Lesson Learned / OUCH!

TheDHndrsn

Active Member
I've heard the stories of folks buying turntables through auction sites and then receiving them damaged because the seller was careless about packaging. I just believed the stories to be exaggerated. It was with this mindset that I picked up a working Realistic LAB-2200 on the cheap. Always thought they were cool. I figured, try one of lesser quality before shelling out bucks for something note worthy.

Well. Where do I begin. :blah:

This is what I purchased...


... and this is what arrived.
:eek2:

The funny part is, the box looked like this...


Not what I would call transport damage. I guess I learned my lesson. Fortunately, it only cost me $18 + shipping. ;)

Dave
 

Attachments

  • LAB2200_1.jpg
    LAB2200_1.jpg
    58.3 KB · Views: 192
  • LAB2200_2.jpg
    LAB2200_2.jpg
    62.2 KB · Views: 133
  • LAB2200_3.jpg
    LAB2200_3.jpg
    78.4 KB · Views: 207
  • LAB2200_4.jpg
    LAB2200_4.jpg
    57.3 KB · Views: 201
  • LAB2200_5.jpg
    LAB2200_5.jpg
    79.6 KB · Views: 153
It would have cost more than $18 to properly pack that table for shipment. I feel your pain though.

I have a Pioneer PL-630 needing to enter the deadly shipping pipeline in a few days. I have put my heart and soul into what resulted in a serious time machine. She is gorgeous and as close to brand new condition as I can produce. I am praying that she gets to her new home safely.

Buying gear off the auction site is a serious crap shoot, at best, with regard to how it will get packed and handled on its way to you. Sellers don't want to be instructed and held to a set of requirements. I've recently even had a client withdraw from a restoration job because I was being too stringent on how his gear should be packed for safe shipment to me. Oh well. Live and learn.

Rich P
 
Last edited:
That's a shame. I think the ONLY chance for a turntable to survive shipping is to contact the seller beforehand with specifics about removing and securing platters and counterweights
 
It would have cost more than $18 to properly pack that table for shipment. I feel your pain though.

I have a Pioneer PL-630 needing to enter the deadly shipping pipeline in a few days. I have put my heart and soul into what resulted in a serious time machine. She is gorgeous and as close to brand new condition as I can produce. I am praying that she gets to her new home safely.

Buying gear off the auction site is a serious crap shoot, at best, with regard to how it will get packed and handled on its way to you. Sellers don't want to be instructed and held to a set of requirements. I've recently even had a client withdraw from a restoration job because I was being too stringent on how his gear should be packed for safe shipment to me. Oh well. Live and learn.

Rich P

Fortunately you have tempered your 'deadly shipping pipeline' with the truth. It is the packaging that is supposed to protect the product, not the shipping company. The shipping company is handling boxes and almost all the time they do a fine job with the expected bumps and bruises along the way that should be well deflected by proper packaging. If folks would spend a bit of time packing an item, even an 18 dollar item (not going to happen) more items would arrive in good condition. It takes a lot of time building a proper shipping packaging system for these items and 18 bucks ain't gonna pay me for the hours it takes to properly pack a unit that does not have its original packing materials.

Almost always it is NOT the shipping company that causes the damage. It is the packaging that is not designed for the journey, just to be placed carefully on the front seat of a car and delivered in person. Sad but true.

Sorry for your loss on the turntable.

There are instructions all over the web about how to pack a turntable. Most will not go to the trouble even if they found those sites.
 
For your next purchase try subscribing to AK Barter Town. Chances of a fellow AK'er letting this happen is very low.

good luck, Bob
 
I once bought a cheap Harman Kardon mid 80s turntable (T-series) which also arrived trashed. Counterweight had come off and was bouncing around inside the dust cover. The platter was also loose. Turns out the turntable was very cheaply made and the bearing housing was simply pressed into the plinth. Not repairable. The only thing I saved was the puck.
 
For your next purchase try subscribing to AK Barter Town. Chances of a fellow AK'er letting this happen is very low.

good luck, Bob

Amen. Purchased a TT on the Bartertown from sfrost and this cat knows how to properly package up a TT. Did a great job traveling across the US and arrived in perfect condition as he advertised.
 
Well .. as a number of folks pointed out. Live and learn.

