OT - I #*$&ing HATE UPS!!

[Justin Havu]

So, my PC88 was delivered yesterday and to my surprise (not really, this IS indeed UPS after all) the box was crunched in on one side. I pull the keyboard out of the box, and find this...

 

http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k193/justinhavu/kurzweil%20PC88.jpg

 

Not to mention Guitar Center forgot to ship the power supply (I should be getting that on Monday) so there's no real way to test it out.

 

I opened up the PC88 to see what damage, if any, was on the inside. Sure enough, the cheek block for the wheels was completely broken off, so it's just sitting loose right now, and 5 or 6 of the hammers, although not broken, were disconnected from the keybed assembly. Those were an easy fix as I just snapped them back into place. The action on this one is quite playable, but I'll know for sure once the power supply gets here.

 

I filed a claim with UPS, but I'm having second thoughts because if this keyboard works, I may just keep it, and see if I can replace the end cap and the cheek block for the wheels, and it'll be good as new.

[burningbusch]

I don't see how this is your responsibility. GC hired UPS to ship the package. GC packaged it up and signed the forms. How well the product was packaged is a big deal in determining claim and/or whether it will sustain damage. I would notify GC of the situation and demand a refund. Show them photos and let them deal with the claim.

 

I had a pair of NS10Ms I sold to Def Jam Studios in NYC. They were stolen off the back of a UPS truck. Def Jam notified me they never received the monitors. As soon as UPS admitted the monitors were stolen I reimbursed the studio even though it was a few weeks before I received the check. As the shipper, I had to deal with the claim not the buyer.

 

GC sold you a keyboard in that was supposed to arrive in a certain condition and it did not. It's their problem. You may also just pursue with them a discount for the damage as you stated.

 

Busch.

[ElmerJFudd]

Bugger, what did Guitar Center ship it in? Maybe should have bought a case too and asked them to ship it in the case. New boards ship in virgin packing material that holds up better to UPS's TLC.

 

More on topic. What Busch said. They shipped it. Send it back, let GC file the claim.

[burningbusch]

Don't ship it back until the claim is settled or you're told to do so. He shouldn't have to pay to do that nor deal with the inconvenience. Just make it GC's problem. Shipping it before the claim is settled just complicates things.

 

Busch.

[Justin Havu]

It came from one of the stores in California. I called them up and they told me to just take it back to the closest one to me and get a refund. They shipped it in a box a couple inches bigger all around, than the PC88. They wrapped the PC88 in large bubble wrap, then just filled it halfway with packing peanuts (hate those things.) I guarantee if it were shipped in a bigger box and filled all the way with packing peanuts (along with the bubble wrap) it probably would've been fine. When I got my K2000 from GC it showed up in a box for a Williams digital piano, filled to the top with packing peanuts, and the keyboard was wrapped in two to three layers of large bubble wrap. When I inspected that 'board, it was in pristine condition, other than a couple of minor scuffs on the bottom, which I was more than fine with as it was a used keyboard.

 

Like I said, I still don't know if it works yet, so I'll wait until the power supply gets here, then power it up, and if everything works on it (keys, sliders, buttons, etc) I'll probably keep it and replace the end caps and the cheek block for the wheels. If I were to bring it back, I don't know what the chances of finding another PC88 for $300. It probably would've been a great deal if it weren't damaged in shipping.

[RABid]

I would not keep it. That looks like it took a pretty big hit. You don't know what might be loose or just on the verge of going bad.

[Doerfler]

I would not keep it. That looks like it took a pretty big hit. You don't know what might be loose or just on the verge of going bad.

 

It was dropped for sure, possibly more than once.

[Justin Havu]

Really the only serious damage was on the left side of the keyboard, the only things that came totally loose were the ribbon cable for the display, and the PC board for the wheels, which I can easily bolt back onto the assembly. Everything else looked fine after closer inspection.

[ElmerJFudd]

Pain in the arse regardless. Like opening your present, seeing it's coal, you throw it on the ground in a fit of rage, everyone laughs at you and in the end you still have to clean it up. @$#!&$@ Just like that, exactly like that... Ok, live in the present... Forget the past...

[JoJoB3]

UPS is inept (overall). I've seen better care taken by ebay sellers in comparison.

[Justin Havu]

Agreed. I bought two Hotspot monitors through the 'bay for $50 apiece. Both were shipped through FedEx, and packed very well.

[Delaware Dave]

PC88 parts are extremely hard to find. If it ends up being problematic, you are most likely screwed. I'd send it back.

[Danny Linguini]

Really the only serious damage was on the left side of the keyboard, the only things that came totally loose were the ribbon cable for the display, and the PC board for the wheels, which I can easily bolt back onto the assembly. Everything else looked fine after closer inspection.

That's just the stuff you can see. All these fine electronicals don't need anything more than a microscopic gap where there shouldn't be one to not work. A hit hard enough to loosen a ribbon cable and dislodge a circuit board could do all kinds of other unseen damage. I would absolutely not want to keep it.

 

BTW, I'm also having my own issue with UPS and GC right now, though I'm not all that fond of FedEx either. I think they all go to the same school as airline baggage handlers.

[16251]

I changed the endcaps a few times when I owned a PC88. Brings back some wonderful memories.

[Joe Muscara]

I've had just about every shipping company screw up something at some point. FedEx Ground did this to me a few years ago. (See the pics for the short version)

[rickzjamm]

Send it back!!!!!

