The worst packing job you ever received when music equipment was shipped to you???

**Eric Swaim** · #1 07-26-2010, 05:42 PM

This is a true testament of the abuse a Peavey can take. I just got in a Peavey Nitro Bass head from Guitar Center, and it was shipped to Tennessee from Kansas City. The box was over-sized for the Peavey Nitro bass head and there was virtually no packing material in it.

The bass head was getting knocked around like a rock in a empty lunch box. The box was beaten up bad enough for the UPS man to ask me to check it out before he left to make sure all was well.

I connected it and "YES" it fired right up with no problems.

I figured the guy packing it was either made at the "boss" or just lost his endorsement with Peavey

smogg · #2 07-26-2010, 05:48 PM

that's good old GC for ya

Ka_Ve_86 · #3 07-26-2010, 05:59 PM

I had a nitrobass head once... they are very durable and
reliable they can take a beating and still fire up without a problem

poorbassist15 · #4 07-26-2010, 06:09 PM

I learned this with a T-40 and a DeltaBass head.
Peavey=nukeproof. Period.

A-Step-Towards · #5 07-26-2010, 06:18 PM

I just had an acoustic b200h head show up at my house in the original packaing which sucks just a box with some foam covers for the corners and the box was barely hanging together it had been returned obviously a few times, head was broke but new one is being shipped

Vintage-Blue · #6 07-26-2010, 06:21 PM

I once bought two new 15" Eminence speakers on eBay (from a business, not an individual). They showed up packed in the same box - an old Sears air conditioner box I believe. They had some newspaper stuffed around them and apparently were initially tied together face-to-face. Unfortunately they were tied together with 2 break-away plastic ties like are sometimes used to attached price tags. Needless to say, the ties didn't hold and the cones were shredded when they arrived!

I also have a friend who bought a really nice mint condition Gibson guitar case on eBay (the word "mint" was actually used in the description). When the fellow shipped it he just stuck a shipping label on the case and sent it. His response was that he figured it was just going to get beat up anyway so he didn't see the point in putting it in a shipping box!?!

cwop · #7 07-26-2010, 06:28 PM

I bought a used Peavey 210TX from Daddy's Junky Music.
They shipped it in a proper size box and surrounded by
packing chips. Only problem was they failed to seal off
the rear port. When it arrived I had to remove both of
ths side handles and both of the drivers in order to remove
all the foam chips. I called and found the guy that packed
it and he assured me he would not make the same mistake
on future shipments. Turned out to be a good buy for me
though...

dcr · #8 07-26-2010, 06:31 PM

Received am Eminence Delta 12LF in an oversized box. Had a bit of newspaper in it, but that was all. Speaker was intact, but I was lucky on that one.

Received a QSC RMX2450 (or RMX1850HD (I forget which) packed in an oversized box. Or rather placed in a box and taped. No packing material. Had a couple of badly-bent rack ears, holes in the box, and scratches but the amp functioned flawlessly.

dcr

Mr. Foxen · #9 07-26-2010, 06:41 PM

I buy loads of stuff on Ebay, and generally send patronising packing tips to people, even if they have sold loads of similar gear. Only bads ones I have had were a bass packed in shredded paper and poly chips that I impatiently opened at work, thinking it would be easier to bus back as a gig bagged bass than a card box, and spent my entire lunch time tidying the mess, and an amp packed in broken up poly blocks that blew poly beads everywhere when I turned it on from the fan.

waleross · #10 07-26-2010, 06:57 PM

I try to get fedx for shipping but with GC,Musicians F. and Music 123 its UPS. I received a B Stock Ampeg from Musicians F. in a box that was bashed up. The fan got banged around and didn't work . I was basically on my own with B stock so I had it re-connected at my local Samash Store. The tech said " not B stock " but maybe C or D stock ....live and learn . .

lomo · #11 07-26-2010, 06:59 PM

Just bought a mesa cab on eBay. Arrived with a bit of token newspaper and a few feet of popped bubble wrap, loose in the box. Got lucky and the cab is fine, but the seller is a moron. Previously bought an Epi 210 on TB and it arrived in a thin cardboard box with zero padding. Rattled like hell. Had to nag for several weeks after I returned it to get my refund.

blendermassacre · #12 07-26-2010, 07:02 PM

I paid for an amp to be packed by a local mom and pop shipping company. They decided that filling the box half way with the "computer approved" packing material. It ended up breaking off some of the pots etc. I wasn't too happy about it.

