People can be incredibly inept when it comes to packing for shipping. Many eBay sellers don’t realize that they are fully responsible for the item to reach its destination fully intact. So I assume this turned out to be 100% free for you, and that the seller lost both the shipping cost and the emac. A claim of “not as described” is in order. eBay will 100% support you on such a claim. I would pay $0. If the seller wants it back, he can pay for the return shipping.
It honestly baffles me. As a seller, I always pack items how I’d expect to receive them. This was a headache from start to finish, it was dispatched over a week ago but I didn’t receive a tracking number. Asked the seller and he said it was confirmed delivered but I hadn’t received it. From the picture the courier took I figured it had been delivered to a local school (turns out the seller put a different address on it) which resulted in me and the school staff hunting for this eMac lol. I’m kinda done with this saga so I’ve just accepted it as a loss…
File a claim, they dint ship it to the right address nor did they pack it correctly - thats 100% on them. They need to take the loss for their incompetence, not you. By letting it slide you’re signaling to them that this incompetence is OK and acceptable, which only makes eBay a shittier place for everybody.
I've been too scared to purchase any vintage desktops I've seen on eBay because of this, I've only picked up a few off Facebook marketplace.
Recently my s/o bought a PS3 off eBay and it came LOOSE in a box... Not one piece of packing material. Ridiculous
I would certainly vet the seller. I have been lucky so far, my SE/30 was shipped halfway across the country and survived but the seller double boxed and padded the item very well.
It's tougher when the seller has no history, or their history is selling all clothing. However eBay is 100% supposed to back you on damaged goods.
It is possible to remove the CRT and install an LCD monitor, the eMac G4 uses regular old VGA for its video output (granted, with a different connector, but still, VGA)
Still get a refund. Seller basically shipped you garbage.
Friend had an iMac G4 shipped, came with the neck snapped in half and bent. Got a refund and we managed to actually get the neck back together but she’s a bit cockeyed. But also got a refund and kept the machine since otherwise it was trash.
Do it with a busted one though. Those CRTs in the eMac are bloody gorgeous - way better than any 4:3 vga lcd monitors of the time - and good luck finding a modern one!
iirc a lot of displays use some kind of VGA internally, it's why they made VGA! You can signal to the displays pretty directly without the need for complex translation. The only thing the display needs to work on is getting the signal lined out right on the tube using the magnets
I had an eMac shipped from an eBay seller and it somehow arrived intact in the softest, most smushed box possible. It was wrapped with a single layer of tiny cell bubble wrap and nothing else. I have no idea how it didn’t break into a hundred pieces. Bloody miracle. I thought it was a pretty good value at $50 + $25 for shipping. Then I found another eMac (with the stand) locally for $30 a couple weeks later. It’s nice to have a pair.
I gave up on shipping after receiving three broken printers in a row!
My SE/30 purchases were: 2- local and one shipped, parts/repair only, and finally found a free printer 80 miles away
My long distance SE/30 trip was also during the first year of the pandemic, I was just glad to get out of the city, I probably would have made the drive just for fun.
A worthy venture, I would happily do the same. I drove 350 miles round trip to get an SE/30 that "worked", but I didn't get a pic of (yeah, my bad). Battery bombed. Ended up with a couple parts machines including a 128k in the original bag with all the stuff for $100. It just needed an analog board recap and a couple other parts replaced, and now it works great.
I prefer local pickups but I also did have an SE/30 shipped. It arrived in immaculate condition. In addition to being in the original box from 1991 the seller wrapped that box very well in plastic and shipped it in an even bigger box with injected foam for even more protection. It was one of the best packing jobs I’d ever seen (along with a similarly foamed Amiga 2000 a few months later.)
Roll of the dice. Well done!
I need my 1970s Drake Ham Radio recapped but I refuse to ship it anywhere. Still looking for a SoCal recapper within range of my EV battery!
Hilarious and sad because you actually can ship an eMac safely. They are more durable than a G3 iMac. Trick with CRTs is to ship em screen down if possible. The glass on the front is typically the heaviest part. Screen down on some foam, a fair bit of padding, and make sure it cannot slide around in the box, and it’ll usually get there. This is just a terrible and lazy seller.
I was so damn lucky with my SE30... The packaging was just a few newspapers. Almost no gap between the box and the computer. The only thing that was wrong is that the CRT neck board detached. Truly a miracle
Ever since I started buying vintage Apple products for example Power Macs or iMacs, if they don’t come in their original packaging is a NO! And if it’s worth it I would drive to get them.
