$100 limit on Fed Ex coverage for shipped instruments

[Giraffe]

I had an interesting morning trying to ship a bass to another TB'er using Fed Ex. I rolled in to Kinko's with the bass securely boxed and the shipping document filled out. The gal at the counter told me (and this was confirmed with a phone call to corp headquarters) that:

Plastering "This Side Up" stickers on the box is "wrong" because the handlers by policy ignore them. They just grab the closest edge and let it fall where it may;

"We have some pretty rough conveyor belts!"

"This package is not insured."



The representative at their headquarters advised me after researching the issue that musical instruments which are over twenty years old, or customized, or personalized, or which are unique in any way, are not covered for damage, period. It doesn't matter what declared value you write on the Customer Shipping Record. There is a ton of wiggle room in that verbiage, and it's not on our side! "Customized" and "Unique in any way" covers way too much ground.

Between the grief and agravation of my bank telling me there is no way they are going to tell me when the buyer's check cleared, and dealing with the counter help at the shipping places, I have had it. I'm sending the money back, sending an extra hundred by way of apology. Local deals only from now on!

[jgsbass]

Why don't you just mail it . USPS will insure it and deliver it and their monkeys are just as smart as Fedex's. Everything I've ever sold here on TB went through USPS and the only thing that wasn't timely was the smallest package I ever sent ( stuffed envelope)

[ibanezcollector]

just kind of made me laugh and maybe someone else will too..

Imagine the scenario when the day comes when one of my basses gets damaged and they open that box.. And I say my Lord what did you guys do to it..

Hahahhahaha

Classic..

[DeanT]

Originally Posted by jgsbass

Why don't you just mail it . USPS will insure it and deliver it and their monkeys are just as smart as Fedex's. Everything I've ever sold here on TB went through USPS and the only thing that wasn't timely was the smallest package I ever sent ( stuffed envelope)

That's only true if you ship within the US. Don't even try to use the Post Office to ship internationally. They have these weird size restrictions. And forget what it says on their web site, when you go to the PO they make up their own size limits.

I've used UPS successfully many times for US and international shipments. They are not the cheapest, but you can insure the bass for what it's worth and they are reasonably intelligent about handling the package.

[Ryan L.]

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

just kind of made me laugh and maybe someone else will too..

Imagine the scenario when the day comes when one of my basses gets damaged and they open that box.. And I say my Lord what did you guys do to it..

Hahahhahaha

Classic..

[Angus]

This is why I don't use Fedex. I've never had a good experience with them, whereas any bad experience I've had with UPS has always been rectified or covered by them (even in one case where they didn't really need to).

[Ryan L.]

Use UPS, DHL, or USPS then. They all offer insurance.

[Darkstrike]

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

just kind of made me laugh and maybe someone else will too..

Imagine the scenario when the day comes when one of my basses gets damaged and they open that box.. And I say my Lord what did you guys do to it..

Hahahhahaha

Classic..

Oh man thats the funniest thing I've heard all day!

[jwsamuel]

Originally Posted by jgsbass

Why don't you just mail it . USPS will insure it and deliver it and their monkeys are just as smart as Fedex's. Everything I've ever sold here on TB went through USPS and the only thing that wasn't timely was the smallest package I ever sent ( stuffed envelope)

USPS packages even go on Fed Ex planes.

Jim

[ibanezcollector]

Originally Posted by jwsamuel

USPS packages even go on Fed Ex planes.

Jim

I can verify this I worked for Fedex for 6 Years.

Its cheaper to fly US Postal mail thru FedEX then it is to have there own pilots.

[Darkstrike]

[quote=tombrien;5212131]Plastering "This Side Up" stickers on the box is "wrong" because the handlers by policy ignore them. They just grab the closest edge and let it fall where it may;

"We have some pretty rough conveyor belts!"

"This package is not insured."
[quote]

Originally Posted by ibanezcollector

I can verify this I worked for Fedex for 6 Years.

Is this where you learned your relic'ing skills???

[Valerus]

Don't use FedEx...


...Just don't.

[acleex38]

From the FAQ on Fedex Ground

"FedEx Ground liability with regard to any package is limited to the sum of $100 unless a higher value is declared at time of tender and a greater charge paid as provided in the FedEx Service Guide or online FedEx Retail Counter Rates Book."

That makes me think this is about shipping something and then declaring it's value after the damage is done. They just charge you more up front for sending the expensive stuff.

The limit for Fedex Express is $500.

