tommijazz91 Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 I feel a little sad sharing this, because I hoped it would turn out better than this. But probably my hopes were to high this time. I read countless times these machines are fragile, so I paid for reinforced package...aha of course it was useless. I bought it off Buyee for around 125€ included shipping, hoping to keep the logic board and maybe sell/donate the body to someone here in the group. I don't think I have much to give away now. I will let you know if the analog board or other parts are intact. Since it was opened by my parents and I was away, I have no way of knowing if the CRT neck is broken. But it probably is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BacioiuC Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 I'm so sorry this happened to you! It looks like he just wrapped it in a bit of bubble wrap and put in a box? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommijazz91 Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, BacioiuC said: I'm so sorry this happened to you! It looks like he just wrapped it in a bit of bubble wrap and put in a box? Apparently yes, I am yet to see this "reinforced package" I paid extra for...I just know there was a ton of bubble wrap. I sincerely hope that Buyee Support will get me a refund, but honestly I don't know how thing work from here. I'll let you know, so that maybe someone else doesn't risk their own LC's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beachycove Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 I had to throw one out about a year ago because the plastics had become so brittle that it was no longer holding together, and certainly could not have been shipped. Based on what mine was like, I would not necessarily say that the box had been mishandled. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommijazz91 Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 It's incredible how bad the quality of this plastic is after many years...but at least now I know what happens if I try. Now I just hope that some of the components are good enough to be used somewhere else. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
joshc Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 That's sad to see. 575s (and other 5xx ilk that used the same case/plastics) are on track to become the rarest Macs in existence (maybe apart from prototypes) at this rate... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CC_333 Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 (edited) That looks awful! 5 hours ago, joshc said: 575s (and other 5xx ilk that used the same case/plastics) are on track to become the rarest Macs in existence (maybe apart from prototypes) at this rate... Agreed. Makes me feel fortunate that I got my 578 in 2005, when they were still somewhat common (i.e., before most of them literally crumbled to heaps of splintered plastic). c Edited February 13 by CC_333 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MOS8_030 Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 (edited) 8 hours ago, tommijazz91 said: It's incredible how bad the quality of this plastic is after many years...but at least now I know what happens if I try. Now I just hope that some of the components are good enough to be used somewhere else. I have read that it was the flame retardant that was added to the plastic that makes these so fragile (and yellow) with age. It didn't help that Apple was trying to use as much plastic as they could to reduce costs. That's a shame about that one, it's just what ever parts can be salvaged now. Edited February 13 by MOS8_030 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
CC_333 Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 It seems to me that at least the logic board and disk drives can be salvaged, as they appear to be relatively intact? The analog board looks more questionable, but I can't really tell for sure. It seems to be intact, but I can't tell if any components were torn off and destroyed because that side isn't visible. c Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommijazz91 Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, CC_333 said: It seems to me that at least the logic board and disk drives can be salvaged, as they appear to be relatively intact? The analog board looks more questionable, but I can't really tell for sure. It seems to be intact, but I can't tell if any components were torn off and destroyed because that side isn't visible. c I cannot say for certain at the moment, since it wasn't opened by me and I am abroad, but the logic board seems intact (and very dirty). The entire "lower section" remained in one piece so it could be the analog board was spared, minus some surface components. I don't think it came with either HDD or floppy drive. At this point, I'm also wondering about the back cover for the logic board and the CRT neck...I'll let you know in the near future. As I will probably only keep the logic board, I will give what I can salvage to the community here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maceffects Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 I think the Sony tube was used in other things and can be sourced. Finding a dead 575 might be the best bet. Sadly, this is a normal sight any more. I'd love to make new cases but its a hard sell because only those with currently broken ones would buy them. The tooling cost would exceed $100,000. I do think most of your 575 can be salvaged though! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jeremywork Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, maceffects said: I think the Sony tube was used in other things and can be sourced. Finding a dead 575 might be the best bet. Sadly, this is a normal sight any more. I'd love to make new cases but its a hard sell because only those with currently broken ones would buy them. The tooling cost would exceed $100,000. I do think most of your 575 can be salvaged though! This gave me an idea; since the act of shipping is often the cause of this type of plastics failure, would it be economical to instead produce something like a custom form-fit shipping case? A savvy buyer could offer to send it to a seller to use in lieu of their own solutions. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maceffects Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 @jeremywork that’s a good idea. Maybe using the foam methods while using a LC as a template. Then the buyer could have it ordered and sent to the seller. The only issue with that is most eBay sellers won’t agree because they get dinged for “late shipments” Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maceffects Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 @jeremywork that’s a good idea. Maybe using the foam methods while using a LC as a template. Then the buyer could have it ordered and sent to the seller. The only issue with that is most eBay sellers won’t agree because they get dinged for “late shipments” Quote Link to post Share on other sites
