Acceptable amount of damage to sealed LEGO Technic boxes?

[zoo]

Hey people!

 

I've been lurking around a bit but today I felt I had a good enough reason to sign up to this lovely forum. :)

So, I just took delivery of two copies of the 42053 set. The packaging wasn't the greatest and both boxes have quite a lot of damage on almost all corners as well as some other marks. I have no idea if the damage was caused by the postal services, the store I ordered from or even before that.

I realy wanted at least one of the boxes for display but sadly, they are both equaly damaged. I'm trying to figure out if I should return them or not and thought you guys could help me decide. :)

How much damage to the original, sealed box do you tolerate when buying new sets? Did you ever open up a damaged box to find damaged pieces and/or instruction manuals inside? Are some Technic sets more fragile than others?

 

Cheers,

zoo

Edited November 25, 2017 by zoo

[Aventador2004]

I think I would return one, that is terrible to have both damaged.

My worst box:

This was how I got it, not from me.

[BusterHaus]

If you are keeping one or both of these sets for resale in the future then damaged boxes reduce their value.  You see sets on Bricklink marked with "shelf ware" and they are less expensive than mint condition sets.

If you are a collector and wish to display the boxes, then damage is probably not desired (I throw away my boxes, so maybe someone else can chime in here).

Lego stores sell sets with damaged boxes at full price, but they realize that the value of the set is lower, so they make it up by giving you points that can be applied for future purchases at the Lego store or on their website.

You can ask for a discount or return them, as you paid for full quality and got less than that.

Edited November 25, 2017 by BusterHaus
spelling

[M_longer]

For me, damage problem starts when bags are falling from inside the box ;)

[dr_spock]

If you're a box collector, any damage would be too much. I'd go to physical store to buy if I want a good box.  There is less chance of mail guy going postal and doing a slam dunk with it.  My worst box was from Toys'R'Us who just slapped a shipping label on the 8274 box. 

 

[zoo]

Just now, Aventador2004 said:

I think I would return one, that is terrible to have both damaged.

My worst box:

Ouch, mine looks like mint compared to that hehe. Did you keep that one or not?

 

Just now, BusterHaus said:

If you are a collector and wish to display the boxes, then damage is probably not desired (I throw away my boxes, so maybe someone else can chime in here).

Lego stores sell sets with damaged boxes at full price, but they realize that the value of the set is lower, so they make it up by giving you points that can be applied for future purchases at the Lego store or on their website.

Mostly, I just like my new and shiny to be just that. I like to keep the original boxes of stuff I buy and with LEGO I'm thinking of putting some of them up for display. I don't think I'll ever resell these sets. Good thing about the extra points in LEGO stores, I did not know that.

[Aventador2004]

Just now, zoo said:

Ouch, mine looks like mint compared to that hehe. Did you keep that one or not?

I took that picture when I posted it a few minutes ago, so it is still here.

I think it was for a birthday, but got thrown aside... Hard...

[zoo]

22 minutes ago, M_longer said:

For me, damage problem starts when bags are falling from inside the box ;)

Hehe, I think you would get along just fine with the people who sent me my pair of 42053s. :)

16 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

If you're a box collector, any damage would be too much. I'd go to physical store to buy if I want a good box.  There is less chance of mail guy going postal and doing a slam dunk with it.  My worst box was from Toys'R'Us who just slapped a shipping label on the 8274 box. 

 

I might do that if I return these. This set seem to be going out of production very soon though so it might be hard to find a physical store with more than one box to choose from.

In this day and age sending something without at least a cardboard box around it is pretty much like asking for trouble with the postal service. If the package even arrives at all. My two technic boxes were wraped with one layer of boublewrap and thin paper around it. I feel offended by their arrogancy. I didn't even get enough packaging material to be able to return the order without adding my own cardboard.

Edited November 25, 2017 by zoo

[zoo]

20 hours ago, LvdH said:

I'd say if you plan on reselling the set, return it for a better condition. But if you're going to build it, don't worry about if because you will need to open it anyways.

Mostly, I'm worried that the content of the boxes is somehow damaged as a result of the rough handling. I don't want to find my instructions and stickers all folded up when I open the boxes.

I have now been offered 20% compensation for the damaged goods if I decide not to return the wares. This means I will pretty much pay for one 42053 and get one free if I compare my price with what the LEGO online store sell the set for. The only concern I have is that I don't want to find damaged pieces when I open up my boxes.

Should I be worried or not?

[kbalage]

I had severely damaged boxes due to poor handling but never had issues with the content, I think that compensation is fair enough.

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

I'd say that if anything at all (instructions books and stickers included) is damaged, there's a problem.

Once, I got a 42038, and both the booklets were bent several times right in the middle and a sticker was stuck to one of the books. Not at all pleasant.

Edited November 26, 2017 by BrickbyBrickTechnic