OUCH! Painful damage to a purchase while in transit

[scooter729]

I should start by saying I'm not pointing fingers for the blame or anything, but just venting about how painful this is to see.

Early in the November pickups thread, I posted how excited I was to acquire a 6-foot long panoramic picture of the 1910 Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators teams. The picture looked gorgeous and I couldn't wait to receive it.

Unfortunately I did receive it this week, and was horrified. The glass had shattered in transit, and the damage unfortunately went right through to the picture. A big portion of the picture ripped, with numerous other smaller areas of damage. I painfully had to refuse the shipment (it was opened in the presence of FedEx, as the broken glass obviously could be heard in the box), and I trust the auction house will do the right thing here.

I just wanted to share my pain with those who would understand....

[bbcard1]

a lot of auction houses will not ship with glass for that very reason. sorry about your issue.

[tcdyess]

What a shame, such a beautiful piece.

[yanks12025]

Couldn't you have asked for a partial refund from the auction house or something.

[deebro041]

Sorry for your loss. I understand that can be truly heart breaking!!:(

[scooter729]

Couldn't you have asked for a partial refund from the auction house or something.

When I first opened the package and saw some damage, I thought about trying to keep it and possibly negotiating a partial refund. But when I saw how extensive the damage was, I just decided it would be best to just send it back, as much as I liked it.

[JimH5]

Very sad.

I have had some large art pieces shipped in corporate moves, and the moving companies often hire specialty contractors to build crates to accommodate large glass.

Or, if the glass is nothing special, they won't ship, and have you buy new custom glass on the other end.

[Runscott]

Oh man, that sux. Very sorry to see this. As much as the auction houses charge for shipping and insurance, I'm sure you're completely covered.

[sox1903wschamp]

Crap....sorry Scott. This has happened to me but on something far less expensive.

[doug.goodman]

That is exactly why I try to get framed items unframed and shipped in a mailing tube by the seller. And, when I ship large flat items, I roll them in a tube.

I had a similar experience once, although my damaged item (a police gazette cover) was not nearly as cool as yours was, and I hope to never have it happen to me again.

When shipping glass in frames, it helps to cover the glass with tape.

Very sad,
Doug

[thecatspajamas]

I've been lucky so far with the few framed items I've received. I try not to ship in frames whenever possible. Not only is there more of a danger of this happening, but it also makes the shipping much more expensive (what with the larger box and additional padding required).

I have noticed that the couple of framed lots I've gotten from Hunt Auctions had something like those plastic cling tops intended for sealing dishes in the refrigerator stuck to the glass (same idea as the tape, but more easily removable).

I can't even imaging trying to safely pack a 6' long frame, but then I suppose the custom framing job would be pretty pricey too. It's just a shame that it was a 100-year-old item that took the hit, as I'm sure you would have rather had the photo than the refund.

[Jay Wolt]

The glass had shattered in transit, and the damage unfortunately went right through to the picture. A big portion of the picture ripped,

Scott, That stinks!
Nothing like having high expectations when you're waiting for your lot to arrive.
Only to have you're hear sink when you open it.
Everyone loses....you, the auction house and the hobby as this great piece's beauty is shot.

[thekingofclout]

I should start by saying I'm not pointing fingers for the blame or anything, but just venting about how painful this is to see.

Early in the November pickups thread, I posted how excited I was to acquire a 6-foot long panoramic picture of the 1910 Boston Red Sox and Washington Senators teams. The picture looked gorgeous and I couldn't wait to receive it.

Unfortunately I did receive it this week, and was horrified. The glass had shattered in transit, and the damage unfortunately went right through to the picture. A big portion of the picture ripped, with numerous other smaller areas of damage. I painfully had to refuse the shipment (it was opened in the presence of FedEx, as the broken glass obviously could be heard in the box), and I trust the auction house will do the right thing here.

I just wanted to share my pain with those who would understand....

Jeez Scott. Seeing those photos made me want to vomit. I mean it. The whole story has made me sick to my stomach. Not only have you lost this magnificent photograph, Baseball has lost an historic artifact.

So sorry this happened to you Scott. Sincerely, Jimmy

[scooter729]

Thanks guys - appreciate the comments. I have no idea if a professional restorer can work some magic with this one, but with some luck that might be the case, and who knows, maybe I can try to own it again if that happens!

But for now, it was best to just marked it "RTS" and return it to the sender.

[carrigansghost]

Sorry, That photo really WAS a great piece. Still I hopoe everything turns out financially for you on this deal. I've shipped mirrors all over the country and never had one break.

Rawn

[dell webb]

I know your pain. I took me years of searching to find a nice circa 1909 Brunswick Balke Collender billiard experts of the world poster at a reasonable price. I finally found a beautiful one which sold in a 3 piece lot in a rare books auction. I was able to get the lot for next to nothing since the items were poorly advertised and in the wrong type of auction. Since the auction was far from home, I had to jump through many hoops to get approved to bid and secure a phone line. I talked to their local UPS store(an auction house recommended shipper) many times both prior to and after the auction closed in an attempt to get a shipping quote. Since I received nothing but a "we will get back with you" for 2 weeks I ended up hiring an art services company for way too much money to handle the shipping. They were located several blocks from the auction house so I figured that it would take a day or two at most to pick up my items. It took them about 3 weeks to finally collect the items and crate them up for shipping. Well, I was so concerned that they completed their mission that I somehow failed to check with them that the items were insured for real value. Honestly, since I have never had a shipping problem and since they were professional art shippers I didn't think it was a big deal. The crate finally arrived and sure enough the first thing that I saw as I began to disassemble the crate was glass. To shorten the story: jumped through many hoops with Fedex who was the carrier and received $625 for damages. The picture was devalued in my opinion about $2500.

Before and after pictures

[ruth-gehrig]

Yes very sorry to hear about this!

[Runscott]

I know your pain. I took me years of searching to find a nice circa 1909 Brunswick Balke Collender billiard experts of the world poster at a reasonable price. ...

There are just TOO many of these stories :(

I also collect billiard items, so I understand how you must have felt - that is a tough piece to pick up affordably. I've never owned it - had to settle for Harpers woodcuts instead :)

I also collect Edward Curtis items. I picked up a gorgeous large photogravure called 'In the Badlands' for about $300 on ebay, and figured for that price I would be getting a copy. Instead, the postman handed me a miserably small package - a piece of cardboard wrapped around the framed piece and taped, and the 'clinking glass' sound was unmistakeable. I did not know a single piece of glass could end up in so many shards. It was real, and a piece of history was totally destroyed :( The glass shards had completely defaced the gravure - unrepairable.