Radio Era Archives Terms of Sale & Shipping Policy

Shipping Information

This policy relates to shipment of goods and/or electronics equipment.  REA will always endeavor to ship equipment and goods by the least expensive method.  Our primary method of shipping by ground used to be by UPS for the past 16 years, but we recently fired UPS as a shipper because every heavy shipment we make with them ends up like it was drop kicked by Paul Bunyon or fell out of a plane from 30,000 feet.  So in 2000, we switched to Federal Express.  They have now changed their rules and don't pay their lost or damage claims so they've been fired as well as a lost cause of a once proud company.  So our primary shipper is now DHL ground or air.  Air shipment is your option and at your expense.  If you want to have an item shipped by any other carrier than DHL, you must tell us so.  Some shipments can be sent by parcel post as well.  All shipments are packed differently according to weight.  Because we ship many antique radios and vintage electronic equipment, we must use extraordinary means to protect these items from being destroyed by today's shipping companies.  If you are not aware of today's shipping policies by "standard" freight movers, these companies do not consider an item to be packed adequately unless it can be dropped 6' off the back of a large truck and have the box and item survive such a fall.  

Items 1-5 pounds are usually shipped in a cardboard box with foam peanuts as filler material.  Radios and electronic equipment are wrapped in a plastic bag or bubble wrap to protect the item during shipping.  We have had no shipping problems with damage by either USPS or Fedx on light packages.  If the item is quite small and of low value, we may reduce the charge to $ 2.00 for the materials.  We normally charge        $ 5.00 for packing materials for packages in this weight category.   Whether we charge $ 2.00 or $ 5.00 is a subjective call that we will make when we pack the item. 

Items 6-25 pounds are usually shipped in a cardboard box with foam peanuts as filler material.  Radios and electronic equipment are wrapped in a plastic bag or bubble wrap to protect the item during shipping.  If an item is on the heavier side of this weight category, we will wrap the item with bubble-pack.  We have had no shipping problems with damage by either USPS or DHL on light packages.  If the item is quite small and of low value, we may reduce the charge to $ 5.00 for the materials.   We normally charge $ 10.00 for packing materials for packages in this weight category.  Whether we charge $ 5.00 or $ 10.00 is a subjective call that we will make when we pack the item. 

Items 26-49  pounds are usually shipped in a cardboard box with bubble wrap and hard 1" styroafoam as filler material.  Radios and electronic equipment are wrapped in a plastic bag or bubble wrap to protect the item during shipping.  Items on the heavier side will have reinforcement of Styrofoam packing material or 1" styroafoam  to keep the item from shifting in its box.  We have had several instances of shipping problems with items in this weight category especially with UPS and Federal Express but not DHL.  We charge $ 20.00 for packing materials for packages in this weight category.

Items 50 pounds to 100 pounds are usually shipped in one of three ways.  They are shipped in a cardboard box with heavy Styrofoam as filler material.  Radios and electronic equipment are wrapped in a plastic bag to protect the item during shipping.  Items in this weight category will have reinforcement of Styrofoam packing material  to keep the item from shifting in its box.  The size and physical make up of the item will dictate whether it can be protected in a single box.   Based on physical factors we sometimes will pack the first box inside a larger box and will use Styrofoam packing material to keep the inner box from shifting inside of the outer box.  In some cases, we will ship in a double wall single box that is rated to 250# for the load, but we will use hard 1" styroafoam to protect the items that are packed.  We have had many instances of shipping problems with items in this weight category.  Depending on the size and dimensions of the items may dictate that we will pack this item using a foam-in-place machine to ensure absolutely that the item cannot shift during shipment.  If we have to ship using foam-in-place, we will advise the upcharge amount.  We charge $ 40.00 for packing materials for packages in this weight category.   Most of the Boat-Anchor type equipment fits this category.

Items over 100 pounds will generally require special commercial packing and may require wood crates to be constructed to ensure that the item gets to its destination without damage.   We will quote a price for items that are over 100#.  Overland domestic or international freight carriers will generally have a $ 250 deductible for the valued freight claim in case of destruction.  Because of this deductible, we will always insure for this additional amount to protect the value of the payment should an item be destroyed in shipment.  

REA accepts the responsibility to pack electronic items in these categories listed above but to pack them at your expense.   All shipments are made FOB the Radio Era Archives dock in Dallas, Texas.  FOB means that you, the purchaser, assume all liability for shipment of the item once it leaves our dock.  It is the general practice of standard freight carriers such as DHL that all freight claims MUST BE MADE BY THE SHIPPER.  You must agree to REA making all claims for damages.  If you do not agree, then you can make your own arrangements in having the item that you have purchased picked up at our dock with full liability being born by you, the purchaser.  We assume no liability for any items packed by others than ourselves or our designated commercial packing associates and we assume no liability for damage of items in shipment. 

If an item is damaged when it arrives at your destination, it is your responsibility to either call or email REA with a description of the condition of the item.  If you note visible damage to the box when it arrives,  make sure you tell the driver that you are accepting the item with the condition that there is possible internal damage to the item and make him note his delivery ticket as such.  This is imperative that this be done or you have just accepted any internal damage because you failed to tell the driver at the time of delivery.  It is your responsibility to ensure that the box and packing materials are all kept intact at your location until the freight claim is processed by  the freight company sends its representative out to inspect the damaged item.  If there is damage during shipment, you must make a decision whether to keep the item in its condition or to refuse the item.  There is no middle ground on this.  Either accept it as-is or agree to the freight claim.  All discussion and negotiation with the freight carrier is generally done by Radio Era Archives as we are the shipper.  In most all cases of freight damage, the item is picked up by the freight carriers representative and returned to Radio Era in Dallas, Texas where the freight carrier will pickup the item for their disposal after the freight claim is processed and paid.

Because Radio Era Archives insures or values each and every shipment with adequate coverage, we will pursue the freight claim to conclusion and when paid by the freight carrier, we will refund whatever the freight carrier pays on the claim but only after we are paid.  Many times it takes up to 2 months and many times longer to get the freight carrier to settle the claim and to make the payment and if this amount of time is not sufficient for your purposes, then we cannot agree to make shipments for you because the payment by the freight carriers is out of our hands.  

It is unfortunate that we must state such rigorous shipping policies, but freight damage is a fact of life these days and no matter how many precautions and procedures you put in place, nothing is going to protect a forklift from killing a package or the dropping of a box from 30,000 ft. . . .  So if you are going to purchase from REA, these are our written policies and if you buy from us, you must agree to all of these terms.  

Terms of Sale

Terms of sale are net cash by check, money order, bank letter of credit, cash or acceptable credit card payment.   All personal or company checks will delay shipment by 10 days until the check clears.  You have our guarantee that all items will be described to the best of our ability and we will do our best to describe all defects or abnormalities in any item that we sell.  Since we do not sell new equipment and we are not a store in the normal business of selling new items, all items are sold as-is and all sales are final.  We will pack all items in accordance to our shipping policy above.  Our return policy is contained at http://www.radioera.com/returns.htm.