TALE OF XMAS TRAGEDY

[Retropin]

Oh this aint good...

My mate wanted his first pinball machine, so he comes round to play a few of mine and get a feel for different eras... finally settles on wanting an SS machine. There wasnt much around in his price range which suprised me as he was willing to go to $1500... surely a working SS game can be sought for that price... seems not.
We went to a local dealer, but deal offered had nothing in it for us so we gave it a miss.

Finally a tidy BALLY FUTURE SPA comes up on Ebay... he rings me and asks my opinion..... my reply was that its a game you either love or hate... some say its a slow game, but its a wide body and in my opinion they are all a bit slower due to the extra area to cover..../ BUT!!!!! If it can be snagged for under $1000 ill say go for it cos youll lose nothing on resell should you decide its a snoozer ( also has his perrogative.... early SS... preferrably BALLY... has drop targets).

This guy had it shipped from Melb and was chomping at the bit to get his hands on it. Transport company were a little strange with him i thought... delay in dropping at his door.. require over 24hrs notice before he can pick up from depot.


He picked it up today, and i get a phone call.... "Whats a backglass for FUTURE SPA worth and can i get one?"


Couldnt believe it... BG broken... howd it happen???

Turns out there was no padding between header and cabinet

I get another call later...

"it gets worse Gav... there are no keys... seller said he would include them. but they are not here"

Well he doesnt need them for the backglass removal does he?

Apparently, a small package was loose on the pallette and it was open... it contains the bolts for header and legs... no keys?


Honestly, this guy is so disappointed and im really feeling for him.

We talk some more... the whole of the top of the header is smashed and hanging off
Cabinet corner is in pieces.
Backglass GONE
Keys nowhere.
For some reason seller insured this $1000 machine for $300!!! WTF??????

Transport company dont want to know... its not their fault they say as they ( and get this)... they SUBCONTRACT out all the transport!!!! FAR OUT??? How the frig does that work???? Cors they are responsible... they took the money to transport.. how they f**k it up is completely their call... holy cow!


The machine has obviously been dropped off a forklift and roled onto the header... this normally happens when f**kwits fly around corners cos they are so friggin good at driving the things.


Poor guy.. has room for ONE machine... cant even resell this to recoup his money... seller insures for way too little to save on shipping costs.... shipping Co are totally incompetant.... BTW... they are ALLIED EXPRESS.... be careful with your machines and this company.




SO...... anyone have a FUTURE SPA backglass to sell???

I can fix the rest for him

[Boots]

Can you get the $300?
The backglass is a big portion of the machine value especially if its a hard to get one.
Will the insurance write it off and let him buy it back as "spare parts"?
I think a lot of the companies sub out to Allied Express, I know Transdirect do, they would all share it around depending on where the delivery destination is.

Good luck with the fix-up

[Homepin]

Nasty stuff - am I right to assume I know who this buyer is Gav?

[tonyt]

Not a good introduction to pinball. Sounds like everything that could go wrong has gone wrong with transport. I would be taking up the issue with the transport company, especially if the seller has photos of the machine before shipment etc.

Wish I could help out with a backglass. Picked up a Future Spa this week for a project later on down the track. Unfortunately the backglass is completely shot though on the game I have.

[Retropin]

Nasty stuff - am I right to assume I know who this buyer is Gav?

Yes mate... you know him

[pinballowner]

http://brisbane.gumtree.com.au/c-Stuff-for-Sale-other-stuff-for-sale-Two-Pinball-Machines-W0QQAdIdZ244414276

[Strangeways]

Sounds like the seller didn't pack the machine for shipping properly - Which is standard practice if sold privately.

I think the shipping company need a phone call from Consumer Affairs or similar. They are happy to take your money but as soon as something happens, they won't claim responsibility. Clearly, somewhere along the lines, they have damaged the machine.

This really is disappointing for this time of year and it is not a true indication of the hobby. I hope your friend does not lose faith. Still, I've VERY surprised that a dealer in QLD does not have a reconditioned SS for under $1500 ?

