UPS murders MAG300 in shipping!

[basstrader]

I guess I just need to get my frustrations out. I just got a couple of PM's and emails from our guy fralim01 telling me that UPS dropped the amp I just sold him and now it is toast. When he unpacked it the master knob was broken into bits - other than that it looked fine. But when he plugged it in all he got was a slight hum.

GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER UPS!

They also did this to an amp that was shipped to me a while back. An Eden WT400 got dropped. It was in a rack case inside the package, and the rack was totall destroyed. The rack ears were bent over, but the amp itself survived. They have also left two $1000 instruments at the door when noone was home, one of them even had a signature required. sheesh.

OTOH, Fedex has never done me wrong.

[dbaser]

They would probably drop the brick.... smash!

I wouldn't ship a pillow with them, although that would probably arrive soaking wet.

I have friends that work for UPS and one of them always jokes about how they treat packages with FRAGILE on them. Drop-kick, punt, or place at bottom of the pile. Sad really.

[Slater]

Beware! If "electronics" are not in the "original manufacturer's packaging", UPS will try to screw you after they destroy your merchandise, even though they happily take your money when you pay for insurance.

[basstrader]

Originally Posted by Slater

Beware! If "electronics" are not in the "original manufacturer's packaging", UPS will try to screw you after they destroy your merchandise, even though they happily take your money when you pay for insurance.

It was in the original box with extra bubble wrap. But they still have the advantage because the insurance will cover the least of your cost or replacement cost or repair. If you go the repair route you have to get it checked ($60 or so) and if it isn't the cheapest way, you're out the money. Regardless it won't be i new condition. If you sell it for more than you pay, your cost (the shipper) is all you get. In the end, the only way it works out is if you can get them to replace it. The buyer gets his money back (my choice but that's the right way) and I lose on it. Thanks a lot UPS!

Short of driving it there myself I don't see another way of safely delivering anything.

[jay_t]

I ordered some cabs and they showed up looking like they were dropped several times. I sent them back to the store and they sent new ones. Same thing. I conferenced in UPS customer service and the store and had a little pow wow about how you should pack your products because UPS sucks and about how UPS needs to get their stuff together. I was really peeved and although the pow wow served nothing... it felt prettty good to tell both parties that they do this all of the time and should be professionals by now. I should have taped it for internet use.

[Microbass]

know what the funny thing is... ive used UPS several times, and everytime its been great, really fast, friendly guy at the door, and product in perfect condition.

however, the time i used fedex, my stuff was several weeks late, the other time it was lost completly (christmas that year was in FEBRUARY).

sorry to hear about the amp!

[basstrader]

Frightening - I just found out that my company doesn't automatically insure anything either, even though I was told they did.

[cheezewiz]

I've shipped probably 30 basses through UPS with no problems whatsoever. I've shipped 4 or 5 with fedex and had two problems. In Fedex's favor though, they handled the claims very quickly. The moral of the story is, any shipping service is gonna do some damage sometimes.

[Ben Clarke]

Simple solution: OVERPACK. Shippers need to understand that the package will be at least dropped and probably thrown.

I've shipped dozens of items, many heavy, and most expensive. I've never had damage. It takes 20-30 minutes to pack an item and it does cost more, but I've never had a problem.

[basstrader]

Originally Posted by Ben Clarke

Simple solution: OVERPACK. Shippers need to understand that the package will be at least dropped and probably thrown.

I've shipped dozens of items, many heavy, and most expensive. I've never had damage. It takes 20-30 minutes to pack an item and it does cost more, but I've never had a problem.

It was shipped in the original box which made it from Ashdown to the dealer and then on to me, it was in good condition, and I also packed a bunch of bubble wrap around the amp to be sure. I've packed probably a hundred or more things, and this is the first to be damaged by anyone. So I feel like I did my part.

Oh well, the claim is underway, I'm hoping I at least get my minimum insurance back. The last claim I was involved in took about 3 months to get done.

[silent method]

Originally Posted by basstrader

It was shipped in the original box which made it from Ashdown to the dealer and then on to me, it was in good condition, and I also packed a bunch of bubble wrap around the amp to be sure. I've packed probably a hundred or more things, and this is the first to be damaged by anyone. So I feel like I did my part.

Oh well, the claim is underway, I'm hoping I at least get my minimum insurance back. The last claim I was involved in took about 3 months to get done.

umm call me crazy but if this is "the first to be damaged by anyone" how did your "last claim" take 3 months?

[Schwinn]

Another frustrating facet of damage claims:

When I had damage to an insured package that I bought, UPS sent the claim money to the SELLER, not me the buyer. That's swell if you have a nice seller but this guy was a real d#$k and kept the money!!!

He said he would only give me the claim after I paid to have the damaged goods shipped back to him AND paid some restocking fees . I told him to give me the whole refund or get lost! I never saw the money and considered it a lesson learned. I'm much more careful about internet/ebay transactions now after having had 2 bad experiences. (But several good ones too.)

[Ben Clarke]

Originally Posted by basstrader

It was shipped in the original box which made it from Ashdown to the dealer and then on to me, it was in good condition, and I also packed a bunch of bubble wrap around the amp to be sure. I've packed probably a hundred or more things, and this is the first to be damaged by anyone. So I feel like I did my part.

Oh well, the claim is underway, I'm hoping I at least get my minimum insurance back. The last claim I was involved in took about 3 months to get done.

I'm not trying to point fingers. I just consider two boxes to be the absolute minumum for anything over 20lbs or so.

[basstrader]

Originally Posted by silent method

umm call me crazy but if this is "the first to be damaged by anyone" how did your "last claim" take 3 months?

"the first to be damaged" - of the packages that I've sent. The rest got there fine. Except one. oops I forgot about that. I never made a claim on that one, I just sent the guy another pickup.

"last claim took 3 months" - a package I received that was damaged in transit *to* me. Sorry for the confusion.

Originally Posted by Schwinn

When I had damage to an insured package that I bought, UPS sent the claim money to the SELLER, not me the buyer. That's swell if you have a nice seller but this guy was a real d#$k and kept the money!!!

Unfortunately, that's the way it works with UPS and Fedex too. There's always a certain amount of trust/faith that you have to have in any individual if you do a deal over the internet. I do my best to be fair and make sure the other guy is satisfied. But I don't live in Africa, and I don't offer to have my "agent" give you millions of dollars and expect change.

[basstrader]

Originally Posted by Ben Clarke

I'm not trying to point fingers. I just consider two boxes to be the absolute minumum for anything over 20lbs or so.

Good point. That's about what the Ashdown weighed.