Reply 20 of 37, by creepingnet
- Rank
- Oldbie
Back in 2005 before moving I sold 2 computers I really did not want to sell via E-bay because I needed to pay up to replace the transmission in my Truck as it blew a week before leaving.....a Compaq Deskpro 386, but the kicker was the Micro Configurations Corporation 0A XT clone that I sold....which also had a shit sandwhich GETTING it to my house about 2 years earlier...
(2 years before)
I "won" the PC on an E-bay auction for about $35.00 (total about $49.00 incl shipping) and it shipped to me and took about 2 weeks to arrive. When it did arrive, I had a UPS guy carrying it up to my house in a broken box filled with foam packing peanuts - leaking all over our front lawn - and held together by 2 plastic straps.
Between 2003 and 2005 - I upgraded that computer considerably, adding a 2nd Hard Disk, a Adlib card, a EGA card, IBM Model "F" 83 Key keyboard, Serial mouse, and IBM 5153 CRT Monitor. When it came time to sell it, I sold it as a complete, working setup. Here it is.....
(March 2005 - Sold on E-bay for more than I paid for it, with monitor, mouse, and keyboard......)
Let me just say, Fuck You UPS! You bring me this thing in a box that looks like you hit it with your truck, then I ship it out, packed in multiple boxes of the right size, wrapped in bubble wrap, and EVERYTHING, in it's own box, properly packed to hell and back, got destroyed - EVERYTHING....I'm not even going to look at the pictures again, it made my heart sink and still does to this day. To this day I really try as I might to avoid using UPS as a courier for any computer item or product that is high dollar or that I care about for this reason.
CPU case was bent where the flip-top hinges were, drives were flung out of their slots, faceplates for the hard drives were ripped of (irreplaceable), the hard disks were for sure toast, it looks like it got some rust too - what The FUCK did UPS do to this thing!?!?!? Recipient said it would not POST, so who knows if they damaged any cards or the motherboard in transit too (starts getting mad).....
And the United Parcel Smashers must have also done one HELL of a number on an IMMACULATE IBM 5153 CGA RGB Monitor - I mean that monitor was slike brand fucking new when I shipped it out. Now it was broken open, I can't remember if the CRT was damaged or not (neck of tube broken off?), but I remember the user saying he was scrapping it because it was hazardous and useless.....Useless Penis Shippers!!!
Not even the IBM Model F Keyboard survived - just what the FUCK were these guys doing with the hardware I shipped? Playing racketball with it? Did the UPS truck get a flat tire and they figured an XT Clone would make a good tire chock!?!? I refunded the guy his money and wrote quite a nasty rant about it on Vintage Computer Forums at the time. This paired with FedEx leaving the case that is now my 486 on the elderly lady's doorsteup up the street for about a week before I figured out those idiots can't read really fueled my hatred. It made shipping the IBM EduQuest I sold afterward in a KDS monitor box with enough wrapping to protect a newborn baby in transit at 60Mph up a rocky incline in a rock crawler truck through USPS harrowing until it arrived to it's new owner - unscathed.
God, I don't miss selling computers via E-bay. heck, even the recent upgrades with me receiving parts through E-bay has me in worry because I still get the occasional mess-up by United Parcel Smashers, Federal Executioners and Dummies Handling Logistics messing things up every so often. This is why I support my local PC recycler businesses more often now - at least from RE-PC or PC Recycle, I don't need to fear some postage handler throwing a rare and expensive Beige case around like a helium filled balloon and then delivering it to the bratty stoner teenagers downstairs.
~The Creeping Network~
My Youtube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/creepingnet
Creepingnet's World - https://creepingnet.neocities.org/
The Creeping Network Repo - https://www.geocities.ws/creepingnet2019/