Ebay PC disaster

[prehensile]

I bought a 380 quid PC from ebay for 250 pounds, and when it arrived here, i had to write the guy the letter attached, that i adjoin for your leasure.

What should i do with a GTX 260 with 3 mini-resistors missing under the GPU area??? Thank god it's only worth 60-70 pounds!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Hello there, I got the PC today... This is what i thought:

The packing was very light for a 200 pound PC full of fragile parts. the cardboard was not very sellotaped or stiff, there was about 2 inches of padding, maximum 3, and not very fixed. the padding had slipped around, there were some sponges in (thanks for that! [...he used 10 big car sponges and a patch of bubble rap for padding!...] ) but they had all fallen to one end and there was just 1 sponge to keep it padded underneath. I know i could never have sent a PC out like that to one of my purchasers, i tape up a strong cardboard with at least 4-6 inches of padding around it, big white panels with FRAGILE etc, same as they would send from a shop!!!

one of the feet had come off, another one was cracked, when i looked inside and the heavy CPU heatsink had broken free and was free to roll around inside the PC, against the GPU undersides, on the Mainboard, Etc. It seems that the Intel CPU heatsink latches are complete junk, and that it got knocked. I have some 3dfx Voodoo latches around but they are a different type.

I checked all the ceramic resistors under the GPU very carefully, 2 were obliterated, one is half attached, all 3 under the GPU and the graphics ram.

I dont have a DVI monitor with me here, so i havent checked out the output to the monitor, It looks like a pretty major bunch of resistors have broken on the GPU. Interestingly enough, if someone can solder things 0.3 mm big with a magnifying glass, AND knew the resistor values, they could fix the GPU. i certainly coudn't!

I am presuming that the only thing that doesnt work is the GPU, the motherboard looked fairly sheltered from the heatsink and i pressed on once, waited it to boot up and the HDD was responding to keys on the keyboard such as open explorer and mail, so i can tell it is getting into windows.

That was my first PC since early 2008! it was supposed to be my prezzy! the packing was hazardous!

Please say what you think.

Regards, A

[Behemoth]

To be honest mate, if it was aprivate sale you've got very little chance of getting anything out the seller, all you can do is lodge a dispute with ebay and go through that.

Nothing wrong with the e-mail you've written though mate, it's friendly, your not ranting at the seller your just stating whats wrong. Hope you get it sorted out mate

[prehensile]

Hiya, Thanks Behemoth, the seller is very nice he said he would tell off the delivery company and he offered me 50 quid which is the price of the GPU, it's only 3 resistors to solder on again, if only i could glue them! cos soldering stuff 1 mm is

I said to him 50 would be welcome and 30 could be ok too as i wasnt there to check, but the deliveryman was crazy he mistreated it, the packing was flimsy, and, it's a reminder to folk, whenever you post a PC, send the heatsink apart from the motherboard!

Thanks

[scaryjim]

... it's a reminder to folk, whenever you post a PC, send the heatsink apart from the motherboard! ...

Or make sure it's connected with something better than Intel's pushpins

[Saracen]

Or make sure it's connected with something better than Intel's pushpins

Even if you've got a supporting "X" underneath, it's still a big chunk of weight and with the "shocks" if it gets harsh treatment by a courier, the momentum puts a large strain on a motherboard. I had one PC sent for review (not on HEXUS) arrive DOA with a damaged motherboard for this reason. Mind you, it was a high-end cooler.

[scaryjim]

... with the "shocks" if it gets harsh treatment by a courier, the momentum puts a large strain on a motherboard. ...

Good point well made. Of course, adequate shock-absorbent packaging can minimise that problem, but you'll never eliminate it completely.

That said, I've moved numerous PCs around the country both as a businessman and doing house moves, and I've never once had an issue with transporting a fully built PC - and I'm not a genteel or light-handed individual I find it close to unbelievable that professional couriers and the like can take so little pride in their work that they will handle parcels *that* carelessly...

[Saracen]

....

I find it close to unbelievable that professional couriers and the like can take so little pride in their work that they will handle parcels *that* carelessly...

Maybe I've just had more courier deliveries than you, 'cos it doesn't shock me at all. Some, maybe most, are decent, but I've had some absolute cowboys.

[Tattysnuc]

Was this not insured during transit?

[Behemoth]

Maybe I've just had more courier deliveries than you, 'cos it doesn't shock me at all. Some, maybe most, are decent, but I've had some absolute cowboys.

I'm not shocked at all, I've been there when we've had deliveries of stuff come and I've seen the way in which they handle stuff in the van. Parcels that are marked "FRAGILE" just get picked up and thrown from one end of the van to the other.

It's not just one isolated incident either, they all do it. Parcel Force, Amtrak, City Link, Lynx, DHL all as bad as each other.

[GoNz0]

I'm not shocked at all, I've been there when we've had deliveries of stuff come and I've seen the way in which they handle stuff in the van. Parcels that are marked "FRAGILE" just get picked up and thrown from one end of the van to the other.

It's not just one isolated incident either, they all do it. Parcel Force, Amtrak, City Link, Lynx, DHL all as bad as each other.

i even watched argos throw my sony flash unit down the belt from upstairs, fragile seems to mean use me as a football :|

well built those sony flash units

[Behemoth]

I've seen camcorders being thrown about like rugby balls, they were boxed.

That said we don't know how the gear is treated when it leaves the factory, it probably gets worse treatment by the manufacture than it does the courrier.

[pooley]

Was this not insured during transit?

This. I would have thought it would be a must.

[Machinegun]

For that price delivery should be insured !
No other way ! In specially things from Ebay