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(More customer reviews)I ordered an Olivetti Linea manual typewriter and expected to recieve a brand new item. It arrived in a rather tattered and " well traveled " box. Upon closer inspection the single wall thin cardboard box showed signs of other labels having been removed from the box at another time. Although everything was intact upon opening the box after removing the plastic bag surrounding the typewriter it was obvious this was not a new machine. There was oil residue on some of the keytops, 4 type bars were bent, all of the type looked as it needed a good cleaning as they were beginning to fill in with ribbon residue. A section of the upper plastic cover ( access cover to the ribbon spools ) showed signs of abrasive wear.
After carefully removing the shipping blocks from the carriage assembly there was a bind in the carriage from the left side and also in the center travel of the carriage resulting in uneven spacing in characters typed in these parts of carriage travel.
Upon installation of the platten advance knob, in a few turns there was binding in the rotation of the carriage. At this point I knew this was a defective piece of equipment and most likely something that had been returned by a previous customer.
When I called the dealer and explained this situation to them I also read the information from a pink color card that was packed with the typewriter and I questioned why the customer name was shown as Olivetti. It was at this point the dealer admitted that an error must have taken place and that the pink card was in fact a Repair Form !
I was issued a return authorization which I recived in the mail a few weeks later and returned this typewriter per the instructions and the return shippping was at My Own Expense !
I was sent a replacement typewriter and once again it arrived in a tattered and worn box which I feel is just not durable enough for something of this weight. The replacement typewriter had binding in the carriage, the Tabulation system was totally innoperative, the upper access cover did not even match the rest of the plastic case nor did it fit properly. I am assuming this cover may have been from a different machine. Additionally the piece of decorative trim from the front of the typewriter just above the keyboard was laying on top of the keyboard when I opened the box as the glue holding it in place must have dried out and the trim just fell off. Again, I found another Pink Repair Card inside of the box with this typewriter so I immediately made arrangements to return this one and did not want to bother having a replacement sent. Once again return shipping was at My Expense.
Should you buy one of these typewriters, even if it is a brand new and not used ones like I recieved do not expect this to be like the manual typewriters of years ago. Although the basic framework for the typing section appears durable there are other things that are not. More than likely you will not find any local repair shop for these either. The platten material is very thin compared to the manual typewriters of years ago and other deficiencies were noted as well.
Should you decide to buy one of these take my advice, Insist on having it Well Packed and Double Boxed ! The original box is just not that durable and other than the styrofoam forms on each end of the typewriter the box offers very little protection against shipping damage.
These machines are made in a factory in India and I doubt they are manufactured by Olivetti, they may just have a license to put that name on them. Although it looks authentic and similar to the Manual Office Typewriters we used a few decades ago, the durability and build quality have little similarity.
I have been using typewriters for over 50 years both manual, electric, electronic, portable and office models. I have also used Teletype Machines for worldwide printed communications long before The Internet so I feel I have had enough experience to qualify this review.
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