I got hosed.

[TheNixer]

Equill, thank you!

Here's the response from the seller:

Hi Jeff. I'm sorry to hear it's not working. It was definitely working when it left. As a matter of fact, it was being used as a server up until 2 days before it was listed. You may want to try another power cable, that was a random cable I grabbed out of a box. You may also want to try reseating the RAM and/or CPU, it's not uncommon for them to come loose in shipping.

As for the shipping charge, it was a bit much. I estimated the charge based on shipping to California which would have came to $56. I intended on refunding the difference since I didn't pay a dime for the packing but my wife gave birth yesterday so I didn't get around to it yet. You will see the credit soon.

* * *

I'd really like to hear your opinions on his reply. I feel like he's throwing me a much smaller bone to see if he can keep me happy. I'm really tempted to send him the picture of the packing job.

 

[Bunsen]

Bunsen, thank you so much for your time on this post!

De nada.

The term "working" was so heavily implied ... They just wanted to pull one over on me.

Assume incompetence before venality. That packaging could easily have killed a working machine. If I was the shipping insurer, I would laugh you out of my office with that packaging photo.

If he's really just had a baby, he will have been distracted, and the way ebay's postage calculator is completely uselessly broken and evil at the moment, his story would not be unusual. It doesn't sound like a "bone" per se, but a genuine refund for the excess postage.

But yes, the use of the terms "excellent condition" and "boots" definitely imply a working machine. I don't think you can just use "as is" as a universal get-out. And if he packed that machine himself like that, he's definitely at fault, and it's my opinion you are due for a full refund. For the price that you paid, you could wait for another MDD with a warranty against at least DOA.

On the other hand, if they really are that hard to find where you are, and you decide to try and revive it, you might be able to negotiate a partial refund.

Start your communication with the seller with the assumption that he (or she) is well intentioned, but doesn't know how to pack things for shi... pping. But be firm. The words "completely inadequate and almost guaranteed to lead to damage" spring to mind. You can quote me. Hell, link to this thread if you like.

I've got a cracked solder joint on a chip near / the power supply / Surely one chip wouldn't keep the system from turning on at all.

AHAHAHAHA ahah ah... ha ....ehh ... mmm

Yes. Yes, it could.

Equill: thankyou for your explication of the difference between a power management unit and a CUDA. I was not aware of that, or the changeover point in the product line. (Just what the heck does CUDA stand for anyway?)

 

[Bunsen]

Can you tell us the markings on or around the suspect chip?

One other thing that comes to mind. Check the lead from the front panel power switch to the motherboard. If it has come loose from the switch, it would be hard to see.

You don't have to wait for your friend's voltmeter to check the PS. Just jam a paperclip into a black (ground) lead and the standby (usually the only purple one, but check and double check the pinout). If the fans and/or drives whir, it's alive.

 

[Ryoohki]

I was not aware of that, or the changeover point in the product line.

cuda was discontinued with the Core99

^^ found that while googling for what CUDA stands for and apparently it it stands for Capacitive Unit Discharge ASIC and ASIC stands for Application-Specific Integrated Circuit! The more you know :lol:

 

[TheNixer]

Ha! Bunsen, you make me laugh.

I sent a lengthy reply. What did you guys think of the chip I linked? Bad break or fixable?

Thanks for the advice!!!

EDIT: There were a couple of posts while I was typing, I'll check check the chip again and try the paperclip trick!

 

[Patrickool93]

While I really don't know anything about that chip, and maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but couldn't a small bit 'o solder over the crack on the joint fix that? The joint looks fairly big, so I'd think it would be easy.

 

[John8520]

You wouldn't even need solder, just touch a hot iron to it and it would reflow good as new. Also, it's not a chip, it's a capacitor, which are incredibly easy to find and replace. (and could easily prevent the machine from booting, though somewhat unlikely, most caps on motherboards are used for noncritical things like filters)

 

[TheNixer]

I actually thought about an iron but I quickly found the other side of the capacitor has no connection what-so-ever. There are three fairly identical chips in the area of this chip.

The chip has these markings on it: 33-20 then underneath P3. Beside the P3 is a 2 in a circle. It's marked on the board as C410.

