Fossil Claw Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 (edited) A bad eBay story turns into a story of a great deal and a new friend. I recently bought a Woolly Rhino jaw from overseas. The seller thought it was a good idea to wrap it in just a small amount of bubble wrap and ship it halfway around the world in a plastic envelope and . Yep, you know where this is going. The jaw of course was damaged in shipping. (click to see full size) (click to see full size) At this point i am really upset. It feels a lot like when you are a kid at Christmas. You hope your parents got you that BB gun pistol you had your eye one for months and you open the package and its tube socks. I contact the seller to complain about his very poor packing job. The seller gives me two choices send it back for a full refund or keep it and get a big partial refund for my trouble. One nice thing about EBay is that dealers live and die by their Ebay rating so most dealers go out of their way to resolve complaints. I now have some have some thinking to do. I sleep on it, clean up the jaw. Once I wiped it down and clean it, the jaw still looks good. If it had been posted for sale at the price I paid, in this exact same condition and I did not know it was damaged in shipping, I likely would have bought it at the same price. Cooler heads prevale and while it's not in as good of shape as it was before they packed it poorly, it is still a very nice jaw at an even better price due to the damage in shipping. (click to see full size) (click to see full size) At this point I am not as upset and decide to jump on the deal and keep the jaw. At the end of the day, I have a jaw that still looks great with 5 teeth in it. I can always decide to repair it later. After the discount the jaw only set me back $75 including shipping. Which is a great deal for a rhino jaw with 5 teeth in this condition. I guess at the end of the day his poor packing job is my great deal. I decided to take it as a learning experience and at least learn to glue the broken fragments back on to the jaw. I reachout to a couple local members to see if anyone knows where I might get a small amount of Butvar 76. As you all know buying this stuff is like shopping at Sam's Club or Costco, if you need a large quantity it is easy to come by. If you need a small amount for a repair, good luck. Member jgcox is nice enough to imediately invite me over and gives me some to do the repairs. He also gives me a tour of his prep workshop in his garage and his awesome collection of trilobites and Eurypterus that he found and prepped. He is truely talented at bug prep. Good outcome #2 from the incident. I make a new friend. I can't wait to spend some more time I the workshop! Lemonade made from lemons! Butvar in hand i decide to at least glue the peices back on. (click to see full size) (click to see full size) Doesn't look too bad but not as nice as what i would like. Now to the big question to myself is do I add a new obsession to my fossil obsession and head down the road to learning restoration. I have to decide if its worth the trouble to learn to crack fill, paint and color match, and learn to coat fossils with Butvar. Stay tuned as I decide. For now it looks better than it did when i opened the package and I have a nice display piece. It is funny to say this, but at the end of the day, I look back and I am actually really happy the idiot though bubble wrap and a plastic envelope was the proper way to pack fragile fossil! For now it takes a place in one of my display cabinets, repaired but not restored. (click to see full size) (click to see full size) Edited August 15, 2015 by Fossil Claw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Could you attach the photos to your post? The Gallery link is keeping the images tiny. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caldigger Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Dang John, I was about to add that same comment. Mr. Claw, it looks as if you got yourself a great deal. I have seen pieces of what you got with maybe one or two teeth still intact go for more than what you paid. You got a nice display item, enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 I snatched this one full-sized from the gallery: "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fossil Claw Posted August 15, 2015 Author Share Posted August 15, 2015 Last 2 pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspex Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 ...in all it's paleo-glory! Thanks! "There has been an alarming increase in the number of things I know nothing about." - Ashleigh Ellwood Brilliant “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” - Thomas Henry Huxley >Paleontology is an evolving science. >May your wonders never cease! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordTrilobite Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Nice! Olof Moleman AKA Lord Trilobite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fossilized6s Posted August 15, 2015 Share Posted August 15, 2015 Looks great! Good job. ~Charlie~ "There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why.....i dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" ~RFK ->Get your Mosasaur print ->How to spot a fake Trilobite ->How to identify a CONCRETION from a DINOSAUR EGG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnJ Posted August 16, 2015 Share Posted August 16, 2015 Nice work. The human mind has the ability to believe anything is true. - JJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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