The Diecast Zone · Model Car Club Since 1994
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30/03/2016 11:26 pm
Well, it's happened once again!!! A couple of weeks ago, I ordered an AutoArt Jaguar XKR...
... and, SURPRISE, SURPRISE- it arrived almost completely destroyed! I returned it and ordered another one from a different dealer (the original dealer didn't have any more in stock). I received the new one today and GUESS WHAT!!! YEP, this one's broken too! Thankfully, the damage on this one is relatively minor; I'm sure I can just fix it and move on.
However, I just don't understand what the heck is going on with the package handlers out there! I can only assume that it involves baseball bats, hammers and/or small explosive devices!
By the way, if you have any interest whatsoever in Jaguars, I highly recommend AA's XKR! It's an absolutely BEAUTIFUL model (when it's intact, that is)!
In case AutoArt happens to be monitoring this post, though, I do NOT recommend their packaging! Window boxes are nice, sure, when you have the product in your hands and are considering a purchase, but if you're like me and don't have access to any on-site purchase points, you have to rely on mail carriers to handle the model that you've only seen in pictures on the Internet. Like me, you come to realize just how little protection the window box actually offers for the model inside! Frankly, I'm not surprised that two out of two of these models were delivered to me in a damaged state! And I guarantee you that if these beauties had been packaged in a closed box with an inner styrofoam shell, like AA used to use, neither of them would have been damaged!
31/03/2016 2:40 am
I agree with you about the packaging...........
particularly with the soaring price of the cars and the simple reality that there are very few actual retail stores that carry any but the least expensive diecast.
AA is very odd in how they choose to package their cars as some do come in 'clam shell' boxes and some don't.
There are still a number of collectors who display their cars - or at least some of them - in their boxes so the window box has great utility for them.
My choice is to display my models in display cases and store the boxes in a cool dry place away from sunlight so the window boxes do nothing for me.
Glad you were able to get the model reasonably intact on the second pass but 'damaged in transit' really should be the exception and not the rule.
31/03/2016 3:35 am
it's time for a conversation with USPS or whoever else delivers to you.
31/03/2016 4:59 am
Alan, sorry to hear this but sadly...it WILL happen again.
31/03/2016 6:06 am
when I ship....
I've actually lined the boxes with plywood.
I've had boxes arrive that look like they were harpooned by a forklift.
Marking the packages as "FRAGILE" just seem to encourage mayhem.
31/03/2016 6:07 am
Sorry to hear that, Alan...such a great looking model.
I have the regular XK & love the styling. Wouldn't mind getting one of the red XKR-S models at some point.
31/03/2016 6:23 am
I know your pain - for a while now I've getting more packages with broken items than packages that are undamaged. And when you opened them up they look like they've gone through a rock tumbler! I don't what the Post Office is doing but it sure has gotten rough!
31/03/2016 7:23 pm
SERIOUSLY!! Four out of the last five models I've received have been damaged! I'm getting...
... pretty tired of it!
31/03/2016 7:30 pm
I agree, Richard! Every one of the damaged packages I've received...
... lately have been marked "fragile."
I also received a box recently that looked like it had been harpooned, but in my case, the culprit looked to be closer to the size of a broomstick. The model box inside had an identical hole, but fortunately, the model itself was missed completely. The dealer was also nice enough to send me another box.
31/03/2016 7:36 pm
I got the silver XKR, Gavin, and I really do love the model! I had a heck of a time...
... getting it out of the box, though. The fit was so tight that I had to open both ends of the box and push & pull at the same time on the model base. I would have just left it in the box if it hadn't been broken.
31/03/2016 7:39 pm
Yep! People just don't care about the items in the boxes and, unfortunately, the companies...
... push speed and quantity over quality. Obviously, they don't care either.
01/04/2016 1:06 am
Recently I had a brand new HP Envy computer shipped and it arrived damaged. Ordered another and while it wasn't damaged, the box was. Lucky this time I guess.
01/04/2016 1:40 pm
Yeah... I've seen some pretty bizarre things. The windshield on the model I just received...
... was intact, but completely loose from the car! I tried to fit it back in place without removing the model from the base (thinking that since it worked its way loose, it should be possible to fit it back in place) and, after trying every conceivable angle and numerous different techniques, I could not find a way to fit it back in place without removing it from the base. Yet, it supposedly worked loose on its own, without any intelligent assistance! Go figure!