 

[Quadraman]

First off, it was a $299 BIN for a dual processor MDD? That throws up red flags immediately. $299 is too low. Second, there is nothing in the listing that says it is working and no DOA guarantee. I think filing a complaint with ebay or Paypal will get you nowhere since he makes no claims as to it's functionality. If you are going to make a claim, wait until after he refunds the excess shipping. He may refuse to make the refund if you file a complaint first.

 

[Quadraman]

While I really don't know anything about that chip, and maybe I'm looking at it wrong, but couldn't a small bit 'o solder over the crack on the joint fix that? The joint looks fairly big, so I'd think it would be easy.

I was thinking the same thing. A small gob of solder to bridge the gap should get it going at least temporarily if that is the only problem. A more permanent repair will have to be done in the future, though because any shocks or vibrations will eventually work the solder loose and the problem will reappear. Replacing the motherboard would probably be cheaper than paying someone to solder on a new part. Easier, too.

 

[TheNixer]

Here's the latest from the seller,

I would like to see any video or pics you have of the packing or damage. I did pack it and to tell you the truth, thought I did a pretty good job. The computer was wedged in the box well enough that it wouldn't move. It was also taped up at the UPS store after the store owner inspected it and got a description for the insurance that was purchased ($300 worth of insurance was purchased).

This is what I wrote back:

Patrick - Here is a picture of the packaging, just opened. I was a manager for UPS for five years and also worked part time at a UPS store (then Mail Boxes ETC) to get through college and I don't see how they inspected this and gave it a green light. But, I'm glad they did. It sounds like they would honor a claim because of that. We tended not to let a computer go without being wrapped and packed in peanuts in a double box, especially if it was insured. Here's the video of the capacitor. It's just a capacitor so I don't think that's enough to keep the machine from at least turning on. Either way, I'm going to have a go at fixing it (the capacitor has since fallen off). Also, If I can find a paperclip I'll put to bed the worries that the PS was damaged in shipping. Right now it's hard to tell what's wrong with the machine without spending more money. It may just be easier for both of us to start a claim with UPS. Either way, thank you for following with me on this transaction. Thanks, Jeff.

* * *

I would really like to get reimbursed for the motherboard. BUT if he insured it and they inspected it, that's a legitimate claim.

AGAIN - Thanks all for the replies.

I've been watching MDD's pretty solid for the past year and prices have come down considerably. I've seen the 1.25's go for $500 but these days anything less processor wise doesn't fetch that much.

Consequently, I went a few rounds with a guy over an iMac Snow for my little sister several years ago. They approved his claim without looking at the box or anything. That guy gave me just enough to fix the bent plastic and he actually MADE MONEY off the claim.

 

[TheNixer]

Okay, I tried the paper clip on the ground (black) and standby (purple) and I got no fans or anything. Actually just more silence. I put the paper clip in, plugged in the power supply and got nothing. Is there more I should be doing, by chance?

I started a claim with UPS, I hope that works.

 

[Bunsen]

Leave one drive plugged in to power, and see if that starts up.

There may be differences between the DA and MDD PS that I'm not aware of.

 

[TheNixer]

I wanted to resurrect this old(ish) conquest just to say the buyer didn't work with me - except to help me somewhat with the UPS claim, which was denied.

But, aside from that - my friend Dave helped solder the capacitor back to the board. The long story of it all is that the power button on the front of the machine is bad. It lights up but it will NOT turn the computer on or off. When I hooked up an Apple Cinema Display and pressed the on button on the display it whirred to life! I'm posting from it now.

I've loaded it with 1.5 gb of RAM that I had around as well as four HD's. I'm not too crazy about 10.5 on it so I've booted from the 10.4 drive. So far so good.

One thing I did in the process of having this thing setting on my desk is take it completely apart and remove all dust. It makes me wonder if I should re-apply the paste on the processors?

Also, does anyone know what card that is in the picture below?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3062/2775212172_9d4f8b5b58_b.jpg

I grabbed the pic a while back so I can't remember what site I got if from or I'd ask the original poster.

 

[LCGuy]

Looks like a PCI slot cooler.