Rare Rotel RX-2002 Receiver Pummeled by the USPS

Tower Boss

Super Member

• Mar 31, 2009

• #1

Hello Folks,

Well I finally was able to acquire the Rotel RX-2002 to go along with my RX-2001. It was a Silver Faced version, and I say was since it was trashed en route to me through the USPS Parcel Post System. It came yesterday along with the Dynatron I had been waiting for as well. When I saw the condition of the box and foam bits stuck to the tape I grabbed my camera and documented the horror of its demise!

The seller also did not prepare it to ship from Florida to me in Washington very well. Granted it was protected by foam around the perimeter, but it was so loosely packed, that the receiver had plenty of room to move around on its journey. No wrapping at all on the unit either, as there is foam bits in the tuning dial and interior.

Here is a picture of how it looked at the time of sale.

How it was packaged

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v231/TowerBoss/Rotel/RX-2002/RotelRX-2002Damage-02.jpg

How it looks now

I had notified and sent photos of the damage to the seller. He said he was going to look into the procedures for filling a damage claim, and if it goes through, this will go bye-bye.

I would like to see if I can save it by having my Pop work some magic on the faceplate with one of his presses at his machine shop. Just for safety sake, we would scan the front incase we need to rescreen the markings on it. That might be necessary, since it looks like the anodizing is flexed around the handle attachment points.

Regards,
TB

 

WilCruiser

Active Member

• Mar 31, 2009

• #2

Bummer! A nice piece lost there.

I've lost too many items to shipping damage myself. Most recently a very nice set of B&W 802s that I've been waiting to find a deal on for about a year now. Finally found a pair... completely trashed in transit. A real heart-breaker. Don't get me started on turntables and dust covers!!

To make matters worse, I've found most shippers really don't know how to pack either. Most of the claims processes are a PITA in my experience and they always seem to start by saying it wasn't packed right. Sometimes they're right. Seller always has the leverage in the claim process though since they hired the shipper.

I've gotten to the point that I won't buy anything even remotely heavy unless it has original packing. Even then it's a crap-shoot.

Good luck with the claim.

 

240sx4u

Lunatic Member

• Mar 31, 2009

• #3

Ugh, it won't be covered by the shipper because it is single boxed... Looks like that thing has been through hell though.

Sorry dude, that sucks.

 

vegabass25

Awesome AK member.

• Mar 31, 2009

• #4

damn! does it work?

 

Tower Boss

Super Member

• Mar 31, 2009

• #5

Hello Folks,

I knew this was going to get difficult once I had contacted the seller and got the feeling I was to be initiating a claim against the carrier. When I saw how it was packed, I also knew that the carrier was going to scoff at any claim submitted and be off the hook on this one.

This seller only offered to ship Parcel Post and I had an uneasy feeling its whole trip to me. I usually have control on the shipping method for most my purchases from afar and always pay a premium to have the items professionally packed.

Now I have to decide how to proceed, send it back and get my money back or see if I can salvage it. Of course, this all depends on if it still is operational. I have not tried to power it up yet, and if its toast it will be going back to Florida.

If it works, this might be a candidate for ideas I have toyed around with my Pop on faceplate restoration. He has some nice high-end 5-Axis CNC Mills and Waterjets in his shop. I have a few pieces I had thought about refinishing the faceplates on, but never got around to it. He is currently fabricating a side rail for my G-33000 and re-anodizing all knobs and trim for me. I sent him the same photos of the damage I posted here and he thinks it can be easily fixed in a padded press. The only thing I have to do is get the dang handles and plate off.

I am still going to seek reimbursement for the damages from the seller either way and have already broached this topic with them.

Regards,
TB

 

hifi_nut

Vintage? I´m vintage!

• Mar 31, 2009

• #6

Tower Boss said:

I sent him the same photos of the damage I posted here and he thinks it can be easily fixed in a padded press. The only thing I have to do is get the dang handles and plate off.

