This could all end in tears!!!

It could, but maybe it won't, and then what? 😕 It's a risk, but you know what? There's not much to lose. At the very worst, it's a complete crock (or is after shipping), and I'm out £77. That'd hurt, but it's not the end of the world. At best, I've bought a completely working TT for £77, and just need to save up for the retip. There's no available disaster scenario, so the tears would be short and not too bitter, and then I can turn the platter into one of those fancy clocks 😁 I'm a terrible one for rolling the dice.

Just had a moment of clarity; my return journey from Norwich in a couple of weeks time will take me 30 miles from the seller's door. I can pick up the TT, and a) avoid the tender mercies of the Royal Mail, and b) ensure that it meets his description, and tell him to sling his hook if it doesn't. I'm picking up my 1202 on that trip as well, it'll be turntabletastic!

My son collects every deck we buy after our experiences with so called packaging.

One deck was wrapped in the sports page........and nothing else! In another, the platter had lifted off the centre and sliced both arms off at the carriage!

One wrap of small bubble seems to be the norm and no internal packing with the platter left in place. They seem to think that tightening one of the transit screws must be adequate.

Wankers!!

So here's where you can help me out; what would you recommend I do with each of these decks to protect them in the back of my car (actually a tiny van - a Daihatsu Hijet.) I habitually wrap more delicate things in sleeping bags to cushion them and keep them still, but it seems like there's probably a good few more steps I'd need to take here, right?

SamWise72 wrote:

So here's where you can help me out; what would you recommend I do with each of these decks to protect them in the back of my car (actually a tiny van - a Daihatsu Hijet.) I habitually wrap more delicate things in sleeping bags to cushion them and keep them still, but it seems like there's probably a good few more steps I'd need to take here, right?

In the back of a van you need to take the platter off and store it in the sleeping bag or similar.

Tighten all 3 transit screws.

Place a piece of sponge/ rolled up bubble wrap/ piece of polystyrene packing under both arms to prevent the arms bouncing around.

Sit the deck on padding such as sleeping bag.

That should be adequate if you are not going to turn the deck upside down!

Thanks Graham. Where are the packing screws found, and are they obvious? And I assume all the same applied to the 1202, except for the word "both"in regard to arms?

SamWise72 wrote:

Thanks Graham. Where are the packing screws found, and are they obvious? And I assume all the same applied to the 1202, except for the word "both"in regard to arms?

Sorry, I don't know much about radial decks having only ever thrown them in the skip!!

I am a tangential man.

The transit screws are to be found underneath and there are three of them.

Don't turn the deck over, slide each side over the edge of a worktop or table and tighten each one in turn.

So......the seller of the BG3000 has not responded to any messages suggesting pickup times, or asking any other questions. It's been 6 days now, so I'm giving him til I need to go out this afternoon, and then I'm opening a dispute. I half expect it to turn up through the post, even though I asked for local pickup, and if so, I hope it's well packed. Would you really sell something like that and then not check your email?

Better news. It appears the seller switched to a Mac, and none of his replies to eBay messages were getting through. He hadn't entrusted the deck to Royal Mail, and pickup is arranged. Also, it does have a cartridge, only with a worn stylus, so I can get it sorted by Axel. Looking forward to meeting it, and assessing whether that's all it needs.