Sciencemadness Discussion Board - Ebay and Packaging

Ebay and Packaging

aga - 23-3-2018 at 12:59

Got some glass measuring cylinders from China (ebay).

I really wish they'd package things a bit better - spot the odd-one-out.

mtubes.jpg - 40kB

Do i just fix the 50ml one or moan to the seller on the other side of the planet, then wait a month to get another one, possibly in the same condition ?

szuko03 - 23-3-2018 at 13:04

Go to Ebay returns and start a return for a refund due to a broken item, upload the picture. Odds are the Chinese dude isnt going to want to pay for the return so you may be able to get a partial refund and keep the item. Or just let the return expire and eBay will force their hand.

You got it on eBay use their buyer protection program. You dont even need to speak to the seller just go to "return this item" under the order details, select "arrived broken" and you want a refund and upload the pictures... worst case you win and ebay wants you to return it. If your considering keeping it, this may be a way to get 5-10 dollars for the issue.

coalminecanary - 23-3-2018 at 13:05

Buying from eBay is always a gamble. The only vendor that has consistently delivered non-broken glassware has been deschem due to his immaculate packing.
These things are so damn cheap, that the vendor will probably reship without even seeing a photo of the damage, at which point you'll probably receive a new broken shipment, but hopefully this time it's not the 50 mL one that's broken.

Such is life when you're working with glass and incompetence.

aga - 23-3-2018 at 13:21

Meh.

I's a bit of a waste of lifetime (theirs and mine) to go and make a claim, especially considering the vast distance this poor thing endured, and the very low prices.

ben0315 (or something like that) always packaged things really well.

I'll let them know it arrived broken, then fix it.

Thanks for the comments.

Sulaiman - 23-3-2018 at 13:32

I've bought glassware from China via eBay many times,
eBay is very heavily biased towards the buyer - you can lose a little time, but not money.
I used to contact the seller direct to sort things out but now I just photograph any problems and immediately raise a 'return this item' claim.
Results vary from discount to re-send to full refund, they have never asked me to return items as the cost of return postage from UK is so high, and the seller has to pay the return postage costs.
I believe (but do not know) that the packaging is poor mainly due to the cheap p&p and insurance.

violet sin - 23-3-2018 at 13:59

I'm ALWAYS having problems with Chinese sellers on eBay. I order a multitude of normally tiny packages ( electrons components). Late, missing, damaged are common. Less common is a listing for 2x something what arrives in a single part. Sometimes the listing has been updated as such; some will forget it was 2x and go see the new listing what says single.

But they are almost always easily handled by a few screen shots. I don't even bother eBay untill the seller thinks he is getting away with something. Many things are discounted and ya, you loose some time, but its not money( stated previously). if you want to get a project done fast with reliable parts... Buy domestic. For me Dr.Bob packs things well indeed.

Jus wanted to add, it's a long way for those packages to travel. I don't begrudge the sellers for sending a package. Unless they fail the attitude test of course. The same thing could happen to a family members parcel right? It's unfortunate timing wise, but rarely a headache.

[Edited on 23-3-2018 by violet sin]

Melgar - 23-3-2018 at 14:00

I got a full refund from deschem, when I bought his "stainless steel" joint clamps and they were actually just chrome-plated carbon steel. Can't let shit like that slide.

aga - 23-3-2018 at 14:05

It was only £8.49 for the 5 glass measuring cylinders, free postage.

It seems a bit churlish to moan about 1 being broken, yet fixable.

With 1,155 buys/sells on Ebay it isn't as if i don't know what to expect.

woelen - 23-3-2018 at 15:05

I ordered quite a few things from China, both electronics and element samples (in glass ampoules). I had a few broken items and things always were arranged satisfactorily with the seller. Just let them know, make a picture and send it to them. Nearly always the seller does some proposal which is fine or even interesting.

Most interesting for me was when I purchased a nice sample of oxide-free lithium metal in a glass ampoule. The ampoule had a very thin crack, but it was visible. The Li metal still looked OK, but I made a picture anyway. I received a new ampoule and I could keep the other broken ampoule. I used that lithium for experiments and the new ampoule was fine and is used as element sample.

JJay - 23-3-2018 at 17:11

Deschem very rarely ships anything broken; the one time I got a broken item from Deschem (it sat in customs for a full six weeks too), I was reimbursed before it even arrived, and I didn't have to raise an issue. Most of the Chinese sellers are equally willing to issue a refund for broken items. For the ones who try to cut an unfavorable deal, raise an issue *and* leave negative feedback.

Oh and one time I bought something from Getty and they replaced it *twice* and the refund period expired, and they still shipped me an unbroken item, but I'd be very careful with that with most sellers other than the reputable ones like Nanshin/Reacware/Getty/Deschem/etc....

[Edited on 24-3-2018 by JJay]

Melgar - 23-3-2018 at 18:38

The thing is, they know exactly how shitty their service can be in order to keep their prices low and still make money. If nobody calls them out it, they'll just start cutting more corners and being more dishonest in product descriptions until they finally do get called out on it. I like to think of complaining and getting a refund as giving them valuable feedback in exchange for money.

metalresearcher - 24-3-2018 at 01:07

I rarely had problems.
Glassware from China never arrived broken.
The only 'incident' I had, was Fe3O4 wrapped in a plastic box which leaked, so some the black powder spilled on the floor, but I could remove it. It was from a UK seller.

