jdm56 Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 My beloved La Scala II's sold to a charming lady in Oregon. I suppose she bought them for a sig-o. Which is all completely beside the point... Do you know what UPS charges to ship 4 boxes full of LS2's from SW Missouri to Umpqua Oregon? How about $550-plus, insured for $3000. I did a little figuring and determined I could drive out there and back in my Grand Caravan for $400 or less, allowing me $150 for eats and incidentals. Sleep in the van, I guess. Now THAT would have been an interesting story, but I didn't do that. I shipped UPS. WhaduhfoolIwuz. Packing La Scala II's is really just like unpacking them in reverse. Only minus the fun factor. My gosh they are heavy and big! But I did get'em safely back in their original shipping cartons. I then lowered all the rear seats in the van (gotta love those stow-away seats!) Everything folds down into the floor, so yes, you can haul a pair of ls2's in a Dodge Grand Caravan, with enough room left for the driver and a front passenger. Actually, I could leave one rear seat up, but there was no way to get in it unless you were Olga Corbet or a cat. I hauled the van load of ls2's to the closest UPS store and unloaded them. Then shock of shocks, the lady working got her little black book after weigh-in and measure-in and informed me it would cost over $1000 EACH for the big boxes alone! You can imagine my horror. It was going to cost more to ship the things than I sold them for! the wife's gonna love that little development. Maybe I should just not go home... I ended up leaving the speakers at the UPS store while they investigated other shipping options. the next day I was informed that I could ship them all for "only" $550 or so. A genuine bargain, unless you consider the above-stated fact about how much it would cost me to drive out there my own danged self! After all the paperwork was done and the plastic had changed hands, my lovely, immaculate ls2's began their cross-country trek to their new home-in-waiting in Umpqua, Oregon. Delivery was made in a timely manner, with me following their every move via UPS tracker info. Then the shiite hit the fan. I received the dreaded "My new speakers are damaged" email. And to make matters much worse, apparently the UPS personnel on that end convinced my buyer the damage could not possibly have been done in transit. Leaving only one possible conclusion -Yours Truly is a low-down, scum-sucking liar and cheat! Which while those things may be true, generally speaking, the fact is the speakers I sold were in absolutely like-new condition when I packed them and when I delivered them for shipment. Leaving only two possible explanations: either UPS mangled them and doesn't want to man up, or my buyer is trying to pull a fast one, hoping I'll remit some purchase price. A few days go by and I hear from buyer. She says she does not believe I lied about the speakers. I'm not sure what caused the change of heart, but I was glad to hear it. I did file the insurance claim with UPS and the people on my end have so far, been very nice. But I don't know how this will be resolved. I have contacted the buyer again for an update. AFAIK, she will have the option of letting UPS buy the speakers for $3000 or having them repaired. That's assuming UPS does own up, which remains to be seen. Stay tuned for the final chapter... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Sorry to hear about the mis-fortune. Howerver, this is precisely why when I go look for a pair, I am going to try to find them somewhat local, so I can go and get them in person. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuzzzer Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 UPS will deny a claim every time it is submitted. You will have to pursue the matter further to get it resolved. You've got a long road ahead of you. Hope it turns out well for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 That bites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 The boxes Klipsch speakers come in are not good enough to ship them in unless they are straped to a pallet. The UPS store has a big markup on prices compared to having UPS pick them up at your house (if you have a UPS account) or using UPS at a staples store. Typically if you use a used box, your insurance claim will be denired. Typically, if you do not double box (defined as item+padding in box1, then box1+padding in box2), insurance claims will be denied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 That sucks, Dougie. I've never been comfortable with folks at the UPS Store handling anything more fragile than a stuffed bear (and I ain't talkin' no collectible Steiff here). Of course, I always pack stuff myself. You should have seen the wooden crate I built to ship a pair of Cornwalls to WA. Hey, how come you sold the LSIIs? Those are some sweet speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddvj Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 What's a sig-o? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdm56 Posted April 25, 2009 Author Share Posted April 25, 2009 I initially intended to sell as a local pick-up only, but after a week or so I was getting absolutely no nibbles. Lots of lookers but no offers. So I decided to open it up a bit and agreed to ship. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two was shipping w/o a pallet. They arrived on a pallet when I bought them, so I shoulda used pallets to ship. But, UPS insured them w/o palleting, so as far as I'm concerned, the damage is their loss, not mine. Reasons for selling? Mainly a major attack of expenses. Expenses of the medical variety and of the 16-year-old son variety. Firstly, Yours Truly had a little round of gall stones which caused pancreatitis. That was good for about a week in the hoss-a-pital. Then I had a back-set of pancreatitis that put me on my back for another five day stay. Yesterday, they took out my gall bladder, so hopefully no more gall stones and no more pancreas issues. The second reason was more serious. My oldest boy recently turned 16 and decided he "needed" something to drive. After haggling back and forth for weeks over what that something should be (he wanted something out of "The Fast And The Furious"; I was thinking more along the lines of "Driving Miss Daisy") we compromised and found a relatively low-mileage '01 Dodge Stratus Coupe. He was happy cause it looks cool and I was happy because it has airbags and some size. Of course, I suppose I wouldn't have had to sell the la scala II's. But when cash gets tight it's hard to look at those big boxes sitting in the family room and not see dollar bills. They are fantastic speakers, though, no doubt! World-class dynamics, clarity and low distortion but my, my they're big boxes! And not much bass for $6000 dollars speakers the size of chest freezers. Anyway, I decided I needed the money more than I needed the La Scala II's. So I sold them but kept the subs I was using with them. Then I bought a pair of "near mint" Polk LSi-9's off eBay for $409. First Polk's I've ever owned. But that's another story for another thread, I suppose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 What's a sig-o?Significant otherMan that sucks ! As mentioned they should have been strapped to a palet and frieghted . Roadway frieghted a pair of my Belles from Tacoma Wa to Charleston SC and they arrived without a scratch . Sorry for your troubles but now you need to get after UPS hard . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhendrix Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Oh, no!! What a sad, but all-too-common story about shipping with UPS. I bought a pair of Klipsch KP-320's from a fellow in Arizona who shipped them UPS to me. They were beautifully packed. The box was dropped so hard that it broke the woofer magnet. The pro cabinet was fine. UPS denied the claim as inadequate packing. I responded that the 3/4" 13-ply "shipping crate" (cabinet) was undamaged. Still denied. Klipsch said woofer was dropped too hard. Still denied. This went round and round for months. End of story: I paid for a new woofer. I will only ship by FEDEX ground. That's who Klipsch uses. My brother does all the FEDEX flight plans, so I figure I have someone to call if ever I have a problem. I WILL NEVER SHIP BY UPS AGAIN!!! I sure hope this works out for you . . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 That really bites. When shipping big items, I like to take pics as I pack the items with a newspaper or something to confirm the date. I then e-mail the pics to the buyer BEFORE I ship them. Pics of the undamaged boxes are also taken. That way there is no question as to who damaged them. I suppose they can always argue insufficient packing however. EDIT, I hope your health improves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindman Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 The reason for my post is not to say anything negative toward/about the OP. I do hope your health is beginning to see signs of improving. [] I am posting since this thread might get a lot of traffic from others who are curious about how to ship speakers. I bought 3 La Scalas from a seller in the state of Washington. At first he was going to rent a trailer to deliver them in person since he had an upcoming trip planned already to visit my neck of the woods in Texas. We agreed on a set price to reimburse him for the cost of the trailer rental and the cost of some of his gasoline. But that idea didn't pan out for one reason or another. Then we both contacted "Crater and Freighters" delivery company. Their quote for door-to-door pickup-and-delivery was a very reasonable couple of hundred dollars! The seller e-mailed me several close-up photos of each speaker before he arranged for Craters and Freighters to come pick up the speakers at his place where they double boxed them and strapped them to a long wooden pallet. 3 days later I received a call from Crater and Freighters informing me that my speakers had arrived in Texas and that they wanted to make an appointment so that they could arrange a time when I would be home for the final delivery to my door. They were delivered to my front door in a small bob tail truck with a lift gate and a pallet jack. The speakers were in perfect condition, the boxes were in like new condition (in fact I reused them for something that I shipped to someone else), and the pallet was easy to dispose of at a pallet recycling center in town (they paid me $15 for the pallet at the recycling center). I could not have asked for a better price, time in transit, or service from door-to-door. I highly recommend Craters and Freighters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Doug, I am so sorry to hear of this. Typical ups. I will echo the liklihood that UPS will deny the first claim. Stay after them. I you should end up in good order with some perseverance. Hang in bro. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 Sorry to hear about the mis-fortune. Howerver, this is precisely why when I go look for a pair, I am going to try to find them somewhat local, so I can go and get them in person. AMEN brother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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