[Justin Havu]

Here's my quandary--I have to play at a Christian conference a week from now. If I send it back now, and get the $300 back, the chances of finding another PC88 for the same price, and it getting delivered in time are slim to none. For this gig, and pretty much everything I do, I strongly prefer the PC88 over anything else. It sounds great, is easy to use, and matches up with my 2nd board (K2000) nicely, in that using the MIDI setups on the PC88, I can set up layers/splits using both the internal sounds of the PC88 and the K2000 together. I would personally rather use my own gear than borrow what the church has (S90 and Electro 4D) as I won't have time to organize the sounds I need for the conference, nor will I really have time to familiarize myself with these boards.

[Raymb1]

There's no quandary there. You should never accept damaged goods, period! You almost sound like you want to keep the damaged kybrd.

[Justin Havu]

The quandary is if I sent it back, I wouldn't be able to get ahold of another one in time. The other thing is I don't want to send it back without its power supply, which I'm still waiting on. It should arrive Monday.

[theGman]

Sorry to hear of the problem; I am in the ceramic tile (really fragile) business and for me at least I would say 90% of any damages are caused by poor packing. I use UPS and FedEx.

FWIW, probably not much...

[Bigmc]

I concur with Raymb1 .

As soon as you see the carton or packaging is damaged you should unpack the item in front of the delivery driver and if its damaged refuse delivery.

[xKnuckles]

Can't you borrow something for the conference - maybe keep it simple and just use piano or other basic sounds. Accepting a damaged keyboard is asking for trouble. What if you plug it in and it doesn't work at all? Even if I had the power supply I would not plug it in in this condition, just in case. I would take it straight back like the guitar centre has advised - without the power supply. They can sort that out later. It is rotten luck and frustrating but imagine how much worse you will feel if you decide to keep it and then experience further problems in the future.,

 

[JoJoB3]

Well, he's saying it was $300 and another at that price isn't likely.

Test it out, if it works fine file a claim w ups to have it repaired (or...duct tape).

[brenner13]

I've kept my EX5 that got slightly damaged in shipping, however it was only cosmetic (the little plastic end pieces on the back) and it was to be heavily gigged in a soft case (I know...just asking for trouble). It has held up very well, luckily.

 

I found an SY55 at a GC several years ago. They told me it had actually be run-over in transit by the shipping company. Many keys were obliterated and the pitch/mod wheels dangled lifelessly. The back and all the connections appeard to be fine. They still had the price at two C's. I negotiated it away for a Jackson without even powering it up, thinking it would supply parts and some fun just dinking around with the circuit boards. However hooking it all up to test once at home, was blown away by all the Vangelis-like presets that oozed from the thing. No smoke or funny smells after a couple hours of testing. It functions as a wonderful module to this day...really fattens up any layered sound if just a tad dated and genre-specific.

 

Yamaha sure made some durable electronics in the 90's.

 

Good luck with your Kurzy. Hope it holds together for you.

[Justin Havu]

GC has a PC88MX for $400, $100 more than what I paid for mine. Wondering if I should bring the old one back if it is indeed non-functioning and see if they'll send me the MX in exchange, hoping that they do a better packing job!!

[MotiDave]

just send it back after the conference/show. there is no way I'd keep it with that level of visible external impact shock force, especially when you already easily confirmed some internal damage. latent damage can show up in a month, 3 month, 6 month, you don't know.

 

what you do know is that board was not designed to withstand that impact loading, or it would not have the obvious damage you found. there's no way to determine the degree of latent damage until it manifests in failure mode(s) later.

 

just my 2c

 

[Justin Havu]

I'm taking it back to GC tomorrow--Power supply showed up today. Sure enough, it powers up, for about 20 seconds, then the LCD starts dimming and I hear a whining sound as it's happening. After the LCD goes completely out, the entire instrument freezes for about a minute, comes back to life for 2 seconds, then freezes again. I'll bring it back tomorrow, hoping they have another one either in their store's used inventory or online that they can send me. I may have to twist their arms to make it happen, but hopefully I won't have to twist their necks... but I SO want to!!!

[Stokely]

The best thing about buying used from GC is that they take things back no questions within 30 days. Plus you don't have to ship it back, take it back locally. I had a pc361 arrive double-boxed and padded and the corner was crunched in worse than that. It must have fallen at least 4 feet or gotten whacked by something really hard.

 

When I brought it to my local GC they gave me some advice--always buy a nice case with the used board, then return the case locally (whether or not you kept the keyboard)! I mentioned that I would not have thought to do this, as it seemed kind of iffy--but the manager told me they'd rather have a new case returned than a broken keyboard.

[TechEverlasting]

Having owned a PC88 and some K2xxs I have to say that based on the picture the instrument might have not sustained any damage at all. I think those old side panels were actually made out of ceramic tile, they shatter at the drop of a hat.

 

The faux-wood side panels were a huge improvement in the PC3K series.

 

Having said that Guitar Center should have known to double-box. Unfortunately it's probably cheaper for them to give lots of refunds than to pay for proper packing materials.

 

 

[Justin Havu]

The metal frame to which the end cap attaches is dented in, also, the cheek block for the pitch/mod wheels came completely loose, as the posts to which the wheel assembly gets screwed onto have shattered, so now the PC board for the wheels is being held on by one screw, plus one of the plastic screw posts. But yeah, I'm even surprised they didn't ship it in one of those boxes for the Williams digital pianos--that's what my K2000 was shipped in, and it arrived flawless. The PC88 came in a beat-up box with a hole in the side and the bottom was crunched in. Only packing on the inside was two thin layers of bubble wrap plus a small handful of packing peanuts.