beachycove Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 The main problem is that in shipment, the CRT breaks loose from the plastics. Being heavy, it then wreaks havoc in the inside of the case as it lurches around and breaks everything else up. You can put an LC575 in anything you like, but the problem -- being internal to the machine -- is likely always going to be just the same, given the onset of brittle plastics with increasing age. The moral of the story that if you want an LC575 (very nice screen, good 68LC040 performance, reasonably compact, etc.), buy locally. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommijazz91 Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, beachycove said: The main problem is that in shipment, the CRT breaks loose from the plastics. Being heavy, it then wreaks havoc in the inside of the case as it lurches around and breaks everything else up. You can put an LC575 in anything you like, but the problem -- being internal to the machine -- is likely always going to be just the same, given the onset of brittle plastics with increasing age. The moral of the story that if you want an LC575 (very nice screen, good 68LC040 performance, reasonably compact, etc.), buy locally. You are totally right. To minimize damage, one should also put the Mac with the CRT facing down. But it probably wouldn't have solved the problem this time. That said, I learned the hard way. Shipping this machine is next to impossibile. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jeremywork Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, maceffects said: @jeremywork that’s a good idea. Maybe using the foam methods while using a LC as a template. Then the buyer could have it ordered and sent to the seller. The only issue with that is most eBay sellers won’t agree because they get dinged for “late shipments” I'd expect it would probably be worthy of keeping with the LC once you receive it too. If you have to move or sell in the future it's a valuable asset. Is there an actual eBay-controlled shipping timer? I know as a buyer I can leave feedback on shipping time, but I can still choose to rate 5 stars even if the seller was slow. I'd probably not give the seller a bad review if I knew they were waiting for my box to arrive 4 hours ago, beachycove said: The main problem is that in shipment, the CRT breaks loose from the plastics. Being heavy, it then wreaks havoc in the inside of the case as it lurches around and breaks everything else up. You can put an LC575 in anything you like, but the problem -- being internal to the machine -- is likely always going to be just the same, given the onset of brittle plastics with increasing age. The moral of the story that if you want an LC575 (very nice screen, good 68LC040 performance, reasonably compact, etc.), buy locally. If the package were structured to lay the machine face-down in a box with protruding handles and obvious markings to retain that orientation, and additionally if there were a way of dampening some of the movements (think egg drop contest) I think it would have a better chance of surviving. Handles protruding just enough to make it wobble might give it the best chance of staying in the intended orientation for the entire trip. I own a 5500 which I picked up locally to avoid whatever the seller was going to try to do for "Free Shipping." It does feel immensely more delicate than other models I own (i.e. I half-expect it to fracture and dump all the contents every time I lift it) but it still easily survived the trip home in the backseat of a car, despite whatever potholes and ruts inevitably jostled it a bit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maceffects Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 Using a expanding foam method like this with the tube face down should remove much, but certainly not all, of the risk. But yes, regardless of the feedback it can still hurt sellers. If I recall correctly, eBay always changes things, but last I recall late shipments will decrease top rated seller status and result in lower search placement. Attached is a screenshot from my eBay Sellers Dashboard. All the metrics below are factors of seller rating. Oddly, I've seen sellers with feedback as low as 95% positive feedback still manage to be "Top Rated Seller" status. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jeremywork Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, maceffects said: Using a expanding foam method like this with the tube face down should remove much, but certainly not all, of the risk. But yes, regardless of the feedback it can still hurt sellers. If I recall correctly, eBay always changes things, but last I recall late shipments will decrease top rated seller status and result in lower search placement. Attached is a screenshot from my eBay Sellers Dashboard. All the metrics below are factors of seller rating. Oddly, I've seen sellers with feedback as low as 95% positive feedback still manage to be "Top Rated Seller" status. Interesting; makes sense. I wonder how the sellers offering repair services work around this... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maceffects Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, jeremywork said: Interesting; makes sense. I wonder how the sellers offering repair services work around this... The way they get around this is by having longer shipping dates and accept lower search results as well. They can say the handling time is 1 week. However, for someone selling a LC/Performa, once it is already listed and has bids you can't change the handling time. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommijazz91 Posted February 13 Author Report Share Posted February 13 4 hours ago, maceffects said: Using a expanding foam method like this with the tube face down should remove much, but certainly not all, of the risk. But yes, regardless of the feedback it can still hurt sellers. If I recall correctly, eBay always changes things, but last I recall late shipments will decrease top rated seller status and result in lower search placement. Nice! I didn't even know about this method. Also, the problem was that I won the auction on Buyee (Yahoo Japan). Communicating with the seller is quite difficult as it goes through Buyee support, translated in Japanese and sent back as reply, and must be done some days in advance. I tried with other items but it was too late as the auction closed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
maceffects Posted February 13 Report Share Posted February 13 @tommijazz91 This method isn't offered at every shipping store and is considerably more expensive. So, in some cases it could be better to mail a premade one to the seller. But as you mention if buying something from Buyee or elsewhere language and logistics are a problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommijazz91 Posted February 18 Author Report Share Posted February 18 I just received news from Buyee Support: they asked a lot of photos and details of the package and content, but after that I got a full refund. I just thought some of you might want to know in case something like this happens to another member in the future. Make sure to always pay for insurance. It costs almost nothing and can change everything. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MrFahrenheit Posted February 18 Report Share Posted February 18 I received a Mac Pro last February that was destroyed in shipping. I sent photos of it on the box and outside being destroyed. After sending photos to UPS they failed to pay insurance because they claimed there was no proof the damaged Mac was inside the box without damage to begin with. In other words the seller had to have taken photos of putting the Mac inside the box and showing it’s condition before shipping, and I had to have photos of the box on my end without being opened first and then photos of each stage of opening until revealing the damage. This was on a box that had no apparent outside damage to it. So in the end I was left with a damaged Mac Pro and the seller gave me back $50 towards a replacement aluminum case. Insurance varies by carrier it seems. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
tommijazz91 Posted February 18 Author Report Share Posted February 18 I am sorry to hear that! By writing emails to Support, it was clear they were not happy at all to proceed with a refund - luckily in this case I had the seller's original pics. It is absurd to think every time to take pictures at every step of the unboxing process, but probably it is just as you say, the more proof the better. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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