Courier disaster... :(

[thumperbob 2002]

I have sold and bought loads of basses and amps on here and have strangely had only good experiences. Sent a Marshall Vba 400 amp to Italy. It arrived fine - all 100lbs of it!!

[Stacker]

Back in the '90s I did a long agency stint at a well-known courier firm, now subsumed into a large European firm. I didn't do 'bulk' - pallettes, etc - but packages up to the size of guitar cartons. I can say that I never saw any couriers mishandle freight, deliberately or otherwise, but that's not to say it didn't happen. I reckon the majority of damage comes from the bulk transit deliveries between hubs. These usually arrive in late evening and throughout the night and if you've every seen baggage handlers at work, well, the conveyor-belt sorters are not far off of that: stuff get's tossed into cages with no thought for care.

These cartons with 'fork-lift damage' - it's a possibility. But for me, the real danger for freight items was when they lost their barcodes. Once that happened, irrespective of an address being on the box, the item could not be scanned. It would then remain in the warehouse until the floor managers recoded it, a process that coudl take some time. Until then, it would go into a cage along with the other orphans and be put to one side. And possibil disappear, like a 335 I once shipped.

It used to be that if a courier dropped you off an item that clearly had considerable damage that you could A) refuse it, citing damage or accept it, marking 'damaged' beside your signature. This was meant to give you more clout with insurance if the item inside was damaged, as you suspected. However, I do recall hearing that, with certain couriers, if you accepted the package at all then that was an admission that teh item was in perfect condition.The other downside was that if you rejected it, you might have, say, £1k's worth of guitar sitting in a warehouse for x amount of days until the issue got resolved. That's how I saw it, in the past; dunno what it's like now.

Edited March 29, 2013 by Stacker

[hamfist]

A long time ago I realised that courier insurance wasn't worth the paper it was printed on. THe only way to try and ensure safety is to pack items to withstand a nuclear blast. Even then, occasionally (like this BF cab) something so extreme will happen to it that it will be damaged.
The problem with not using couriers is that it reduces your target market for an item like a bass by about 100X. The higher value, and more specialised, the item the more it reduces your target market.
For me, unfortunately couriers are a necessary evil. Rule of thumb - always overpack !

[Telebass]

Alex has confirmed the damage was done by a forklift tine. He's wrangling with the courier re insurance. I may have a replacement as early as next week. Alex is a real trooper and trying very hard to get me a Super 15 ASAP. Many thanks, Alex!

[essexbasscat]

Couriers - spawn of the devil. After several bad experiences with them, I wouldn't trust them to sit the correct way round on a toilet seat. No respect for other people's property or the service they've been paid to provide.

Yes, I have a poor opinion of them in general and it's been well earned.

[Mr. Foxen]

Courier van pulled up outside my house, I saw through my bay window, dude slips and drops the amp out the back of the van, looks around guiltily straight at me looking at him thorugh the window. By the time I got to the door he'd already filled out the 'item delivered as damaged' box on his handset.

[discreet]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1365344217' post='2038254']
Courier van pulled up outside my house, I saw through my bay window, dude slips and drops the amp out the back of the van, looks around guiltily straight at me looking at him thorugh the window. By the time I got to the door he'd already filled out the 'item delivered as damaged' box on his handset.
[/quote]

Ha! Had exactly the same experience with a big fridge (not an Ampeg cab - a fridge!) only he didn't see me clock him drop it... I had a bit of fun with him at the door before putting him straight...

[BetaFunk]

[quote name='ShaunB' timestamp='1364479231' post='2027030']
...try watching your $2,300, 7kg, 100% carbon, custom windsurfing board being "ridden" surfing style up a plane loading ramp by a United Airlines "numb nuts"!
*ugh*
[/quote]
A friend who worked at an airport many years ago once told me that a well known suitcase company made a advert showing how tough and strong their cases were. He said after that whenever they saw one the baggage handlers would throw it as far and high as they could to see if it would break.

I know someone who manufactures high quality parts for the aviation industry and he has stopped putting 'fragile' stickers on his packages because he said that the packages arrived in better shape without.

Edited April 7, 2013 by BetaFunk

[geoffbyrne]

I bought a Vantage double P-pup short scale off Ebay. It arrived wrapped in 1 (yes 0ne) sheet of bubble-wrap secured with one bit of sellotape (imagine it!) .......totally undamaged!!!!!!

G.

Edited April 7, 2013 by geoffbyrne

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1364472533' post='2026891']
Well, after waiting with great anticipation for my Barefaced Super 15, it arrived this morning. With a hole in it. Right through multiple packaging layers and almost right through the ply.

Quite how the couriers had managed to mistreat a well-packed item that badly,is, frankly, beyond me.

Alex at Barefaced was audibly shocked when i told him, both because he's gone to a great deal of trouble to try and make sure this sort of problem doesn't happen, and because he now has to effectively start from scratch on a new cab for me, which will screw up his production.

