FedEx thanks!!!!! UPDATE, with happy ending!

  • Thread starter Thread starter Devilinside
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May I ask how you packed the amp before it was shipped to Dave?

[Regardless, the situation sucks. :cry: Sorry my friend!]
 
rlord1974":124ke7lk said:
May I ask how you packed the amp before it was shipped to Dave?

[Regardless, the situation sucks. :cry: Sorry my friend!]
Well I had a layer of popcorn in the bottom then bubble wrapped and stuffed as much bubble wrap as I could get in every spot I could. Apparently the box was too small though. I caught hell finding a box big enough and I totally covered the box with extremely fragile,do not tumble. I had the tubes pulled and bubble wrapped and put back inside amp. Tubes got broke as well and they were pulled. I'm thinking it was dropped from considersble height.
 
Devilinside":3rkd31fg said:
rlord1974":3rkd31fg said:
May I ask how you packed the amp before it was shipped to Dave?

[Regardless, the situation sucks. :cry: Sorry my friend!]
Well I had a layer of popcorn in the bottom then bubble wrapped and stuffed as much bubble wrap as I could get in every spot I could. Apparently the box was too small though. I caught hell finding a box big enough and I totally covered the box with extremely fragile,do not tumble. I had the tubes pulled and bubble wrapped and put back inside amp. Tubes got broke as well and they were pulled. I'm thinking it was dropped from considersble height.

Dude (and anyone else shipping amps), go to U-Line. Buy these 36"x16"x16" Double wall, 275# test boxes. They come flat packed in 10's for less than $50. Ship your amp back to your guy or to a buyer in a fresh, heavy duty box. It will be much appreciated. You can also buy the expanding 3M packing material there. This gives plenty of room for the 3" all around required by shipping companies. I bought them and sent them all the way overseas.

http://www.uline.com/Product/Detail/S-1 ... ated-Boxes



Steve
 
Never use foam peanuts. They move, shift and don't cushion your amp properly.

You also need at least three inches around all sides when shipping an amp head. So Steve K's 16x16x30" box is a good idea. I actually use the 16x17x30" boxes to ship out 4 speakers at a time. Never had any damage yet.

The best method I've found is two inches of bubble wrap around the amp head, then 1-1.5" thick of "Insulfoam" from Home Depot around the bubble wrap, then put it in the box and tape down all corners and edges.

Sorry about your shipping damage.
 
Scumback Speakers":112sxzmv said:
Never use foam peanuts. They move, shift and don't cushion your amp properly.

You also need at least three inches around all sides when shipping an amp head. So Steve K's 16x16x30" box is a good idea. I actually use the 16x17x30" boxes to ship out 4 speakers at a time. Never had any damage yet.

The best method I've found is two inches of bubble wrap around the amp head, then 1-1.5" thick of "Insulfoam" from Home Depot around the bubble wrap, then put it in the box and tape down all corners and edges.

Sorry about your shipping damage.
Dave where do you guys get boxes this size?
I searched everywhere!!
 
I have had a lot of problems with FedEx in the past. From leaving packages at the wrong house, to lost packages to damaged packages... I will only use UPS and USPS from now on.
 
Phil Jacques":28jj5u4x said:
I have had a lot of problems with FedEx in the past. From leaving packages at the wrong house, to lost packages to damaged packages... I will only use UPS and USPS from now on.
Prob is, that's why I switched. UPS destroyed a port city 412 in factory packing and I had to raise hell to get them to pay out claim, and that was after paying $170 to ship the SOB.
They all suck huge balls!
 
The biggest problem is people who have no respect for their job... It's a sad thing in this world these days. Seems like it use to be that people took pride in their work weather they were flipping burgers or building high dollar rockets and space craft... now people are just lazy and don't care. It's a sad time we live in now. Very unfortunate.
 
Agree with the others on the box size needing to be larger. Minimum of 3" of bubble wrap. Also keep in mind if the box looks ratty and old, it is harder to tell if damage occurred with the shipper or sender. Also putting fragile, not tumble, is completely worthless, in fact it invites those who are up to no good to do something bad. I have known several people that worked the docks of UPS, and they always said fragile meant toss and kick. Also the amps name or company name on the box draws unwanted attention too. also keep in mind the larger box is more difficult to toss around. I don't recommend this, but I had a guy send an amp to me in a damn dishwasher box, it was huge! And the amp was packed only with shredded newspaper, that was it!!!!!!! The box and amp were in perfect condition....

