[Ericus Rex]

You should definitely appeal the rejection.  My sense is both UPS and Fedex reject all claims just to weed out 'frivolous' claims.

[wilsynet]

That hasn't been my experience with FedEx Ground.  I sold an amplifier to someone a year ago and it arrived damaged.  It was double boxed (by me) and had the original styrofoam protective inserts.  The box quite clearly suffered a long fall, and the chassis was bent out of shape.

I believe it's the seller's responsibility to get goods to the buyer in one piece, so I immediately refunded the seller's money, and as the originator of the shipment, I filed a claim with FedEx.  It took them about 2-3 weeks to schedule an appointment, but they went out to visit the buyer.  I had to follow up a couple of times, had to submit a quote for repair (it exceeded the selling price) and it took another 2-3 weeks to get the refund.

I did get the refund, and it wasn't too much hassle.  They let me keep the amplifier, so I asked the buyer to send the amplifier back to me, and then I offered the amplifier for sale to the manufacturer, assuming he might have a use for it as repaired B-stock.  It just turns out people are more likely to buy a repaired amplifier from the manufacturer than from a private person.

I actually came out ahead of the original sale.

With respect to the damaged crock pot, regardless of whether the FedEx approves or rejects the claim, isn't it the seller's responsibility to get it to the buyer safe and sound?  If so, ask the seller to accept the return, or if that doesn't work, then file a claim with EBay, the credit card company, PayPal, etc.

[wilsynet]

I think a lot of incidents like these are regional or route specific.  The guy who had bought the amplifier from me said that shipments to his neck of the woods in Florida had frequent occurrences of shipping damage.  After shipping more than a dozen pieces of gear over the past couple of years, I generally find UPS, Fedex and the US Postal Service pretty reliable.  That's not as much as a manufacturer would do, so maybe it just isn't a very good sample size.

Having said that, I've also found that the various shippers have their own strengths.

FedEx is the most convenient for me as the local Fedex Kinko's office stays open late.  FedEx has also handled some larger packages that the UPS store wouldn't handle.  The Zu Druids I shipped to Canada a couple of years ago, the UPS store said they couldn't do it, but FedEx Ground had no problem.

If you ask UPS to pack for you, I have found they generally pack the best.

The US Postal Service can be quite affordable if their standard delivery time is acceptable, or if whatever you're shipping fits inside one of their Priority flat rate boxes.  Priority, 2-day shipping can be relatively expensive or cheap depending on size and weight.  And if you're shipping international, I find USPS has good rates and avoids expensive brokerage fees for the buyer.

[werd]

One of my assistants ordered a huge old Red Wing crock pot.  He collects these antique things.  It was shipped to him via FedEx.  It arrived damaged - -  cracked.

He put in a damage claim with FedEx and had all the wonderful packing material to show them it had been properly packaged for shipment.

FedEx denied his damage claim!

The reason:  It was too well packed!  They said it could never have damaged it in shipment because it was packed too good!

Or why I never use FedEx for anything at all.

Frank Van Alstine

I'm just curious. How do know it wasn't broken put into the box? This seems more likely especially if there was no damage on the box that would indicate a drop or something?

[TONEPUB]

If it arrived broken, it wasn't packaged correctly...

My experience has been the same as wilisnet.  We pack everything that goes back to mfrs. in their packing and when I ship someone a piece of vintage gear from an ebay sale, I pack in mfrs packing and an additional box with another layer of foam.  In eight years, I haven't lost a thing to damage.  The extra 20 bucks for packing even if I have to eat it, means no problems with claims.

[Scottdazzle]

If it arrived broken, it wasn't packaged correctly...

My experience has been the same as wilisnet.  We pack everything that goes back to mfrs. in their packing and when I ship someone a piece of vintage gear from an ebay sale, I pack in mfrs packing and an additional box with another layer of foam.  In eight years, I haven't lost a thing to damage.  The extra 20 bucks for packing even if I have to eat it, means no problems with claims.

Not necessarily.  Harry Weisfield (VPI) told me of a case where the arms of a forklift pierced the box and destroyed a turntable.

[rcag_ils]

That's what I am saying, have the Fedex or UPS outlet do the packing, then you'd be covered. If you live out in the boondock those outlets may be hard to find, however.

Basically, we all need to say a prayer before we ship, or have anything shipped to you.

[thunderbrick]

My experience is that the pack and ship places can be idiots.  Styrofoam peanuts for everything.

I had to ship a piece of stone sculpture and told my boss I'd pack it so it would get there, and he insisted on the UPS store because "they will cover any damage".

Yeah, they will, but that doesn't have an impact on whether it actually GETS there in one piece.  In my case the sculpture didn't survive, and we had to go to a lot of trouble (more than it would have taken me to pack it RIGHT)  to get a new one, and this time I packed it.  And it got there fine. 

For new-ish products, who cares, but what about rare vintage amps in pristine condition?  If it's made of unobtanium or has great personal value, money may not be able to replace its real value.

Forklift damage?  I drive a forklift at work sometimes, and that is usually a mistake in judgement.  It happens.  But I think we can agree that most damage is caused by stuff falling off automated conveyer belts, college kids tossing boxes, or a driver dropping it.  A forklift shouldn't be involved unless pallets are.  That may be true for bundles from a depot, but I simply don't know.

[OzarkTom]

That's what I am saying, have the Fedex or UPS outlet do the packing, then you'd be covered. If you live out in the boondock those outlets may be hard to find, however.

Basically, we all need to say a prayer before we ship, or have anything shipped to you.

A friend of mine bought a nice pair of Von Scweigert speakers from a person on Audiomart. The seller took the speakers to the UPS store and had them box the speakers professionally. In transit, one of the grill covers came loose and scratched up the wood finish very badly.

UPS came out and inspected the speakers, then blamed my friend of intentionally taking a screwdriver and scratching the speakers. My buddy hired a lawyer, sued, and won the case against UPS.

UPS stores do not guarantee their work either.

[OzarkTom]

FYI, the UPS hub in Indianapolis have 40 foot high conveyor belts. One of my packages fell off recently, and they tried to blame us for improper packaging. Luckily, our UPS Rep. had told us what had happened, so we finally got paid.

[HT cOz]

Ok how is this they damage one of a pair of speakers.... They leave one speaker in the delivery location and refund half the money because they were shipped in two boxes.    This sucked my friends!

[golfugh]

Ok, take pictures when packing.   Take pictures when complete, and then ship, always insure the shipment.  If it fails challenge any refusal, you will almost always win.  As said before these companies are refusing due to folks abusing the system, not all but a lot.

I work for one of the companies being abused. 

[festuss]

I have had great luck, with UPS and FedX, and USPS.  Packing is a science, and an industry.

[festuss]

Or they are saying it's a BOGUS claim.  Was cracked when it went in the box....prove it wasn't.  Pictures, it's a conundrum

[rif]

I know this is an old thread but, and this isn't about damages, but...

I was living in an apartment in NYC, and I get a postcard in the mail from UPS. It says they are holding a package for me - they couldn't deliver it because they didn't have the correct address.

I call and ask what made them think they could send me mail if they had the wrong address?  Their answer-the USPS had better info.  UPS thought it was best to get my address from the USPS, mail me a postcard, and have me call them back to update my address ... which they already had from the USPS.