DIYbanter - View Single Post

wrote:

"He shipped 245 packages, of which 50 contained rejects. Out of the
50, suppose 3 call UPS. That's about 1% of the volume
the vender shipped that week. The vender increased his profit by
$1470, but will UPS investigate? "

He ships 50 units that don't work and you expect only 3 will result in
a damage claim to UPS? You whole original post was centered on this
being a UPS scam, based on the shipment being labled fragile and that
the vendor took other steps to strongly suggest these items could be
easily damaged in shipping. For that scam to work, UPS must pay off on
a shipping claim. And if a vendor sends out 50 defective parts, I
would expect there to be pretty close to 50 claims against UPS or 50
credit card claims against the vendor, not a mere 3 claims. 47
consumers sure as hell aren't going to just eat this. Did you?

I nearly did. It looked perfect coming out of the package. A few
seconds later, I looked in my hand and it was in pieces. I thought
it must have been my fault.

Imagine this. You find this dealer's helpful website after your
HVAC company didn't return your call. When the box arrives, you
are surprised to see several FRAGILE tags because there was no such
indication on the webside. Naturally, you examine the ignitor.

As you install it, you suddenly see that it's broken. Then you
find the warning tucked away where it wasn't visible when you
opened the box. It says the dealer's inspection proved it was not
defective when shipped. This implies that your inspection proved
it was okay when it arrived.

It warns against touching the "gray glass part." It says ignitors
are FRAGILE and the dealer has broken a few himself. In that case,
it must be very delicate, and you assume you broke it by touching
it.

If you saw the warning in time to avoid touching it, the first
indication of trouble may come after the ignitor is installed. It
would take a bomb-disposal expert to install it without the
slightest mechanical shock. If you believe the filament is
extremely delicate, it may appear that the damage occurred during installation.

If not for my particular circumstances, I probably would have paid
for the broken one and a new one.

1. I was "lucky" in that it broke as soon as I picked it up, and I
had been gentle.

2. I had needed a 10x magnifier to find the break in the old one
even though electricity had blown it open and left a white deposit.
I knew my inspection would not have revealed hairline cracks.

3. I had twisted and pried the old filament for several days,
trying to examine the broken ends. I would have been glad to break
it, but it stood up to the abuse. The material was definitely not
glass. It's known for its strength and resistance to thermal
shock. Like a glass coke bottle or a sealed-beam headlamp,it could
be called fragile but not delicate. Picking it up should not have
harmed it.

Otherwise, I would accepted the loss as mine. It's easy for me to
imagine that few customers would have called UPS.