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UPS woes


JCturboT

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Well, just got word that the Scott LK-48 amp I sold to Chris recently was another victim of UPS.

Even with my bubble wrap and shipping "popcorn"it appears the overzealous UPS people still managed to reek destruction.

The corner of the faceplate is bent (was mint-not even a scratch)as well as the back cover and the chassis is bent as well.The amp won't even sit straight now.

My question to you guys is this...

How does one go about getting this situtation remied with UPS? anyone have any experience?

I insured the amp for $700.00 so thats more than enough to cover damages or repair.

Jeff

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JC,

You have to call UPS and file a claim they will send a agent out to the house to investigate if the packaging was up to there standards for a cliam. Basically there policy is the Item has to be able to withstand a 5' free drop !! Isn't that a crock of bull !! I don't use UPS because they seem to handle packages much worse than Fed Ex ! Your buyer needs to keep all the packaging for inspection.

Good Luck

Craig

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Best I can tell, unless you have one of the many authorized UPS shipping centers pack your item, UPS will almost always challenge your packing if the item is damaged no matter how much insurance you purchased from them. Perhaps the extra cost of having one of those places pack delicate items is worth it. Probably around $15.00 for an Amp.

Bob

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Bob,

In one of the amplifiers travels to see Craig in Michigan I did have it boxed up by a shipping company ($32.00 total with shipping & insurance).The amp made it there and back without so much a scratch.

I used the same box-same bubble wrap-even added more shipping popcorn to the box as well as speaker grill material for protection and they still managed to damage it!

Believe me there wasn't any more room left in the box.

Jeff

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Jeff,

Be very firm when dealing with them and I hope you get this covered. I had one amp damaged that was shipped to me and they refused to cover it even though it was double boxed !! They said it wasn't packaged properly !! The insurance is useless in my opinion unless they lose the item.

Craig

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Right, but even a lost package is problematic. UPS lost a package I sent to a customer. They even admitted they delivered it to a wrong address and left it on a patio. They told me I had to give them 8 working days to recover it. My customer wasn't going to give me that much time. He after two weeks from when I shipped the item demanded his money back or a replacement. That two weeks was only 3 working days into the UPS 8 working days period after the package was reported missing. I sent my customer a replacement and then UPS delivered both the original lost one and the replacement to my customer the same day. That was 12 actual days after it was reported lost but only 8 working days. My customer was nice enough to pay for both but had no obligation.

Bob

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Chris, Jeff, so sorry to hear this ... Man, that beautiful amp didn't deserve that kind of abuse.

I would be inclined to agree with Craig at this point about using FedEx, but I use UPS all the time and haven't had one problem with them. That being said, everybody's number comes up sooner or later ... and I'm probably due soon.

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Jeff did a really good job of packing. the side that made it had a box filled with bubble wrap containing the tubes next to it. the side that did not make it didn't have a box next to it, but did have lots of bubble wrap and peanuts.

Try wrapping in bubble wrap, put it in a box, then wrap that box in bubble wrap, crumbled newspaper or peanuts, and put in another box. This will cost some $$.

With this thing, I don't think that it could have been saved. The whole amp will not sit straight, so the chassis is bent. Who knows what happened to do that, but the amp does work.

Chris

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Oh Happy Happy Joy Joy. 7.gif I have an amp that ends tomorrow on eBay and both the Post Office and UPS are on my sh!t list. And no FedEx shipoper around here that I know of. Thankfully the amp does have the original box and packing which is one of UPS's requirements.

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Go to Home Depot and buy either the 4X8 sheets of rigid foam insulation ($8) and cut appropiate size strips/squares, or the fan-folded pink foam ($6).Use on all side of piece after bubble wrapping. Double box and use more of the rigid foam. Also, clean used cardboard cut into strips lining all sides of the box 3 or 4 times deep works well.

The most important tip to avoid shipping damage is to call a carrier OTHER than UPS.

The other day I asked a UPS rep if the 'FRAGILE' labels I had affixed to the box containing my amp would help any. He replied confidently, "Nope" .

Keith

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Chris R,.

I always think of that old Samsonite luggage commercial where after the bags get checked in, they go through a wall opening on a conveyor belt, then the next room is full of apes that proceed to throw the bags at the wall and jump on them, and rip them open. This came out in the mid 70's. A real classic.

Chris

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Ah, yes, the good old Samsonite commercials. UPS would probably be better if it did have apes working in the back room. Or maybe we should just ship everything in old Samsonite luggage.

As for "Fragile" stickers, just read the info on the UPS web site. There is no special handling for fragile packages.

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Just remember....When the word "fragile" appears on a ups package they throw it under-handed!!

Actually, the reason for the five foot drop is that they use conveyor belts to move and sort the packages. These conveyors pass by obstructions like their own supports, and corners! If that isn't bad enough some of the conveyors are stacked one on top of the other and the top one maybe 15 feet in the air. Now if one of the packages is put on; or in someother way runs ascew, it hits a support or corner and any thing coming up behind it has the chance of falling a good long way! This is the ups version of carpet bombing. You don't want to be standing below a running conveyor unless you have a cute friend at the Emergency Room. Ergo, you will not want to ship anything with ups that you don't want partially or totally destroyed.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!

Cornwaller

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