[Mr. G]

So I purchased a new Spectra fuel tank for the '70 T/A from Rockauto which stated they only had one in stock. It arrived a week later in the Spectra factory box with the filler neck sticking out, and no padding whatsoever. The box was flimsy as well as battered and when I removed the tank from the box, I counted no less than 10 dents in it, some which looked like it had been beat on with a hatchet. I contacted RA for a return, and they say they will refuse delivery unless the tank is sent back in the manufactures box placed inside a larger box that i must supply. So now RA wants me to protect the package for shipping as they should have done themselves when it was originally shipped. Now I keep quite a few boxes around but nothing nearly large enough for a gas tank and filler neck. So RA is making the return costly for me in terms of time and effort and money it terms of tracking down a box and acquiring which could have been avoided if they had made any effort to protect the shipment in the first place. Now i have to figure out if it is even worth the hassle as I will need to order another tank from someone else anyhow and what really burns me is that the only thing wrong with my original fuel tank is it has 2 small dents in it and no hatchet marks. When reading reviews of Rockauto, I see there are lots of unhappy customers with issues pertaining to returns and apparently you cannot speak to a real person there What a PITA!

[dataway]

Wonder if it was a previous return, I didn't get my Spectra from RA but it didn't have the neck attached, I used my old one.

[Mr. G]

I also wondered about it being a previous return since it was the last one they had.

[Joe's Garage]

We haven't had any issue with RockAuto, and we've bought a TON of stuff from them.

But you have to remember they are just a broker - they don't really sell you anything.

They're got access to tons of different parts warehouses inventory and just do the electronic part of the sale.

Then the actual seller/shipper packs it up and ships it. And there are a LOT of idiots out there who have zero knowledge about shipping things correctly.

If they're being unreasonable, (and it sounds like they are) I'd just back-charge the sale and tell your credit card company the tank was defective as received.

[mgarblik]

I had a very similar situation with Rock Auto on a Spectra tank for a 1973 Firebird. Shipped the same way with the neck sticking out in the breeze. No double box. But in my case, the tank was just fine but the neck was bent to hell and back at about a 40 degree angle. Got the same song and dance about returning it. I ended up wrapping a 4' pipe with foam and sticking it in the neck and carefully bending it back straight. I was very careful and it came out perfect. I got lucky.
As far as your return, they usually have a way to send pictures. I would send them detailed ones of all the damage and let them know you will return it to them just as you received it unless they want to send you another outer box. Over the years I have been buying from Rock Auto, they have excepted all my returns eventually after things were explained in detail. Good luck.

With NAPA being bought out by Oreily's, Rock Auto may be the only game in town for me in the future.

[Sirrotica]

FWIW, if I had to ship parts I used multiple boxes taped together to cover the part. Overlapping the layers of carboard where they're spliced together and taped makes the box stronger than a single layer box.

Since long boxes used to ship parts are few and far between I started making my own from partial smaller boxes for economy, that ended hunting through store bins for the right size. I never had anyone get in touch with me that said the container didn't hold up ..........YMMV

[Mr. G]

I appreciate the input fellas. I will continue to use Rockauto for small parts as I do like that they give you a choice of manufacturers but for the new Spectra gas tank that I still need, I will order it through Summit as they have a store nearby and I can have it shipped there and inspect it when I pick it up so if there is a problem I won't have to worry about shipping it back. Summit is a little more expensive but, in this situation, worth it as I will be out at least $80.00 for shipping ect from the RA deal. I will look and see if I can construct a box with stuff I have here so that is good advice too.