Lightship Relief

Has anyone encountered any problem with the Lightship Relief? We ordered one and it had to be sent back because it had some broken parts. The second one had some bent parts so it goes back too. I think things get broke after it is signed and packed back in the box. It is a really nice piece but we are wondering if we will ever get one that isn't damaged!

Judy

Hi Judy, ...Unfortunately, with all the delicate detail Harbour Lights puts into their creations, there comes a risk of damaging the piece. Every antenna, mast, flag, or freestanding tree is another opportunity for a piece to be damaged in a blink of an eye.

The styrofoam molds do a great job of protecting the piece in shipment, but then comes the time where it comes out of the box. And then, it gets even tougher to get it back into the box.

I always exercise extreme caution when handing any of my HL's or AB's. We as collectors know what can happen. Then comes the clerk at the store who thinks these pieces are indestructible....oops!

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

You are correct, Bob, about the delicate nature of some of the pieces. We haven't really had any problems in the past but this one seems especially fragile and I think the signing and repacking by others helping out might be a problem. Hopefully we'll get a good one soon. It is really a special piece to us since we have toured the lightship with the USLHS and have been awaiting this particular one.
Judy

I received my "RELIEF" last week and just opened the box yesterday. It is extremely well done! I was pleased.

No bent or broken parts on the one that I received, and it rode the rails all the way from the West Coast to the East Coast.

We can't blame Harbour Lights for any damage during a handling for signing and repacking. Once they come out of the box they seem to develop an unwillingness to return to their styrofoam shell. A little to the left,....a little to the right,....now where exactly did this little piece of support foam go,....whew!

I love the auctions for Anchor Bay Boats that state, "No original box". How the heck do they pack them with flag mast and antennas so that nothing happens to them during shipment? No matter how many "Fragile" or "This side up" signs you put on a box, somewhere along the line it is going to be tossed, bounced, or drop-kicked.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

I just received my Relief too, and it also was shipped from the west coast to the east coast, and arrived in perfect condition. Whew! it's beautiful, and I'm still admiring the detail.

I also have a horror story.

Recently, I was in a store that carries Harbour Lights as a sideline to all it's other merchandise. This was a big sale day, and the store was crowded.

Roaming around, I discovered a AB Motor Yacht Kim sitting on a shelf in its glass case gathering dust behind some other merchandise. To make this even better, it was a very low digit #!

I found the manager and asked if she would sell it to me for a lower amount (It still had a price sticker of the original amount). Seemingly glad to part with "old" merchandise, she quoted a price I couldn't refuse.

Behind the counter, five clerks busily waited on customers, and a store temp wrapped and packaged the sales. Well shame on me for not watching, which would have been difficult, and I was still basking in the thrill of my find.

Got it home and opened up the shopping bag which had been heavilly padded to protect the merchandise. The glass case had been wrapped in bubble wrap...BUT...the clerk had not secured the model. It was free to float as she wrapped the bubble stuff round & round the glass case!

Amazingly, the model wasn't shattered to bits, but the sail on the little sailboat had been cleanly severed from it's mast.

The manager apologised and explained that the person who wrapped it had been hired to help during the sale. She offered to exchange it?? or give me my money back. Since I didn't purchase it for resale, I took the money back, and I can repair, and no one will know but me...and you.

What she didn't seem to understand was that the low digit model...was irreplacable.

Judy

Since we're telling a packaging horror story, I purchased my original "Tori Dawn" Purse Seiner on eBay, from a store down south. When the package arrived, I could already hear the sounds of broken glass moving within. I carefully opened the box and tooks pictures as I did. To make a long story short, they shipped the boat right inside the glass case. The glass case was smashed and the boat was damaged badly. I immediately shipped the package back to them. Needless to say, they refunded my money with no questions asked.

:rolleyes: Bob :rolleyes:

When I went up to get my ship we went thru almost a dozen before we found one that wasn't broke or bent in some manner. It turns out that I got the only one that wasn't damaged in some way. When the piece's were badly repacked after Bill signed them. The whole shipment was returndas damanged goods. But I did get mine.

Chuck

Well, Chuch, that is discouraging but at least you got a good one finally. We're on our third one so we'll keep sending them back until we get a good one. It is really a great piece.

Judy & Bill

Exactly what part of the piece is being damaged during repacking? It would be nice to know if there is a particular area on the piece to watch out for when handling the "RELIEF".

What does Harbour Lights do with these damage returns?

Bob

The ladders are usually broken off and the cross bar of the mast is either separated from the mast or bent. Also one had the flag broken off. We have been going through St. Augustine Lighthouse and Museum since we ordered it from them when we were at the HL Regional Event. The lady there has been very nice to work with and we think it is in repacking the piece as well as the carrier. The shipping boxes arrive pretty beat up. If we can't get an undamaged signed piece we might just settle for one that has never been taken out of the box! Judy

What carrier are they using? I suppose it really doesn't matter because you can get deliveries from various carriers and experience damage.

I received a package from my dealer in Oregon last week and the tape across the top of the box was sliced from one end to the other. Plastic airbags were used and instantly deflated by the slice. Of the three boxes inside, only one box was slightly crushed. Fortunately, there was no damage to any of the pieces within. Thank God for styrofoam molds!

Bob

Hi Bob,
The carrier was UPS Ground. I have had a lot more luck with the post office. One of the problems was that in repacking the piece after the signings, the ladder, mast post, etc. were broken off and before we opened the box we could hear things rattling around in the HL box. Probably no one realized it when they repacked the ship. Well, we are still awaiting the next one and hopefully it will be in one piece? At least the St. Augustine people are very accommodating. Judy