I've had it with shipping companies man-handling packages like bloody apes!

MadAsAHatter

MadAsAHatter

Well-known member
I posted a few days ago about my incoming new bass day. It was delivered today. The pictures on Reverb showed it to be really clean for a mid 80's guitar. I'm actually surprised how good it looked for it's age. Just one or two light surface marks on an otherwise near perfect finish. I was excited which turned to utter disgusts and disappointment. There it was plain as day... a fucking chip of wood taken out of the back side point. I don't blame the seller, he packed it well. Bass in a thick padded gig bag, that heavy duty paper stuff and bubble wrap all around plus extra cardboard in the corners and sides. Even with all that the damn fuckholes at UPS still managed to damage it. I know they're not exactly delicate with package but FUCK...!!! do they launch boxes around with a trebuchet? This isn't the first thing that's come beat to shit in some way and it seems like it keeps getting worse. And it doesn't seem to matter which shipper it is, UPS, FedEx, USPS; they all man-handle packages like a bunch of fucking Neanderthals. I'm completely fed up with this shit! :mad:

Yeah I know a Hondo Deluxe isn't anywhere near a valuable guitar, but goddammit it's still infuriating. The best I got for this crapfest is at least the seller used the safe shipping and I've filed a claim with Reverb that will hopefully cover all costs of repairs.

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On the bright side, at least the damage is on relatively unimportant parts of the body. Neck could be snapped or headstock broken off. My 1988 charvel has a chunk missing out of the bottom near the input that I assume is due to shipping damage in its prior life. I’ve never really cared myself - still plays and functions fine.

Keep us updated on the repairs.
 
I'm sorry for what happened to your bass.
Every shipping company do treat the packages like they don't give a fuck about it. Because they don't give a fuck about it.
Also, the vast majority of sellers, who claim they pack their items well enough to not being damaged, do not pack them good at all.
You can blame the sender, who packed the item, the shipping company, who destroy the item, the buyer, who bitches at the seller and asks for a cheaper shipping fee... at the end, it doesn't matter. Once the item it's damaged, it will never be perfect again. It'll be either restored or fucked. Forever.
I've been buying and selling, shipping and receiving guitars, amps and pedals, for over 35 years, and never, not a single time, had one item I've shipped to arrive damaged. But I do go above and beyond to make sure it's packed the way I like.
The most common complaint I have is "it took me over 20 minutes to just unpack it". But never, not a single time, something I shipped arrived damaged.
Now, let's be honest, shipping any guitar or bass, without a hardshell case it's very risky. And if the seller was doing that, and knew what he was doing, he could've protected even more, with more bubble wrap, and an extra box. If he double boxed it, which didn't help, he could've tripled boxed it.
More recently, I finally found three people that pack their amps/guitars, very similar to the way I do... one of them is @psychodave.
So yes, carriers could be more careful. But also, sellers could learn how to pack an item well too.
 
Ouch. Hope you get this worked out in your favor.

Just had a 2204 arrive from UPS yesterday. When I saw the box I was not optimistic. Good pack job and some good luck saved the day however.
 
SBlue said:
I'm sorry for what happened to your bass.
Every shipping company do treat the packages like they don't give a fuck about it. Because they don't give a fuck about it.
Also, the vast majority of sellers, who claim they pack their items well enough to not being damaged, do not pack them good at all.
You can blame the sender, who packed the item, the shipping company, who destroy the item, the buyer, who bitches at the seller and asks for a cheaper shipping fee... at the end, it doesn't matter. Once the item it's damaged, it will never be perfect again. It'll be either restored or fucked. Forever.
I've been buying and selling, shipping and receiving guitars, amps and pedals, for over 35 years, and never, not a single time, had one item I've shipped to arrive damaged. But I do go above and beyond to make sure it's packed the way I like.
The most common complaint I have is "it took me over 20 minutes to just unpack it". But never, not a single time, something I shipped arrived damaged.
Now, let's be honest, shipping any guitar or bass, without a hardshell case it's very risky. And if the seller was doing that, and knew what he was doing, he could've protected even more, with more bubble wrap, and an extra box. If he double boxed it, which didn't help, he could've tripled boxed it.
More recently, I finally found three people that pack their amps/guitars, very similar to the way I do... one of them is @psychodave.
So yes, carriers could be more careful. But also, sellers could learn how to pack an item well too.
Click to expand...

I understand where you're coming from and are mostly correct in everything you said. But in the last 2-3 years since COVID damage during shipping has gotten exponentially worse. Before hand, yeah it still happened but not so much that it couldn't be chalked up to shit happens. Now you damn near need to pack a bag of cotton balls to survive a nuclear blast to arrive safely. I used to laugh when we'd receive a roll of bubble wrap at the office wrapped in bubble wrap. Now I get why. I feel that it's so bad lately that even if a guitar is in a hard case plus bubble wrap, triple layer boxes it still has a high enough potential to arrive damaged. I don't thing there's much that can be done short of securing it to survive said nuclear blast at ground zero. Even then it still may arrive broken. The shittiest part of the matter is these shipping companies know their employees mishandle everything. Even when you pay for extra insurance they will fight you every step of the way in not paying out the claim when it is clearly their fault.

