I had the pleasure of buying an Alpha 76PA from Dale about a month and a half ago.
Even though he lives about as far west from NH as you can get in the lower 48, I received the amp without so much as a scratch. I have bought a few radios and amps and such through out the years, but I have never seen such a well packaged piece of radio gear before I received the Alpha from Dale.
He took the time to build a plywood box with rigid insulation for the xfmr,double-box it,and the amp itself was triple boxed with all hardware neatly taped and bubble-wrap so as to not break lose, just as anyone of us would want something we've bought packaged.
Plus, to make the deal even sweeter, his communication was great,emailing me several times while the amp was enroute to make sure I got it OK, and to make sure I let him know when I got the amp hooked up and on the air,fantastic person to deal with!
So, no big deal your thinking, all hams are like Dale, right?!.... NOT
Just as a foot note,about 3 weeks after I bought the alpha from Dale, I purchased another Alpha, from Ohio, posted on this site. The amp had just one wrap of bubble plastic,(at least it was double-boxed), the cover screws and xfmr screw were literally just thrown lose inside of the amp, the tubes were "protected" with a toilet paper roll, the Xfmr itself was just thrown in a "single" (wow) cardboard box with peanuts,needless to say, when I received it it had looked like it had been dropped from about 10' ,I was lucky enough to carefully straighten the metal back out.Hopefully no internal damage,only time will tell.Getting an email answered was like pulling teeth,ugh,not pleasant.
My point is, I was lucky to have had the transaction I had with Dale,and wouldn't hesitate to barter with him again in the future! Thanks Dale!
K7MJ
Forum rules
As of Dec 9, 2013: ONLY BUYERS AND SELLERS directly involved with a transaction can post here. Do not post replies in any topic if you are not the buyer or seller in the transaction being discussed! If you believe you can help the buyer or seller, please use the Private Message system to communicate with them. NOTE: if you have been scammed by someone pretending to be a ham, please post in the Scammer Reports forum instead. See viewtopic.php?f=2&t=136 for additional rules.
As of Dec 9, 2013: ONLY BUYERS AND SELLERS directly involved with a transaction can post here. Do not post replies in any topic if you are not the buyer or seller in the transaction being discussed! If you believe you can help the buyer or seller, please use the Private Message system to communicate with them. NOTE: if you have been scammed by someone pretending to be a ham, please post in the Scammer Reports forum instead. See viewtopic.php?f=2&t=136 for additional rules.