[trb6pJM2]

Originally Posted by Valerus

Don't use FedEx...


...Just don't.

+1000

[Giraffe]

Originally Posted by acleex38

From the FAQ on Fedex Ground

"FedEx Ground liability with regard to any package is limited to the sum of $100 unless a higher value is declared at time of tender and a greater charge paid as provided in the FedEx Service Guide or online FedEx Retail Counter Rates Book."

Another revelation the lady at "customer service" laid on me is that if your package is going to be delivered to a residence address, you are no longer shipping "FedEx Ground" but rather "FedEx Residential" and there are a whole different set of rules.

I blame myself for going with the cheapest vendor. Maybe if I had checked the "FedEx Retail Counter Rates Book" it wouldn't have been cheaper after I bought the insurance, if it even exists. I still wonder how many of our basses qualify as not "customized, personalized, or unique in any way."

[Johnny Crab]

Originally Posted by tombrien

Another revelation the lady at "customer service" laid on me is that if your package is going to be delivered to a residence address, you are no longer shipping "FedEx Ground" but rather "FedEx Residential" and there are a whole different set of rules.

And GUESS what one of those rules says?

This one applies to DHL, Fedex, and UPS IIRC.
Ship to a residential area and no one is home?
The driver can LEAVE IT there, wherever he/she feels like leaving it, mark where and the paperwork, and go on their merry way.
DHL did this to a bass I'd eBay'd. I was REAL lucky to have an honest buyer and the bass wasn't stolen by a passer-by.

We've had DHL, FedEx, and UPS leave stuff lying around outside our home.
When wife's new dishes got left in the rain, that was it.
Music gear gets shipped to my employer's warehouse and the guys call me.
Wife's stuff gets delivered to the school she works at.
NOTHING except regular mail goes to our home address.

Don't use FedEx.
Never have(directly, maybe my USPS stuff goes on their birds).

[Bryan R. Tyler]

Originally Posted by Johnny Crab

The driver can LEAVE IT there, wherever he/she feels like leaving it, mark where and the paperwork, and go on their merry way.

They dropped off a custom bass that was meant for me at my neighbor's house for safe keeping, but forgot to leave me a note telling me that. You should have seen the frantic search around the perimeter of my house after I tracked it and it said "Delivered" with no bass in sight

Use signature required. They can't leave it without it.

[Juniorkimbrough]

Originally Posted by acleex38

From the FAQ on Fedex Ground

"FedEx Ground liability with regard to any package is limited to the sum of $100 unless a higher value is declared at time of tender and a greater charge paid as provided in the FedEx Service Guide or online FedEx Retail Counter Rates Book."

That makes me think this is about shipping something and then declaring it's value after the damage is done. They just charge you more up front for sending the expensive stuff.

The limit for Fedex Express is $500.

Same with UPS, they will insure any package you send up to $100 for no additional charge.....if you ship something over $100 and want it insured for what it's worth you pay extra depending on how much you want it insured for.

[Juniorkimbrough]

Originally Posted by Johnny Crab

And GUESS what one of those rules says?

This one applies to DHL, Fedex, and UPS IIRC.
Ship to a residential area and no one is home?
The driver can LEAVE IT there, wherever he/she feels like leaving it, mark where and the paperwork, and go on their merry way.
DHL did this to a bass I'd eBay'd. I was REAL lucky to have an honest buyer and the bass wasn't stolen by a passer-by.

We've had DHL, FedEx, and UPS leave stuff lying around outside our home.
When wife's new dishes got left in the rain, that was it.
Music gear gets shipped to my employer's warehouse and the guys call me.
Wife's stuff gets delivered to the school she works at.
NOTHING except regular mail goes to our home address.

Don't use FedEx.
Never have(directly, maybe my USPS stuff goes on their birds).

yep, i've had DHL problems every time I used them.

I too ship most things I order to my work since I know what time they come everyday and I don't have to play guesswork when they will show up.

[Giraffe]

What bugs me the most about all this is the absence of any damage coverage. I always filled in the box asking for a declared value and I figured they were adding the cost of insurance into the total. I still don't even know if you can buy insurance from FedEx Residential, which is apparently what I've been shipping with all this time. According to this really defensive, borderline hostile service rep, if any of those basses I've shipped with them had been damaged, it would have been tough luck for me.

The manager asked me once what was in a box I was shipping and I told him. He never offered to sell me any insurance, even after he looked at the value. I suppose I should have been a more aware buyer, but all of these things are well into four figures, and I think someone should have spoken up before this.