Hopefully, he can recover some parts from the damaged cab, but if it's been beaten around to that extent (there were in fact several holes in and through the packaging), I would be surprised if it wasn't a total loss.

To say I'm gutted is to indulge in the greatest of understatements...
[/quote]

What i can't understand is how a courier puts a hole through several layers of packing AND plywood. Was it a drill hole?

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1365343505' post='2038244']
Alex has confirmed the damage was done by a forklift tine. He's wrangling with the courier re insurance. I may have a replacement as early as next week. Alex is a real trooper and trying very hard to get me a Super 15 ASAP. Many thanks, Alex!
[/quote]

Wow! serious f*** up in the warehouse, eh?

[Mr. Foxen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ezFCNjhek

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1365361146' post='2038572']
What i can't understand is how a courier puts a hole through several layers of packing AND plywood. Was it a drill hole?
[/quote]

Forklifts.
Stable, robust, powerful devices for a tough job.
When clumsily (or mis-) used, the damage potential is simply enormous.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1365363218' post='2038626']
Forklifts.
Stable, robust, powerful devices for a tough job.
When clumsily (or mis-) used, the damage potential is simply enormous.
[/quote]

Yes, i've worked in a warehouse before. Don't know how you can ram it through a pallet and then try and deliver it anyway. That's just stupid.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1365363914' post='2038644']
I'm afraid this is true - anything with 'fragile' stickers on gets singled out for 'special treatment'.
[/quote]

"Hey, Fred, what does far-gee-ly mean?"

[discreet]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][quote][color=#282828]I'm afraid this is true - anything with 'fragile' stickers on gets singled out for 'special treatment'.[/quote][/color][/font][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1365364024' post='2038646']"Hey, Fred, what does far-gee-ly mean?"[/quote][/font]
[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][color=#282828]I know this for a fact - I read it in post #6 on this very thread! *takes Alzheimer's medication*[/color][/font]

Edited April 7, 2013 by discreet

[Paul S]

I used to run a small plant nursery at one point and reluctantly sold plants by mail order. One time I took a parcel to a different post office to my usual and handed the box over. I had, as usual, covered the outside of the box in the words, 'LIVE PLANTS PLEASE HANDLE CAREFULLY' in red capitals. The guy behind the counter took it, weighed it, then threw it in the corner. I said 'Can you be careful I have live plants in there'. He said 'And how am I supposed to know that?' Not sure how many people in the queue behind me went back again after my reply.

[Big_Stu]

Many years ago I sent my Mum a box of chocolates in the post. The postie actually folded it in half to get it through her letterbox! And even then it must have needed a crow-bar to get it in.
I get paranoid about any package I send that's over letterbox size entirely because of that.

[Telebass]

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1365404223' post='2038959']
I used to run a small plant nursery at one point and reluctantly sold plants by mail order. One time I took a parcel to a different post office to my usual and handed the box over. I had, as usual, covered the outside of the box in the words, 'LIVE PLANTS PLEASE HANDLE CAREFULLY' in red capitals. The guy behind the counter took it, weighed it, then threw it in the corner. I said 'Can you be careful I have live plants in there'. He said 'And how am I supposed to know that?' Not sure how many people in the queue behind me went back again after my reply.
[/quote]

Oh dear...

[tauzero]

[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1365360445' post='2038552']
I bought a Vantage double P-pup short scale off Ebay. It arrived wrapped in 1 (yes 0ne) sheet of bubble-wrap secured with one bit of sellotape (imagine it!) .......totally undamaged!!!!!!
[/quote]

I've had a BSX upright bass sent to me with the packaging being a bin bag wrapped round the soft case. Arrived undamaged. Recently someone sent me a network server which had been put in an empty photocopier paper box with a few of those big bubbles put in at random. Arrived with the box falling apart and the server very visible inside it but undamaged, so I think the courier must have taken quite good care of it.

Conversely I've sent a bass out in a hard case and had it arrive with the bass still in good order but the case wrecked.

[karlfer]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1365361486' post='2038584']
[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--ezFCNjhek[/media]
[/quote]
Oli, that actually had me in tears of laughter

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1365408152' post='2038996']
Many years ago I sent my Mum a box of chocolates in the post. The postie actually folded it in half to get it through her letterbox! And even then it must have needed a crow-bar to get it in.
I get paranoid about any package I send that's over letterbox size entirely because of that.
[/quote]

HAHA! Silly postie

Our regular postman is pretty decent.

[yorks5stringer]

Still waiting for the Mothers Day Chocs posted the week before Mothers Day....!

[Mudpup]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1365437363' post='2039623']
Still waiting for the Mothers Day Chocs posted the week before Mothers Day....!
[/quote]

Probably round your mums house!

[discreet]

[quote name='Mudpup' timestamp='1365443752' post='2039734']
Probably round your mums house!
[/quote]

His mum says no...