[Hallicrafters] All Shipping Has Risk, No Exceptions!

[Barry Hauser]

Hi Greg & List:

Wow Greg, you hit some hot buttons all right.  I wrote at length on this
in the most recent issue of The Hollow State Newsletter.  Due to the
growth of the Internet and online auctions, more vintage radio equipment
is being put in harm's way.  I have a few things to add/amplify ....
> I have been involved in the old radio game for enough years now to 
> make some generalizations about shipping. For rare or valuable items or
for 
> stuff that is heavy enough to commit suicide in a box without exception
I just 
> get in the car and go get it if I want to be sure it gets here OK. Is
this 
> fun? Hardly!!! Like you would not, I don't enjoy it either. I would
much 
> rather be doing something around here than driving all over the place.

Right you are!  Of course, some distances are impractical.  It seems most
radios destined to be mine are on the wrong coast.

> I also don't enjoy doing bodywork on something like an SX-88 or
NCX-1000 for the 
> next month or so either that will never be the same again afterwards. 

Yup. Just this past Thursday I took delivery on an RBM setup.  This
consists of 2 receivers, a low/medium band and a HF twin, power supplies,
a control box and connecting cables.  The receivers were packed in boxes
barely bigger than the receivers with a few pieces of foam on the front
panels.  The HF unit had a dent on the bottom edge of the cabinet --
probably was there before as there was no matching crease in the
cardboard.  However, the harder to find Medium Low rx had a deep crease
on the left top.  These have thin aluminum black wrinkle finished cases. 
Yeah, it can be banged out, but won't be the same.  As with most
bodywork, the paint doesn't survive the surgery, and wrinkle finish
flakes off if you breathe on it after 60 years.  Not easy to replicate. 
I've accumulated quite an assortment of odd tools just to undo the damage
-- giant C-clamps, adjustable wrenches, big heavy metal bars used on
punch presses, auto body tool, etc.

> From practical experience I have observed the following are true in
most cases:
> 
> 1) Cashing your check is higher on the sellers list than what condition
you receive your item in. The thing you are buying is something he is in
a hurry to get rid of.

Not all, but many.  The right approach is to have the packing materials
figured out and acquired before putting the gear up for sale or auction.

> 2) Most sellers feel they know much more about packing than you do 
> and efforts at trying to get them to pack something a certain way are 
> mostly a waste of time.

Yup -- I go through the drill all the time, but often feel the effort is
wasted.  Some seem to take offense, and pack badly anyway.  In about one
third of the cases, I'm pleasantly surprised.  One third, corners were
cut, One third, bad with some damage in a portion of those.

> 3) Most sellers don't know enough about what they have to pack it
properly anyway.

Right -- and vary on taking direction from the buyer, as per above.

> 4) The box will get dropped. I have observed UPS delivering at our 
> place before. The "always in too much of a hurry" driver throws open
the 
> back door,  jumps up in the back of his overstuffed truck and tosses
stuff that 
> is for us out onto the pavement. Four feet anyone?

It's not only that -- which I haven't seen, though I'm there for the
drivers most of the time.  The packages go through a number of transfers
and handlings, including conveyor systems.  It's not only "droppage", but
crashes between packages (often with puncture/intrusion damage), crushing
due to stacking --  your heavy item is on the bottom, and, but not
limited to tumbling down a chute or conveyor belt that stops short due to
a jam.  Lightweight boxes get tossed, heavier ones get set down hard.  In
fairness, it's not reasonable for package handlers to set heavy boxes
down with out some drop distance.  Just try to move a few hundred a day
and see what you do.

> 5) If something has heavy transformers mounted on a relatively thin
gauge chassis they will tear themselves away from their mountings when
UPS drops the box.

Certain parts need to be braced between the top of the part and the lid
to avoid this.  Original manufacturer's packing often included rolled up
cardboard and other stuffers that were taped in place and have to be
removed before operation.  Commonplace now with things like printers.

> 6) If something has a large glass dial scale or dial cover it will
arrive with the glass broken. The glass shards will have killed
everything else too.

Not always, but you'll find chips around the edges.  Either the glass has
to be removed and packed separately, or at least fastened down securely. 
Sometimes the mounting clips are loose or the rubber or felt is worn,
missing, hardened or not quite in place.

> 7) If the seller packed with styrofoam peanuts as his primary line of
defense the radio will head for the bottom of the box where the cabinet
will be vulnerable to a direct hit. Ever open a box and wonder why the 
> seller put all the peanuts on top?

So true!  Not only the bottom, but also will settle on one side, and
unbalance the box. Peanuts are not compatible with boatanchors, or
anything else that weighs more than a few pounds.  Always great when used
with a flimsy singlewall carton.  The box arrives looking like an
oversized beanbag.  When the corners crush, as they always do, the carton
slips out of the hands so much more easily, increasing the chance of
dropping.

