FedEx Beware!!

[japetus]

Sorry to vent on you guys on this beautiful Saturday morning!! I received the Skeleton Key on Wednesday, this all really didn’t set in until I spent an hour or so this morning taking apart this awesome amplifier and have to bend and bang on it to try and get it looking like it use to before this brainless gorillas did there fine work to it!!

Shit, I'd be venting too. I realize shit happens but how flagrant are they being to cause that much damage to an amp packed that good? It almost seems like they would have to TRY to deliberately manhandle the package.

 

[motorboy1]

Well that sucks donkey balls….

 

[alund]

Fed Ex fucking sucks. Shipping anything. I never use them for guns anymore. Half the damn barrel hanging out the rifle cases and shit. And I’m not fond of USPS. So I only go UPS And they ain’t far behind. I don’t sell guitars so I don’t know about how bad that is but I’m sure it’s a “ just throw shit policy”.

 

[psychodave]

Thats sucks. Really sucks!!!

I've never had one issue shipping with FedEx. Not one. However, I've had several issues with UPS.

 

[bugsy5150]

Post was basically to let you all know what’s going on with shippers these days!!

UPS better but crack the neck on a Explorer I bought a few months ago!! ?

I guess the lesson that somebody high above is trying to tell me is…..

QUIT BUYING SHIT DUMBASS!!!

????

 

[RedB4Black]

Sucks you have to deal with it. I've never had a problem with FedEx. Only UPS. Typically when the headshell is jacked up like in the pictures you posted it's because the joints aren't strong enough to contain the weight of the chassis if the amp is dropped. I see that a lot with Friedman headshells. Best way to prevent is to double box with lots of cushioning and also brace the transformers internally by wedging something between the headshell and the top of the transformer.

 

[panhead]

I think that happens when the item falls off the conveyor, the top level is around 25 feet in the air.

 

[panhead]

UPS takes a picture when they put it on your doorstep, Fedex doesnt.

 

[rottingcorpse]

This is why I haven't sold/shipped an amp in 2 years.
I got super fucked on the last one an just tapped out of the amp selling game.
Truth is I'm still getting fucked on that deal almost two years later. Makes me very sad.

 

[JimAnsell]

fed ex was the best when i was at the height of my gear flippery in the mid-late 2000's. fastest, cheapest, and safest back then in my experiences. I used them A LOT in that era. several packages a week for years. maybe 1 mishap in there, and i can't even pinpoint it in my memory, but i'm sure there was. I'd even get the same driver most of the time, who didn't get pissy about bringing me giant boxes with speaker cabinets, heads, guitars, speakers, all the time. Then the last time i used them, i was left in the dark for like 5 days on a package (my boogie simul satellite inside) that was "delayed", and no one at fed ex knew what to tell you. it was bad week, but eventually i got it. that scared me enough to not use them again for a while.

Now i have a few pals/drinkin buddies who are drivers for ups, and they know people who can help me directly if i ever have a problem, so i am more incline to go with them these days.

 

[DanTravis62]

That's so sad for such a happy NAD

Shea's stuff sounds great.

 

[PDC]

It would almost be worth it to buy an Anvil Head case to ship a head in, then let the buyer ship it back empty at the cheapest rate.

 

[glip22]

Monomyth had a 1 1/2 layer of that foam board around it! Didn’t save it!!

Nothing worse than opening a box with damage. Really breaks your heart.
I'm not referring to styro board. Poly lam is a completely different animal. After I pack an amp it could be dropped from 6 feet in the air (maybe more)and it would be fine. With the way shippers treat boxes now it has to be packed as indestructible as possible.

 

[OUTLAW1969]

I think that happens when the item falls off the conveyor, the top level is around 25 feet in the air.

Ughhhh........the thought of that, with some of the things that I have received via shipping agents, just made me cringe. Especially guitars......yes, they can be repaired, but not put back to exactly "like new", like an amp could over time.

BUT, a heavy box containing an expensive amp, falling rapidly from the top of the conveyor, makes my stomach turn.....?

 

[Bardagh]

Is UPS typically better then FedEx? It seems like whatever you choose you have a random chance of your package getting fucked up.

It may be down to the crapshoot of who they have hired to work your area. Where I used to live, UPS was no good but here they’re 100 x better than FedEx. FedEx I have noticed has gone downhill steadily over the past few years though.

 

[Bro KV]

FedEx has not damaged my packages but they tend to have delivery issues. Like saying they came by my house and I wasn’t home to sign when I was and my cameras proved it. Or they will say Monday delivery and show up Sunday with no warning. UPS has damaged my packages.

 

[RedPlated]

This seems to be happening A LOT with FedEx lately. The Hellion that I shipped to Mark was also double boxed. Luckily I had extra head shells and was able to send out a brand new one to him the next day. I felt pretty bad that he received a brand new amp with a broken head shell. I would of felt much worse if he would have had to wait an extended period of time for a replacement. Mark was very easy to deal with an I appreciated his understanding through that process.

FedEx actually honored the claim on that shipment and reimbursed me for the shell.

The very next shipment I sent was a used Fender Custom Shop strat in the OHSC and in an original Fender box with extra bubble wrap and padding. They broke the case on that one. They denied the claim and I have not used FedEx ever since. I went years shipping amps and guitars with not one issue from FedEx. Then it started like an avalanche. It almost seemed like they were intentionally mishandling packages.

I agree on the foam corners being ideal. I actually have the contact info for the vendor Friedman uses for boxes and foam corners. Ideally I'd like to go that route for the future.

 

[Bro KV]

So they dropped it so hard that the transformer mounting legs bent, geezus

 

[TheGreatGreen]

FedEx has been garbage lately for me too.

Same story as the OP. Bought an amp. Came banged up in coincidentally the exact same way the box was banged up. Returned it.

UPS has consistently been great in my area though.

 

[bugsy5150]

So hard they bent the chassis!! Lucky the Hellion didn’t get the internal damage lie the Skeleton Key!

Oh did I mention that the Hellion went missing for 5 days on there radar. For a moment Jeremy and I were thinking they lost it!!