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Basses Broken during Shipment

#61
this...thread...!!!

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I once had FedEx ship a bass cab without packing it. At all. I even insured it and explicitly instructed them to pack it. Not only did they not do that, but they denied the insurance claim! I vowed to never use FedEx again after that.

UPS on the other hand... they once really damaged an instrument that was packed incredibly well and in a hard-shell case and they accepted responsibility for it! UPS is fine with me, thankfully :)
 
#62
sleepytime said:
I worked for UPS. Words cannot express my loathing for that company.
Click to expand...

I have heard employees laugh and brag about their tossing fragile items to get their jollies. You are not the first to express first hand knowledge here.
I don't have the pics anymore but they managed to punch a hole in the brand new hardshell case of a G&L I received.
I was the receiver so I could initiate the claim although they prefer the shipper to initiate. HERE IS IMPORTANT INFO:
UPS only deals with the shipper so I never got the results of my claim. They probably denied it. But if they cut a check to the shipper I never found out about it! And PLEASE NOTE:
If your Talkbass buddy ships your bass to you via a UPS store like in a Rite Aid or a office supply outfit the paperwork shows the outlet as the shipper and they get your check and probably have no idea it should go to you. UPS is a joke and FEDEX does not insure people. Just ask them over the phone.
your packing has to be bullet proof.
 
#63
I've shipped and received dozens and dozens of basses. The only instrument that ever arrived damaged was an Ibanez Artcore hollowbody guitar that I bought thinking I might want to try my hand at guitar for once. It arrived with the bridge broken off.

I took it as a sign to stick with bass.
 
#64
Ive shipped/recieved 10-12 basses so far all with usps priority mail

so far no problems at all, i kbnow if there is an issure they forever to handle there insurance but so far its been perfect frrom them.

no need for me spend extra wirh fed ex or ups
 
#66
Good grief madanthony. Dunno if I'd chance of another of those basses if received one in that shape. Lol. Think would just go for straight refund myself. Lol. Yikes, even if ups did break it, thats a little too broken for me to want to trust that makers current batch. LOL.

Only damaged product Ive received was a BC Rich NJ Beast Warlock bass shipped in its box seperate from the case. MF was excellent with fast replacement and handling of return shipping costs for the beast. Which was in broken up box, but only suffered peice break on the upper front body horn. And some body scratches.
 
#67
No doubt about it. MaddAnthony has a particular brutal handler in his shipping chain. Wonder if with all the photographs and filed claims it would be possible to bring this to the attention of someone higher up the UPS food chain that may care...
 
#68
Insurance is basically only for packages lost and never delivered.

I bought a bass from a guy in England and when it arrived, UPS demanded a COD $125.00 "brokerage" fee, even though shipping was 100% prepaid. The idiot who sold it to me was supposed to put it in a hard case and then a box. Instead, he simply wrapped it about halfway with bubble wrap scraps, then wrapped it in that corregated paper like stuff (single layer, smooth one side and rippled on the other - halfway corregated is what I call it) and then taped it up with scotch tape. When it arrived it looked like it had been dropped on the expressway and then run over by a few hundred 18 wheelers. Amazing to me and the UPS driver - ZERO damage, so I paid the $125 of extortion money.

What I will never do again is allow anyone to ship by U.S. Mail, about 10% of packages never arrive and you might as well hit yourself on the head with a hammer, instead of trying to get anything done with the USPS, as you'll feel better bashing yourself with the hammer. A couple of years ago I bought a vintage bass amp and the seller shipped it USPS after many promises not to do so. He packed it extremely well and then put the box in a larger padded box; the USPS managed to break off half the swiches and control knobs and loosened several soldered connections to this hand wired amp. It cost me more to fix it than what I paid for it. A guy at the USPS said all packages must be able to withstand a 10 foot test drop onto concrete from any angle. I guess this amp was "tested" several times.
 
#69
Just a few hints. I have kept every guitar shipping box I have ever received (dozens). I hate gig bags, so when I get one I save it in a shipping box. I put all of my guitars in premium wood hard cases, so I have lots of hard plastic cases around, and a couple of times a year when places like Musician's Friend has a half price sale, I buy extra inexpensive, hard shell cases for about $50 each, including shipping to me. When I sell a guitar I keep the expensive case and use a new inexpensive hard case (the buyer's love it!). When I buy a guitar now and there is no hard case, I ship the seller a used plastic hard case, bubble wrap and a good guitar shipping box (all for a promise not to use the USPS). It usually costs me about $20 to do so. When you are buying collector guitars that often cost thousands of dollars, $20 is nothing.
 
#70
62Start said:
Just a few hints. I have kept every guitar shipping box I have ever received (dozens). I hate gig bags, so when I get one I save it in a shipping box. I put all of my guitars in premium wood hard cases, so I have lots of hard plastic cases around, and a couple of times a year when places like Musician's Friend has a half price sale, I buy extra inexpensive, hard shell cases for about $50 each, including shipping to me. When I sell a guitar I keep the expensive case and use a new inexpensive hard case (the buyer's love it!). When I buy a guitar now and there is no hard case, I ship the seller a used plastic hard case, bubble wrap and a good guitar shipping box (all for a promise not to use the USPS). It usually costs me about $20 to do so. When you are buying collector guitars that often cost thousands of dollars, $20 is nothing.
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Nice!
 
#72
#74
MooseLumps said:
http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Musicians-Gear-Deluxe-Bass-Case?sku=540946

http://accessories.musiciansfriend.com/product/Road-Runner-Polyfoam-Bass-Guitar-Case-?sku=541149

Looking really hard at these.... the foam one seems to me to be a good solution to stopping the energy transferring to the bass. Course if you'r shipping an SX, it might cost you almost everything you make to buy one of those, slap the sx in it, box and ship it.
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I have a couple of foam cases for guitar and one for bass. I love them. They do the job, are light, and I do feel they're superior to most hard cases in that they protect better from the type of injuries that are most likely to occur.
 
#75
Shipped via FedEx
Insured for $1999.00
Insurance cost $30.00
Claim paid.
Waiting for the new neck from Brian at The LowEnd.
 

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#76
Fed Ex delivered my Stingray to the wrong address despite the fact that the right address was on the package. It wasnt even close!



Marcus said:
this...thread...!!!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I once had FedEx ship a bass cab without packing it. At all. I even insured it and explicitly instructed them to pack it. Not only did they not do that, but they denied the insurance claim! I vowed to never use FedEx again after that.

UPS on the other hand... they once really damaged an instrument that was packed incredibly well and in a hard-shell case and they accepted responsibility for it! UPS is fine with me, thankfully :)
Click to expand...
 
#78
Not a bass, but I just got an SVT-CL ("used / very good") from Musicians Friend. Came loose in a single-wall cardboard box with 2-3 inches of clearance around it. Couple of sheets of scrunched up paper was all the padding there was.

Almost didn't even bother powering it up to check, but I did, and ...

... UPS are coming to collect it tomorrow. (sorry, no happy ending here)
 

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