Atari 800 Shipping Damage WARNING!

[Defender II]

http://www.ebay.com/gds/How-To-Package-and-Ship-A-Vintage-Tube-Radio-/10000000020692651/g.html

 

The last 800 I received was wrapped in one layer of thin bubble-wrap and forced into too small of box so that the box ripped at one of the seams and the seller shipped it anyway. It arrived with similar damage to the 800 above and the seller wanted me to pay return shipping for a refund.

 

One of the worst cases I have seen was two power supplies an 810 and an 800 put into a thin walled cardboard box with a few sheets of newspaper taped around the computer and drive. The power supplies pounded them like hammers throughout their travels. If the 810 and 800 had not been so well build they wouldn't have been recognizable...a jigsaw puzzle is as good of a description as any.

Careful packing can prevent so much damage, and the hassle of returns and refunds poor packing and handling causes.

After moving around the US and overseas, sending and receiving thousands of packages worldwide I have found similar packing as described in fibrewire's link prevents 99% of damage to fragile items including aging plastic and glass, even when mishandled. Some sellers just don't know and others just don't care, so I add a similar request to sellers and after over thirty years collecting I have only had one person actually complain about protecting the item I paid for. Paying more for proper packing has saved me so much time because I don't have to deal with damage claims or returns or refunds and the time spent shopping for the same item.

Avoid: crumpled or shredded paper, air bags, and used Styrofoam packaging designed for other items. The airbags lose air and the paper and bags compress, then things can move around and scrape or bang into each other. Shredded paper gets inside of everything and is a pain to clean up (place your item inside a plastic bag and seal it if you decide to take the chance). Styrofoam should only be used for the specific item it was designed for or it transfers impacts to the shipping box directly to the things you want to protect. Bubble-lopes are good for very few things because shippers try to fold them or put heavy things on top of them all of the time.

 

Use: thick corrugated cardboard, preferably double corrugated shipping boxes. All of the shipping companies I have received items from have switched their overnight and priority boxes to thin-walled cardboard and has caused trouble. Double boxing extra-fragile items is always a good idea. Plastic-wrap or zip-seal bags are good if you want to keep parts from moving or to keep packing peanut particles out of the inside of items, and can keep boxes from scratching against each other if you put them into a bundle before bubble-wrapping. The plastic-wrap can be skipped if items are thoroughly bubble-wrapped separately which is preferred. ESD rated packing is a must for electronic components and PCBs susceptible to electrostatic discharge. (Note: don't buy from sellers that lay such items on carpet or other non-ESD approved materials to take their pictures). Surrounding with 4 inches of packing peanuts and filling, but not overfilling the box prevents the items from shifting and absorb impacts to the box very well without transferring them to your items.

 

I suggest wrapping and boxing power supplies separately then putting them near the bottom of the box you use to ship everything in.

Floppy disks should be put into a separate box or they get crushed, bent, or compressed. Placing one or two between sheets of cardboard with spacers can work if done well, but if the disks get compressed they may not spin freely in your disk drive and the magnetic media may be damaged.

Buyers should take pictures of boxes and packaging before and during unpacking and if the item is very rare or expensive videotape/digitally record it. Sellers should do the same to protect against fraudulent claims.

Edited March 14, 2014 by Defender II

[The Usotsuki]

Prolly safe: Assume your package WILL be manhandled every step of the way. Better safe than sorry.

[MrMartian]

This reminds me of an episode many years ago.. We had shipped a PC from the Toronto area to a plant in Atlanta where I was installing a large piece of machinery (automotive)... When it arrived, the box rattled.. Opening it up, the case was completely intact, screws in it and everything. Opening up the PC case, *everything* inside was smashed, as if hit with a large hammer many times....

 

So, sometimes, it doesn't matter how well packed something is, someone will find a way to completely destroy it.

[Paul Westphal]

I just got an original Atari 800 shipping box with the foamies in it.....

[+Stephen]

Prolly safe: Assume your package WILL be manhandled every step of the way. Better safe than sorry.

Yeah - this asshat is pretty much the norm these days:

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[Kyle22]

Good video, that's about what happens

 

Try This: http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s16e10-insecurity

Edited March 15, 2014 by Kyle22