Fedex strikes again

[just4kinks]

Three days ago this E120 was brand new (old stock). :(

It was well packed - double boxed in double layer cardboard, mounted on hard foam (which was crushed). Fedex spent all of Tuesday trying to deliver it to the wrong zip code... then on Wednesday they decided it would be more fun to squash it instead.

[Skywave-Rider]

Terrible. Really horrible.
All the carriers suck.
It's really a gamble.
I spent 3hrs today at the post office trying to file an insurance claim on a package they seemingly threw in the sewer. (Hafler preamp.)
Last Summer, UPS "lost" ONE of two Genelecs I shipped to Canada. Somehow a box of printed matter arrived in its place.

I hope Fedex is good with the insurance claims.
Good Luck!!

[edgewound]

I tell you what....

When using shipping materials that have proven to work in the past, it never ceases to amaze me that someone, somewhere will deliver the fatal blow out of frustration from his own organization's managerial/clerical error.

Up to now...FedEx has been flawless for me.

It took three days for this to arrive in what should've been a one day trip.

I can see the driver using it for a step stool in his truck...or throwing it to the back... when he discovered it was sent to the wrong zip code and couldn't find the address.

[JBobL]

Thought a truck hit my house last month but it was just the UPS guy flipping my JBL L890 end over end across the porch. The first bang I heard was only the sub getting tossed from the yard onto the porch.
Got a pair of 8" JBL woofers refoamed for a friend and shipped them but the package went somewhere else and was labeled "exception" and finally delivered with box open!

[Mr. Widget]

In general I prefer FedEx myself, but it is always a crap shoot. What ever is shipped must be able to withstand being dropped 4' onto concrete or you may be disappointed. I found this out a few months back when I shipped some heavy fragile items. They were well packed I thought, but I was obviously wrong. After dropping them and smashing the wooden crates I had built, FedEx did offer to pay to replace them, but that is hardly the point.

Pack well, pray to the deity of your choice, and always buy insurance!


Widget

[richluvsound]

Pack well, pray to the deity of your choice, and always buy insurance!


Widget[/QUOTE]

I'll second that ! Mr Widget :D

Rich

[timc]

Sorry to hear about your loss.

Last year we recieved a Banged up Klipsch RW-12 subwoofer. The cabinet was crushed and the woofer gasket had been deformed. They obviously had used it to stack thing on top of. There were inprints of metal floors on the side of the subwofer!

This was Tollpost.



-Tim

[Donald]

I had a run-in with an eBay seller, UPS and Office Depot. 2 Carver units in 1 box. Only crumpled newspaper as packing. Box was not in too bad a shape. But the contents! Amp just had a bent cover corner. But the sound processor was the worst. Still not sure if I can straighten the faceplate.

Buyer said UPS counter in Office Depot packed it therefore it was packed OK. UPS said bad packing. In the end seller walked away with my money, UPS insurance company did not spend a dime and I have damaged goods.

As far as I am concerned buying insurance does not cover damage. Just a lost package. How can they insure something against damages when they did not pack it?

[just4kinks]

I've been thinking about this today.

The foam underneath the driver was hard, 2+ inches thick. Around the outer rim of the frame it was completely crushed, to the point of disintegrating. The foam under the cone remained intact, and this is what squashed it.

I think it must have take A LOT of force to pulverize the foam... significantly more than being dropped a few feet or having someone stand on it. I think it's more likely that this box fell off of a high shelf in a warehouse, or got squashed by a forklift trying to squeeze it into a small space.

It would be nice to see a shipping / distribution company that specializes in handling fragile items. There is definitely a market demand and a lot of people would pay a premium to avoid the Fedex / UPS headache.

[John]

First thing what should of been done is to mount the driver cone down to at least a 1/4" or more plywood board.:blah:

Then stretch wrap the whole thing and then hard foam. :bouncy:



Regardless the box does sound like it was mishandled.:o:

[BigT]

First thing what should of been done is to mount the driver cone down to at least a 1/4" or more plywood board.:blah:



Then stretch wrap the whole thing and then hard foam. :bouncy:





Regardless the box does sound like it was mishandled.:o:


This is exactly what an Ebay seller did for me for the two JBL E145-8 woofers I won, except he didn't use hard foam but some kind of blanket plus peanuts. All arrived safely.

