Originally Posted by
ColonelJLloyd
Pipe insulation is fine for protecting the frame from scratches, but it does nothing to keep tubes from bending. The most important aspect of packing a frame is to insure that it does not move within the box and that there is some sort of padding around all six interior sides.
That's a bummer, Rob, but you're the buyer this time. If the seller doesn't make it right, eBay will at the seller's expense. They'll likely tell you file a claim with FedEx/UPS first.
Bike was crashed, rather than poorly packed (which it was as well). I would ask for a full refund, including shipping both ways.
An alternate position would be to part it out on your end, for a partial refund (if the seller doesn't want to pay to get his crashed bike back).
I have only bought three bikes shipped on ebay, the rest I have picked up (drove 225 miles one way to pick one of them up). In the three I had shipped, two were damaged, one severely. In that case, seller just put the bike LOOSE (no packing whatsoever), into a bike box, then shipped it 2600 miles to me. The handlebars did a number on the frame. The negotiated settlement was a part out on my end.