Thread: Smashed Coticule Help

Originally Posted by Ookla

Was that the only packaging it was in? It looks like a case of someone not knowing exactly what the stone was and improperly packing it. You did say they were listed as soapstones. As far as the remaining chunks value, it could be more than the original purchase price in reality. It would do you no good to send the broken stone back and get your money back if the stones are worth more to you than the money spent. Those are some good sized chunks.

The packaging you see is exactly how it was shipped but inside of a plastic postal bag. Under the stone is a small piece of felt/foam lining the bottom of the box but there was plenty of room for the stone to move about in the box. Any amount of bubble-wrap or blister packaging would have likely resulted in a successful transportation.
The coticule itself was pretty well used by the looks of her.. dished to within a few milimeters in the center. Maybe this would have also been a factor in its breakdown.
As far as keeping it goes... while I know the chunks could be useable and the slurry stone certainly is, I would much prefer a complete version. It is to be my only finisher afterall.
Who knows, they may appear on Ebay again.. just be sure to insist on some heavy duty packaging!

Thank you all for your valuable contributions. Bart has PM'd me and generously offered to sacrifice his time and help me out with the documentation I need(I hope) to present to PayPal.

Mykel

I wish you the best of luck!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

If ebay or paypal looks at the auction pic versus the delivered item pic, what is their problem. Was it insured?

Im not 100% on the insurance. I paid $17.50 for postage but couldnt tell you if that included insurance. I certainly never requested it. Possibly a costly mistake My last email from the seller explained they were going to check to see if they had insured it. That was the last I heard from them.
Mykel

I hope the very best for you and your coticule.
This would f course be a replacement.

But what I wanted to share with you is if insurance fails you
and you have nothing but that bout,
you should try and see if the pieces fit togehter nicely.

I had a Cerax 1k/6k kombination stone that was cracked in two pieces.
The Cracklines fit together perfectly, so all I needed to do is glue the pieces together.
I used wood-glue, because I had it. It works perfectly!

Maybe, if everything else fails, you should try that too.
But don´t do it if there is the possibility of a replacement.
I don´t think anyobody would pay if you play around with that thing now

Originally Posted by MykelDR

Im not 100% on the insurance. I paid $17.50 for postage but couldnt tell you if that included insurance. I certainly never requested it. Possibly a costly mistake My last email from the seller explained they were going to check to see if they had insured it. That was the last I heard from them.
Mykel

I've had several experiences with broken packages that were insured (I was sending them). The Post office only insures the delivery of the package, not the contents. So the only way insurance really works is if the package never gets delivered, not if it breaks in transit. This was in Taiwan, and I'd imagine the US or Australian post office would have the same set up, otherwise, how would they make extra money off of insurance if they actually had to pay for a broken box?

My advise, notify the seller, try to come to an agreement, and try to get PayPal and Ebay to be the brokers of a deal for either a full or partial refund. If it falls through, be sure to post a warning here to let us know the seller's user name.

Good luck!

Rob is really busy now cutting stones filling orders and such. Bart has a site, called Welcome to Coticule.be, home of the famous Belgian Whetstone - home of the famous Belgian Coticule Whetstone, tell him I sent you, He's a good friend of mine, as is Rob. I sell, distribute Coticule, when I can get them. I use a two part epoxy. It works well. Sometimes with the Naturals, they come apart. not as bad as yours. I'm so sorry. I've never heard of Paypal wanting documentation, Normally, you just write a statement. Your stone might be able to be saved, somewhat, with a wet saw..It'd be small mind you, but I think you will get your money back. do as the others said, call Paypal and talk to a supervisor.

P.S. If you do glue it back together. Cracks can be filled with a mixture of Coticule dust/powder and melted beeswax. I've done this with good results...Let me know if I can be of any help to you....

P.S. I'm not sure where you are in Austrailia, but there is a vintage whetstone dealer over there named "So" at Japan Tool Co.
He sells/deals vintage Japanese Whetstones, Other than that tell Paypal there aren't any. Or you can contact Rob here:
As I said, he's busy, and it may take a while for him to respond:
http://uk.ardennes-coticule.com/index.asp?id=391

Wow, such a sad story I feel your pain!

I'm sure Bart will do everything he can to help you out

Let us know how it works out, that seller has to be an idiot to pack a fragile stone like he did...

...with Paypal is that you should not expect them to satisfy any "guarantee" they claim to have with you. They sent me also on a wild goose chase for a "qualified appraiser" (the only one was a business 150 miles away) at my own expense, and even though I had emails from the seller acknowledging the item purchased was not as described on the ebay listing, they denied any action in my favor, or against him. I no longer have a Paypal account, and will not reopen one. I'm happy to provide personal or cashier checks for items purchased and wait for the shipping, and now I only deal with vendors I trust (including everyone on this site).

I'd beg sellers here who use "Paypal only" to reconsider. A cleared check is secure payment, and PP will get you sooner or later.

I can't believe the horror stories I'm hearing about Paypal. Have they changed their policy? I mean, Almost 100% of the time, they side with the buyer. I've disputed a few in my day, and have always got my money back and did nothing more than write a statement that the item was not as described. I'm sorry to hear you guys have had this trouble. I consider my self fortunate. I've always felt secure buying with Paypal, in case I get screwed by the seller....

I think seller has the responsibility for safe packaging. if seller doesn't do a good packaging let him refund your money and ship that broken coticule back to him/her.