The Steel Guitar Forum

"www.unitedpackagesmasher.com":

I file it under "put on your tinfoil hats...

Along with the anti Paypal, anti eBay, anti US Postal Service, anti (fill in the blank) websites that are all over the web.

Yawn.

It's amazing when these threads show up there are always 3 or 4 posters who have had...or heard of...some huge problem. Then there is the silent majority, who probably ships from time to time, but doesn't post because they don't have any issues. Then there are those who ship often, have no problems, and suggest how to avoid problems.

I still haven't seen a posted problem on any forum...and not just with UPS, with DHL, FedEx, the Postal Service, whoever...that couldn't have been prevented on the shipping end, or when verified as an actual error wasn't handled right away.

I've had problems with several shippers. Every one has taken care of it quickly, except ONE...and that was the seller's fault, not the shipping company.

Yep...tinfoil hats, lots of strapping tape, and personal delivery!

Ben...I didnt write that...That is not MY article..Thanks...James

The bottom line is, and this should end all the wasted time in lashing out at the carrier companies... and an analogy may be seen here in the way my state has allowed people to cross streets, highways, and K-Mart parking lots without looking both ways for cars, or even looking up at all, because of the pedestrian right-of-way... they have a false sense of security if they think they can't get hit by a car just because there's a law protecting them... you have to watch out for yourself by packing the item, whether it's a pedal steel or scrap steel. You spend all kinds of time tuning, tweeking, cleaning, polishing, staring at that steel guitar... why would you skimp on packing it very carefully with generous amounts of foam, cardboard, tape, etc.?
I may not play steel very well, and know very little about them compared to you guys out there, but I do know UPS pretty well with my 10 yrs. experience and experiences there. Sure, DAMAGES OCCUR. They occur WITH ALL THE CARRIERS. I'm not DEFENDING UPS. I'm just trying to tell everyone out there my perspective... and I'll repeat it for the last time... PACK IT LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT! Then hope for the best! End of conversation. End of topic. I'm outta here.... I waste my time no more on the subject... Where are the picks...

What Rick said. That's the main thing, no matter who you use. some people have better luck/experiences with one carrier than another (my horror stories are with FedEx and DHL, for example).

A last note on packing; I just received a 50's Fender 400, shipped from Texas to L.A. via Parcel Post - and the USPS is NOT one of my favorites, having seen how they handle packages. The box was pretty beaten when it got here...but inside the box was a completely-sealed, perfectly-fitted second box made of layers of something called PB4 protection board - it's a foam sheet used in below-grade waterproofing to protect liquid waterproofing applied to walls from physical damage from rocks. So the ENTIRE case was essentially suspended in a thick layer of foam...and inside the case everything was held in place with peanuts IN BAGS (I HATE loose peanuts, even though there are rare cases where I use them).

You could have dropped this off a building and I doubt it would have been out of tune.

Gerald Pierce is a guy who knows how to pack.