Doesn't matter if they can pick it up they will still throw it off the truck and let it bounce a couple times and then leave...They do suck...! I guess you can tell i had a bad experiance huh?? |
Funny, FedEx just bounced a 135# amp box I just sent and didn't ask me anything, it was declared for $5,500.
Fortunately it was double boxed in factory packaging and made it safely.
I find as a general rulle, the heavier something is the more likely it will be damaged. If you have concerns, ship things on a palette freight. |
Well, I hope my luck holds. I've shipped a lot of stuff with Fedex including 3 or 4 sets of speakers and never had a problem. I've had problems with UPS and USPS - a number of problems. I won't use either of them if I can help it. But Fedex has gone above and beyond several times. I know all it takes is one slacker to bust it up but whatcha gonna do? |
Wireless - I know that UPS has the special handling thing you are referring to - my shipment was over $5K and it qualified, not sure how low it goes |
I've shipped a lot of stuff via FedEX, with the default value of $100 up to maybe $20K. I've never found the insured amount to have any bearing on anything that happened in terms of the shipment. |
I've also found out the hard way that the best way to ship anything of weight and value, is to make sure its palletized and use a freight company. No matter what they say or what you pay, FEdEx, UPS and USPS seem to bounce things, if they can. In addition, their claims process is a nightmare - I've had to threaten lawsuits before they would pay anything for the damage they've caused. I have had good luck with both Yellow Freight and Pilot Air using pallets. |
At $5k and over UPS consider a package 'High Value'
It must be signed for at each handover, and once such a package is given to the driver he must return directly to the hub with it, it isn't allowed to sit on the truck the rest of the day.
All high value packages get marked with a V on all sides.
I don't know if UPS takes other special care in addition.
John C. |
Just curious. Has anyone taken an item to one of those UPS stores and had the UPS people do the packing with the "guarantee" that they offer (according to the TV ads)? And then, after that, still had problems with damage and denial of claims? Are there weight or insured value limits for that "guarantee"? |
Yes, the TV spin, is just that spin. I've shipped stuff via the UPS Store, including their packing of the item, and get one big hassel with claims. The general rule is that you must have the units original packing materials and boxes, and then double box the item. Otherwise, all the peanuts and bubble wrap in the world will not make a difference. |
Once shipped an Insured High Value $5,000 component by UPS after their assurances of the extra-care the package would receive. Not only did the package arrive damaged, the driver left it on the front-porch of the buyers house, with no signature to verify delivery!!! Maybe the driver left the package hoping he could avoid blame for the damage, i.e. Damaged by the Recipient. Since that experience I have used FedEx exclusively without a problem of any kind. Then again I pack each item to survive the worst possible disaster and that is really the only remedy to the problem. Overpack the item knowing that it can, and will, be dropped a dozen times enroute and must still arrive in mint condition. Thinking about the process eliminates the theory that one cardboard box is sufficient, or that peanuts will protect the equipment, or that the carrier will exercise ordinary care because the box is marked Fragile. |
Commcast,
I truly think it depends on the weight of the product shipped.
I can't see how a three, or even 6 foot fall will likely damage a well packed CD player weighing 5-10 pounds tops, but a 135 pound amplifier will certainly exert more damage to the packaging, and thus the unit inside.
I have used all routes of shipping, and have been fairly lucky so far. Every shipper I have used has caused major damage to the packaging on SOME shipments, but no one has trashed a component yet, but it is only a matter of time until that happens. I do my best to ship[p appropriately and take weight highly into consideration when shipping.
If I am shipping something very valuable and heavy, I try to go freight and use a palette. |
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FedEx ground has been golden for me....shipped lots of stuff for years....always without a hitch.
UPS was horrible....they were condescending, rude and just general *ssholes. I'll never use them again. I live directly across the street from a UPS center.....I'll use FedEx every time.
. |
I fought with Fedex ground for 6 months before they finally reimbursed me for what I had to pay in order to have their damage fixed. I was transferred among and between 3 different regions with the hope that I would eventually give up. I did not give up, as I just got more upset and determined, as it became a "principal of the thing" issue, and finally got reimbursed($1600.) The items were large and heavy and they were bounced. I had a similarly poor experience from an Insured High Value UPS tube amplifier delivery that they also obviously dropped but refused to pay for repairs. One of the managers from one of the services confessed to me that they were actually graded on how few claims they paid, and encouraged to deny claims routinely, regardless of merit. I am disgusted with the whole lot of them. Freight and pallets remains my choice going forward. Life is too short for this brain damage..... |
[...]
One of the managers from one of the services confessed to me that they were actually graded on how few claims they paid, and encouraged to deny claims routinely, regardless of merit. I am disgusted with the whole lot of them. [...] That remark reminded me of something. A close friend of mine during college dated a girl who worked for the IRS in the auditing department. You guessed it... they were graded on how much money they got from taxpayers who were deemed not to have paid enough for whatever reason. The more the better. The way he described it as she told him was one of those things you didn't really want to know about. |
FWIW - Just received a heavy tube amp that was palletized by Pilot Air. No problems and I picked it up at their terminal in Denver to cut down costs. Expense was same as Fed Ex ground quote. |
Fplanner- did they put it on a pallet or did you? |
SW: They did. They picked the amp and tubes up at VAC in FLA and I picked them up here. No dropping, no abuse, no problems. I saved about $85 by picking up from them, which was no problem for me from a logistical standpoint. Took about 4 days.
I have found the freight carriers to be much more professional and responsible than the "kids" that mostly populate Fedex/UPS. I think that at least for Pilot, this is because you are dealing with the people that actually OWN the business/franchise. So to them, it DOES matter that you have a good experience so that you use them again. They also can't afford to have any complaints as franchise owners. That has most definitely NOT been my experience with Fedex and UPS, who really don't seem to care what happens. |
Pilot delivered my VSA Sr IV's (about 400 lbs?). I was very pleased with their service and the condition the speakers arrived in. Even the boxes were un-blemished. |
