A Saga about an Old Rusty Toolbox

[Shelbylex]

This is a long adventure which I went through during the last multiple weeks. It was one of the hardest, dumbest and interesting tool adventures I had since I joined GJ. Take a beer, vodka, coffee or drink of your choice and sit down to read...

As many of you know, I bought a Blackhawk Red Rover a while ago and decided to get a top box for it. I looked through different options and decided that R70 would be the best top for me as I like symmetrical boxes.
I searched the internet including e-bay, offer up, random sites and whatever I could looking for Blackhawk with a combination of tool box, chest, master mechanic, etc… I also went through all the posts of Blackhawk on GarajeJournal. I would like to thank RHJ051, Shadow 408, Jabberwoki UsernameAlreadyInUse, SuperSport and 930Dreamer for responding to my messages (I am sorry if I missed somebody). I would especially like to thank the few members who considered helping me in my journey and offering their treasures. One of the boxes looked great but unfortunately one of my friends who sometimes travelled the country never ended up near the location in OH. I apologize that I did not take 2 other generous offers as I do not have great skills of many members here and was looking for intact toolbox as I could not guarantee I could restore it properly. To make it interesting, I even got contacted by FredHumble095 from Malta offering the box (unfortunately a combination of 0 posts and inability to provide any details about the box made me feel uneasy and I never called an international number which was offered for contact (especially that the number did not contain international area code for Malta)

 

[Shelbylex]

Well, after a lot of search I found a box listed in El Paso, TX on Offerup. The box was there for some time. The price was right - $30. I created an account and got in touch with the seller on August 9. While I was trying to get more pictures as the ones listed were limited, I got a note that the box was sold….

Well, I guess I am sometimes not ready to give up. I got in touch with the seller and ask him if he can get me in touch with the buyer as I really wanted this box. I guess I got lucky and I got a phone number. I text the person on August 13. I nice gentlemen called back from blocked number and told me that he did not have any significant attachment to the box and was glad to send it to me if I paid a little bit extra ($10). We interacted about the ways of shipping it and I mailed a certified bank check to the address provided. (yes, I know, never did it before and most likely will never do it again…) A day later we spoke over the phone and he asked me if I minded paying him the same amount of money as postal services were asking to pack the box offering to do a better job. I said yes and sent another certified bank check for $25 to the address provided in 2 days (yes, I know what many of you are already thinking)

 

[Shelbylex]

I texted the person 3 days later and got no reply.
I called the bank in several days and was notified that the checks were cashed without signatures on the back on August 28…
At this point the person disappeared… He would not respond to my texts or pick up the phone.
Couple of days later I started worrying. I know, there is always a chance that I was scammed, but sometimes I still have hope in humanity. Given the situation with COVID and that the person sounded relatively old, I asked local PD to do a wellness check to make sure that nothing bad happened (we all have people whom we know who got sick). By this time I already checked the address and connected it to a local trailer park. Speaking with the management office did not help.
I got a great service from El Paso PD – they went and checked on the address but did not find anybody. We have to give a credit to our brave first responders – they risk their lives checking on sick people and often saving the ones who are in trouble!

Well, it looks like I got scammed…

 

[Shelbylex]

Almost a week after that I suddenly get a phone call from the person from Vonage number who tells me that his cell phone died, he lost my contact and his car was giving him trouble. On September 9 we spoke again and the person told me that he was planning to pack the box but the rain destroyed the cardboard… (well, I checked the weather – it really rained in El Paso that morning…)
We spoke on 11th of September and the gentleman was busy fixing his car. On the 12th he was working on injector replacement… 15th of September … Still working on his car… Car finished… Plan to deliver the box to the UPS so I could pay over the phone for shipping (USPS did not accept over the phone payment…). Well, on the day of delivery of the box to the UPS I get a phone call. The car is in trouble again. There was a small fire…..
… At this point some of my friends are laughing that I got a friend from another state who likes talking to me, but chances are, I will need to look for new box…

 

[Shelbylex]

