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Anyone else have issues with FedEx when purchasing from Sweetwater?

#62
This appears to be regional. In my area Fedex is meh. Neither good or bad. UPS generally has no issues.

USPS on the other hand... if it comes from the post office it will be damaged, stomped on, and possibly opened to see if anything good is inside. They dropped a bass hard enough to turn the box into an accordion. Obviously, it snapped that neck in two. Luckily I returned easily enough. Post office in my area is crap....

for all of these companies, I'd bet this has to do with who's being hired as opposed to who the company is.....
 
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#66
Not Sweetwater, but FedEx. I received three (3) "update" notices from them over a period of 5 days pushing the delivery date ahead every time stating "unfortunately your shipment has been delayed". I'm certainly not defending FedEx here but I think this is just standard operating procedure for all the carriers now under these Covid times (which, btw, I think are here to stay)..
 
#67
I've had issues in the past ordering from Sweetwater, but it was items shipped USPS. I ship FedEx a bit selling on eBay with no problems.

In other words, they're all a mixed bag. Each one is great until it isn't, and vice versa. They've all got the same problems with staffing, occasional weather catastrophes, etc. Pile the holiday season on top of that and you've got an ideal recipe for discontentment.
 
#69
It's not just FEDEX from Sweetwater, either. My jazz bass neck from Allparts (shipped by FEDEX) is a day or two late. Slightly related - I think customer service everywhere is suffering. Mojotone sent me the wrong Musicman drop in replacement preamp. I sent the wrong one back toot sweet and I'm still waiting for the correct one.
 
#70
I had a FedEx package that was supposed to be delivered 2 weeks ago. The tracking number shows it is sitting at the local site not moving. They refuse to let me pick it up myself, or give me an estimated delivery date. I assume they’ve lost the package. I won’t use FedEx if there is any other option.
 
#71
All the shippers have had problems. I will now go to great lengths to avoid certain shippers.

Re: OP, probably more a function of the shipper, timeframe and geographic area, rather than the vendor.

Mostly, I favor shippers that handle packages with care.
 
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#72
If the item is something I have to sign for - like a bass - then I have zero chance of it being delivered by fedex. I will see status updates of 'customer not available' even though i am spending all day working in my office literally right next to the front door. I eventually have to get them to deliver to a walmart and pick it up there. There is nothing weird about my address, I live in a normal subdivision on a cul-de-sac so not sure what their problem is.
 
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#73
BillyBA said:
If the item is something I have to sign for - like a bass - then I have zero chance of it being delivered by fedex. I will see status updates of 'customer not available' even though i am spending all day working in my office literally right next to the front door. I eventually have to get them to deliver to a walmart and pick it up there. There is nothing weird about my address, I live in a normal subdivision on a cul-de-sac so not sure what their problem is.
Click to expand...

I had a certain shipper that did that several times. They claimed they attempted delivery (multiple times): my camera system indicated otherwise.
 
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#74
Not to defend FedEx or any other carrier, I am in Shipping and have dealt with many carriers.
As far as 2 Day delivery goes, most carriers have areas designated as 1 Day, 2 Day, etc. so 2 day delivery is supposedly a guarantee by them that they will do their best to get it to you within 2 business days. You pay more for a service that during non-holiday times would normally deliver in that same period by delivering Ground vs. Expedited. Most websites for these carriers have a nation-wide map showing what you can expect for deliveries in your area.
That being said,
If you place your 2 day order on Monday, remember that your countdown doesn`t begin until your next business day (Tuesday), therefore putting an order in on Monday (even in the a.m.) the earliest you can usually expect your shipment to arrive will be Wednesday. Not that this applies to your situation, but it always helps to know how the process (usually) works.
 
#75
One time a Fedex driver just rolled my new cabinet off the truck onto the ground...and it was a neo cab so it wasn't even heavy. And another time, a cabinet arrived with a box covered in an entire bottle of dish soap. It too looked like it had been rolled, and yes, boxes do not roll...so do the math. One of those cabs had to go back for unrelated reasons...at least I think.

I have purchased some items from Sweetwater in the past where they either arrived the next day or many days later. It was so many days that I wasn't really able to keep track. The items that arrived quickly were always USPS.

I think Fedex has some very creative and ambitious routing of packages that might make some delivery times impossible. I am sure it is some efficiency algorithm that attempts to deliver things as fast as possible much like the Amazon picking program favors pickers who can pack more orders in less time at an ever-increasing clip.
 
#76
Delays in shipping are the new normal. Get used to it as fuel prices skyrocket, new trucks are unavailable, regulations like not being able to use certain trucks older than 2010, and less people are willing to do this type of work. I've been in this industry for decades.
Speaking of bad service in transportation...try calling AAA and then waiting 7-8hrs for a tow.
 
#77
Yup, I live near Dayton, OH. My last delivery from sweetwater a few weeks ago was a Fender 210 cab. I'm home every day so when he pulled in front of my house I open my front door and hear a loud boom from inside the truck. So I go out and step up inside the door he left open to catch the a$$hat rolling my cab end over end inside the truck. I yelled a few things I can't type here and opened the box on the sidewalk to check it out and thankfully all was good. I called Fedex and my Sales Engineer at sweetwater. It's doubtful if anything was done. Ironically I am expecting a package from them by 8 pm today. I'll meet him at the curb.
 
#78
I ship stuff out (small items) as well as receive stuff somewhat regularly, and have noticed a few things...

Ever since Covid came, shipping delivery drivers are no longer required to collect signatures on residential deliveries no matter what the package says, and we probably shouldn't expect that to change any time soon. Good insurance is key (advice from a precious metals dealer). Also, delivering to a business address, or holding at a shippers office might be preferable.

When busy sales companies that do a lot of "free shipping" do their shipping, it can be a fairly large pickup, and things may get stuck in queues along the way, sometimes for days. Also, "free" ground shipping is done at the lowest possible cost, so priority wise, those items get processed after everything else by the shipping company, and then take the slowest way. This seems to me to be more pronounced at UPS and Fedex than at USPS. I think this and the "covid excuse" is why things going UPS or Fedex seem to initially take an extra day now, it's because they can.

USPS sometimes has a problem just getting the initial acceptance done. I've seen stuff I've ordered from a high volume ebayer sit for over a week at a post office "waiting to be accepted" which I think is just scan and put in the right bin. Since Covid came this issue has been much worse, but now seems to be much better than it was a year ago; I haven't had an issue with it lately.

Where I am in the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles), I prefer USPS for speed and Fedex is my last choice due to past delivery issues. My regular UPS driver is the best though.

One thing about living on the left coast, is it seems that so may places that want to send UPS ground are on the other coast, which generally means it takes a week if everything goes well. USPS can usually get the same package here in 3 days at about the same price, depending on the size and weight of the package. Larger items like basses and (empty) racks are still best via UPS for me here.
 
#80
I live relatively close to Sweetwater and consistently have more delivery issues and delays with FedEx than any other carrier. Definitely not Sweetwater, but on FedEx from my experience. I try to avoid using them for personal and work related shipments due to the continued issues.
 

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