I bought my 79003 An Unexpected Gathering set over a week ago from eBay.co.uk, and finally it arrived today. It was packed in a black plastic wrapping (the one that resembles a trash bag).

When I grabbed the package, I immediately noticed it was squashed in the middle. Upon opening the package, I saw how bad it was.

As you can see from the pictures, the box was either folded or pressed hard in the middle, thus tearing each end of the crease open. The corners were also squashed.

I was extremely excited to receive the set, and my flame was momentarily fully doused upon removing the wrapping

+ TWIST!

When I finally got over the box, I opened it and the three plates that are not assigned to any of the bags fell out. The tan ones were fine, but the green one was bent. Bent like Detective Inspector Slater.

And FML, I've never seen a new, bent Lego in my life.

Now, I could get over the box had it not been for the bent piece. I am not really sure if it was possible for it to be bent that way during transport, could it? Mostly because it doesn't seem to be in the middle of the box, but at the edge - where the box was damaged, but not folded or whatnot.

I understand this was most likely the post offices' fault - but the seller ought to ship it in something sturdier.

What do I do? Complain to the seller? Ask for a refund? Complain to Lego about the bent part?

I hope you feel my pain since this set is mostly unavailable here where I live - and it costs me exactly 127 USD to buy it, and compared to the standard of living, it's a lot of money for me

+ TWIST!

I would first email the person you bought it off of to see if you can get some kind of compensation, at least for the shipping! After that I would send an email over to TLG and explain to them the bent piece and they might just send you a new one. Sorry you have to go through all this, but hopefully you can get it resolved and enjoy the set in it's entirety!

I would first email the person you bought it off of to see if you can get some kind of compensation, at least for the shipping! After that I would send an email over to TLG and explain to them the bent piece and they might just send you a new one. Sorry you have to go through all this, but hopefully you can get it resolved and enjoy the set in it's entirety!

I agree, you should email the person who sent it to you.

First of all, as someone who's bought and sold on eBay since 1998, most eBay sellers aren't very good at packing things. I would start by asking the seller for a partial refund. That can be negotiated. If its in a condition where you really aren't happy with it, I'd go the refund route. EBay and PayPal in fhe USA are very buyer oriented so you shouldn't have a problem. I always give the seller the opportunity of correcting his poor packaging mistake before I take any action through ebay or PayPal. I don't think Lego has a dog in this fight (so to speak) as it appears as if this could have been avoided with some bubble wrap and a larger box. When I bought the corner cafe, the seller simply wrapped the original Lego box in brown paper, wrote my address on it and mailed it. Fortunately, it arrived in okay condition. As a last resort, you could throw yourself at the mercy of Lego and see if they'd help you out in the name of excellent customer service.

For those who value the Lego box, you should always request ( and prepare to pay a little more) for the seller to put the lego box wrapped in bubble wrap into a larger box. I was very lucky the corner cafe and its box didnt wind up looking like your unexpected gathering.

The seller refunded my shipping costs. The bent plate isn't making much of a problem under the weight of the entire thing, but I'm still bummed about the box tho :s

To be honest I think the seller is getting off the hook a little bit easy this way. Lego boxes are made from relatively thin cardboard, which makes it quite obvious that they cannot be mailed with only some thin layer of protection around it. It was his/her risk that the box and its contents could be damaged by mailing it this way. Though the real value is in the box, at the price you paid you could at least expect the box to arrive complete and without damages. Merely restituting the mailing costs feels just a bit too easy.

I'm sitting here waiting for FedEx to deliver one box containing an assembled Lego Taj Mahal, the original box and manuals. An ebay purchase. I'll let you know how it goes. I should receive it within the next few hours if the tracking info is accurate, and it usually is with FedEx.

Hey! What a crime to package anything in such a manner. I would send it back.

Joe

@jfbat: You think so? Yeah, it was badly packed - but the guy said he would advise his shipping department to pack in sturdier containers from now on. And since I got the shipping amount back, I can buy myself a new box.

@TomLego: Good luck, hope you don't share the same faith, it really took away like 50% of my initial excitement.

@Joe: Cba with that actually since this is my first time dealing with refunds, I'm glad it went as it did :))

Edited August 2, 201311 yr by gryffindorcommonroom

Got the Taj Mahal. It took an oversized box and bubble wrap. I knew the lego box was a little rough, but it didn't sustain any additional damage. Since I paid a bunch of money for this complete retired Lego product, I went ahead and paid $90 US for shipping and packaging. It was sent via FedEx second day and was a very large box ---25 inches on each side--- so that also added to the cost. I have reassembled the Taj Mahal and there was no damage and all of the pieces are accounted for. It only took an hour and forty five minutes since the packaging was so good and organized. I gave the eBay seller very detailed instructions and agreed to pay his actual cost of following my instructions. Not all eBay sellers listen, thank goodness this one did! BTW, on the original Lego box he put packaging on the inside, old newspapers, so it wouldn't be as likely to get squashed.

I think as long as there is any damaged LEGO, you can request replacement parts. They may ask for proof of purchase, but typically will work with you (if it is in stock). With that set, more than likely they should have pieces to replace.

As far as the box goes, that is a bummer. I love collecting my boxes because of the artwork. Granted, I never look at them again. They are just stacked against the wall beside a heavy tote. It sticks out about a foot and includes dozens upon dozens of sets from the last few years. But the damaged boxes end up getting recycled, so not a huge deal.The only time I ever received a damaged box was actually from Shop at Home. All of the other online purchases were fine. Granted, I haven't bought any sets from eBay before, only minifigures.

I think others have covered the suggestions re how to deal with the seller.

I thought I would just jump on and mention that those 8x16 Green plates can be bought direct from the Lego store, if you did feel strongly enough to get a replacement.

This I believe is the part name to type in for Pick a Brick: (provided I counted the studs correctly, you can double check they have the correct color available)

Plate 8x16

Edited August 3, 201311 yr by Alternator

Cheers for all the comments; @Tom, glad yours arrived safe and sound.

I've already built the set, and the bent plate is fine under the weight of the entire build - so it's ok. What can you do, I'll ask for the next set to be packaged and sent in a sturdier extra box :)