Perhaps I am the exception, but no matter how little the sell price I am one who always packs for something to survive. Call me naïve.

What still surprises me about this one was that the platter wasn't loose. There was no counter weight to fall off. The rubber matt is the only thing that could / would have done damage. Given the quality of the arm on this TT I expect that is all that was needed to snap it off. But ... I cannot explain was the dust cover that appeared smashed in from the outside while the shipping box as well as the two layers of bubble wrap were unscathed. A 2"x6" chunk of the dust cover was inside literally rattling around with the snapped off tonearm.

I dare say I am mighty hesitant to buy another turntable off of an auction site. Sad part is there was this Beogram I was eyeing up.

Once burned, twice shy.
Dave
 
That really looks like it was beat to hell then shipped to you. How can you explain the spindle post getting jammed through the mat.
I also can't see how the arm could get twisted like that. Hope the seller is refunding your purchase.
 
Not that it happened here, but when I was in distribution, there were times that UPS would reseal a package that had busted open. It's one thing for them to tape shut a split seam, but what if the top or bottom completely came unsealed, and the turntable fell (OK, crashed) out? They'd just shove it all back in the box, tape it shut, and act as though nothing ever happened. They get out of paying a claim.

I think they specify that labels should not go over a package opening, but I always put a label over an opening if I can. That is one way I can tell if it was tampered with along the way.
 
I had all my gear shipped from Houston to Melbourne Australia, the shipping company packed it all at our house in Houston and delivered it to our house here, it went via ship so it was handled many times from there to here. Not one thing was broken, my turntable, receiver etc were all in perfect shape. So it's about the packing and not the handling IMHO.
 
Guys, I just don't know. Had not heard of Fedx repackaging damaged items. May have happened here. The package was practically pristine. My money is on it having been a shipping room casualty that someone covered up. The bubble wrap was on there two layers thick and was unmolested. I just do not know how the dust cover could have taken the hit like that and the bubble wrap not show any damage whatsoever.

I opened this thing in front of my neighbor. when I cut apart the bubble wrap, revealing the TT, we literally stood there in shock looking at it for a few seconds. My neighbor eventually says, "What the hell?"

I emailed the seller today replete with their before photos and my delivery photos. Will see what they say. Unfortunately, for $18 who cares. I wanted to play with the TT. Have a soft spot in my heart for Realistic. It was all I could afford in college. LOL

My prediction is this one will forever remain a mystery.
Dave
 
Unhappy with selling it for $18 and trashed before packing? I've seen it happen in vintage claimer races. Who knows? Unless the packaging shows cause, what you see is what was packed. That is how I see it. A good, old fashioned, forensic inspection would reveal what is up here.

This is going out in a few days. I hope it does not arrive like your Realistic. I have put my heart and soul into restoring her to her vintage glory...a real time machine.

03 - Front-Up Angle-Closed.JPG

05 - Front-Closed.JPG

Enjoy,
Rich P
 
Last edited:
What do you expect for $18? If it was $1800 worth unit and arrived in that condition - that would be a reason to complain. Generally with anything sensitive to shocks with price below $1000 - it would be a good luck to get in undamaged condition. It might take up to an hour and $50 or more in material to properly pack turntable. Do you think that $18 price will cover it? On the other side are you ready to pay $100 for shipping on top the price of $18? If you want something cheap - shop local and pick up in person.
 
What do you expect for $18? If it was $1800 worth unit and arrived in that condition - that would be a reason to complain. Generally with anything sensitive to shocks with price below $1000 - it would be a good luck to get in undamaged condition. It might take up to an hour and $50 or more in material to properly pack turntable. Do you think that $18 price will cover it? On the other side are you ready to pay $100 for shipping on top the price of $18? If you want something cheap - shop local and pick up in person.

I think this is a poor way of looking at this. It doesn't matter how much you pay for something the seller has the responsibility of trying his best to make sure you get what you paid for undamaged. Regardless of the cost of what you buy you have the right to expect to receive it the way it was advertised, unless a seller states that you should exxpect the worst. That's like exculpating the shippers for being careless with their jobs.
 
Rich P., That is one beautiful piece of work. I agree. If that doesn't arrive as perfect as it was when it left. Let's just say I might be tempted to track down the delivery guy in person. Simply beautiful.