> 8) If your seller likes crumpled newspaper for his primary packing 
> material you will have a battering ram in a box by the time you get it.

Actually, you'd be better off with crumpled newspaper than peanuts in
many cases.  Trouble is, newspaper crumpling is a lost art apparently. 
It has to be well crumpled and compressed into the corners.  I've found
some packages where the newspaper wasn't crumpled at all -- just thrown
in.  (Check was cashed, I guess.)  Newspaper adds a lot of weight also. 
Best commonly available stuffing is styrofoam insulation board.  Better
is the polypropylene or polyethylene foam, but hard to find. 
Polyurethane foam is also good, but has to be the stiffer variety.  Soft
spongy kind is, well, too soft.

> 9) If just one tube manages to shake out of its socket it will kill
everything inside.

Some tubes are wobble-prone and close to transformers and can caps.  In
particular are the big rectifiers with only five of the eight octal pins.
 They should be removed and bubblewrapped.  Ground glass isn't good for
tuning gears.

> 10) Many radios get put in the box and shipped upside down. If the rear
chassis screws were inadvertently left out after a previous repair the
front panel will get buckled when they drop the box.

Ahah!  Sounds like the classic problem with SX-42's, -62's and similar
Halli's.  There are three screws that go into the bottom rear of the
chassis through a raised part of the cabinet.  Often missing, they're an
odd thread size -- something like 8-24 or 10-24.  If they are missing,
the chassis can bounce up and down or worse when the box is upside down. 
That will often bend the front panel or the front of the chassis.  Been
there, seen that.  Just the rattling of a loose chassis is enough to
break some connections or cause weakened or shorted tube elements.

> 11) If the front panel is not sufficiently padded the delicate
mechanisms behind will be jammed when they drop the box on that side.
Some knobs can transfer a lot of bending force because of their large
surface area.

The trick on front panels is this:  They should NOT be padded, but
carefully braced at the strong points.  In most cases, the voids created
by this should NOT be filled.  What you want in front of the glass,
knobs, controls and shafts is about 2 or 3 inches of air -- and not in
bubbles.  Think of it this way:  Put a piece of glass right on your nose.
 Put a couple of layers of bubblewrap over the glass.  Now, give the
bubblewrap a good stiff punch.  Would you do this?  NO WAY.  So don't do
it to a radio.  The front should be braced inside the inner carton so at
the strong points of the panel and case edges so the radio can be set
down hard face first without damage.

> 12) When complaining to the seller about shipping damage they will
usually act very surprised and claim, "I have been shipping like that for
25 years and you are the first one..., must be some kind of a local
problem."

ROTFL -- and ARGHHH -- a complete mystery.  

> 13) Insurance is no insurance most of the time. You just get on a list
to go through an endless cycle of
> unreturned phone calls and visiting adjusters that refer you to other
adjusters. This is their cost control 
> through your inconvenience.

Not only that, but you might as well forget it if the packing materials
are insufficient.  They'll want to see the whole business, warts
included.

> 14) What good does it do to file a claim on a Breting 14 anyway? You
really just wanted the Breting 14!  Filing an insurance claim is little
consolation.

Limited to what you paid, not what it's worth.  To get full refund, they
confiscate the goods and often dispose of it without much consideration.

> 15) I don't mean to exclude FedEx and USPS. It is just that UPS is at
the top of the list for this most of the time.

Might be because they are most often used.  I've found, however, that
it's more a matter of the packing job than the carrier.  At the moment,
FEDEX seems to be trying harder, but I wouldn't bank on it.

> 16) The above mostly applies to list members that are attempting to buy
things and get them home safely.

"Mostly"?  I might go farther than that.  Here's a bit more:

We sometimes get lulled into optimistic expectations due to the near
misses -- the bad packing jobs that made it through by sheer luck.  It's
awkward to complain about this to the seller as there was no damage.

Here are a few more bad things:

-- Abrasion damage to the finish from rubbing on the packing materials --
the gear should be wrapped in plastic or bubblewrap first -- without
putting any tape on the finish.
-- Styrofoam fallout -- radio is stuffed with peanuts or not protected
against the fluff that comes off the styrofoam boards.  Takes hours to
clean it out.
-- Point to point wiring problems because an uncovered chassis (no
bottom) was set down on a bed of peanuts or other uneven bed.  Actually,
this can happen from jolts, particularly to old repairs with excess
slack.  Then your working radio as sold is booby-trapped with a short or
two.
-- Packing incompatible things together with no padding between.
-- Random throw in of the line cord and plug, so they can mar or scratch
something.
-- Interstate transport of livestock without a license. (The little ones
that scurry out and run for your closets.)

I'm gonna stop now -- I don't feel so good.

Barry

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