As part of my research into the Macintosh Performa 550’s factory recovery partition, I paid a lot of attention to eBay listings for these computers. I came to an interesting discovery that I had already suspected: big CRT-based Macs in this form factor are regularly damaged in shipping after being sold on eBay.
Most vintage computer enthusiasts are well aware of this, but the plastic in old computers tends to become very brittle as it ages. With Macs in particular, machines made from 1993-ish onward seem to really be affected by this issue. I’ve seen this with my own eyes, too. The CD-ROM bezel on my Quadra 840av fell off because several very thin plastic clips snapped off. Good luck finding one that hasn’t already broken off. One of the clips that holds the top case in place on my Power Mac 6100 also broke off. And I, too, once received a Performa 550 that was destroyed in shipping.
For what it’s worth, I have experienced success with smaller “pizza box” Macs shipped to me. They are definitely from the same era of terrible plastic, but they have always been generously covered in all directions with bubble wrap and none of the ones I have received have ever been damaged in transit. I think the fact that they aren’t super heavy or large helps a lot.
I was curious about bigger, heavier machines though, especially since I had experienced destruction on one myself. I decided to do a quick little research project on eBay. I went through all past auctions I could find for the Macintosh Performa/LC 5xx form factor. Sadly, eBay’s history doesn’t go back very far, so it’s hard to get a decent sample size. Regardless of the lack of data, what I found doesn’t look promising for prospective buyers. Out of 12 total computers sold, I found:
- One arrived with “barely any damage”.
- Four were broken in shipping.
- One buyer complained about the shipping and packing and asked for a refund, so I’m going ahead and calling it damage even though the feedback didn’t specifically say it.
- The other six didn’t receive any feedback, so it’s impossible to know whether they safely arrived or not.
Yes, that’s right. There is no data showing that any of these twelve Macs arrived completely unscathed. The best confirmation I saw was the one that arrived with minimal damage, with the buyer reasonably acknowledging that these computers are brittle. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the other six were also damaged and feedback just hasn’t been left yet. USPS takes a while on insurance claims.
No matter what, 50% of all shipments being damaged in eBay’s currently-available history is a pretty bad statistic, and perfectly matches my own success rate as well. In 2013, I bought a Macintosh TV on eBay which was shipped to me, and the seller did a great job of wrapping it very thickly with bubble wrap and suspending it inside of a huge, sturdy box with packing peanuts filling every void in all directions. It arrived in pristine condition. On the other hand, I also received a Performa 550 more recently that was terribly packed in a flimsy box, with just a little bit of bubble wrap here and there, and it was very, very broken.
In 2013, the plastics in these machines were probably at least a little less brittle than they are today, so I don’t even know if the success story of my Macintosh TV could be replicated nowadays.
Here is all the eBay feedback that I was able to find from the past couple of months. I guess you can treat this post as a collection of obituaries for several poor all-in-one Macs from the last few months that are unfortunately no longer with us. The purpose here is not to call out any specific sellers — it’s to raise awareness that these things really shouldn’t be shipped, at least not without some kind of crazy reliable heavy-duty protection and a little bit of luck.
Okay, that first one wasn’t really an obituary. The rest, though…
The Performa 575 pictured above is one I actually communicated with the seller about. I can vouch for the positive feedback of being very communicative and professional. They went above and beyond by kindly checking it to see if it had a special version of Apple Backup (it didn’t). I mentioned the dangers of shipping these things, and it turned out I hadn’t been the first person to mention it. The seller was pretty confident about having a good method for packing it. What it comes down to is I think shipping services are way rougher on packages than people realize.
eBay drama in that last one aside, this is a frequent enough issue that I felt the need to write about it. I think at some point we all need to use some common sense when dealing with computers like these. They’re heavy, the plastic is fragile, and UPS/FedEx/USPS aren’t exactly babying your packages on the way to the destination. If you are selling one of these machines, please think twice before deciding to ship it. And then, if you’ve decided that you want to ship it, reconsider your decision again just for good measure. I think you’ll have a much more positive experience if you can find a local buyer.
Looking at it from the other perspective, if you’re a buyer, consider that there’s a very good chance that the computer is going to arrive in pieces, even if the seller thinks they’re skilled at packing. These Macs haven’t aged well, and shipping services are rough on packages. I know I learned my lesson.
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