Whether $18 or $1,800 it is the principle of the matter. I've sold my share of stuff over the net as have most. Never did I skimp on packaging. If I was too stupid to capture costs up front in shipping and handling charges, my bad. In fact, my very first sale, ever, was a vintage synthesizer. Not only did I shoot myself by including a lowball Buy It Now (it sold in 32 minutes with 2 bids), I lost my shirt on shipping. But I ate the loss. Sale price almost (not quite) covered the crate and trucking costs.

Unless someone will guarantee packaging, unreasonable to guarantee transport, it will take a lot for me to purchase a TT through an auction site or from someone I do not already know.

for_P1, as for complaining there is a huge difference between a complaint and a curiosity. This post was a testament of shock and amazement over the damage and the mystery of it. Buying locally is great, if you can. The local thrift shops offer no more than broken stemware and old clothing or I would go there. They tell me they rarely see more than a cell phone and when they do, it ships out weekly to bigger stores where the economy affords better return on items such as vintage electronics, or so they say.

I decided to rehabilitate this thing. May be impossible, but will attempt reattach of the tonearm with some UV activated liquid plastic I picked up. Call it a challenge. The entire TT is plastic anyhow and, even before being trashed, it would never have been more than a sentiment for someone who had a lot of Realistic stuff back in the day.

If successful will share the results. The again, don't hold your breath. At the rate my projects are moving of late I will get to this repair in about 5 years. :eek:
Dave
 
Seeing those pics of a once-nice machine is a bummer. No matter if the price was low, it's just a big disappointment and a let-down. I once bought a desktop computer on EBay and was astounded to open it & find it had been crashing around inside a big box with NO packing...nothing...so of course it was all broken.

For the people saying, "What did you expect for $18?"....I don't know about all that. I went through a phase of accumulating turntables for a while, I'd say I bought 7 or 8 from EBay. Not one of them was damaged, and most were in the very low price range. I'd say only 3 of those were nicer, higher dollar tables, and those sellers took great care in packing. The other cheapie purchases--just likely non-audio-type people packing it as best as they could guess. Maybe I just got lucky.

The only thing that might make sense based on your incident is that the seller took pics before the auction or possibly already had taken pics a while back...some dumb and unexpected accident happened coincidentally & they'd already made the sale, so they decided to ship it anyway, and play dumb? Not a nice thought at all, but who knows?

I know this is beside the point but I'm sure you could source another Lab-2200 lid to use as a repair, or find a donor 2200. Just seems like it'd be easier than trying to glue that one.
 
Seeing those pics of a once-nice machine is a bummer. No matter if the price was low, it's just a big disappointment and a let-down. I once bought a desktop computer on EBay and was astounded to open it & find it had been crashing around inside a big box with NO packing...nothing...so of course it was all broken.
...
I know this is beside the point but I'm sure you could source another Lab-2200 lid to use as a repair, or find a donor 2200. Just seems like it'd be easier than trying to glue that one.

First thoughts were to find a donor. Not too any of the 2200's out there to come by. A few working units, and no parts. That's about it. Plan keep my eyes open for one that isn't working though. Never know. In the meantime I've been dying to try this new UV stuff. :jump:

What you describe as experience buying from EBay is similar to mine, just not TTs. This is the first TT bought from an online site, It just occurred to me there is possibly another explanation. The description on this originally said "no needle" which I interpreted as no cartridge. I was surprised to find this had a P cartridge replete with needle. If nothing else, I can salvage that. Should check the serial numbers to see if they match. Maybe they sent the wrong unit.

We will see.
Dave
 
I have a Lab 1500 you could have for shipping if you want. The belt is finished and the cosmetics aren't the best, and I removed the cartridge from it, but it hasn't been smashed to smithereens like yours has.
 
I have a Lab 1500 you could have for shipping if you want. The belt is finished and the cosmetics aren't the best, and I removed the cartridge from it, but it hasn't been smashed to smithereens like yours has.

Just dropped a PM your way. I could rehab it a bit and I have a P cartridge on hand. More than happy to give it a home.

Very touched at the offer. :bowdown:

Thanks!
Dave
 
Back
Top Bottom