27th of September. I get a phone call again. The car got fixed!
29th of September I got a call – the box is to be delivered to UPS
I checked the message from UPS – the weight of the package is 62.5 lb. The box should weight 49.5lb. Well, at this point I am between the options of getting a nice set of bricks, very rare driftwood from another state, some other toolbox or a very well packed original…
…Trying not to think about it…
5th of October: I get a text from wife – there is a big box waiting for you. For some strange and lucky coincidence I get out of work a little early and drive home. I honestly waited extra 2 minutes before I put a knife in the box and started unpacking not knowing what it could be.
And this is what I see…

 

[Shelbylex]

Now my hopes are going up and I keep unpacking the box...

 

[Shelbylex]

And the final picture of the boxes in my library

 

[Shelbylex]

Happy end!

 

[Private Lugnutz]

Best $65 Long Distance Blackhawk Box R blind faith purchase story I have ever read, Shelby! It might have cost you a bit more from Malta!

 

[thehorse13]

Welcome to the long distance club. You have certainly read a few of my wayward adventures but I wouldn't change any of them.

Not only do you now have a beautiful top box, but a great story to go along with it. By the way, you should send me that stack for safe keeping. Do you accept bank checks?

 

[RTM]

Great adventure. At least if it had gone bad, you were only out <$100. Got to live dangerously occasionally, risk vs reward.p, etc.

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, Lugz, thehorse and RTM!
Thehorse, I still have to catch up to your level!!!

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Wow that is a series of events that will result in some beer drinking! Glad it worked out.

 

[tin medic]

That was really fun to read. Best thing is another old box got saved.

 

[indiomonk]

Great story. I almost wanted to make a 12 hour drive to El paso!

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, gentlemen!

 

[ssdave]

Fun and interesting. For the less than $100 entry fee, worth the experience!

 

[Farmer J.]

Great story and a nice box.
About $40 of box and $60 of entertainment!

 

[captain14]

What a story. There are some people that live on the edge and can barely get by day to day when live events take place and set them back.

Any idea what made up the shipping weight difference than the actual weight?

If you do the rehab process on the box, please document here.

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you!
Captain14, I think it's mostly cardboard. May be some of it was a little damp? If you look at the picture of the roof of the box in the first image, you can get an idea how many layers were around the box on each side. It was truly well packed!!!

 

[y'sguy]

Happy for you to finally get the box. I am currently experiencing a similar Deal. It is an unsettling process we have to sometimes go through. Glad yours worked out!

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, y’sguy.
I hope your deal goes through and we will read about it soon.
Your toolbox stack was one of my inspirations - I wanted to have a complete stack as given the rarity of boxes and lesser following than SO I wanted to preserve a lesser collected brand that I like. I think that top box similar to yours would be a better top fit area wise but I really liked the 3 drawer design.

One thing I never saw is a mid box. I wonder if they ever made them (hmm, now I have to be careful because if the answer is yes, I am in trouble...)

 

[Straightgrain]

Glad to hear it, $65 is a small price to pay for a story, and box, that'll last a lifetime.

On a side note, I purchased a Colgate toothpaste sign (circa 1950s) from an e-bayer in Malta. When it arrived, intact and well worth the asking price, the return address on the customs form was listed as someplace in the middle east, I don't remember what country specifically because it was so long ago.

 

[Unruh]

What a great story! Glad everything worked out.

 

[Shelbylex]

Thank you, gentlemen.
Straightgrain, it's interesting that they listed it in Malta - I wonder if that allows some people to avoid taxes...

 

[Straightgrain]

Either that or they didn't want to scare people away when they saw where the seller was from. If I remember correctly, the seller may have been located in Lebanon.

 

[PugetDude]

Great story, glad it worked out for you- you defied the odds with so many scammers out there.

 

[Lookin4'67Galaxieconv]

Wow...that's quite a tale. Persistence pays off!

 

[Shelbylex]

Agree. I honestly thought that I am getting scammed at least couple of times. Just kept hoping and calling : )