Subject:
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Re: Tired of Paying for Dirty, Discolored and Damaged LEGO
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.market.shopping
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Date:
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Thu, 18 Apr 2002 18:37:03 GMT
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Viewed:
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361 times
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Greg:
As the person that wrote this:
http://www.lugnet.com/~174/grading
I can tell you that I have certainly come across dirty, already been
chewed, bubble gum encrusted, snot caked, putty filled, milk spattered,
larvae infested, and otherwise disgusting elements in my time.
It is annoying to pay, then wait, only to receive reject elements. But you
must first give the seller a chance to make good on the deal. Whereas some
people do this full time, others do it merely to get rid of the things they
will not use and to support their hobby -- as Kevin stated elsewhere, this
might mean late night sorting sessions, bad lighting, what have you. Some
people may also be working with certain disabilities, like colorblindness --
which matters a lot when trying to sort elements of similar (well, similar
to those unable to distinguish between them) colors like trans-yellow and
trans-antifreeze.
If the seller does turn out to be a jerk; some kind of terse, carefully on
point, negative feedback is in order. You could even explain how you gave
the seller a chance to make things right and how and why they did not. As
long as you report the truth and stay on point, the seller can have nothing
to complain of in return. Admittedly, there is always the potential for
retaliatory negative feedback (which I think should be disallowed but is
instead generally allowed on most feedback systems), so you should certainly
pick and choose your battles.
It's too bad that you may have thrown away some of those white elements
because both white and grey elements can actually be bleached free of most
stains. Simply soak the element in some mixture of water and bleach -- not
too strong a mixture, mind you -- and let time do the work for you, usually
no more than a single week. Other kinds of grime AND printing can be
removed with a mild abrasive solvent like toothpaste or "Brasso." Simply
scrub at the effected spot with a soft cloth and your abrasive goop -- the
soft cloth helps get into the tiniest areas. If you don't want to use, or
don't have, a soft cloth you can use a cotton ball or even a cotton swab.
The cotton swab allows for considerable control on detailed areas.
I wrote the "grading" thing as an attempt to arrive at a universally
accepted set of standards within the hobby, but I fear that the criteria
proved perhaps too exacting for many. In fairness, there is no reason why
elements freshly removed from set bags cannot simply be referred to as "new"
or "new except for sorting." And in the case of the more generic elements
-- such as basic bricks, plates, etc. -- it's hard to imagine that someone
is going to spend the time to grade each element individually, esp. if one
is buying hundreds of them. The purpose of a grading standard comes in
handy when one is paying upwards of $1 an element. At that point one REALLY
wants to know that the unique element sought is in a satisfactory and usable
condition -- and absolutely worth every penny of it's price, shipping, and
handling.
So anyway, this is my long-winded way of telling you that you are not alone.
I have been there and had that happen to me also, more times than I care to
contemplate. That's why it's so great that TLC is re-releasing the Classic
and Legend lines -- if at all possible, I much prefer to buy MISB if only to
assure myself of quality bricks!
-- Hop-Frog (The Scariest Commentator on Lugnet)
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