My Deardorff is going to be destroyed!

[Dan Dozer]

I am sooooo depressed. I recently got an 8 x 10 Deardorff on the auction site. When the package arrived, there was damage to the camera done by the postal service that prevents the rear bed from sliding backwards. However, the damage is easily repairable (for about $350). Since the package was insured, the seller and I have been dealing with the post office for the last couple of weeks. Here is the situtation I'm in.

When you insure something with the postal service and it gets damaged, you have only two options - (1) live with the damage and get on with your life, and (2) give them the item, they pay you the value you declared on the insurance, and then THEY DESTROY THE ITEM! You don't have an option on getting the item repaired. The damage that was done is easily repairable for a lot less than the value of the camera, but they don't want to offer that option to you.

Now I'm depressed that my beautiful Deardorff that I've only owned for a month is potentially going to the scrap heap. In the time that I've been waiting for the post office, I've used the camera twice and have grown attached to it. There is a voice in the back of my head that is refusing to let the post office destroy it, but the repair cost is holding me back. It's not like there aren't other Deardorff's out there, but this is my first one.

Alaas - poor Deardorff #3211 - your days may be numbered.

(I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do)

[Barry S]

On the face of it, that seems crazy. They'd rather pay out $1400 (or whatever) than $350. They're basically saying, we don't trust our customers *and* we don't trust our employees to resolve a damage claim, so we'll institute this inflexible rule. Well, I love my 'dorff, but they made a lot of them, so I'd just surrender it and find another.

[thebanana]

If the insured value is close the the purchase price of another Deardorff, then I'd suggest pouring yourself a stiff drink, taking the deal and finding another one. Too bad about the "insurance system" though.

[Brickbird]

Dan...What got damaged that won't let it retract? Can you move the bed forward with the knob? I have had a 8x10 Deardorff I bought new and several years later bought a 11x14 Deardorff which I have almost completely taken apart to refinish several times. Who gave you the estimate of $350 to fix and was the price of the Deardorff within reason to have it repaired? Don't ditch it yet.............Tav

[BradS]

two things:

1) anybody who's ever worked for the USPS can tell you there is no such thing as flexibility with regard to policy.

2) It is just a camera. There are others. take the $$$ and buy another.

[Karl K]

I had a film scanner shipped to me from a private seller and the scanner arrived damaged. The Post Office paid the insurance claim ($126.00) to the seller, who re-imbursed me, and I was able to keep the damaged scanner because the US Post Office never made an effort to inspect the damage or pick it up. Perhaps, because your claim is considerably more money, this will not be the case. But it might.

[Vaughn]

On the face of it, that seems crazy. They'd rather pay out $1400 (or whatever) than $350. They're basically saying, we don't trust our customers *and* we don't trust our employees to resolve a damage claim, so we'll institute this inflexible rule. Well, I love my 'dorff, but they made a lot of them, so I'd just surrender it and find another.

Unforunately, it makes perfect sense. It is not costing the USPS anything to pay out the total amount rather than the $350 to get it fixed. It is costing the customers of USPS...not the USPS...in the form of higher insurance rates. And who knows...doing it this way may actually be saving the customers money.

Cost to the USPS = (claims paid out + overhead to administer the program) - amount taken in by customers buying insurance.

To keep the cost at zero, the USPS can just increase the amount coming from the customers (push the service so more people buy it, increase the cost of the insurance), and keep the overhead (and the opportunity for fraud) low by having srict rules.

Vaughn

[Dan Dozer]

Tav - thanks for the suggestions. The knob on the rear pinion rod that you turn to move the rear bed back got severely bent and ultimately broke off. Now there is nothing to hold onto to turn the shaft that moves the bed back. I know that replacing it wouldn't be a major job and I could do it myself. However, I'm not sure if I want to deal with the time myself. Got the quote directly from Ken Hough and he is the expert. That was for him to do the work, not just replace parts. Note for that quote, I've also added in the cost for shipping (and insuring LOL) the camera back to him.

In reality, the insured value is with the seller not me. The payment from the Postal service would go back to him and then I need to collect my original purchase price from him. If he insured the camera for more than I paid for it ($950), he stands to make a profit.

Karl - I have to physically take the camera/box done to the post office and give it to them before they will pay the claim. I assume that is because of the dollar value.

[erikg]

I think you should keep the camera. There are a finite number of V8s out there plus it is just wasteful, why trash something if you don't have to? It would be great if the Post Office could be flexible, but I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

[walter23]

Yeah, that's really tricky. This is an item that's never going to be built again, so it's a shame, but on the other hand it sucks if you have to take the financial hit for it.

Hope you figure something out here.

Maybe you can quickly snap up some totally useless junker 8x10 in the meantime, put a deardorff engraved brass plate on it, and submit that to the post office to have it destroyed