fed-ex sucks

Roy McKinney · From: Ontario, OR

thats all

Morton Kellas · From: Chazy, NY, USA 1

I'm sorry to hear that Roy. UPS isn't any better, especially if you have a claim. I have shipped several via FedEx air, and have had no issues. Of course you pay more but it cuts down on the handling. Best wishes.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

What does professionally packed mean?

Who did the packing ?

Certainly not one of those Mailboxes Etc type of employees...

Are they the professionals being referred to ?

Michael Douchette · From: Gallatin, TN (deceased)

Too late, but DHL is the ONLY way to go...
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Roy McKinney · From: Ontario, OR

[quote]What does professionally packed mean?

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

"they" meaning FED EX employees at one of those drop off Fed Ex Stores ?

I am thinking they are not professionals. Most are kids.

they may work for Fed Ex but that does not make them professionals, it makes them responsible and they should be.

But keep in mind the damage was most likely the result of poor packing and not the actual shipping.

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

sorry to hear about this.
keep in mind that all of these shipping companies use massive conveyor belts to move their packages. If the driver or handlers dont bump or drop your package at some point these conveyor belts will, and packages have to be able to withstand that drop. Tony is right about the packing people at fedex and ups stores, good well meaning people Im sure, but not what I'd consider professional shippers and packers.

I worked as a fine art shipper for 7 years in NYC. thousands of shipments I packed and shipped, delicate and priceless items, never had one damaged in transit. I did however see a forklift tine driven thru a crate of Franz Kline paintings Shocked

anyway thats a drag
heavy items are especially hard to pack well. there has to be ZERO room for movement, even if dropped..I could write a treatise on packing...shamed to say...

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

"they" meaning FED EX employees at one of those drop off Fed Ex Stores ?

I am thinking they are not professionals. Most are kids.

they may work for Fed Ex but that does not make them professionals, it makes them responsible and they should be. They are employees, not professionals.

But keep in mind the damage was most likely the result of poor packing and not the actual shipping.

I have shipped countless Instruments and amps, Fed Ex, UPS and Post office. Packed to extreme..never had an issue. I have received several damaged items, all packed at those drop off Mail, Fed Ex or UPS places...

We read these threads about damaged Instruments several times per year. The bottom line is they MUST be packed by the sender..there is no such thing as a professional packer at these drop off hubs. Yes there can be damage during shipment even with the best packing, but my opinion is that is the exception rather than the rule. Items that are not appropriatley packed for the journey will probably not make the journey.

I ship UPS approx 400 packages/year. We may get 2 or 3 damaged per year. It's the packing that matters most of all.

Sorry to hear of the damage, they packed it and they are responsible. I hope you get it resolved to your satisfaction.

I guess I am one of the lucky ones.

Andy DePaule · From: Saigon, Viet Nam & Springfield, Oregon

I never used DHL so have nothing to say about them.

My Star Guitar was shipped in a strong road case with good packing via UPS. They managed to slam a dent into the metal frame of the case through the packing.

They also left it sitting in the driveway, knocked on the door, and just drove off without waiting to see if anybody was home to take it inside. It was raining at the time!

Last year FedEx charged my bank account almost $200.00 without explanation.
When I called they could not tell me what the charge was for.
They said I'd have to wait to get the invoice.
Three weeks later I learned they were charging me a French VAT tax for something I'd shipped to a french customer 6 months before.
They had forgotten to charge him. Unable to find him, they just charged me.
I had to spend over an hour on the phone with them to get them to reverse the charge.
I pointed out to them that as I don't live in France, didn't buy from France, I did not owe French Tax...
They sent the money back to my account about three weeks later.
I have not shipped anything with them since then.

I think I saw something that DeWitt Scott had Fed Ex ship Jerry Byrds Fender Amp. Jerry had left it to him with his Sho-Bud. FedEx trashed the amp.

My view of all those services,
Too expensive.
Too much paper work.
Too much hassel.
Not careful....

A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

Tony I don't think the packing had anything to do with the damage, I would say it was dropped, heck it was over 90 pounds, no packing could prevent damage. However if I understand this correctly why would you let a carrier pack your shipment that is very lazy! It really doesn't take alot to pack one. and overall the carriers are very effiecient and seldom do they damage goods, when you look at what they ship everyday. Tony I can't speak of your situtation, but these guys that work there have alot of pride in there work as I do myself I also work in the transportation industry and ship intermodal frieght.

Stu Schulman · From: Ulster Park New Yawk (deceased)

Around X-Mas time we had a big snowstorm up here and FedEx wouldn't deliver my package on the due date,I drove over there myself to pick it up,When I arrived all of the employees were cracking jokes drinking coffee and not doing much else,I asked why my package couldn't be delivered being that all of the roads were cleared pretty quickly?They said that the driver was afraid to drive and would do it tomorrow?Afraid to drive?
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Steve English · From: Baja, Arizona

I have used Fedex to ship 4 amplifiers and 3 steel guitars over the last 12 months. I have had nothing but compliments from all of the recipients. Just recently a Fessenden and a Peavey Bandit went from here (Tucson) to Maine with no problems at all...even arrived a day or two earlier than I was told to expect.

I just recieved and guitar from the East coast (Musician's Friend) that literally came in a cardboard box with very little packing....arrived perfectly intack!

Someday's chicken.....someday's feathers...... Cool

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Steve English · From: Baja, Arizona

Oh......The guitar was not in a case, just the box.

