BanditPorkins: Looking for Input on Amazon Shipping Issue

BanditPorkins

Hello all. I recently purchased the UCS Imperial Shuttle from Amazon after recommendations from a few helpful people on this forum. My package arrived yesterday (yes!) and I noticed the box had slight damage on the corners (i.e. rubbed/scuffed with a slight bend in one corner).

I've read where people have had some shipping damage, but I'm not sure if this is enough to justify contacting Amazon. I don't plan on reselling and the contents were all in perfect condition.

Any advice?

Paperballpark

If you don't plan on reselling and the contents were all fine then I wouldn't bother. It doesn't sound bad enough to get worked up about. I got Tower Bridge the other day and one corner was slightly creased. Not ideal, but as I'll be opening and building it I'm not too bothered.

samiam391

Considering it isn't for re-sale, I wouldn't go through the enormous headache you will have to go through if you contact Amazon and want a return.. and than buy another. As long as the bricks and instructions themselves are fine, there really shouldn't be a problem here unless you want a C-10 box.

Open that box, build it, and I'm sure the site of the UCS Imperial Shuttle will ease away any stress that the box might have once caused! ;-)

Steve_J_OM

I believe what others have done (though not sure how successful they were) is photograph the damage box and send it to Amazon, requesting a partial refund. If the pieces are perfect I'd be inclined to just enjoy it - boxes in perfect condition seem hard to come by, because the box is too small for the set.

Hell, I bought mine on holidays and the box wouldn't fit into my suitcase so I had to dump the bags in loose, then fold the box in half just to fit it in because I wanted to keep it. The box isn't much good now, but that thought doesn't come near crossing my mind when I proudly look upon the completed set on display. It's a beast, just enjoy it IMO :)

rocao

samiam391 said:

Considering it isn't for re-sale, I wouldn't go through the enormous headache you will have to go through if you contact Amazon and want a return.. and than buy another. As long as the bricks and instructions themselves are fine, there really shouldn't be a problem here unless you want a C-10 box.

IMO, it isn't a whole lot of trouble. You just bring up the order and say that it was damaged and request a replacement. Since this falls under Amazon's responsibility, the return shipping label is paid for by Amazon and you can schedule a pick up or drop it off.

When box condition is important to me (and it usually is!), and I feel the damage is more than how it might have arrived from LEGO -> Amazon, I feel a return is justified. Based on your description, I'm not sure if that would be the case. I did return some Winter Toy Shops last year that had tremendous shelfwear; they looked like they had been dragged around the warehouse several times.

beegeedee

I got a small set today put in an amazon book box along with a rather large and weighty hardback - the set box was pancaked but I throw my boxes out and the set was fine. I guess it's different when you spend maybe 150-200 on a set and you do keep the boxes.

I used to work in the second hand book business and what you describe sounds like what was called bumping and rubbing which in terms of books is minor damage and doesn't detract too much from their value if desirable.

mathew

Bent corners is nothing with this set. The box is so over packed that most people receive ones that are much worse than yours. If you want you can try asking for a discount. That worked for me, but my box had large gashes and bags that had come un-sealed.

cheshirecat

beegeedee said:

sounds like what was called bumping and rubbing.

~trying hard not to say something stupid~

Renny

Rubbing is racing :)

monkeyhanger

If you end up going the replacement way, it is a huge headache, but mine was squashed and open, so I felt justified in asking. I wasn't offered a discount and it cost Amazon.it £38 to reimburse the return carriage. Would you have kept the box once built?

Renny

It might just be me but doing a return/exchange with Amazon is very easy. A couple of clicks on their site to establish what you want to do (return/exchange), you then print the prepaid shipping label, then either drop it off at a UPS store or schedule a pickup. Not sure why some people are claiming its a hassle. The replacement is shipped almost immediately.

SiE

The fact that these have EOL'd in many places may mean that you get a refund and miss out. I wouldnt bother especially as you are keeping it.

Poochy

^ And there's always a chance that the replacement would be worse :).

dougts

yeah, I have done return/exchanges with Amazon several times - no hassle at all. just a few quick mouse clicks, they send me a new one, I ship back the old on their dime. easy an simple, never have to pick up the phone, and takes me a couple minutes at most.

the last 10219 I bought from them took 3 tries to get a good box - they happily did the return/exchange both times no questions asked.

dr_teng

It sounds like really minor damage, I wouldn't bother considering the potential of getting another damaged one.

monkeyhanger

Renny: big hassle if not dealing with your domestic Amazon. For me in the UK, dealing with Amazon.it was a real chew-on, arranging return carriage at my own expense, to be reimbursed later, minus some unfavourable exchange rates as they wanted to refund me then get me to buy another (was about £11 out on the exchange rate for the unit alone) and why the hell did it have to go to Amazon.it when the parcel originated in Milton Keynes?