I am still going to seek reimbursement for the damages from the seller either way and have already broached this topic with them.

Regards,
TB[/SIZE][/FONT]

Click to expand...

I believe that´s what I would do, too, considering you´re very lucky to have a father with access to such excellent machinery.

That is one great looking and great sounding Receiver. I own th RT-2100 tuner from that same line-up and can´t speak highly enough of it.

 

AltecDarpa

King of carrot flowers

• Mar 31, 2009

• #7

ouch! I feel your pain, hope you can salvage this, would be shame for it to be sent back and have someone scrap it.

 

wajobu

Boing Boom Tschak

• Mar 31, 2009

• #8

Sorry to see this, but with some careful work, I bet that this could be fixed.

 

Rome

Holsum Honey Buns

• Apr 1, 2009

• #9

hifi_nut said:

I believe that´s what I would do, too, considering you´re very lucky to have a father with access to such excellent machinery.

Click to expand...

Sorry to see what happened to a beautiful piece of audio equip due to just a lack of caring. Be ever thankful you still have your dad with you & can help you in some way TB! :yes:

Hope all works out for you.
Rome

 

Tower Boss

Super Member

• Apr 1, 2009

• #10

Hello Folks,

Just an update as I guess I am going to proceed with trying to salvage this piece and prevent its scrapping.

Amazingly, I put her on my variac and it powered up fine. Everything works and the handles prevented any damage to the controls. I was fearful that the studs had gotten bent, but the faceplate came off with out a hitch.

One thing that has bothered me is in inspecting it further is that the handles have quite a significant mark on them. If you look at the box and the foam that was in place, I do not see how these received that type of mark on them. I am inclined to think that maybe this was dropped during its packaging and shipped off this way. Maybe not, but just an observation of mine.

Yes, I am very lucky to have a talented Pop. He has been an Aerospace Machinist since the mid 60’s. He worked on the most all the NASA projects through ’77, including the Apollo missions. I think he should be able to get it back to like new condition. If this works, I plan to dabble in restoring some others with mishap blemishes. Who knows, it might be fun, as my Pop has been looking for a hobby as he heads into retirement.

Regards,
TB

 

andy

Super Member

• Apr 3, 2009

• #11

Don't bother filing a claim with the post office. I had a package lost by them about a year ago, and it took over 6 months (and many phone calls) for me to get a check for about half the insured value. I never by post office insurance now because it's very expensive, and they don't honor it, even in an open and shut case like a lost package.

 

SoCal Sam

Lunatic Member

• Apr 6, 2009

• #12

That packing job is becoming typical of ebay. I hope you get the cosmetics right on the Rotel.

 

cableguy

In Twang We Trust

• Apr 8, 2009

• #13

Thank the shipper for a shit packing job....:thumbsdn:
Half of the battle with successful shipping of gear is......knowing beforehand that UPS/FedEx/Usps/Bob & Fred's parcel post are going to trash the boxes...pack accordingly.

 

Last edited: Apr 8, 2009

vintaggeman

Well-Known Member

• Apr 8, 2009

• #14

sorry to hear that t boss, this sucks! i had a couple of receivers destroyed by lacking of care and and packing for both sellers and ups. just last week i got another vintage
piece trashed! i' giving up on the bay.

 

Bubbamike

Well-Known Member

• Jan 26, 2011

• #15

I hate to resurect a dead thread but I wondered how this all came out. I'd love to hear that all was well.

 

rifftrax

mix-meister

• Jan 26, 2011

• #16

Why in the world would the seller ship that massive thing parcel post?? That's about 1.5x the expense of opening a free Fedex account and shipping it fedex ground. That would have been an IMMEDIATE warning sign that the shipper has no clue what they are doing. With items like that I make sure I have a written agreement via ebay's correspondence about how the item will be packed before I even send payment so that I don't have to file a claim as it is always in both people's interest to get it right.

Oh wow, this was an old thread, geez. LOL