Steven Triggs
01-06-2013, 3:20 AM
I purchased a Shop Fox W1744S 12" jointer from a very reputable online retailer with whom I've had good previous experiences. The freight company who brought it towards the end of December was laughable at best (long story and not the point). When it was finally delivered, it was badly damaged, and I refused delivery. The retailer promptly shipped out a replacement using a different freight company, and it was delivered on January 3rd, with no shipping related problems this time.
I began assembling it and cleaning up the export grease the next day, and began noticing some oddities. A few aspects of its design didn't match up to my recollection from studying the owner's manual downloaded from Shop Fox's website, and the paint scheme doesn't look like the current pictures of it online. The reason for this became obvious when I checked the data label, and found that it was manufactured in May of 2008.
I guess the retailer had it in inventory for nearly five years now.
The machine appears to be in basically good shape, with a few caveats. The cast iron cleaned up relatively well (removing the export grease), but even after cleaning it all off with mineral spirits, and then rubbing/polishing the top with Top-Saver, it has a few dark stains that won't fully go away (they look like what is left on old rusted cast iron after cleaning it up, only they are pretty minor, and there was no apparent rust before the clean up).
Also, there are a few scratches in the surface, two of which you can barely feel with your thumbnail, but they don't seem significant enough to affect usage.
The sticker on the switch panel is kind of messed up, like wrinkled and crinkly (I'm guessing from sitting in the warehouse all these years).
I've contacted the retailer, and they offered to either knock 10% off (and it was already a very good price), or to send out a replacement (though I have no reason to assume that it won't be another unit that has been sitting a long time).
I'm curious what you all think. Is this a big deal? Should I be concerned; the machine has definitely never been used, but I wonder if it should concern me that it sat so long, almost five years, in the warehouse? Would you feel that 10% off was a fair trade for it being this old and not in pristine condition, or would you want to go the route of having them send another (which is quite a hassle given the size/weight of this machine)?
Anyway, I left out the name of the retailer because this isn't meant as a complaint against them, it is simply a request for opinions on how I should proceed. My gut/emotion says this sucks (it being so long since its manufacture), but objectively I'm not sure it really matters that much.
Thanks for your input...
I began assembling it and cleaning up the export grease the next day, and began noticing some oddities. A few aspects of its design didn't match up to my recollection from studying the owner's manual downloaded from Shop Fox's website, and the paint scheme doesn't look like the current pictures of it online. The reason for this became obvious when I checked the data label, and found that it was manufactured in May of 2008.
I guess the retailer had it in inventory for nearly five years now.
The machine appears to be in basically good shape, with a few caveats. The cast iron cleaned up relatively well (removing the export grease), but even after cleaning it all off with mineral spirits, and then rubbing/polishing the top with Top-Saver, it has a few dark stains that won't fully go away (they look like what is left on old rusted cast iron after cleaning it up, only they are pretty minor, and there was no apparent rust before the clean up).
Also, there are a few scratches in the surface, two of which you can barely feel with your thumbnail, but they don't seem significant enough to affect usage.
The sticker on the switch panel is kind of messed up, like wrinkled and crinkly (I'm guessing from sitting in the warehouse all these years).
I've contacted the retailer, and they offered to either knock 10% off (and it was already a very good price), or to send out a replacement (though I have no reason to assume that it won't be another unit that has been sitting a long time).
I'm curious what you all think. Is this a big deal? Should I be concerned; the machine has definitely never been used, but I wonder if it should concern me that it sat so long, almost five years, in the warehouse? Would you feel that 10% off was a fair trade for it being this old and not in pristine condition, or would you want to go the route of having them send another (which is quite a hassle given the size/weight of this machine)?
Anyway, I left out the name of the retailer because this isn't meant as a complaint against them, it is simply a request for opinions on how I should proceed. My gut/emotion says this sucks (it being so long since its manufacture), but objectively I'm not sure it really matters that much.
Thanks for your input...