Merry freaking Christmas
Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17 Comments Remember the light fixture a couple of posts ago (here) that my husband found on eBay and bought for me as a Christmas gift? Well, it arrived yesterday (in time for Christmas amazingly, and from the Netherlands!) and we went to the post office last night to pick it up. There were about 6 people in line behind us and when the box was brought out from the back room, there was a collective gasp from the 8 of us. This is the reason:
We opened the box immediately and found this:
So it looks like the box sat in some water, then got run over by a freaking freight train. Someone in the line behind us even said "OMG I'm so sorry". But I can't just blame all the morons who had to handle this box between the Netherlands and Canada. Now eBay sellers or sellers anywhere where shipping is involved, LEARN HOW TO PACK A GODDAMN BOX WOULD YA??!! This seller, as nice as he's being now that we've contacted him about my busted lamp, does not understand that he did something wrong here. If you have something that weighs next to nothing and barely fills a box, you've got to fill the box with something of substance because it will inevitably get crushed. He had my gorgeous light fixture wrapped in a bit of plastic (as you can see coming out of the box) and THAT WAS IT. No bubble wrap around the shade, no popcorn or anything else to pack in the empty space around the light. AAAGGGHHHHHH!!! I am going to try and glue the shade back together and hope that when I eventually have a place to mount this, that the cracked side of the shade can be turned where it won't be so noticeable. *SIGH* Merry freaking Christmas to me.
Reader Comments (17)
OMG! It's like Jo's floors all over again!
LOL! But my scenario is not even close to the level of catastrophe that is Jo's floors.
maybe down the line you could get your local glassblowers to fashion something for you?
Bah Humbug! I'm keeping my eyes peeled for a replacement shade over here.
b - it was plastic (that's how much damage was done to the box). I think a glass shade would be too heavy.
jo - i think the latest from the seller is that he's trying to find another shade and we'd split the cost.
Oh, my GOD!!! I"m so sorry this happened to you and to something so beautiful as this lamp. The seller is an idiot. There, I said it. Hope you can find a replacement shade.
oh man...That is horrible. Having bought things from ebay, I know your pain. People just think that the parcels are hand-delivered. They don't realize how many stops and drops and conveyor belts it goes through, etc.
Poor little lamp :(
Oh my god, I would be LIVID!!!!!
:*(
I agree with Nat. The seller is an idiot. And he should refund you or find you another shade for free.
If you glue the pieces together and the cracks are too visible you may consider filing the cracks with resin, sanding it lightly and dying it a darker shade - there is a specific aniline for plastic (soluble in alcohol and very cheap) which works very well and it's very easy to apply.
Thanks for the tip Maura!
Jeff says the seller has put in an insurance form (to investigate what happened) and is looking for another shade. If he can't find a shade he'll work out some kind of deal (on a new light fixture) and if/when he gets $ from insurance we'd split etc. etc. So he's being reasonable about it (or at least he's talking like he will be).
This happened to me with another floor lamp and the shipper was FedEx. Man, was I mad, angry and outdone. This can really mess up your day. I hope they replace it; nothing worse than this.
Argh. A travesty. I would (and do) pack something better than that to drive it in the car to the lamp shop to be fixed!
My kittens are trying to get on the laptop to say how sorry they are for you... and we're all glad you had the whole post office sympathising with you.
I'm thinking i would be ranting and raving and kicking and screaming...but somehow you have to take a deep breath, have a laugh and go find a new shade. Crapola!! Shite does have a way of happening.
Hmm, I buy and sell on ebay frequently (buy more than sell!), and have had mixed packing results. (I would have doubled boxed that shade, in addition to adding peanuts, foam or whatever).
In fact, something I sold just last week arrived broken (despite my uber good packing job--which was maybe not so good since it got broken), so I know a little about insurance.
In order to collect insurance $$ from the Post Office, he person with the package, you, needs to take the box, the broken item, and an insurance claim form (download from the internet) to a Post Office to get your money back ($$ you paid for the item only, the shipping cost is not reimbursable with insurance).
When you posted this originally, I had to go to ebay to look, and there were several lights like this listed. Maybe you can get the $$ and just buy a new one?
ps after a few heartbreaks on things arriving broken, now when I buy something fragile, I take the risk of insulting the seller and email them, begging them to pack with lots of peanuts and padding, siting other careless sellers who have broken my heart along with the item.
pps my heart aches for you, cuz that light is/was smoking hot
hi, as a designer i would love to keep the lamp without repairing or doing something with it. That would be a memorable christmas gift and you can share the story with your friends when they ask you what happened to the lamp shade.
wow, epic packing fail! hope he fixed you up for it.
jules, the seller has been working with us ever since to find a solution. he just emailed yesterday to say he found a replacement shade and is shipping it to us (hopefully well packaged!). FINGERS CROSSED THAT IT ARRIVES IN ONE FREAKING PIECE AND FITS!