Bad Ebay Experience with Tinkering123

[CDBPDX]

I just bought an Edison Home model A motor on eBay, it arrived in the mail today. The seller just put the pieces in the box and mailed it. See pictures for the results. The very nice square corner belt pulley was broken into 4 pieces. The speed adjust knob was broken off. The screw part of the mandrel was originally in pretty good condition, but now has many smash gouges from rattling around in the box with other parts. All of these things were in good condition in the auction pictures. The package arrived with parts rattling around, I hoped for the best but was disappointed. I recommend you do not buy anything fragile from seller Tinkering123. He offered to refund my purchase price plus the original shipping, but he wants me to eat the cost of shipping the motor back to him. I will keep the motor and use the remaining parts.

[Jerry B.]

I've stopped hoping for the best and give specific instructions. I think we all have to be proactive. Jerry Blais

[gramophone-georg]

I just bought an Edison Home model A motor on eBay, it arrived in the mail today. The seller just put the pieces in the box and mailed it. See pictures for the results. The very nice square corner belt pulley was broken into 4 pieces. The speed adjust knob was broken off. The screw part of the mandrel was originally in pretty good condition, but now has many smash gouges from rattling around in the box with other parts. All of these things were in good condition in the auction pictures. The package arrived with parts rattling around, I hoped for the best but was disappointed. I recommend you do not buy anything fragile from seller Tinkering123. He offered to refund my purchase price plus the original shipping, but he wants me to eat the cost of shipping the motor back to him. I will keep the motor and use the remaining parts.

Open a case through eBay with reason for return "not as described". eBay will step in and your seller will have no choice but to pay for a return label that eBay will provide you, and you will be refunded as soon as the tracking number shows that the parcel has been delivered.

There's no reason you should be forced to keep and pay for that in that condition.

[hearsedriver]

Just start a return with Ebay and they will provide a return shipping label for free. Once the seller recieves the package per tracking, you will be refunded by Ebay. I dont even mess with sellers in a case like this. Just go through Ebay.

[briankeith]

I have given detailed instructions to sellers on how to package, double box, wrap, and protect, only to find they ignored my request and the item arrived smashed to pieces. Other phonograph collectors know how to ship - pickers and flea market people don't seem to care that much.

[Chuck]

That's sad! Yet another bunch of parts ruined
because of someone's lack of care and proper packing.

....It's all about the money with these types of
people, it seems. Sell, sell, sell, and greed, greed,
greed is all they think about and they are always in
a hurry no matter what they are doing.

After all, in most cases they get away with it, so in
their eyes why be careful and take extra time and effort
to pack decently when most often they can get away
with crap like this!

The stuff just ends up literally being ground to
dust as it is endlessly churned around, eventually
into the dirt where it gets converted back to iron ore.

[WindupArtist]

I just bought an Edison Home model A motor on eBay, it arrived in the mail today. The seller just put the pieces in the box and mailed it. See pictures for the results. The very nice square corner belt pulley was broken into 4 pieces. The speed adjust knob was broken off. The screw part of the mandrel was originally in pretty good condition, but now has many smash gouges from rattling around in the box with other parts. All of these things were in good condition in the auction pictures. The package arrived with parts rattling around, I hoped for the best but was disappointed. I recommend you do not buy anything fragile from seller Tinkering123. He offered to refund my purchase price plus the original shipping, but he wants me to eat the cost of shipping the motor back to him. I will keep the motor and use the remaining parts.

I have had this happen, and refused to pay return shipping. Since the damaged motor could not really be resold, the seller just said "keep it" and refunded the purchase price and the original shipping. I ended up with some useable parts and the seller avoided a bad review or a fuss with Ebay. This has happened to me twice. Once with a Saal motor with a broken frame, the other with a Columbia which was said to work but had at least one broken spring.

[CDBPDX]

I am keeping the surviving parts, they are still quite useful. I checked the sellers feedback and they have much praise for their packaging, too bad they had a lapse of judgement for this package. Since I only paid $54.99 (including shipping) for this motor, I think I am still ahead. I did leave neutral feedback with a scathing review of the packaging for this sale.

That being said, I am trying to super-glue the parts of the belt pulley. It broke into 4 pieces, hope to be able to get them all back together. The first two pieces went together just fine. Two more to go.

The screw drive on the mandrel shaft is toast with several gouges in the same grooves all around the shaft. The motor plate was apparently bouncing up and down on this part of the shaft during shipping and really gouged it up. Likely won't be useable. Too bad.

I used JB WELD to try to glue the speed adjust knob back together. It has had all night to set, I'll see if it worked when I get to the shop, though I don't hold much hope for it.

Here is an inventory of the useable parts:

Gear Cluster with belt tensioner, though one of the teeth in the bull gear is damaged. Likely have to replace that gear.
Spring barrel assembly
Governor
Motor plate with winding shaft and ratchet pawl

C'est la vie..