from Germany, the UK and the US. In my experience, the Germans are conscientious. I think I have only had one package where some of the contents slipped out and one where a CD arrived broken because the packaging was inadequately stiff. Every laptop or hardware item I have had shipped arrived safely and well packed.
The UK I would describe as adequate overall - it can vary from "well done" to "really?". The US, with very few exceptions, you get the barest minimum. I have received quite a few shipments that arrived damaged, so now am put off buying certain items that I know won't survive the journey.
I would suggest before checking out on eBay that you contact the seller to discuss packaging and posting and allow for a few extra $$ to cover shipping if what you are buying is easily broken. It has worked for me in the past. If the seller is uncooperative, walk away.
I bought an iMac G4 on ebay, and when it arrived I discovered that it had been packed using styrofoam takeout containers (Not used, thankfully). It actually arrived in one piece, but the arm is a little damaged. I'm not sure if that happened during shipping though. I was just very surprised it actually survived the trip.