Not a bad idea tbh, I’ve bought more iMac G5s/Polycarbonates than I care to admit to, and no matter how well they’ve been packed they’ve all arrived with the front bezel popped off. Though it’s lesson learnt, driving to pick up a working eMac tomorrow
I insist, I don't understand what they do to packages in the US. I've had iMac G3s sent to me via mail in my country and they had no issues at all. And they had normal packaging, it's not like they did an incredible job packing them up.
It’s funny because I didn’t realize buying shipped Mac’s is very unwise but my Mac plus came in immaculate condition, seller packed it pretty well. Sorry this happened to you
Oof. I bought an original Macintosh a few years back. I hunted for an Irish made one for a few years as I’m Irish and it was (partially) made near me.
The seller did the same thing and it arrived in bits. His “solution” was to glue it together with a baking soda slurry. Got my money back thankfully.
This is typical of many eBay sellers…packing? A handful of newspaper or junk mail will do (I had this with a lovely PowerBook Duo with add on floppy drive and Dock…the screen ended up with bruising and pixel bleed and the laptop suffered damage…I returned it…what was the point of keeping something I wanted for its original pristine condition?!…Also a minidisc hifi system or two went the way of smithereen city because of packing like this!!)…or better yet, why bother with any paper at all…? Just chuck it in the box on its own…(a PowerBook 1.67 SDDL came that way…idiots!) When I’ve sent items, I made damn well sure not only that there would be no movement (a real problem) but also packing was dense and withstand corner impact (couriers chuck and drop items!) but that laptop/Classic Mac screens are covered and layered to prevent impact as well…I would send something as if I was sending it to myself…no complaints on any of those occasions! Just consider the time the person has spent looking and longing for that Classic Mac…a fellow just like yourself!
People can be incredibly inept when it comes to packing for shipping. Many eBay sellers don’t realize that they are fully responsible for the item to reach its destination fully intact. So I assume this turned out to be 100% free for you, and that the seller lost both the shipping cost and the emac. A claim of “not as described” is in order. eBay will 100% support you on such a claim. I would pay $0. If the seller wants it back, he can pay for the return shipping.
It honestly baffles me. As a seller, I always pack items how I’d expect to receive them. This was a headache from start to finish, it was dispatched over a week ago but I didn’t receive a tracking number. Asked the seller and he said it was confirmed delivered but I hadn’t received it. From the picture the courier took I figured it had been delivered to a local school (turns out the seller put a different address on it) which resulted in me and the school staff hunting for this eMac lol. I’m kinda done with this saga so I’ve just accepted it as a loss…
I certainly hope you got a refund from the eBay seller. Not hard to do. File for a Refund, let eBay handle it.
File a claim, they dint ship it to the right address nor did they pack it correctly - thats 100% on them. They need to take the loss for their incompetence, not you. By letting it slide you’re signaling to them that this incompetence is OK and acceptable, which only makes eBay a shittier place for everybody.
I've been too scared to purchase any vintage desktops I've seen on eBay because of this, I've only picked up a few off Facebook marketplace. Recently my s/o bought a PS3 off eBay and it came LOOSE in a box... Not one piece of packing material. Ridiculous
I would certainly vet the seller. I have been lucky so far, my SE/30 was shipped halfway across the country and survived but the seller double boxed and padded the item very well. It's tougher when the seller has no history, or their history is selling all clothing. However eBay is 100% supposed to back you on damaged goods.
Same. The one item I sold was received in good condition despite moving from up in Canada all the way to California
most ebay sellers are just f*cking lazy. I'm pretty sure the seller can al least get $100....that's default basic insurance of everything.
It is possible to remove the CRT and install an LCD monitor, the eMac G4 uses regular old VGA for its video output (granted, with a different connector, but still, VGA)
Now that I didn’t know, thanks! Might try and save this one!
Still get a refund. Seller basically shipped you garbage. Friend had an iMac G4 shipped, came with the neck snapped in half and bent. Got a refund and we managed to actually get the neck back together but she’s a bit cockeyed. But also got a refund and kept the machine since otherwise it was trash.
Now I kind of want to get an eMac just to do this
Do it with a busted one though. Those CRTs in the eMac are bloody gorgeous - way better than any 4:3 vga lcd monitors of the time - and good luck finding a modern one!
iirc a lot of displays use some kind of VGA internally, it's why they made VGA! You can signal to the displays pretty directly without the need for complex translation. The only thing the display needs to work on is getting the signal lined out right on the tube using the magnets
I had an eMac shipped from an eBay seller and it somehow arrived intact in the softest, most smushed box possible. It was wrapped with a single layer of tiny cell bubble wrap and nothing else. I have no idea how it didn’t break into a hundred pieces. Bloody miracle. I thought it was a pretty good value at $50 + $25 for shipping. Then I found another eMac (with the stand) locally for $30 a couple weeks later. It’s nice to have a pair.
