desiv Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 OK, I know a lot of people don't like Prolines, but I have never used them. Saw a pair on e-bay for a decent BIN, so pulled the trigger. And THIS is what I recieved today: It was shipped in one of those plastic envelopes. Not wrapped in bubble wrap. Not wrapped in newspaper. Just loose in the plastic mailing envelope. The one that isn't in pieces, the fire buttons aren't right, so it's been bounced around too. Not sure if it's OK. Waiting to hear from the seller... <sigh> desiv (And this seller had 3 pairs to sell. I wonder how the other 2 were shipped and if they survived..) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Pro Lines are usually broken out of the box anyway. That's not a diss against them--you usually do have to open 'em up and work on 'em when you get 'em. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Well, I'm getting a refund and don't bother to ship them back.. So I can open the one that isn't shattered and see if it's OK... Still disappointed.. I'm betting just wrapping then in newspaper would have kept them from bashing into each other and breaking. (Course, it could have been something really heavy landed on it and that wouldn't have mattered, but I think that would have done more damage..) desiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaybird3rd Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 This kind of thing has happened to me several times, so I'm almost at the point of saying that sellers who take merchandise that is supposed to be boxed, but instead ship it inside flimsy envelopes or "bubbleopes", deserve to be hunted down and shot. How much extra trouble could it be to pack things inside a box with a proper amount of padding, instead of walking into the post office with the naked merchandise under your arm and packing it using only the flotsam you're able to scrape together inside the post office? I think some of them are just too stupid to be selling things: just the other day, I was stuck waiting on line at the post office behind someone who needed to ship something but did not have the slightest clue about how to do it; he actually needed someone to show him how to use the tape dispenser and unfold a cardboard box. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 Well, I opened the other one and little black pieces fell out. :-( I "might" be able to use the bottom of the cracked one (which is cracked, but might not be totaled) as the black pieces from the better one came from the bottom. (Pieces of came from a plastic piece that holds in one of the fire buttons and the threads that hold in the top screw) Not sure if I can separate the knob from the joystick tho, so I can swap... Anyone know if that's possible on a proline? desiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBrian Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 thats a bummer . stay away from ebay and look and ask on here, lots of helpful people on here that actually care Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinMos3 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 You can separate the knob, but it can be tough to do. A good way to repair plastic is to use the epoxy weld-sticks. JB-Weld makes a good one and there's also one named Weld-Stick or Welder (I think it's by 3M, but I don't remember). Once the stuff sets up, it's much stronger than the original plastic, so I've used it for quite a few repair projects. You can mold it to completely replace missing or broken parts if you're crafty. I've done this as well. Also, you can just use regular old clear epoxy to glue the parts together and leave a layer inside for strength. This can sometimes be strong enough depending on where the break is at. It can be messy, but again... if you're good with crafts, you can do repairs that will look good and last as long as the rest of the joystick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Cyanoacrylate super glue might work to hold the plastic bits together. I don't know about Pro Lines, but Atari paddles are notorious for plastic bits breaking inside...and those bits aren't even needed if the paddles are assembled correctly. Long story short, I see both sides of the shipping issue. As for shipping, I know why they do that stuff. By the time you purchase a box and pay for postage, you're already looking at $4 or $5 to pack and ship the item. That's assuming you have tape and bubble wrap or ghost farts lying around, which I'm sure some sellers don't. I don't wanna even get into what the buyers think. I hate having to charge $5 for a common game and paying more for the materials to pack it than the game itself is worth, but that's just how it is. Even if you ship in a bubble mailer, that's 60 cents for the mailer plus postage, so we're looking at at least $1.50 for shipping and packing. Add that to a game that's only worth $1 (like Pole Position II), and suddenly it ain't such a good deal to buy it now anymore. If you automatically ship in a box like it seems people expect, suddenly shipping jumps to $5 because of the cost of packing materials. Who's gonna pay $6 total for a loose Pole Position II? I hate it, but I'm strongly considering going to bubble mailers for anything R4 and under, and maybe even R5 and up as well. It's far cheaper to eat the cost for a busted cart than it is to pay $5 a pop to ship games out. Chances are even if it's kinda valuable, I probably paid $2 for it at Vintage Stock anyway. You bet I'd risk getting a $2 Tank Command broken in transit over that so long as the buyer knew they had a 100% money back guarantee and I would pay the return shipping for 'em. But ultimately, it's up to the buyer. If they really are waiting to pay for shipping in a box, then I'll ship items out in a box. In the mean time, if I'm listing Tank Command for $60 shipped in a bubble mailer, it comes up above the $65 shipped-in-a-box one in the item list. Mine's covered against shipping damage, eprom failure, etc., whereas the one coming in a box might have no warranty at all. However, if I wanna ship in a box automatically, now mine could be listed below the other one and I sit waiting on a sale while someone spends a ton of cash on something without a warranty at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 I can understand going cheap on the packing for inexpensive items, but they could have wrapped the prolines in paper and put them in the envelope and I have a feeling that would have saved them.... (Maybe one of them).. Same cost, but a little more effort... I'll consider gluing things together, unfortunately I'm not very crafty... Oh well... Thanx, desiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stun Runner 87 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 I've never had issues with any of my 12 proline controlers. In fact, they are my favorite Atari controlers...I like them even better than the european joypads.... Just my opinion. Never had problems, or else I'm just a lucky son of a gun...... Speaking of gun, I have issues with the atari lightgun though... They don't seem as accurate as the NES lightgun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atarifever Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 (edited) Pro Lines are usually broken out of the box anyway. That's not a diss against them--you usually do have to open 'em up and work on 'em when you get 'em. Really? I only have the two that came with my system, and they have always been fine. I shattered one, stuffed everything back in where I thought it used to be, and it's held together with electrical tape and hope, and it works fine. See this post and the one below it (the scotch tape is replaced with electrical now, as the black matches better; crazy glue was not such a hot fix). http://www.atariage....75#entry2163041 Edited February 6, 2013 by Atarifever Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thegamezmaster Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 That sucks. Guess I'm paranoid and always over pack stuff against damage in shipping. Glad you're getting a refund at least. Amazes me how some people package stuff. I've had CD games sent in bubble envlopes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiv Posted February 6, 2013 Author Share Posted February 6, 2013 (edited) Got the refund... Spent last night with glue, magnifying glasses and tweezers.. I actually got them both back together and working, at least for now. There's still a fair amount of left over bits of plastic :-(. I had to replace the 2 top screws with longer ones (what they screwed into had shattered on both...). What the bottom screw screws into is partially shattered on one of them, but enough is left to hold for now.. I haven't used them for more than a few minutes each, but the joystick and both fire buttons work. So I paypal'd back half of the refund to the seller. (They weren't very expensive, or it would probably have been less .) Hopefully, they will at least wrap things in padding of some kind next time.... It will be interesting to see how long they last.. (I'm not a crafty person, so I was amazed I got them back together..) desiv Edited February 6, 2013 by desiv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadow460 Posted February 6, 2013 Share Posted February 6, 2013 Glad you got 'em going. It's always good when someone saves classic hardware from the trash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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