> From: Paul Borghese <paul98@PRODIGY.NET>
> The muffler now has a series of very large dents.  So what do > you guys think?  Should I send it back?
  
The difference between appearance parts and performance parts is in the eye= of the buyer. I know guys who would take back a starter for cosmetic reason= s. If you want to return the dented (rattling?) muffler it's your choice. Bu= t it's Bus Depot's choice to use/re-use what ever packaging material they wa= nt.  The balance of costs saved and resulting lower prices against the = costs of returns is augmented by the environmental impact of adding to the w= aste stream.
(ramble on)
In general, the small retailer can get away with reusing shipping/packing m= aterials because the costs saved are more than the costs spent in lack of co= nformity (can you imagine GM or VW using old boxes for their parts?) Having = been in retail for almost twenty years...I am sick of seeing those expanded = styrofoam shipping "peanuts" flying down the alley in a stiff bree= ze. Unlike leaves and newspaper those things won't decay in a matter of mont= hs.  In many other cultures our newspapers and "throwaway" bo= xes would spend second and third lives before being discarded.  My wife= wrapped Christmas presents last night reusing boxes, some now twenty years = old...instead of throwing them away, we just pack them up with the holiday d= ecorations for future reuse.
As an aside some of my favorite old boxes in the attic are from... the Benj= amin pellet gun, our first Macintosh, Yakima rack parts boxes, several ladie= s hat boxes and a passle of wooden boxes from breweries, bottlers, bike and = bullet makers, the most functional award goes to a set of about twenty boxes= nested with matching lids (from my wife's pharmacy job) which have been reu= sed for moving us, kids and neighbors.
Reduce,recycle,reuse.
Just MHO.
(ramble off)
--
Stephen Steele
'91 Caravelle...Hans
'84 Westy...Fritz or Sunny?
Chillicothe, OH