Well folks, here is the happy ending.
The seller responded immediatley. They offered a return for refund...but I want the cue. Honestly, I got it cheap as an "unknown". The shaft is worth double what I paid.
A little while later they refunded my money and said keep it. They said they had packed it in a box, but FedEx took it out of the box, slapped the labels on it you see in my pictures, and sent it like that. I have no reason to not believe them.
The wrapping and padding he had looked adequate to put in a box or tube. But without a box or tube no way. He is a volume seller, seems to know his business. I do think the shipper is at fault.
He sent me my refund and opened a claim with the shipper based on my pictures.
So, the adventure will be to have the cue rebuilt. All the breaks are on the glue lines. I think it can be reassembled.
If nothing else, it provides some documentation of the construction of these cues, which is pretty standard and not surprising, but at least we have some documentation for posterity.