Ironically, I USED to have TWO Future Spa backglasses. One "exploded" in my hands - but it was really shot anyway.

[ajlaird]

Shocking story - I would definitely be attempting to put more pressure on the transport company as it is almost certain they have damaged it.

[Pintoxicated]

Fark, that stuff usually happens to me.  Sorry to hear the bad news.  I'd be trying to make a phone call to the insurance company involved and ask for a claim form - it might be worth a shot.  It will depend on how much the excess is as well but it would be good to get something back to go towards a replacement backglass.

Gives me shivers now Gav thinking of what I need to get to you somehow although the packing will be a fair bit better than what was under your mate's backglass.

[Boots]

Gives me shivers now Gav thinking of what I need to get to you somehow although the packing will be a fair bit better than what was under your mate's backglass.

I wouldn't be transporting any machine with the backglass in the head - packing or not.
I recently bought one from Melbourne and the bloke I got it off packed it in a 16mm mdf box padded with bubble wrap and as far as I am concerned it is the only way to guarantee its safe arrival.
Still when you've got some cowboy driving a forktruck there's plenty of other machine damage that can happen, unless you strap it securely to a pallet.

[Retropin]

Fark, that stuff usually happens to me.  Sorry to hear the bad news.  I'd be trying to make a phone call to the insurance company involved and ask for a claim form - it might be worth a shot.  It will depend on how much the excess is as well but it would be good to get something back to go towards a replacement backglass.

Gives me shivers now Gav thinking of what I need to get to you somehow although the packing will be a fair bit better than what was under your mate's backglass.

Will all be good mate... i use a courier company for backglasses and so far they have been absolutely brilliant... so long as box is labelled correctly.. all will be good


Reminds me... we must organise this soon!

[FirePower]

I feel really sorry for the poor buyer - we all know the excitement of getting a machine - and this was his first .... at least you can help him a bit Retro.

Like others have said, I'd be chatting to Consumer affairs about the transport company  - they clearly stuffed it and can't walk away as they claim, that's there first response.  Put complaint and claim to transport co in writing reasonably to document you are trying to resolve with them in a calm professional respectful way and when they do nothing up the ante to CA.   I guess it's CA from the state it was dispatched from?  Get pictures for evidence and maybe hopefully the seller has some of it as dispatched.  I take it the seller was private?

For pins in Q I've not purchased whole machines from him but I have heard nothing but good things about Tony from the Pinballshed. 

[Strangeways]

I've sent countless SS and EM machines interstate. These are the games most at risk because the head is detachable and the glass is silkscreened. A DMD has a backglass with a translite and the head folds over protecting bath. Rare to hear of broken DMD backglasses. but if they do, it would be cheap to replace the glass. Not so for an EM/SS.

The transport company need to take care of the shipment, that's why the machine should be clearly labelled. This reduces the risk - however, accidents can happen (as is the case here).

Shipping nightmares can be sourced back to the seller IF the game is not packed correctly. Something as simple as forgetting to lock the backglass into the head can be an issue. My method of "mummifying" a machine reduced the risks, and it costs stuff all for piece of mind. Got to your local bike store and grab an empty bike box. Sometimes they are SUPER thick cardboard. Fold this around the head and tape with packing tape. Wrap with plastic wrap and finish off with packing tape. Do the same with the body. Then place the head with the glass facing the playfield and use plastic wrap or packing tape again. Then go over the EXTIRE machine with plastic wrap AGAIN. It should take around 1 - 1 1/2 hours if done correctly. The only complaint I've ever had is that "it takes too long to unpack" !

A clumsy shipper can cause damage to the machine, but you can reduce the risks by packing the game and labelling the machine "Heavy load" / "this side up" etc.

[ddstoys]

Man what a shitty story as said I hope this doesn't put your mate off the wonderful hobby of pinball

[ktm450]

  Sad story, guy must be pissed, hopefully he can get some compensation