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#11
October 14th 05, 09:15 PM
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Shipping: UPS Ground vs. FedEx Ground
Phil Kane wrote:
On 13 Oct 2005 06:21:10 -0700, wrote: In the case of UPS it seems to have more to do with the shipper than anything else. And sometimes it's the gremlins. Two horror stories: 1. Six years ago I shipped an AEA TNC to Timewave for an upgrade, UPS insured. It was well-packed - I've spent many years doing domestic and overseas packing of fragile household goods and electronic equipment (and during the 1967 War a commercial ocean shipper hired me to so some of it because his regular staff was out doing military service) so I DO know how to pack well. Timewave reported that the knob and shaft on the only front-panel control was bent and had to be replaced. Fast forward to last year. I had to ship another TNC to them, and mindful of the first experience, put TWO INCHES of snug-wrapped bubble-pack around the instrument, then two inches of sheet foam around that. I swear - the packing must have weighed as much as the instrument. You guessed it - Timewave reported that the control was damaged in shipment although the box and the packing was intact.. Go figure. Sounds like bovine excrement to me. I have dealt with companies in the past that always found certain things "broken" on items returned for repair, even when they weren't. It is a great way of bringing in a little extra money, and the customer has no way of proving the lie... well, unless the company tells the same lame story over and over again like Timewave appears to have done. 2. Quite a number of years ago I had a commercial art framer send a one-of-a-kind drawing cross-country to a friend of mine for a special birthday. It went UPS insured. When it arrived, my friend reported that there was a small crack in the glass frame and I reported that to the shipper. I'm betting this wasn't packed the way UPS says you should pack fragile items: double box, 2 inches of packing around the item, and 2 inches of packing around the inside box. You cannot just throw a glass frame into a box, and fill the box with peanuts, and expect it to survive. The frame needs a single wrap of thin foam (cardboard thickness), a piece of wood, or masonite front and back taped firmly. This should then be placed in a sealed plastic bag. This composit should be wrapped loosly with 2 inches of bubble wrap, and boxed. The inside box should then have another 2 inches of loosly packed peanuts. You can set the stage for a great amount of damage to a fragile item by simply packing the peanuts too tightly in the box. I have *never*, repeat *never* had a problem with UPS damaging an item that was properly packed. On the one or two occasions I have had a damage problem, the items were heavy, and were tossed into the box, with a little bit of crumbled newspaper thrown in on top to fill up the empty space. Or someone has shipped a BA that originally was shipped with the transformer removed, with the transformer installed... stupid stuff. That isn't UPS's fault, that is the shipper's fault. UPS moves quickly, packages literally fly through their hub. UPS gives recommendations on how to pack to survive. If you don't follow them, you are taking a very big risk. FedEX's ground operations are identical to UPS's. FedEX's air freight operations gain some protection from damage by forcing you to use their standardized boxes. -Chuck |
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