It had to happen... (shipping disasters talk!)

[Avezzano]

Well, in more than 50 years, I always had my hands somehow into bass-guitar related stuff. I have often sold-bought things via classified, but I've never had something like this happening before to me! One week ago I've sent my Sire V7 II gen. bass for the installation of a complete Magnetics pickups/electronics set to the owner-luthier Piero Terracina. I've sent a integer hard "Tune bass case" with a fine conditions bass inside. Then, the bass and case arrived at his lab like in the pics.

Honestly, at first he did not even think about a shipping "malpractice": he thought I sent him an already scratched bass in an already "holed" case. Note: to ship the bass, I had to remove (from the internal part of the case) the lower foam part, because it is custom made for the Tune Rolli signature bass, therefore a jazz body didn't actually fit. But I've put the bass into the padded case anyway.

We understood what happened, only when the bass came back to me. I submitted a claim to the shipping company. That I use since several years without problems. I doubt I will come to any positive conclusion. Surely, I will never use them anymore in my life. I've put some "bordeaux" nail varnish on the scratches and in the end it came out better than expected. The bass is perfectly functional, anyway! And I am absoultely happy about the upgrade done

Here below the bass after the "touch-up" and the front view with the whole Magnetics system installed

 

[tb-player]

Did you have the case wrapped in bubble wrap or something similar before boxing? I’ve received a number of basses where they just throw the bass case in a box and ship it, assuming the case provides the protection. It doesn’t. Wrapping the case and double boxing is the best method for surviving negligent handling by carriers.

Sorry you’re having to deal with that situation. Hopefully you receive some restitution from the at-fault parties.

 

[Avezzano]

Did you have the case wrapped in bubble wrap or something similar before boxing? I’ve received a number of basses where they just throw the bass case in a box and ship it, assuming the case provides the protection. It doesn’t. Wrapping the case and double boxing is the best method for surviving negligent handling by carriers.

Sorry you’re having to deal with that situation. Hopefully you receive some restitution from the at-fault parties.

No, I did not. But the Tune hard case is (I thought it was!) really travel proof. Evidently not, as you say. In any case, I doubt the bubble wrap would have done much: it seems to me more that the case has been dropped on something that "entered violently" (I don't know how to say this better: sword like!) because the hole is really big and the bass inside, even if inside a padded bass case, has been heavily scratched. Doh...

 

[tb-player]

No, I did not. But the Tune hard case is (I thought it was!) really travel proof. Evidently not, as you say. In any case, I doubt the bubble wrap would have done much: it seems to me more that the case has been dropped on something that "entered violently" (I don't know how to say this better: sword like!) because the hole is really big and the bass inside, even if inside a padded bass case, has been heavily scratched. Doh...

Yeah. That damage is not the norm for sure. Good luck with the shipping insurance. I hope they make you whole.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

Sorry to see that. At least the damage is in an area where neither you nor the audience will see it when you're actually playing the bass, and it looks significantly better after you cleaned it up. As long as the bass works fine I wouldn't let it bother me. The damage to the case is a different matter. That case is pretty much junk now.

Unfortunately shipping damage happens from time to time.
Sometimes it's just minor damage, like when a parcel has been dropped. Ok, fine, accidents happen, especially when underpaid, poorly treated workers have quotas to fill.

But then there are incidents where you start to wonder what they actually do with to cause so much damage.

One of the worst shipping damages I've personally experienced was a large box of studio equipment where someone had clearly run the forks on a forklift straight through the box. Needless to say, nearly everything inside was totally ruined. Ok, these things happen, but how they (UPS) could still forwards the shipment, process it through customs and try to charge me for handling/customs fees as well as import taxes when the shipment was clearly THRASHED is beyond me... I simply refused delivery, which meant that UPS was stuck with it. They spent 4 months returning the shipment to the dealer, but I did at least get a full refund in the end.

And then there's the worst one I've ever experienced. This was also UPS, they are BY FAR the worst in my area, and also have utterly useless customer service. This was a gorgeous AVRI'63 in Faded Sonic Blue. This model had been discontinued at the time, and this was the last one I could find anywhere. The shipment has so badly damaged that the headstock was sticking out from a hole in the tweed case. The nature of the damaged clearly showed that the hole in the case had been caused from the INSIDE. Which means the case must have been slammed against something so hard that the headstock shot through the case! I honestly don't understand how they do it?!?! I probably couldn't have cause this kind of damage no matter how hard I tried. I wouldn't have believed it unless I had seen it with my own eyes. I still dream about that AVRI, but the neck was too severely damaged to keep it, even if I had accepted the damaged case. At least I got a refund in the end, but it was a total nightmare because this was during the period when rosewood was totally banned, and I had imported the bass from a different country. Neither UPS nor the dealer lifted a finger to help me with the customs paperwork/permits for re-export, which was more or less the same paperwork/permits I would have needed if I had tried to import a gorilla from Africa. I didn't exactly help that it turned out the dealer in Germany had exported the bass without the correct paperwork/permits, which means they had effectively smuggled an endangered species across international borders... Like I said, a total nightmare.

After this I stopped using UPS, and avoid online stores that only offer UPS shipping. Since then I've hardly had any problems at all.

 

[Hoochie Coochie Man]

In keeping with the parenthetical "shipping disasters talk!" in the thread title, I post for your viewing horror:

 

[Figbassist75]

And then there's the worst one I've ever experienced. This was also UPS, they are BY FAR the worst in my area, and also have utterly useless customer service.

I'm going through this right now with UPS. I ordered a bass from Thomann recently. It is supposed to be here Wednesday but as of this morning, UPS has not picked up the package from Thomann for shipment. This isn't Thomann's fault. It is entirely upon UPS's shoulders. They used to be better than this but have gone downhill over the years.

