WIll the neon Light still work?

Question

i bought a world cup 2006 neon budweiser sign on ebay and when it came today, with no fragile sign on the box, a glass rod on the front was cracked and 1 on the back was smashed off. what i want to know is will it still work? and is there any danger with plugging it in?

Answer 1

Probably not.  If by glass rod you mean the glass tubing that forms the words of the sign, then no.  The tubing is filled with neon and other gases that make the sign glow.  If the tube was cracked or broken the gases have escaped.  You should be able to get the tubing repaired and the sign working again but I don't know how much it would cost.  I'd contact the seller and let him/her know it arrived broken and see what they say.  Certainly the sign should have been packed in such a way that it wouldn't break during shipment.  It also depends on how it was shipped.  UPS doesn't do fragile.  They'll ship a box marked fragile but don't give it any special treatment.  It's up to the shipper to see that the packing is appropriate for the contents.  If the seller won't do anything, give the appropriate feedback.  I'd also contact eBay and let them know what happened.