The case came in a seperate box.
_________________
Always remember you're unique..... Just like everyone else

Don Burrows · From: Ashtabula, Oh. USA

File a claim in small claims court and most likely they will pay before it comes to court.
I sent a new BSG guitar to Florida a year and a half ago and UPS dropped and smashed it. It was insured and they still said they wouldn't pay. I went to the top supervisors and they still said no. I filed in small claims court and they requested a mediation hearing , which we had. The way I presented my case was " If I pay somebody for a service, I feel they are responsible to do the job properly even if I didn't have insurance, they should be responsible, but I also bought the insurance which I feel should double protect me."
The person from UPS had no answer for this and within 2 weeks, they called and settled. Never went to small claims court.
_________________
Don Burrows
Builder of BSG Steel Guitars

Eric Jaeger · From: Oakland, California, USA

Packing a guitar in its case doesn't work either. Regardless of how well you pack the outside of the case itself, if the guitar itself has *any* room to move inside the case it can get damaged. A typical D-10 certainly weighs enough to damage itself without something to keep it *absolutely immobile* in the case. Once you've gotten that done, styrofoam popcorn isn't going to be enough to protect the case. It's heavy enough that it *will* shift in the box, and if it's then dropped....

And there's almost no recourse, despite insurance. I took pictures of a damaged guitar, and they insisted the shipper make the complaint. I mailed him the pictures, and they said they wanted to see it physically. In Florida. Not California. I gave up.

-eric

A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

The thing with insurance is that you have to get lawyer to fight for you, there #1 objective is to not pay or at least delay as long as possible. I do hate insurance companies.

Tony Prior · From: Charlotte NC

A.J. what you are saying. I'm not disagreeing with you, it's bad situation. I'm speaking more in general terms.

A 90 pound animal is tuff for anyone to handle. I've been fortunate, I'm one of those that ship with the case handle slightly exposed. Some are for that method others are not. So far It has worked well and UPS drivers are grateful for a handle as they don't actually have to lift an 80 pound D10 travelling by truck in a box.

As far as packers taking pride, I believe that is true but quite frankly I have received numerous items both damaged and just about damaged that were packed by the those MAILBOX places where they used peanuts to fill the boxes and the peanuts were at about 50% when the items arrived. In some cases it's not about pride, it's about experience and knowledge. many folks do just drop stuff off at those places and pay to have them pack and ship it. I recieved my Yamaha AW2816 from one of these situations and it was amazing that it actually arrived without damage.

It is mentioned above that even guitars shipped in cases must be secure in the case, how true that is, especially if there is weight involved.

I hope you get this resolved to your satisfaction, it's a terrible deal...

A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

Tony no hard feelings right now I'm working on a way to fit a D10 into an envolpe and only need 1 stamp.

Gary Shepherd · From: Fox, Oklahoma, USA

If I ever buy a NEW Carter, I'll drive down to Mesquite and get it in person.
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A. J. Schobert · From: Cincinnati, Ohio,

Tony I sent email see if you got it I think I had problems sending in the past

Bob Ritter · From: pacfic, wa

put it in it case and wrap it in bubble wrap then put cardboard over the bubble wrap or shrink wrap. If you package it right it should be protected enough to fall out of the back of the truck going down the freeway.. Cool

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Glenn Suchan · From: Austin, Texas

I'm with Michael Douchette on this one. I've shipped PSG's twice. Both times were with DHL. The first time I shipped a Sierra S14 with accessories and a flight case. Total shipping weight: about 95 pounds. The guitar was in the flight case which was then placed in a cardboard box. It arrived at it's destination inside of a week without any damage. It was shipped from Texas to Japan.

The second was an Emmons S12 p/p in a flightcase, also with accessories. The shipment was in a cardboard box. Total shipping weight: about 75-80 pounds. It arrived at it's destination inside of a week without any damage. It was shipped from Texas to New Jersey.

Why did I select DHL? Quite simply, because of the horror stories associated with FedEx and UPS shipments.

Try DHL, you'll like 'em. Mikey does! Very Happy

Keep on pickin'!
Glenn

Roger Kelly · From: Bristol,Tennessee

Here is a good way to pack your steel......
http://www.gregcutshaw.com/Shipping%20Steels/Shipping%20Steels.html

Howard Tate · From: Leesville, Louisiana, USA, R.I.P.

My big problem with Fed Ex is Saturday delivery. Twice I've had packages scheduled for Sat delivery, the tracking said they were on time and out for delivery. I waited all day, no package. Checked tracking again and it said 'exception, no one to take delivery'. I finally found out they contract out Sat deliveries and often the driver does not want to detour to your house (I live out in the country). I had to wait til Tuesday for something I needed for the weekend gig, they do not work Sun or Mon.

CrowBear Schmitt · From: Ariege, - PairO'knees, - France

i'm sorry to hear about your misfortune w: FedEx Roy
i would put it to Murphy's law
i've used FedEx over UPS & have'nt had any problems BUT, that don't mean i won't have any...
i've used Bax Global which came through A-OK ( beginner's luck)
i'm sure DHL is worth investigatin'

i prefer packin' myself, that way i'm sure of how well it's done & i'll take the risk

last but not least : instead of puttin' " FRAGILE / HANDLE w: CARE on the package
i put : " THROW ME YOU BASTARDS ! "

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