How do you decide on a partial refund price?

[jrr74]

I purchased a g2 pony and baby with swing because I like the set as a whole.  Unfortunately the swing arrived broken.  I think if the swing poles had been removed from their petal bases, the issues could have been avoided.  It was a honest mistake.  The box is sturdy and looks intact, therefore not crushed en route.  I contacted the seller and she is opened to suggestions on how to resolve the issue  .  What is the appropriate request?  I paid right around $68 for the set.
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broken swing.  I would think it could be repaired by super glue, just would never be as durable.  Oh course, being on display, it would not have to endure a whole lot of physical stress 
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[ponylady]

I personally feel the partial refund amount should only reflect on the broken piece. The ponies are intact and I am assuming are as described since you did not mention that. Perhaps you could ask in the Corral for a price check on the swing alone and then go from there with your seller. Because while the piece is fixable, the fact of the matter is that it is broken and decreases the value of the set as a whole.

Good Luck and I hope you and your seller are able to come to a reasonable solution. 

[jrr74]

thank you ponylady for the great suggestion.  Just posted it for a price check, hopefully someone will have an idea  (just because I think the frog is cute)

[PinkRosedust]

Weird...I have to wonder how that could have happened if the box was clearly not crushed. Is it possible that it was already broken but not mentioned in the ad?

I don't really know what that set is worth these days but I know it's not the cheapest or easiest to find. Personally, based on the price you paid for it, I'd probably ask for around $15 back.

As an aside, my set has the same issue; unfortunately mine broke when I accidentally stepped on it...

[jrr74]

Thanks PinkRosedust for the estimate!  I don't get how it broke either .  I don't want to think bad, I just don't know what would have caused enough momentum or force to snap both poles in a sturdy, intact box.  Oh well

[Tak]

I'd look up the value of the swing in relation to the rest for a refund amount. As for fixing it, depending on what tools you have you could simply heat the ends and let them melt into place. You could also poke poke a heated wire down the middles. Super glue will work, I suggest the liquid as you get less glop if you use too much, it wouldn't stand up to much. It's a super cute set btw congrats. I love those mom and babies.
I agree with pinkrosedust for the price, too.

[LadyMoondancer]

If it helps, here is a completed auction for the swing where it went for $17.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MY-LITTLE-PONY-G2-VERY-RARE-HTF-FLORAL-BABY-PETALS-FLOWER-SWING-/331792127523?hash=item4d405a1623:g:m40AAOSwKtlWrO11

[lostpony]

My comment is off topic as to the refund, but about the repair.

Heat is hard to use without a lot of visible impact on the appearance and superglue is problematic on plastics because it won't catalyze.  There are some plastic-specific cements that I don't know much about and many types of plastics so it is hard to know which plastic-specific cement or vulcanizer to use.  Epoxy will also work here but is difficult to use because of its setup time.

I suggest using superglue and baking soda.  After making sure the parts fit perfectly, dust one side with baking soda leaving a smooth VERY thin amount (literally a single layer of particles or as close to it as you can get), put very thin superglue (NOT thick or gel) on the other side then bring the pieces together all at once and hold firmly for 30 seconds (actually only a few seconds but hold longer if you can do it without moving just to be sure) .  This can be tricky because the glue will setup instantly; there is no adjusting the fit once contact is made.  If you choose this method you might want to practice a few times on something else until you are comfortable with it.  The resulting cement is too hard to sand so make sure to use the right amounts (very sparing amounts for both ingredients) to avoid any drips etc.

The setup reaction is actually exothermic and if used on a large fill area (which it can be used for), you can feel it heat up.  I learned about this in high school from my physics teacher when building remote control gliders together.  It's useful in all sorts of places where super glue won't work alone and there are limited alternatives.  In areas with a lot of coverage the baking soda can be put in first and then drip the thin superglue on, but be careful not to let the applicator touch and this can be hard to control.

I've also used the baking soda in water to make a spray that can be applied to the piece after the superglue is in there and the pieces are together but won't set, but I haven't perfected the method.  I know others have though.

In this particular instance you could add a lot of strength by drilling out both sides and adding a pin of either metal (paperclip or other pin) or wood (toothpick), but it is hard to make a perfectly aligned hole for both sides.  If you are very good with tiny tooling you can do it though and the results can end up being reasonably strong.  I'd make the hole slightly bigger than the pin to correct any hole alignment issue, pre-fit all the pieces and let the superglue/baking soda go into the holes to make the whole area into a big cement contact area in there.

Happy gluing!

[jrr74]

@Tak-Thanks Tak!  I think it is  pretty cute set too.  This may be the gateway pony to collecting g2 ponies.  I actually bought this set and a pony named Princess Silver Rain.  I have a lot of the common g1 ponies that I want so now it is becoming more expensive to get these guys.  So I am thinking about switching gears and collecting g2.  I didn't like them at first, but a little talk here and a little talk there, and next thing you know, my interest has been captured.

@LadyMoondancer-Thank you for the link.  I did ask for the suggested $15 refund, but now I feel little bad.  I was able to fix it and did a trial run; pushed baby Petal in the the swing and it did not come tumbling down.  You can tell its snapped, so cosmetically it is off, but functionality, it seems to work fine. 

@lostpony-my skills with a drill leave something to be desired  .  I have done that method before with using a pin or dowel to help secure a snapped pole, the pole had a slightly larger diameter and was going to be under a lot more physical stress than the pony swing.  It does work like a charm though. I did pick up an thin adhesive from Hobby lobby which contains cyanoacrylate ester (a component of super glue; just looked up and edited post ). It seems to be doing the job.  But thank you for the information regarding the use of baking soda to cause a exothermic reaction, and therefore a more secured seal.  Will definitely remember this for down the road projects!

[lostpony]

Cyanoacrylate is super glue yes, and always best purchased at a hobby store rather than as Superglue.  Use the baking soda anywhere the glue won't set up.  The exothermic quality is just an interesting side-note, it's not a factor of the bond:  that it catalyzes is the key.

I'm glad you got it repaired!

That G2 IS pretty cute......hm.....I thought the G1s were ugly until collecting G4s and the G1s are looking nice now and I just got my first G1s and I am very happy with  them....G3 still looks really weird to me now but, who knows what will happen next.  Funny how that works, isn't it?