Buying stuff from eBay.. I should know better

bignorm

And the award to the worst packing of a mixing desk goes to the tw@t  who sold me a folio notepad on eBay.

The notepad arrived in a blue plastic bag, it had a thin bit of cardboard taped across the knobs and the whole thing was then wrapped in a manky old bit of bubble wrap that looked like it had been reused a few times and there were hardly any bubbles left.

Absolutely no protection against damage at all.
Worst of all it was sent by Herpes sorry Hermes and wouldn't have been insured if there had been a problem.
The most annoying thing is the guy got away with it coz the desk arrived undamaged and that's what really pisses me off, coz I take pride in making sure anything I send is double boxed and inside so much padding it'll survive being drop kicked across the depot.
Once more using Fleabay leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

zepp76

I bought a Strat from eBay once, it came in a gig bag and that was it! It just had the address gaffer taped to it, no protection whatsoever except the gig bag. 

Strangefan

I can (unfortunately) beat that .

I bought a bass years ago, it arrived with no case , a plastic bag on the headstock, a bin liner on the body........and nothing else, it arrived in one piece as well.... unbelievable

FreddieVanHalen

Sadly I have also received a guitar from Ebay wrapped only in a bin liner and sellotape.

it was fucked.

The most annoying thing was having to wrap the bastardisation properly so it could be posted back without me being accused of damage.

That was the last time I ever bought a guitar on Ebay!

Heartfeltdawn

I bought an Epi Dot that arrived via UPS. The delivey guy knew me well and had this rueful look. The guitar had been wrapped in brown paper and the seller has festooned it in fragile stickers. You could see the neck was broken from a distance. 

prowla

I was going to be buying a Rickenbacker today via ebay; the seller had £9.79 for postage, so heaven knows what that would've been!

However, I was going to collect it, so that covers that.

It was described as "Chipped and scratched, may need some care and attention as been left in a garage.".

I was OK with it being scruffy, but wanted to inspect it as I reckon the wording seemed suitably ambiguous to cover the possibility that the damage was more than surface deep.

Then the seller started insisting I pay up-front before seeing it.

I've decided not to go ahead with the purchase.

Bygone_Tones

Try buying loose speakers. Few of them arrive in one piece unless you message the seller on how to pack them properly. Even then, its 50/50 on whether they follow your advice. Always best to buy locally and collect them in person.

A good indicator is the quality of the ebay listing itself. Anyone who comes across as lazy and can't be arsed, or with low intelligence (cant take a photo, spell or string a sentence together) - then expect it to arrive in a bin bag.

This is the down side when looking for bargains and badly listed items. Those people are usually going to be clueless about packing too, and it's not a bargain if it arrives smashed to pieces.

MattBanshee

Doesn't eBay have a stars rating system for things like packing? One star for packing, neutral feedback with comments saying the item was great but packed so badly that it was at risk of damage. Job done.

TheMarlin

I received a tele from the USA wrapped in a bin bag.  
Miraculously, very little damage. 

bbill335

Heartfeltdawn said:

I bought an Epi Dot that arrived via UPS. The delivey guy knew me well and had this rueful look. The guitar had been wrapped in brown paper and the seller has festooned it in fragile stickers. You could see the neck was broken from a distance. 

My UPS guy just gormlessly hands me boxes that have clearly been chucked down the stairs.

midlifecrisis

i too have received guitars wrapped in single binbags and a sheet of brown paper arrived in top condition. Makes me think
that maybe they have a better chance as the carriers cant help but handle them carefully or theyl have to pick up the broken bits

thermionic

TheMarlin said:

I received a tele from the USA wrapped in a bin bag.  
Miraculously, very little damage. 

It's a Telecaster. I'd be disappointed if it wasn't in tune.