[RussinOhio]

a

[JBobL]

Just last week I watched, from the front door, the mailman stick one of those phony "Sorry we missed you" notes in my mailbox. I paid $35usd for shipping and they never even attempted delivery! The sender even went to the trouble of going to the PO on a Saturday morning to ship as quick as I had paid. But I had to drive to the PO to pick it up. Funny thing was the lady there told me I had to wait for the mailman to return from his route. I explain that he never attempted delivery and she went and checked and sure enough there was my package. :biting:

[SEAWOLF97]

Finally !!! A positive story...

A couple of months back I sold a preamp to a LHF member across the country...It got there via USPS, but not in good shape. He said it had tire marks on the box and it was wet.
When packing it up, I had a weird feeling and put on insurance, at my expense. (kinda protects both of us from USPS)...
Anyway, he filed the claim and this week....a check !!!! Insurance had to work as advertised at least once :applaud:

[brutal]

Finally !!! A positive story...

A couple of months back I sold a preamp to a LHF member across the country...It got there via USPS, but not in good shape. He said it had tire marks on the box and it was wet.
When packing it up, I had a weird feeling and put on insurance, at my expense. (kinda protects both of us from USPS)...
Anyway, he filed the claim and this week....a check !!!! Insurance had to work as advertised at least once :applaud:

:hmm: Tire marks you say? So THAT'S how you get USPS/UPS to pay claims! :D

[johnaec]

(kinda protects both of us from USPS)...
Anyway, he filed the claim and this week....a check !!!! Insurance had to work as advertised at least once :applaud:While it's usually been a hassle, all the insurance claims I've tried to collect on have eventually come through.

You're lucky with the USPS - they allow the recipient to file the paperwork and collect directly, though as I recall there's a few procedures that have to be followed in that case.

Virtually *all* the other carriers require the seller/shipper to provide all the supporting documents, and the check also gets written to the seller, and you have to hope he comes clean with you. The only exception I know to this is if the buyer pays for shipping via an account with the shipping company. I've never heard of an eBay seller doing it this way, though.

The simple solution, (I don't know why shipping companies don't do this :( ), would be to just have a checkbox the seller/shipper could mark when shipping that simply agrees to allow the buyer/receiver do the insurance paperwork and receive the check. The receiver is usually the owner by this time, having paid for the item and shipping to the seller in advance - *why* should the seller get the refund?

The shipping companies have all told me they can't do this because they need to see the shipping receipts and insurance papers. Bull!! The minute anything ships, *all* the info is in their computer and tracking systems. Allowing the buyer/receiver to to do all the insurance claim work in the event of damage would make things vastly easier!

That said, I've also on occasion asked the seller if I can send him a pre-configured shipping box at my expense, just so I know it will be packed properly, (I've actually got such a proposal to another seller right now on an amp I just bought). One time, the seller refused, saying they knew full well how to pack a pair of speakers. You guessed it - they arrived totally trashed! :banghead: It took me almost 3 months to collect on that one, because the seller kept insisting it was up to me to file all the insurance papers. After literally about 10 calls back and forth, they finally realized that was just the way it was...

And while FedEx *will* let the receiver file the initial claim papers, that only gets it rolling. The seller still has to provide all the receipts, etc., and the check still goes to them. Fortunately, the threat of negative feedback usually gets them motivated to come through...

John

[SEAWOLF97]

While it's usually been a hassle, all the insurance claims I've tried to collect on have eventually come through.

You're lucky with the USPS - they allow the recipient to file the paperwork and collect directly, though as I recall there's a few procedures that have to be followed in that case.

Virtually *all* the other carriers require the seller/shipper to provide all the supporting documents, and the check also gets written to the seller, and you have to hope he comes clean with you. The only exception I know to this is if the buyer pays for shipping via an account with the shipping company. I've never heard of an eBay seller doing it this way, though.
John

USPS lets either end to file the paperwork. since you have to take the item/packing into them to be inspected and the purchaser is the person who wants the money, I thought it better that he do it.
Unfortunately, they keep the damaged item.

Different story of course on lost item.

