Originally Posted by daf1009

OK...I am here to let off steam...in my building of a collection...one of the niches that I identified as a cool part to collect was "rare" Schwinns...so, a Schwinn that was not made for very long, or maybe low volume, etc. One of the ones I identified was a Schwinn Volare from 1987 or 1988...only made for two years...and very high end for Schwinn (for those two years, just below Paramounts). So, I started looking for one in my size...and, Voila, one popped up on eBay...my size, pretty good looking (it does have a small dent on the top tube, but, for once, I was willing to overlook that...as I did not plan on this being a major rider)...and was able to get it at a reasonable price.

So...I pulled the trigger...

And it arrived...

The guy took the wheels off...and put it all in a VERY cut down bike box...the box had a hole on 5 of its six sides...the two axles of the wheels were sticking out, part of the rear derailleur was sticking out and the bike was sitting on the chain rings, which were sticking out the bottom! There was no protection for any of the tubes...and the spokes of the wheels were rubbing on the seat stays! I know that there was recently a thread on bad packing...but...this one may take the cake! I am not including any pictures...it may make you sick! It did me! Oh...and the stem was rubbing on the top tube!

I am working with the guy to determine what we do...he offered me a "bit" of a discount to keep it (and I have to admit it is tempting)...I requested a bigger discount...he is considering it...I will let you know what happens...and then, if I do end up with enough of a discount, I will share pictures of the bike. At this point, I have not even taken it out of the box!

Big SIGH...what a disappointment...