Looking for Plastic OEM CPU Cases

[AreOh]

Hello. I've started selling quite a few CPU's via eBay over the last few months. All's been going well, but today I received the following email:

Even though you "bubble wrapped" the processor. It had room to move about in the box, bent pins way beyond trying to straighten. Such a waste of a perfectly good AMD. Even though you "bubble wrapped" the processor. It had room to move about in the box, bent pins way beyond trying to straighten. Such a waste of a perfectly good AMD.

If you do not have an oem processor case about the only safe way to ship one is stabilized in a "cd" case, taped shut.

What do we do about this processor?

This is the first time I've had any issues w/ damaged parts via shipping. I do not think insurance had been purchased.

So, I've been searching for these little cases for the past few mins. I seem to find anything. Google results always seem to point to PC cases and fans.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks for your time and help!

 

[Zap]

I have a few sitting around. Retail box AMD CPUs have a little clamshell and OEM from some vendors come in a little case with black foam. I don't know where to buy those separately since mine have come with the CPU and I keep 'em around.

You can easily protect CPUs you mail in a few simple methods - just use your imagination! One way I can think of is to get a thin sponge or cloth mouse pad and a sheet of something rigid (cardboard, plexiglass, etc.) and cut them to the size of the CPU. Glue them together and when dry place the CPU pin down on the sponge side. Then use some rubber bands to hold the package together. Then, surround in bubble wrap and ship in a cardboard box (not envelope). Short of it being run over by a truck, I'd say it will survive any shipping company packed how I describe.

Do not ship CPUs in an envelope unless it is inside a rigid box, inside the envelope.

As for your current dillemma with that buyer, up to you. What I would do is to have him ship the CPU back and inspect it to make sure it is indeed the one you sold, then refund the purchase price (not the shipping fee). Just count it as a lesson learned and try to work with the guy to not give you a bad eval.

 

[imported_oralpain]

If I ship just a CPU, I actually put it upside down in a small rigid box then fill it with gelatin and water and let it gel, then I close the box, put it in another box with standard packing and ship it. It's perfectly safe for CPUs without a heatspreader, but if the CPU has a heatspreader you have to seal any gaps with tape or something before hand so water doesn't get in and screw up the die-heatspreader TIM. I tell the buyer to wash the chip then remove any tape on it. Never had any problems.

If I ship a CPU with a motherboard, I just leave the CPU in the board (laving the heatsink off).

 

[coomar]

Originally posted by: oralpain
If I ship just a CPU, I actually put it upside down in a small rigid box then fill it with gelatin and water and let it gel

the many unknown uses of jello

 

[AreOh]

Thanks, all! I went ahead and ordered some anti-static foam and such today. That should fix my issues.

 

[coverturtle]

I have looked for CPU shipping containers as well.
And I have found what looks like a solution on line.
I prefer the plain clear PETE clamshell boxes that are molded to a rectangular shape so that I can use anti-static foam to absorb any shocks. I have a number of these from earlier purchases but the newer processors seem to be in custom molded clamshells. I did find one manufacturer who supplies similar, but not exactly the same, clamshell boxes. My old boxes have a cavity which is 2.5 x 2.5 x 0.75 inches or about 70 x 70 x 20mm. They fit any of the old or new processors that I have, from Motorola 68020, to Apple Mac G3 to modern AMD, Pentium and Xeon processors. I would like to get boxes identical to the ones I have but the closest ones I have been able to find (without buying yet) are made by this company: impact-mfg.com. They have two appealing sizes, model "233A" which has a cavity the same height and width as my older boxes but is only 0.5 inches deep. It might work but there's a less expensive, larger one that is .75 inches deep: "3102 B275 3/4". Impact mfg. posts prices online and the price per unit is perhaps justifiable ($1+ ea. is not reasonable to me!) The larger box seems ok (I don't know what kind of plastic they use) but I also want them for storage purposes which makes a smaller box more desirable. For my purposes, the suggestions for shipping given above are not desirable for storage but the boxes I described are useful for both shipping and storage. (OK, I'm Mr. Neat Freak).

Other places to look for (more suitable or cheaper) solutions on line are coin-collection supplies, jewelry supplies, hobby supplies.

Hope that helps.

 

[TeknoBug]

Even in the OEM plastic case, my Phenom II X4 955BE pins got bent while being transported in my suitcase. Yes it had the foam underneath it, but I guess some weight was enough to do the job.

But for packaging it, find some thin yet hard foam and cut up cardboard to wrap around it and stick it in there. I've done that many times before with older CPU's.

 

[spat55]

Do you think he might have broken it himself, then try and blame it on you? Or maybe he brought a broken one then giving it to you? This is why I hate Ebay and would rather sell for less cash in hand then if anything goes wrong you can say it was working fine before.

 

[Bubbleawsome]

Guys, it was from 2005. Necro'er has 1 post.