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Smelly Case
This is not remotely business or marketing… but I consider B&M sort of my “home forum” on the COW and know most everyone here… and figured some of my friends here might have run across something like this…
ANYwho…
I bought a small semi-hard-sided case for my little DJI Mavic Pro drone (which, btw, is the coolest quadcopter I’ve ever run across). I don’t like the case that DJI sells for it, nor did I want a big clunky Pelican… just something small light and easy.
So, I found this little case for it on Amazon, it wasn’t expensive, seems really well made, got great reviews, and everything fits perfectly… it arrived yesterday afternoon.
Here’s the problem… the case smells. I don’t mean it smells a little… it REEKS. I can’t put my finger on it, it’s like a combination of cigarette smoke combined with strong perfume combined with a weird chemical odor. It is definitely NOT the typical formaldehyde “new car smell” that new gear often has. It’s a strong nauseating odor that permeates throughout the foam and fabric. I couldn’t even keep it in my house last night, I had to put it on the porch. And when I got to work this morning and went into the studio (where I had opened the package) I could still sense it in the air a bit.
SO… has anyone had any luck “de-smelling” something like this? My better half Kim recently bought a used book online that was so smoky that it smelled like the doormat in a bar… she put it in a plastic bag with coffee grounds and that completely deodorized it… but I think this would take a whole lot more than that.
And by the way, now the drone itself smells, too, even thought it was only in it for an hour or so.
I’m very close to throwing it away if I can’t return it (since it was a Chinese seller), but thought I’d ask here first.
And at any rate, people always secretly smile at other people’s misfortune… so I thought I’d share…
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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8 Replies
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Idea 1: Can you return it to the vendor and ask for a replacement that doesn’t smell?
Idea 2: Charcoal brickets and silica gel both can greatly diminish if not eliminate odors, but both will probably take a while to do so.
(How’s this for a Biz and Mkt answer?)
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Thanks Nick…
Yes, that is a Biz & Mktg answer, definitely.
After mulling it over today, I’m just going to try to get a refund. This one was SO bad I don’t trust another one, especially from the same vendor. And it took WEEKS to get this one delivered, so I can’t imagine returning this one and getting a new one and hoping that one is odor-free would be a fast process.
At this point I’m going to just try to get a refund. If not, it’s a short trip to the dumpster out back and I’ll move on.
I’ve just never had (or smelled) anything remotely like this, in probably 30 years of buying countless cases…..
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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1. A can or two of Febreze might be worth the try before sending your case back.
https://www.febreze.com/en-us/learn/how-febreze-works2. At first I was disappointed with the Mavic bag, but like it now for the compactness and how easy it is to take it anywhere. The trick is the elastics or velcro around the props.
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Another very good remedy for noxious smells is coffee beans. They really soak up odors, plus they smell pretty nice themselves. The beans, not ground coffee. Just make sure you toss the beans when you’re done with them.
Joe Bourke
Owner/Creative Director
Bourke Media
http://www.bourkemedia.com -
Thanks everyone for the suggestion…. this horrible thing is going back, though… already packed up and heading out to ship in it a few minutes. I took the liberty of thoroughly wrapping it in plastic stretch wrap just in case the smell dissipated any before it arrived.
I traded about 15 emails with the seller last night… all very friendly, which started from not-very-accommodating to eventually very accommodating. Their first very friendly-toned offer was to refund 50% and I could keep the case. No thank you. They then offered a full refund after I returned it, but warned it would take up to 28 days to get back to China. No thanks. Then they said they would give me a US address. Before I could even respond they wrote back and said, “We’ll issue a refund, just keep it.” But their refund was only the purchase price, didn’t include shipping I had paid which I thought I deserved since it was a defective product, and I was just going to throw it away… so I was friendly but hardnosed about it. Their final offer was to send it back to the US address and they would pay for shipping both ways.
The funny thing is the emails, both ways, were all surprisingly friendly and civil.
And now, I’m about to get this horrible thing out of my house……..
Thanks all!
(by the way, I have also just ordered a small Pelican-clone for it… it’s what I really need for it anyway)
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I ordered some small hard drive cases from Korea and when you open them you get a serious blast of some kind of noxious chemical fumes….like really bad.
A coworker said to put vodka in a spray bottle and mist it down. Never tried it, but when I kept the cases open for about a week out in the garage the smell went way down, but they are clearly made out of some pretty nasty stuff.
Look nice enough however!
Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media Inc.
Video Production, Post, Studio Sound Stage
Founder/President/Editor/Designer/Animator
https://www.tiltmedia.com -
Yeah this one LOOKED nice, but gawd the smell.
It took about 20 nice-but-persistent emails but I finally got my money back… I just got the email from Amazon a little while ago that the seller had refunded.
Hopefully the next one I buy won’t be so odorous………
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I would have tried Febreze as well: the unscented original version.
My best guesses as to what happened is A: the gasses they use to blow the foam are not well-regulated (and they pass the savings on to YOU!!!!!”) or B: Adhesives used to attach the foam are outgassing. C: the molds that shape the foam cavities are lubricated with something nasty and again, they pass the savings of not working under American standards on to YOU.
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