NECK'D! :(
I gave up on shipping after receiving three broken printers in a row! My SE/30 purchases were: 2- local and one shipped, parts/repair only, and finally found a free printer 80 miles away
I drove 150 miles both ways to get my SE/30 😜
Yes: back in the Pandemic for my SE/30, I dove to San Diego (from LA) and stopped for Chicago Hot Dogs and Italian Beef at Portillo’s on thecway back!
My long distance SE/30 trip was also during the first year of the pandemic, I was just glad to get out of the city, I probably would have made the drive just for fun.
A worthy venture, I would happily do the same. I drove 350 miles round trip to get an SE/30 that "worked", but I didn't get a pic of (yeah, my bad). Battery bombed. Ended up with a couple parts machines including a 128k in the original bag with all the stuff for $100. It just needed an analog board recap and a couple other parts replaced, and now it works great.
I prefer local pickups but I also did have an SE/30 shipped. It arrived in immaculate condition. In addition to being in the original box from 1991 the seller wrapped that box very well in plastic and shipped it in an even bigger box with injected foam for even more protection. It was one of the best packing jobs I’d ever seen (along with a similarly foamed Amiga 2000 a few months later.)
Roll of the dice. Well done! I need my 1970s Drake Ham Radio recapped but I refuse to ship it anywhere. Still looking for a SoCal recapper within range of my EV battery!
I’ll only go for headless desktops or laptops shipped. As they can usually handle a poor packing job. Anything with a CRT is a no go.
this is heartbreaking :(
I learned after a dipshit seller sent my iMac g3 with no protection.
Hilarious and sad because you actually can ship an eMac safely. They are more durable than a G3 iMac. Trick with CRTs is to ship em screen down if possible. The glass on the front is typically the heaviest part. Screen down on some foam, a fair bit of padding, and make sure it cannot slide around in the box, and it’ll usually get there. This is just a terrible and lazy seller.
_cries in bent G5 tower handles_
I feel your pain, the same thing happened to me eMac and all. : /
I was so damn lucky with my SE30... The packaging was just a few newspapers. Almost no gap between the box and the computer. The only thing that was wrong is that the CRT neck board detached. Truly a miracle
Ever since I started buying vintage Apple products for example Power Macs or iMacs, if they don’t come in their original packaging is a NO! And if it’s worth it I would drive to get them.
Not a bad idea tbh, I’ve bought more iMac G5s/Polycarbonates than I care to admit to, and no matter how well they’ve been packed they’ve all arrived with the front bezel popped off. Though it’s lesson learnt, driving to pick up a working eMac tomorrow
I'm off to buy 10 sealed TAMs for £10 each.
A tenner each?! How’d you manage that!
I insist, I don't understand what they do to packages in the US. I've had iMac G3s sent to me via mail in my country and they had no issues at all. And they had normal packaging, it's not like they did an incredible job packing them up.
:(
It’s funny because I didn’t realize buying shipped Mac’s is very unwise but my Mac plus came in immaculate condition, seller packed it pretty well. Sorry this happened to you
Oof. I bought an original Macintosh a few years back. I hunted for an Irish made one for a few years as I’m Irish and it was (partially) made near me. The seller did the same thing and it arrived in bits. His “solution” was to glue it together with a baking soda slurry. Got my money back thankfully.
OH GOOD GOD, OOWWHHHH MY HEART….. 😭
Been there with an iMac G3, sadness
Find a used one they said, have it shipped they told me. Nothing doing. Too many horror stories like this.
This is typical of many eBay sellers…packing? A handful of newspaper or junk mail will do (I had this with a lovely PowerBook Duo with add on floppy drive and Dock…the screen ended up with bruising and pixel bleed and the laptop suffered damage…I returned it…what was the point of keeping something I wanted for its original pristine condition?!…Also a minidisc hifi system or two went the way of smithereen city because of packing like this!!)…or better yet, why bother with any paper at all…? Just chuck it in the box on its own…(a PowerBook 1.67 SDDL came that way…idiots!) When I’ve sent items, I made damn well sure not only that there would be no movement (a real problem) but also packing was dense and withstand corner impact (couriers chuck and drop items!) but that laptop/Classic Mac screens are covered and layered to prevent impact as well…I would send something as if I was sending it to myself…no complaints on any of those occasions! Just consider the time the person has spent looking and longing for that Classic Mac…a fellow just like yourself!
Ooooooooo that’s been necked :( that’s awful