FedEx requires a signature on all items insured for more than 500.00, so there is no dropping it off at the door step like UPS. When I ship items less than 500.00 I always require a signature period. That removes the "we delivered it, don't know what happened" routine.

Also check the locally owned shipping company outlets, (Not he chain stores like UPS store, etc). They can usually make you a custom box and have more stronger cardboard types. Also the local companies have more incentive for customer service.

I actually use a local packaging company to ship my amps. I got lucky, these guys specialize in high dollar and fragile shipping. The cardboard is industrial thick, where they need staples to close the box:) They also fight FedEx or UPS for any damage and have a 100% success rate. Since the shipping areas is under video survielance, they have proof of proper packaging if they ever need evidence. What is funny, the local UPS stores and Kinko's FedEx will send them fragile things to pack because they don't know how, LOL

Yes I pay more in packaging and shipping, than most, but in 7 years I have had zero damage do to shipping.

In saying that I only ship FedEx period, never UPS
 
Dont even get me started with Fedex. I will never use them, and if someone is shipping me something, I request that it doesnt go Fedex. Seemed to have more issues with them than normal deliveries.
 
Funny, more and more music companies especially smaller ones are going FedEx, it is more expensive too, UPS damages more packages than any other company due to the volume.

No company is error free. But in my experience and others who do volume shipping FedEx is more reliable. The shipper I use told me they have never had to submit a claim against FedEx, but do it on a weekly basis with UPS
 
Devilinside":1z20f181 said:
Well I had a layer of popcorn in the bottom then bubble wrapped and stuffed as much bubble wrap as I could get in every spot I could. Apparently the box was too small though. I caught hell finding a box big enough and I totally covered the box with extremely fragile,do not tumble. I had the tubes pulled and bubble wrapped and put back inside amp. Tubes got broke as well and they were pulled. I'm thinking it was dropped from considersble height.

Never put fragile warnings on the box, that makes them abuse it more. I heard that from the "inside". :doh: :thumbsup:

Also the bubble wrap is a good thing, but needs to be combined with harder foam for the corners at a minimum. Then after all that fill in the rest with popcorn.

Not that it will help you now...been there I can sympathize.
 
I understand that the amp may have been dropped , but I find it odd that it completed separated the joint with no additional wood splintering .
 
Norton666":2svlp7an said:
I understand that the amp may have been dropped , but I find it odd that it completed separated the joint with no additional wood splintering .


I have seen tons of head cabs damaged where they separated at the finger joints
 
All carriers are horrible. Wait to you experience the claim process.
 
steve_k":2h3mkevb said:
For you guys that live in the US, have you checked with your homeowner's insurance carrier to see if you can get a rider for 3rd party shipping insurance? Or, if you are shipping a lot of stuff, take out a 3rd party shipping insurance policy. You will be paid off immediately and the insurance company then hashes it out with the shipper. No fuss from what I hear and have read. With the shipping companies, you may get lucky, but its dodgy at best on winning a claim. Even if the policy cost you a couple hundred a year, it would be more than worth it. All companies shipping gear should have this, but they don't.

There are policies that cover this but it must be endorsed... however nothing covers USPS since it is government... and, well, insurance companies don't really mess with anything government!
 
voodooradio1":orqzi022 said:
I know this doesn't help your current situation but you may find it useful in the future. Home depot and Lowes sell a 2" thick rigid foam insulation in 4'x8' sheets for around $40.00 a sheet. A pull stroke PVC saw or cheap hot knife cuts through it with ease. I cut pcs to brace the transformers and then build a tight fitting enclosure for every amp head or power amp I ship, and wrap the entire enclosure in duct tape, bubble wrap the shit out of it and place it in a heavy duty box. Material cost a bit, but the piece of mind is worth it.

Found this method a couple years ago, and thankfully haven't had any issues with shipping. I'm always nervous as hell shipping things even when I pack for the apocalypse.

OP good luck on the fix, hope it's not too pricey.
 
Plain and simple fact is it was not packed well enough. 1 layer of small bubble is not enough. . Item should be tight in the box a surrounded by at least 2 to 3 inches of foam.. Now the box should be thick cardboard not as this as paper. My boxes for my head have 2" thick corners and a very thick wall box. I might have had 1 thing damaged in about 200 amps.. If you can not get this kind of thing a box inside of a box.
 
I had the same thing happen to my Friedman a few years ago when I sent it to Dave. He fixed it for me but I was so irritated with the carrier because I knew they were throwing it around like a gorilla.
 
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