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UPS or Fed Ex

Which shipping company do you prefer

  • UPS

    Votes: 24 54.5%

  • Fed Ex

    Votes: 15 34.1%

  • Other

    Votes: 5 11.4%
  • Total voters
    44
Joe Nerve

Joe Nerve

Oct 7, 2000
18,619
38,939
New York City
www.joenerve.com
Disclosures
Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
#1
I love UPS. I hate Fed Ex.

UPS drivers have met up with me, come back to my house, delivered things at times I asked them to, and are always cheerful and friendly. Never had any problems whatsoever with their service.

Fed Ex guys around here always seem grumpy, if I miss my package I'm out of luck, I can't meet them somewhere if I missed delivery, and if I want to go pick my package up at the center it's one of the hardest places to get to in Brooklyn. The last bass they delivered here was severely damaged in shipping.

Got a bass coming on Tuesday Fed Ex. My fingers are crossed that all goes seamlessly.

Which do you prefer?
 
#5
Vox Populi said:
No way man, UPS charged me $75 to ship the last bass I sold. FedEx charged me $22. They were going to practically the same place (SoCal).
Click to expand...

If you checked I'd bet the fed ex went ground, and the UPS was flown. Also, if that wsn't the case, the price of fuel for planes has raised shipping costs astronomically in the past year.
 
#6
I'm a company man. I go with UPS each and every possible time. I know what a package will take, and how it is handled.

Also a note to shippers, if you use a ****ty, old box and do not use proper packaging methods, don't come complaining if it gets damaged or lost. After a California load I did yesterday, my respect for the consumer has greatly been diminished.
 
#9
Haven't had anything damaged by either except for one damaged by UPS, but that was due to the packaging. A soft shell bass case thrown in a box big enough for an 810 with no packing material at all.

I'll go with UPS anytime, much easier to work with.
 
#10
FedEx Ground is cheaper than UPS ground. I can't comment on the air service as I never use it. For me FedEx ground is typically about 30% cheaper.

I've had positive experiences with both as far as the shipping goes except that FedEx ground has usually been faster than UPS ground for me.

bc
 
#11
I'm still holding a grudge against UPS for leaving my Dingwall Afterburner sitting on my front porch without anyone home. On futher review, they went down the street and got a signature from a random neighbor I'd never met.

To ad insult to injury, I had contacted the local management several times earlier that day to see if I could make arrangements for pickup at the warehouse and they refused until they made one attempt. They refused repeatedly.
 
#12
In my job we use both companies for both shipping and receiving and would have to say as far as lost and or damaged goods they are about equal.

UPS is a little tougher when filing a claim for damaged items and for lost items its about equal.

My worst damaged experience was with FedEx though. It was half the shippers fault and half FedEx's. It was a very large piece of sheet metal. A roof panel for a 2006 Mazda6 station wagon.

It took five re-orderes before I got a good one. Two were damage by the FedEx driver. The second one was dragged across our parking lot like it was a piece of plywood and as he was coming into our building he let the door slam shut on it. A big steel door.

The forth was shrink wrapped to a pallet so it wouldn't flex. There was about 20 fragile stickers on it. There were also fifteen foot steps.

The fifth came from Mazda's own logistics. The end result was the insurance company of the owners vehicle casing FedEx for the extra cost of the rental the owner was using.


As far as the drivers being more flexible I have had better experiences with UPS. They will go out of their way to get you your stuff. They are both under the gun to get their deliveries done but I have the impression that UPS would rather finish the day with an empty truck than have to come back the next day.
 
#15
UPS all the way. FedEx lost my bass on the back of a truck for 2 weeks. They had no idea where it was.

FedEx = Stupidity & incompetence

At work, we use UPS, FedEx, & DHL. I hate the UPS driver (he's a dick), but the FedEx & DHL driver's are really cool people. We get very little damages from Fedex & DHL, but quite a few from UPS.

Brown needs to be flushed.
 
#16
thebassclef said:
$75? I Have sent basses to NY through them for $30. Did you have them pack it?
Click to expand...

Nah, they wanted me to let them pack it but when they showed me the cost for that I was like "no way." There's a music store accross the street, so I went and got a box from them for free and then brought it in. Maybe it's because it was holiday time or something. That's still alot of money though.
 
#17
Let's face it, both companies suck. Neither one cares about the packages or the contents, never pays attention to the "fragile" and "this end up" warnings and are both overpriced.

USPS also sucks, especially the schmucks in the offices. Can you say "SLOTH". Actually, come to think of it, I think sloths move faster than these guys! My 86 year old grandmother with her fractured hip can run circles around those clowns!

I have had a few things delievered and shipped by DHL, and they seem to be much better than anyone else at the moment. We'll see how long that lasts though.
 
#18
Vox Populi said:
Nah, they wanted me to let them pack it but when they showed me the cost for that I was like "no way." There's a music store accross the street, so I went and got a box from them for free and then brought it in. Maybe it's because it was holiday time or something. That's still alot of money though.
Click to expand...


You will always get increased prices going through one of the "UPS Store" places. If you're shipping through UPS then go directly to a customer counter at one of the big places where the trucks actually go in and out of. If you have to file a claim it will also be easier if you originally shipped through one of those rather than through a retail outlet type place. FedEx ground is still cheaper either way though.

bc
 
#19
Chopsrr said:
Let's face it, both companies suck. Neither one cares about the packages or the contents, never pays attention to the "fragile" and "this end up" warnings and are both overpriced.

USPS also sucks, especially the schmucks in the offices. Can you say "SLOTH". Actually, come to think of it, I think sloths move faster than these guys! My 86 year old grandmother with her fractured hip can run circles around those clowns!

I have had a few things delievered and shipped by DHL, and they seem to be much better than anyone else at the moment. We'll see how long that lasts though.
Click to expand...

When I've used DHL they've always struck me as kind of a ghetto/piecemeal operation. I don't think they're cheaper either but I could be wrong on that.

bc
 

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