Fedex and Ups Damage thread

Im not shipping anything anymore every again, never ever.  I had them jack up an Anthem I225, a Kinki Studio Ex-M1, and I had them pick up a pair of $3500 speakers to return to sender that went mia on the tracking system, but thank god they actually made it back to the sender.

Fed Ex and UPS are a joke.  The boxes can be double boxed with styrofoam, marked as fragile (highly explosive might yield better results).  Fed ex told me that the boxes need to withstand 150 or 180 pounds… can’t remember.  
 

To be safe, basically box up your $3,000 amp then jump up and down on the box. If your amp survived, your safe to ship it… probably.

Oh and the Fed Ex insurance claim is a joke.  I basically just gave up trying to file a claim.

I purchased a demo set of Paradigm 95F towers from a dealer way up North. They came damaged with a nick her, a nick there and a scratch here or there. Nothing too bad. The dummy dealer used the old boxes but they had been poorly packed. Needless to say i contacted him and he started a claim with UPS. It took about 7-8 weeks total. I had put them back into the boxes and they were just sitting in my living room waiting to be picked up so I could get a refund. The UPS guy finally showed up and said, "i am just supposed to pick up one speaker." Well, there was no way i was going to release just 1 speaker while the other one just sit there. Turns out, the adjuster was only willing to pay for one speaker despite both being damaged. She was later fired. Point to all of this is, since he was paid for one speaker ($1,500 ) and i had already paid him $3,000 we settled on me paying $1,500 instead of $3,000 total for both speakers due to them being damaged. So, I was refunded $1,500 from the $3,000 paid. In short, I still have a fine sounding pair of Paradigm 95F speakers.... Problem solved, eh..

 I used FedEx to ship a pair of David Berning Quadrature Z amps for repairs to Indiana from San Francisco.  One was blowing fuses.  Packed in manufacturer's box with specially selected protective density foams.  Boxes and foams were in perfect condition.  Used Gorilla Heavy Duty to reinforce all corners and covered every seam for extra protection.  Insured for 10K which cost a fortune.  Two boxes arrived in Indiana, 1 original, other was odd ball, water soaked stains with some of original form and other padding with a damaged amp.  FedEx driver did not report that it fell out of the back of their truck during a storm.  Receiver questioned box differences but did not verify strange box or damage with me.  I filed a claim once everything was returned and FedEx denied everything.  It took over a year, needed an attorney, had industry experts verify value of amps and cost to manufacture replacement parts, plus I took lots of pictures of equipment and boxes before and after to support claim.  FedEx eventually paid after attorney got aggressive.  I purchased a Wolf Audio streamer, 10K, UPS delivered it to back entrance (which we do not use) without notification of delivery, setting it on top of water sprinkler for ~ 36 hours.  External box was trashed but secondary inner box was intact.  USPS is no better.  We work from home and our "office" window over looks sidewalk approach to secure front door porch.  Their deliveries in our residential neighborhood often get left at wrong address and on wrong streets.  We seldom find out were they are left and no one redelivers their mistakes.  Basically you can not trust any of the services.  Mostly things turn out OK.  May luck be with you!    

FedEx insurance is a joke. Packed a pair of Amphions no different than 20 other speakers I've sold on eBay or that other mart. Speakers delivered to buyer in SC with cabinet damage and woofer screen pushed in according to buyer. Filed claim, sent required photos, portal down so please fax. I faxed and emailed, FedEx denied claim. Paid buyer way more than I should have,  FedEx insurance is worthless and a waste of money. Good point above  about having buyer arrange shipping from now on.

I had my Apogee Duetta II Signature ribbon speakers damaged by UPS a few years ago. The original cartons are encased in a super solid wood slat enclosure. They managed to puncture the bottom of one of cartons with a forklift, tear off several slats, and drop them. Thank god the puncture was below where the speaker sits. The left channel has a small sliver of damaged mdf on the top that I was able to wedge back in. I went back and forth all the time with their deplorable claims department for several months. They strung me along and then offered $250. You can imagine my response. I’ll always use a freight company from now on and make certain they are both on the same pallet. The left channel as a result has a bass buzz at a very specific low frequency range (the acoustic foam was going to inevitably fail anyway, but that doesn’t give them a pass). I’m getting them fully restored/upgrades anyway in May by Music Technology in VA. That experience still makes me angry when I think about it. UPS is absolutely horrible for large, fragile items. Live and learn!