CMetaphor
Quadfather
Well then. I haven't had to deal with this situation in a long while, so I'm honestly asking for some advice from you guys on how to proceed.
The story: I bought a rare computer fan from ebay, expensive, but IMO worth it because it's that hard to find. Package arrived today... and the fan is badly damaged. It's 200mm fan that was shipped in a bubble envelope (of low quality, like 2mm tall bubbles at best) and it's original box Only. Nothing was done to protect the fan blades inside the original box, and the original box was completely free inside the bubble envelope that's twice it's size.
The damage: one of the eight mounting tabs has been shorn off completely, meaning the fan can only now be mounted as an intake or with 3 screws - the latter I doubt I would do, even if the rest of the fan was intact, because of possible vibrations and how wobbly 200mm fan frames are. Speaking of the frame, it's cracked completely through near the broken tab. And lastly, the frame itself has huge chunks of plastic broken off near the crack, probably more than 50% of the fan frame in that section has been broken off. It's obviously taken a big hit. However, the fan Blades seem okay, and the bearing also seems to intact. I have not turned it on yet.
So... what do I do in this situation? The seller obviously packed the fan very poorly. Even one extra later of bubble wrap, wrapped around the outside of the original box, probably would've saved it. But then again, it's obvious the damage occurred due to some incident during shipping (there is a tear in the bubble envelope in the shape of one of the fans tabs I believe, probably the one that got broken). If the package had been handled with care, or if the seller had packaged better/ added a "fragile" sticker, it would've been fine.
But now I'm stuck wondering what to do. The seller might blame the shipper, and vice versa. I don't want to get into a toxic and stress -filled game of broken telephone between them.
Other notes: Purchased on ebay, paid via paypal. Need to check if the shipment was insured, but I think it was for the default $100.
I've got lots of photos, and I guess I'll message the seller first in the morning and see what they say. I'll take any advice or suggestions you guys have in the meantime, and thanks in advance.
The story: I bought a rare computer fan from ebay, expensive, but IMO worth it because it's that hard to find. Package arrived today... and the fan is badly damaged. It's 200mm fan that was shipped in a bubble envelope (of low quality, like 2mm tall bubbles at best) and it's original box Only. Nothing was done to protect the fan blades inside the original box, and the original box was completely free inside the bubble envelope that's twice it's size.
The damage: one of the eight mounting tabs has been shorn off completely, meaning the fan can only now be mounted as an intake or with 3 screws - the latter I doubt I would do, even if the rest of the fan was intact, because of possible vibrations and how wobbly 200mm fan frames are. Speaking of the frame, it's cracked completely through near the broken tab. And lastly, the frame itself has huge chunks of plastic broken off near the crack, probably more than 50% of the fan frame in that section has been broken off. It's obviously taken a big hit. However, the fan Blades seem okay, and the bearing also seems to intact. I have not turned it on yet.
So... what do I do in this situation? The seller obviously packed the fan very poorly. Even one extra later of bubble wrap, wrapped around the outside of the original box, probably would've saved it. But then again, it's obvious the damage occurred due to some incident during shipping (there is a tear in the bubble envelope in the shape of one of the fans tabs I believe, probably the one that got broken). If the package had been handled with care, or if the seller had packaged better/ added a "fragile" sticker, it would've been fine.
But now I'm stuck wondering what to do. The seller might blame the shipper, and vice versa. I don't want to get into a toxic and stress -filled game of broken telephone between them.
Other notes: Purchased on ebay, paid via paypal. Need to check if the shipment was insured, but I think it was for the default $100.
I've got lots of photos, and I guess I'll message the seller first in the morning and see what they say. I'll take any advice or suggestions you guys have in the meantime, and thanks in advance.