Another One Bites the Dust (Not for the faint-hearted)

[pski]

I was eager to start playing with my first Model 6000 with internal HD. Unfortunately, the packing was not up to the task. Enough said.

 

[TheCorfiot]

Animals

 

[pcmedix]

After mulling over the possibility of repeating on this forum the various four-letter words I just said aloud, I'll just say stuff like this ruins my day. Who, seriously....who can be so stupid to pack anything like that? It's like they're saying, "Here-you throw this away for me!", and charging you for the privilege. The moron that packed that machine is why the world is what it is today...and they probably get paid to 'make important decisions' at work, too! UHGGGGGG!
Thanks for sharing the horror, though. I know exactly how you're feeling right about now.

-Rich

 

[Stone]

While packing isn't quite rocket science it does require half a brain to get it right.

 

[FireBox]

Hard to look at.

 

[JonB]

Ouch. Sorry for that, can you get a refund? I assume you bought it from someone.

Hey, wild thought. Maybe it still works. Is there anything properly damaged inside or is it just the case? Silly question perhaps, but you might be surprised. Obviously use caution!

 

[pski]

Ouch. Sorry for that, can you get a refund? I assume you bought it from someone.

Hey, wild thought. Maybe it still works. Is there anything properly damaged inside or is it just the case? Silly question perhaps, but you might be surprised. Obviously use caution!

Unfortunately, from what I can see without removing it from the box, the card cage is bent and the monitor neck is shoved into some components.

I will try definitely try to get a refund, but it depends on the decency of the seller sometimes. Even if I win a dispute, its not worth it for me to ship the beast back.

 

[NeXT]

I've had one or two items arrive that were obviously badly packed. Both items sold for far less than I assume the seller expected, so they probably threw it in the box and sent it off in a gesture to say "F$@* you and your stupid money."


Some metal strips, JB weld and a lot of patience should fix that up.

There's zero padding on the sides/front and back. It's just tightly stuffed int he box with some shredded paper above and below. One good bump and the case probably shattered into several dozen pieces.

Give us a nice set of photos (for us and for Paypal) when you take it out of the box. I'd be curious to see what beyond a necked tube is damaged.

 

[NF6X]

That's just awful! Well, I'm glad I didn't bid on that one, I guess.

 

[KC9UDX]

I will try definitely try to get a refund, but it depends on the decency of the seller sometimes. Even if I win a dispute, its not worth it for me to ship the beast back.

I always wonder if you could ship that back to the seller COD.

I, too, recently received a package shipped like that. I was very lucky though, the damage was not crippling.

 

[NF6X]

I received a older TRS-80 wide-format line printer that got pretty banged up in shipment, but I think it'll be salvageable once I get around to it. But that 6000HD sure looks trashed!

 

[SomeGuy]

Someone should write a "shipping for dummies" guide.

 

[pski]

I received a older TRS-80 wide-format line printer that got pretty banged up in shipment, but I think it'll be salvageable once I get around to it. But that 6000HD sure looks trashed!

I'm still sad about it. "They sure don't make them like that anymore!"

 

[Trash-Eighty]

I feel sorry for the buyer and for the Model 6000. What a disaster!

On Ebay is another candidate:
TRS-80 model 4 64k with Floppy And Cover

From the discription:

It's all very nicely packaged up and is ready to be sent to join your collection and use.

The auction's last photo contradicts the "very nicely packaging". :huh:


-Rainer
(Germany)

 

[pski]

On Ebay is another candidate:
TRS-80 model 4 64k with Floppy And Cover

From the discription:

The auction's last photo contradicts the "very nicely packaging". :huh:
View attachment 23033

-Rainer
(Germany)

Geeze, I guarantee that will be damaged. Peanuts by themselves do not work with these computers. Look at the keyboard handrest touching the side of the box!

I just sent that seller a courteous detailed message telling them how to pack it better. Hopefully, they heed the message to save both them and the buyer a lot of aggravation.

 

[jharre]

Ugh! That is a nasty packing job.

I once bought a (heavy) TeleVideo machine that the seller literally threw in a box with NO packing. He sent it Parcel Post and it actually survived.

OTOH, an IBM 5151 display was shipped the same way, was packaged and cushioned quite well, and arrived looking very much like this - in hundreds of pieces.

 

[TRS-Ian]

Unfortunately if the carrier is careless it really doesn't matter how well you pack things. Short of building a timber box and putting nuclear waste stickers on the boxes (joke) getting carriers to handle stuff carefully its just a crap shoot if something arrives in one piece.

With the volumes of equipment I have bought in the last 4 years I have seen the both ends of the spectrum as far as packing is concerned and have had really poorly packed items arrive in one piece with almost no damage, and well packed items still dropped and CRT mounts busted etc. Maybe one in 6 Model III/4 computers arrive smashed...

The best I can recommend for most people is to buy locally or if not locally, factor in up to a 1000 miles round trip to pick up things like 8in TRS-80 series rather than risk packing and shipping things, even if you have to pay more for said item. In Australia (where I am from) we are used to driving long distances in powerful cars, so for me making a road trip of it wins hands down versus risking a valuable computer being damaged in transit.

My 2c worth.

Ian.

 

[Trash-Eighty]

Unfortunately if the carrier is careless it really doesn't matter how well you pack things.

I think most of the carriers are careless. Many shippers assume that the carriers will handle their packages like raw eggs ...

... but the truth is:
DHL
UPS
FedEx and others

Therefore shippers should always pack sensitive items like they going into a war zone.

-Rainer

 

[pski]

Update:

I have finally had the time to remove the pieces from the box. Other than the shattered shell and some cosmetic damage to the monitor, the chassis and components look to be undamaged. I had to tweak the cage a bit and the monitor was not actually shoved into a component now that I can see it clearly (it has a larger circuit board attached to the end of the tube than I'm used to seeing which tricked me). Since it does have an elusive HDC and HD I've been looking for, I will probably keep it. Although it is a type 4 HDC and probably not useable in my Model II. I'll try to get it working naked once I clean out all of the shredded newspaper.

It has a full card cage. Looks like in order from top to bottom:

1. 68K CPU board
2. 256K Memory board
3. 256K Memory board
4. Video board
5. RS232 board
6. Bernoulli board
7. Type 4 HDC board
8. Bottom board (hidden)(Z80 board with floppy controller and 64K memory)?

So, I just need a new Model 6000 shell. Anyone have a non-working 6000 with an otherwise nice case they'd be willing to sell?

 

[circuit]

Ouch..

I guess you could fashion a custom case out of plywood or something, if all else fails. At least you'd have a one-of-a-kind. Not that 6000s are common in the first place!