At least in my case the guy I feel did absolutely pack the bass securely, or at least what any reasonable person would consider fully secure. UPS was just that damn rough with it that it would have been damaged no matter how much more packing material was put in.
 
I do have an update. The shipper did do the Reverb Safe Shipping insurance thing and I filed the damage claim yesterday evening. Got an email not too long ago that I will be compensated $375 for the damages. From estimates I got today that's enough to cover professional repair costs for the spot fix. Being a hobbyist luthier I'll be able to do the repair myself and shouldn't take more than a few hours labor. So that's money back into my pocket. Worse case scenario is the spot fix doesn't look good enough and I strip the finish and redo it.

It's still frustrating as all hades and I would much rather not have to do this in the first place, but at least it is fixable. And I know people bitch about Reverb; especially the fees, but at least the do have things in place to compensate you that are relatively hassle free for when shit happens.
 
Prices have gone up like 30% for UPS/FedEx; and the damage they do also went up with the rates. Pathetic.
And, I’ll never ship a guitar without a hs case….just spend the damn money on eBay buying a cheap but effective case so it’s shipped safer.
Sorry for your troubles op.
 
We are seeing poor work habits and all manner of I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude from a wide variety of employees in a wide variety of environments. It's not pretty out there.
 
GearGasms said:
We are seeing poor work habits and all manner of I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude from a wide variety of employees in a wide variety of environments. It's not pretty out there.
Click to expand...
That's exactly what been going on for at least 15 years, and it's getting worse by the minute. And unfortunately, the I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude comes from both ways... both employees and customers. It's unbelievable what some employees have to deal with nowadays... the now so famous "Karen" clients. On the other hand, the employees just decided to give a fuck to everyone.
It's a non ending cycle that is consuming both ends, and it'll not get any better.
That's why I always ask friends to be more patient and have a bit more common sense.
You'll only get back what you put out there, and one more person not giving a fuck, only makes it more difficult to fix the whole system later on. If it's still fixable at all.
It's sad, but it's the reality we're all living now.
 
I’m with you Brother!! This year I’m at a 50/50 rate of being fucked up or not! My buddy says I have a curse or something going on!!
 
This is exactly why i pack guitars and amps "ridiculously."

I'd rather it takes them a half hour to unpack it, and have it arrive safe and sound.
 
SBlue said:
I'm sorry for what happened to your bass.
Every shipping company do treat the packages like they don't give a fuck about it. Because they don't give a fuck about it.
Also, the vast majority of sellers, who claim they pack their items well enough to not being damaged, do not pack them good at all.
You can blame the sender, who packed the item, the shipping company, who destroy the item, the buyer, who bitches at the seller and asks for a cheaper shipping fee... at the end, it doesn't matter. Once the item it's damaged, it will never be perfect again. It'll be either restored or fucked. Forever.
I've been buying and selling, shipping and receiving guitars, amps and pedals, for over 35 years, and never, not a single time, had one item I've shipped to arrive damaged. But I do go above and beyond to make sure it's packed the way I like.
The most common complaint I have is "it took me over 20 minutes to just unpack it". But never, not a single time, something I shipped arrived damaged.
Now, let's be honest, shipping any guitar or bass, without a hardshell case it's very risky. And if the seller was doing that, and knew what he was doing, he could've protected even more, with more bubble wrap, and an extra box. If he double boxed it, which didn't help, he could've tripled boxed it.
More recently, I finally found three people that pack their amps/guitars, very similar to the way I do... one of them is @psychodave.
So yes, carriers could be more careful. But also, sellers could learn how to pack an item well too.
Click to expand...
Truly, most guys aren’t good at packing guitars and amps. I have seen stuff arrive, at times from guys who are big time collectors of high end gear and their packing job is nothing short of atrocious and a miracle it arrived in one piece.

Don’t even get me started in shipping companies. The mentally deficient pukes who work at those places don’t give two shits about your package or what’s in it. It’s up to you or the seller to make sure it arrives safely. I have seen guys toss amps out of the back of their trucks as if it’s a worthless box of trash. Always shocking to see. The greatest height of human stupidity never fails to blow my mind.

Viva la Gorilla Gang! (May they live forever!)
 
I used to own a FedEx Ground route. It is a high volume, low profit margin business model. They need to keep the conveyor running. Guitar products tend to be too large for their systems, their systems are designed for boxes about 18" cube. Long boxes get stuck on turns and either fall off the side, or are tossed off, from any height, to unblock log jams. No one is trying to ruin your shipment, their employees are just trying to maintain the line as the distribution manager demands.
 
njshred said:
No one is trying to ruin your shipment, their employees are just trying to maintain the line as the distribution manager demands.
Click to expand...

Tell that one to the FedEx driver who literally threw my ENGL Inferno on the driveway right in front of me as I was reaching to take it from him. Thank goodness there was no damage since I bought it new and was sealed and secured well in the factory packing.
 
I'm sure it's different in each area; at least in the final leg of transit & delivery. Where I'm at both FedEx & UPS are crap, but surprisingly USPS had been pretty decent.
 
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