[R-390] What a screw up and a rip off !!!

[rbethman]

Grant,

I'm one of those with more than one expensive hobby.

The other one happens to be Amateur Astronomy.  I ship expensive Optics 
and Optical systems all over.

This includes 4" refractors, 8" Schmidt Cassegrains, and boxes full of 
Eye Pieces that go for almost $700 ea.  I have found that I and those I 
deal with are more than capable of packing these items properly.  In the 
nine to ten years of doing this, Neither myself or the other side of the 
transaction has yet to have had damage or a claim.

The last heavy item I packed and shipped, went from Virginia to 
Colorado.  It was one of only 50 made.  The value at the original time 
of purchase was over $4K.

I double boxed it, lined the inside of the box with builder's foam 
attached with "Liquid Nails", and the actual item was in a wooden box 
inside of all that - suspended by a welded steel mount.

It arrived without a single scratch.

I don't plane on repeating that any time soon.

It can be done though.

Bob - N0DGN

On 4/1/2010 2:57 PM, Grant Youngman wrote:
> On Apr 1, 2010, at 1:45 PM, Rick Popovich wrote:
>    
>> Moral of the story is that even if the person says they will pack it
>> properly they don't always do it. I had to go after the guy and luckily
>> he offered a substantial refund which I took.
>>      
> I have two beautiful radios "remanufactured" some years ago by Rick Mish.  An R-390 and an R-390A.
>
> There's no way in h*ll I'd try to ship something this heavy if the day comes I decide to sell them (when I'm too old and feeble to move them around).  I'll happily (well, maybe) settle for half of what they're worth if that's what required for a "pickup only" sale.  Even reasonably well packed they could end up being delivered in kit form.  If a buyer wants to hire a commercial mover to come and pick them up and properly crate them (which is the only rational way to ship something of this weight), that's great.  But at that point, my hands are clean.  I couldn't pack them properly, and there's no doubt that UPS would screw it up since they don't exactly have the facilities for doing much but to toss a few peanuts into some boxes and and give you a grin as you walk out of the store.
>
> Grant/NQ5T