Sulaiman - 24-3-2018 at 01:34

In my opinion (eBay) Chinese packaging is marginal/optimal.
Almost all of my glassware has arrived intact,
the few that have not are remembered more vividly.
Domestic UK packaging is random;
I've received inert substances packaged as if they were neurotoxins,
and concentrated acids in 1l hdpe bottles rolling around in an otherwise empty semi-crushed oversized cardboard box !
(I am in favour of minimal packaging material usage, for environmental reasons)
(I dread to think how many trees/day are required for Amazon packaging)
So far no spills.
The one thing that Chinese packaging is not designed to survive was my previous postman,
a Neanderthal who seemed to believe that any size package can be squeezed through a letterbox slot,
the new postwoman is much better.

Bert - 24-3-2018 at 05:59

Nanshin glass bought through eBay has come unbroken and very competently packed. Sufficient bubble wrap around glass, items were nested to prevent movement inside outer foam package. Styrofoam box was completely enveloped in plastic packing tape, no cardboard outer pack. I am using the last one (which had contained the two 1000ml RB heavy wall flasks) for for an ice bath.

Other Chinese suppliers are highly variable both in packing and product quality/accurate descriptions on eBay, the old Chinese attitude of "quality control is the buyer's responsibility" lives on in some. I now take the.time to look at feedback and product reviews/ratings, have been severely disappointed when buying a 0 reviews product and/or from low transactions suppliers.

Amazon has been truly idiotic in their packing practices at times. Delicate item in a minimal manufacturer's cardboard box, dropped in an oversized but thin wall Amazon cardboard box, a token, ridiculously small section of inflated poly packing material tossed on loose. The box was like a giant maraca, and easily crushed. Still arguing with them about an expensive night vision device that didn't like this treatment.

Last couple of Amazon orders HAVE been packed a bit better, the bubble wrap was even taped around the inner box, rather than thrown in loose. They still don't bother to fill the oversized box to prevent movement inside as they should, though.

DavidJR - 24-3-2018 at 06:04

Quote: Originally posted by Bert

Amazon has been truly idiotic in their packing practices at times. Delicate item in a minimal manufacturer's cardboard box, dropped in an oversized but thin wall Amazon cardboard box, a token, ridiculously small section of inflated poly packing material tossed on loose. The box was like a giant maraca, and easily crushed. Still arguing with them about an expensive night vision device that didn't like this treatment.

Last couple of Amazon orders HAVE been packed a bit better, the bubble wrap was even taped around the inner box, rather than thrown in loose. They still don't bother to fill the oversized box to prevent movement inside as they should, though.

I bought glass vials from Amazon recently, and they were not packed particularly well. They just slapped a courier label on the manufacturer's packaging, which was basically just in coroplast trays, shrinkwrapped, and then put in a cardboard box. No padding etc. Only 1 out of 500 was broken though.

[Edited on 24-3-2018 by DavidJR]

violet sin - 24-3-2018 at 09:24

Just received a fist sized wad of bubble in a non bubble bag, for 10 SIPO shift register IC's. They are in the autofeed tape reel packaging, and tiny. This seemed a bit overkill but SOOO much nicer than many packages.

May not look like it but the padding is almost 1" thick.

------------

My least favorite from abroad was something like ~20g selenium fine powder in two ziplocks laid all flat in a cardboard/paper only envelope. Bad idea, dangerous to postal employees

Worst from domestic, was antiquated bottle of yellow mercury iodide... EVERYWHERE inside parcel and I got to breath some... Seller was super nice and just had NO idea...

sodium_stearate - 24-3-2018 at 10:05

Quote: Originally posted by violet sin

Just received a fist sized wad of bubble in a non bubble bag, for 10 SIPO shift register IC's.

A few months ago I did some experimenting with using
chinese sellers of electronic parts.

Got a perfectly good shipment of (10) XR-2206 function
generator ics. Tested each of them and they work great.
So I ordered (15) more of them so I could have a full
anti-static tube of (25) of them on hand as spares.

The order for the (15) pieces was completely defective.
Every one of those ics had shorted outputs.
Got a full refund from Paypal and managed to leave
negative feedback for the chinese seller who tried to
pawn off the junk.

Got several emails from that seller trying to get me to
change my feedback. Last communication from the seller
indicated that they would be sending out (15) good working
ICs. I told them that only after receiving the properly working
ICs, would I consider altering the feedback.

Nothing ever arrived.

Other chinese electronics packages showed up with
things that test good, such as (100) mosfet transistors.

Also picked up a drive sprocket for my Stihl chainsaw from
China on ebay for $5 that normally costs upward of $20
if purchased locally. That one showed up fine and works fine.

So, using chinese sellers on ebay is in my opinion a gamble.
But when they try to screw you, all you need to do is
let ebay or paypal know, and you get all your money
back very quickly.

Yep, it's kind of a bunch of nonsense to go through to save
some money. But if one does not mind playing that game
then some money can be saved.

aga - 25-3-2018 at 11:13

Who nicked my glass cutting tool ?

Had to use a steel file then heat/cool and crack.

Sub-optimal result.

hmm.jpg - 40kB

Deformed 45ml measuring cylinder after heating the 'cut' edges and forming a spout.

sodium_stearate - 25-3-2018 at 11:31

Quote: Originally posted by aga

Sub-optimal result.
Deformed 45ml measuring cylinder after heating the 'cut' edges and forming a spout.

Still beats a peanut butter jar with a graduated label
taped on...

aga - 25-3-2018 at 12:33

I dunno.

If it works and is free, and there is plentiful supply in the bins, sounds good to me !

BromicAcid - 18-12-2018 at 13:20

Start an eBay case. Look at it from the sellers end, they probably think that their packaging configuration will yield X number of issues and that is acceptable. They don't know that there is an issue until people start opening cases against them.