I hear you can pay in your local currency, accepting Amazon's own exchange rates, but haven't come across actually how to do that.

Renny

^ah okay. I have never ordered from an international Amazon so cannot speak to the return process with that.

samiam391

rocao said:

samiam391 said:

Considering it isn't for re-sale, I wouldn't go through the enormous headache you will have to go through if you contact Amazon and want a return.. and than buy another. As long as the bricks and instructions themselves are fine, there really shouldn't be a problem here unless you want a C-10 box.

IMO, it isn't a whole lot of trouble. You just bring up the order and say that it was damaged and request a replacement. Since this falls under Amazon's responsibility, the return shipping label is paid for by Amazon and you can schedule a pick up or drop it off.

When box condition is important to me (and it usually is!), and I feel the damage is more than how it might have arrived from LEGO -> Amazon, I feel a return is justified. Based on your description, I'm not sure if that would be the case. I did return some Winter Toy Shops last year that had tremendous shelfwear; they looked like they had been dragged around the warehouse several times.

Considering it isn't re-sale, and it sounds more like it was purchased to build and enjoy rather than worry about future value (with having a C-9/10) box, I'd rather just go ahead and rip open that box and build the set! Rather than wait a few weeks for Amazon to send a replacement, and you to send it back, etc..

What I term a headache, but perhaps my patience is just rather lacking when it comes to getting to build a set! ;-)

mountebank

BanditPorkins said:

I've read where people have had some shipping damage, but I'm not sure if this is enough to justify contacting Amazon. I don't plan on reselling and the contents were all in perfect condition.

What are you hoping to achieve? I'm not being sarcastic, I just don't quite get why having a pristine box which you then open is so important to you.

BanditPorkins

mountebank said:

BanditPorkins said:

I've read where people have had some shipping damage, but I'm not sure if this is enough to justify contacting Amazon. I don't plan on reselling and the contents were all in perfect condition.

What are you hoping to achieve? I'm not being sarcastic, I just don't quite get why having a pristine box which you then open is so important to you.

It's important to me because I am not going yo throw the box away.

Floridasound

I just ordered a Volvo 42030 front end loader due to the discounted price.  I cannot believe how Amazon sent it.  They simply put the shipping label on the front of the set and taped around the entire box to keep the front flap from opening.  

UNBELIEVABLE!  No outer box what so ever!

Neeedless to say it was bent and crushed all over.  Has enyone else had this unfortunate experience with Amazon???

And I thought the shippers at TLG had problems!

Recce

BanditPorkins said:

Hello all. I recently purchased the UCS Imperial Shuttle from Amazon after recommendations from a few helpful people on this forum. My package arrived yesterday (yes!) and I noticed the box had slight damage on the corners (i.e. rubbed/scuffed with a slight bend in one corner). I've read where people have had some shipping damage, but I'm not sure if this is enough to justify contacting Amazon. I don't plan on reselling and the contents were all in perfect condition. Any advice?

I wouldn't call that damage at all, more like the usual wear and tear, especially for an old set.

If you really want a perfect C10 box I suggest return this set (so they can sell it to people who wants it) and get a refund. I doubt they have replacements seeing this is an EOL set, if you're looking for replacement and they have stock, the 2nd shipment may come in a worse condition than this.

I've made hundreds of orders from Amazon over the years and shipped across the glode all the way here, most of the time the condition is as per yours or worse with slight tear and major crease lines across the box. To me that is ok given the long shipping distance, what's not ok to me is major tears or crushed boxes.

Per mentioned by others, if you don't plan to resell then just open and build it.

MaffyD

@Recce - the original post is from 3 years ago. I would hope by now that Bandit has resolved his issue with the scuff marks! @Floridasound just performed a thread resurrection... And his problem is not unique, apparently (never happened to me, by I've read similar stories)!

Recce

MaffyD said:

@Recce - the original post is from 3 years ago. I would hope by now that Bandit has resolved his issue with the scuff marks! @Floridasound just performed a thread resurrection... And his problem is not unique, apparently (never happened to me, by I've read similar stories)!

Oh, haha, I thought it was a recent thread.

TigerMoth

Floridasound said:

UNBELIEVABLE!  No outer box what so ever!

Some, maybe all, versions of Amazon ship things like sets without boxes. They do tell you about it, but it's not very obvious. The item is shown with a small warning message that the contents of the parcel may be visible, or something to that effect. There is an option, again small, to override this later in the order process.

If you think about it, it's not unbelievable, but totally acceptable for most things. If you ordered a printer, you'd expect it in the original box with labels slapped all over it.