It almost makes me wish I would have chosen DHL for a delivery option. Yes, it would have cost a little more but they are on the ball in delivering items from Thomann. I ordered a bass in December and it was at my door in three days. UPS would have taken a week or more at best.

 

[Bassdirty]

Did you have the case wrapped in bubble wrap or something similar before boxing? I’ve received a number of basses where they just throw the bass case in a box and ship it, assuming the case provides the protection. It doesn’t. Wrapping the case and double boxing is the best method for surviving negligent handling by carriers.

Sorry you’re having to deal with that situation. Hopefully you receive some restitution from the at-fault parties.

+1
It's CRAZY, almost as if they do it on purpose.

I've seen a few Guitar cases get dropped (with zero damage), but to have an ACTUAL HOLE in the case?.. .seems like you'd have to try.


T$

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I ordered a fight case from Thomann through UPS that arrived with a fist sized hole in the box, and a dime sized hole in the case itself. I'm trying to picture what could have caused it, marlin Spike? Cap'n Ahab's peg-leg, perchance? Luckily i photographed the damage as it sat on my porch, and took a video of the unboxing. Thomann just told me to keep the "damaged" case and sent me another one. Excellent company. I was able to "fix" the damge with some black electical tape. The common denominator in these tales of woe seems to be UPS....

 

[Figbassist75]

I ordered a fight case from Thomann through UPS that arrived with a fist sized hole in the box, and a dime sized hole in the case itself. I'm trying to picture what could have caused it, marlin Spike? Cap'n Ahab's peg-leg, perchance? Luckily i photographed the damage as it sat on my porch, and took a video of the unboxing. Thomann just told me to keep the "damaged" case and sent me another one. Excellent company. I was able to "fix" the damge with some black electical tape. The common denominator in these tales of woe seems to be UPS....

I can second that on Thomann. Fantastic company to do business with. I ordered a Harley Benton six-string bass in December. It arrived at my door in the US in three days in excellent condition. The bass was almost set up perfectly, though I did a little tweaking to fit it closer to my preferences.

I have a Harley Benton five-string acoustic bass on the way, if UPS will stop dragging its feet. I used DHL for the first order and will probably choose them again for future orders from Thomman.

 

[murphy]

I have watched delivery drivers just throwing boxes at the front entrance ways of buildings.
Throwing at house porches. This just last week!

For some reason the workers have been taught to not give a hoot!

Poor wages?
Too many deliveries in a shift?
Stressful traffic?
Pushing unrealistic management?

All of the above....at least when I was a delivery driver for a very short spell

 

[murphy]

. I used DHL for the first order and will probably choose them again for future orders from Thomman.

Looks like we have a new champion?

 

[Hawk256]

+1 for DHL. At one point I sent 15 Indonesian Peavey Cirrus basses to the US at different intervals. They were double boxed just like the factory and they arrived quickly in pristine condition. I don't know how many things would have been on the pallet in the airplane but they were able to do the land part without destroying them. A shame that now not destroying your package is a factor in choosing your shipper.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

Yeah. That damage is not the norm for sure. Good luck with the shipping insurance. I hope they make you whole.

They already made him a hole.

 

[Avezzano]

They already made him a hole.

Ah, ah: you guys are the best!!! Seriously, the damage on the bass was not so large and on the back part of the instrument. No big deal, after the nail varnish applied. The hole in the case I wlll fix with some fiberglass: some bi-component stuff that my buddy guitarist has in his garage. But honestly I could not care less about the case, that I never use anyway. Remains the mysterious way this could ever happen: I could understand a drop. But a hole so large? That has severe consequences in the internal of the soft padded case? The shipping company is Bartolini, that here in Italy is a big one. And they also work in Europe. Surely they have agreements for the overseas countries. I would bet 1000 euro that they have a deal with UPS in the United States...

 

[DanDBassist]

During several jobs working where I was involved in receiving shipments by UPS, this is what I heard while the trucks were departing: Loud sounds of boxes falling. I can say no more.

 

[REV]

My daughter worked for UPS while she was going to college. Each evening when she came home she would recount some of the ways that her coworkers would abuse packages. A lot of it was intentional not accidental.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

They get decent pay and benefits, but it's a hard, stressful job, and they are monitoring the drivers constantly via GPS to make sure they are on schedule. You don't see too many older UPS drivers. The routes are proscribed to make all right turns and avoid traffic lights to keep things fast. If its a difference between damaging your package and staying on that relentless schedule... the schedule wins. There have been a few publicized occasions where people find a pile of Amazon or UPS packages dumped in a ditch by the stressed-out delivery drivers, which is pretty much the "F**% This, I quit" move. The one time UPS "lost" a package of mine, it took MONTHS for them to track it down...... to the warehouse about 10 miles from my house. I did get it though, so that goes in the Win column, I guess.

 

[devnulljp]

Forklift blade went right through that
Ouch

Or maybe it was in a shootout -- up here, a lot of the delivery drivers double as drug mules

 

[murphy]

Ah, ah: you guys are the best!!! Seriously, the damage on the bass was not so large and on the back part of the instrument. No big deal, after the nail varnish applied. The hole in the case I wlll fix with some fiberglass: some bi-component stuff that my buddy guitarist has in his garage. But honestly I could not care less about the case, that I never use anyway. Remains the mysterious way this could ever happen: I could understand a drop. But a hole so large? That has severe consequences in the internal of the soft padded case? The shipping company is Bartolini, that here in Italy is a big one. And they also work in Europe. Surely they have agreements for the overseas countries. I would bet 1000 euro that they have a deal with UPS in the United States...

Like a crash helmet...Your case did it's job.
Your bass is alive and just needs a new case at some point.