[Skywave-Rider]

In the interest of full disclosure it was me who got the Hafler soaking wet and with skidmarks. For the benefit of those who may find themselves in a similar situation, let me add some things:

If you are the recipient of a damaged item shipped by the USPS you will have to pay a visit in person to surrender the item and fill out paperwork.

In my case, I spent more than 3 hours standing in the PO to get this right. That was after being forcefully persistent in telling a succession of workers that I could file the claim as well as the sender. Finally got a supervisor who said I was wrong, and I told him to "go on line" and read the material. He actually went in the back, whether he read the web page or not I do not know. Following a series of "wait here s" I finally got paperwork which had to be filled out in four or five copies by hand. I assume they had no copy machine.

The supervisor then filled out his portions by hand -- for all "copies," or originals as it were.

All tolled, 3 hours standing. Additional disclosure: I don't have luck with the government, so you may be gracefully spared in a similar situation.

My advice: be persistent, read your stuff before you go down in person, and BE PERSISTENT!

I believe the people who "helped" me never assisted a customer through the procedure. This is in Zip 10001, the PO that never closes!
HAHAHAHA!

But in the end, I got the refund. Yay.:(

[Dark Knight]

I read this post in the same way as rubber-neckers pass an accident. You know you shouldn't look, but you do.

I am expecting a pair of JBL L36s from Vancouver, WA. The seller is a really great guy and sent me pictures of how he packed the item. It looked like he used the same proven method. But, reading how carefully your speakers were packed and still got damages really frightens me :(. I guess this is an occupational hazzard of aquiring more gear.

I hope things work out.

DK

[tom1040]

Have any of you heard of a package from Fedex having water damage? That is the line I heard yesterday regarding why they did not deliver my JBL S2600 speakers. One box was soaked. They called and asked if I wanted them to still deliver. I said yes, but they took a damage assesment ( w/o taking the speaker out of the box ). They are suppose to deliver today. I hope I am lucky and they are alright.

How the hell does Fedex end up geting there goods damaged. Reminds me of Castaway!

[oznob]

He sent 140lb speakers via FedEx ground?:banghead: IMHO, those should have been strapped to a pallet and sent via freight! I would want to know if the cardboard was still wet or if it just has water damage. They have a cardboard insert within the outer box, hopefully that protected them. When you do get them and if the cabinets appear to be OK, I would pull the drivers and crossovers and check for any corrosion. I sincerely hope they are not damaged! Please keep us posted.

[analogman]

I had a run-in with an eBay seller, UPS and Office Depot. 2 Carver units in 1 box. Only crumpled newspaper as packing. Box was not in too bad a shape. But the contents! Amp just had a bent cover corner. But the sound processor was the worst. Still not sure if I can straighten the faceplate.

Buyer said UPS counter in Office Depot packed it therefore it was packed OK. UPS said bad packing. In the end seller walked away with my money, UPS insurance company did not spend a dime and I have damaged goods.

As far as I am concerned buying insurance does not cover damage. Just a lost package. How can they insure something against damages when they did not pack it?


Hopefully a year or less.
Make a call and write a letter of demand.
They have to make you whole unless those corners were already like that.
Your box was packed by someone that would easily be perceived by any reasonable person as an agent acting on the behalf of UPS, even if NOT in their direct hire. Liability here extends and cross pollinates.
Most just give up with the blow off they already gave you.
Doesn't work that way, ESPECIALLY in sunny California.
May take some strong talk, but you can get satisfaction.
Analogman

[analogman]

.......far beyond just a drop location. They owe you. I guarantee it. I can't speak to which arm handles compensation for matters such as these as I have only filed one claim with UPS since around 1970. They delivered a Rega turntable to an abandoned warehouse in Tennessee for me once. I try to avoid using them. Couple of years ago I attempted to ship a large tube amp up to Oregon for warranty work. What a nightmare! Amp weighed 100lbs. Idiot picked it up (3) times and subsequently returned it! Never made it out of town. The paper work or whatever wasn't "right" at dumb ass central!?! It was a pick up initiated by a long standing business account. Finally the guy that was to receive the amp said "fuc% it" and had DHL come get it. Amp's never been the same after a minimum of (8) "on and offs" by those dumb shits with UPS not to mention it's eventual journey.
Good luck and God Bless:

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