**bass dan** · #13 07-26-2010, 07:06 PM

Just got a yamaha bb605 shipped from washington state to south georgia. when i got the box i could shake the bass around in it. The guy had put a bit of newspaper on the top and bottom of the box and shipped the bass in a gig bag. Much to my surprise the bass was fine and even somewhat in tune.

bongomania · #14 07-26-2010, 07:17 PM

I once received a desktop mixer that was literally just wrapped in a couple of layers of brown paper. No box at all, never mind any padding. I got a full refund for that one. I also received a rackmount processor in an 18" long box. Rack gear is 19" long.

They had just bent the box to "fit". Unit was wrecked, so I got a refund on that one too.

babebambi · #15 07-26-2010, 07:31 PM

How about this
a heavy power amp
mounted in a rack with no real-end support
then just throw inside a box with
two thin pieces of Styrofoam on top and bottom.

**Eric Swaim** · #16 07-26-2010, 09:37 PM

I also received a GK 400 RB III from New York and the guy put it in a box and put a small thin piece of foam on the back side. The box fit tight, and the amp worked but I called the guy and he said he had his cousin ship it???

I also received a bass in a box with absolutely no packing supplies at all.

We do have genius people out there. I am glad they are not doctors.

Destructobot · #17 07-26-2010, 10:10 PM

I've got a story to take the cake here.

I bought a '66 Ampeg Gemini II on ebay a couple years ago from a music store in Illinois. Based on the photos, it looked to be in almost mint condition, barely a mark on it. I had been looking for one and snatched it up.

The Gemini II is a BIG amp. It's a combo, but it's a 1x15 with a somewhat oversized cab for the speaker. It's heavy, tall, and wide.

About a week after I bought it, I got a knock at the door. It was my next door neighbor, an old German guy. He said "I think I have your washing machine at my house." I was puzzled for a second, then realized it had to be the amp, mistakenly delivered to the house next door. I told him I'd be over in a couple minutes with my car (their house was about 100 yards up the road).

I pulled into his driveway and saw him ROLLING the box down his sidewalk. I leaped out of my car and screamed at him to stop. I walked over to the box and sure enough, it was a washing machine box. I grabbed it bear hug style and felt a sharp twinge of terror: the sides of the box completely caved in. It had absolutely no padding in it whatsoever. Totally freaked out at this point, I stuck the whole thing loosely in the trunk of my car with the trunk lid open and drove home at about 5mph.

When I opened it up, I found the amp had been loosely wrapped with ONE layer of bubble wrap around the middle and dropped into the box with about 7" to spare front and back and about 4" on either side. There was zero padding of any kind, just empty space.

To my outright and utter amazement, the amp had not suffered any damage at all. In fact, it actually WAS in just about mint condition, had the original blue vinyl cover, the original Sylvania and Amperex tubes, and sounded fantastic. It was perhaps the single most miraculous moment of my life, I really couldn't understand how an amp that heavy survived the trip without a scratch.

msquared · #18 07-26-2010, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babebambi

How about this
a heavy power amp
mounted in a rack with no real-end support
then just throw inside a box with
two thin pieces of Styrofoam on top and bottom.

I had that happen with an Aguilar DB359. It was shipped in a 6U rack, and the amount of torque that a 50lb amp can put on a 2U faceplate is considerable. Amazingly enough (or not - this is Aguilar after all) the amp still worked fine. When I mentioned it to him he offered to call FedEx and file a complaint. I'm still mad about it.

twinfallsbass · #19 07-26-2010, 11:35 PM

Bought an Aims VTB120 off a seller on eBay. He thought the best way to pack the amp was to wrap one layer of VERY small bubble wrap around the amp and then cram it into a box the same size of the amp. Needless to say the amp's chassis and other components were damaged during the cross country trip. Luckily TB member " timv " was able to straighten the chassis and fix the necessary broken components, now it is back in tip top shape. Good thing for the seller that he insured the amp, I got full refund for the repair and then some. If he did not insure it, I would have put a PayPal claim against him, so either way I would have gotten the money. In the end he was a pretty nice guy and honest, so now I have no complaints.

JimmyM · #20 07-26-2010, 11:52 PM

i once bought an altec speaker that the guy just threw into a box loose. it had a broken voice coil but the guy didn't believe me, so i sent it back in the same box so he could check it out and send a refund. well it got mangled on the trip back and he tried to blame it on me, and i wrote him an email saying, "ok, well it was the same box you sent it in, so how come it was ok for you to use it and not me?" i got a refund.