NGD.....F*&^(N UPS and friends

[Scholomance]

Here's a Popular Science article I read a while back on how UPS, FedEx, and USPS measure up to one another. I've had nothing but horror stories with UPS in the last couple years, except in the case of buying new Carvins. Carvin uses the minimal amount of packaging (simply one 2 or 3 inch cardboard cap on each end of the box), and yet each guitar I've received from them arrived in immaculate condition, including the box itself. Anyway, read on:

http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/tests/which-shipping-company-is-kindest-to-your-packages

And as we always expect with the douche-bags who work for the shippers, they intentionally try to break things they know are fragile.
"One disheartening result was that our package received more abuse when marked "Fragile" or "This Side Up." The carriers flipped the package more, and it registered above-average acceleration spikes during trips for which we requested careful treatment."

[RacerX]

What a great article! Thanks for posting that, Scholo!

[Hellbat]

Yeah, I'm rethinking the packaging including "fragile" sticker when I ship a guitar to Colorado later this month.

[emperor_black]

oh no! I'm expecting a guitar by UPS on Wednesday!! Hope its all-right!

[Hellbat]

As long as they didn't label it 'fragile' you should be okay.

[sully]

One thing everyone can do when shipping guitars is to ensure that the guitar CANNOT move inside the case. Pack around the body, and NEVER the headstock, and your odds will improve. If you're shipping a bolt on guitar with no case, take it apart and wrap the body and neck. I've shipped a ton of guitars and have yet to have one be damaged in shipping. That said, I know that I'm lucky. When given the choice, I prefer FedEx; they also ship on Saturdays for ground, which UPS does not.

[RacerX]

'fragile'

...must be from Italy!

[Nimitz]

leglamp1.jpg

[RacerX]

It's a major award!



I love that movie!

[Scholomance]

The kick in the arse that I've always been warned by friends at different shippers is that if you DON'T put 'fragile' on the package and it gets damaged, the shipper will blame you for not warning them and be much less likely to pay a claim. Don't know if that's true or not. But given the way so many employees at these places act these days, I think its worth the risk of not tipping them off what's inside. I think many of them are well aware of what a guitar box looks like though. Many times its just the boxes dropping off conveyors and docks, rather than personal handling. It just goes back to doing your best to pack beyond the call of duty, making sure the case the guitar is in is the right fitting one and like people say, make sure it doesn't move and especially doesn't allow the headstock or pointy bits to bump into an end. The case thing sucks because many of us buy vintage guitars and the cases are often all kinds of weird and ill fitting. We weren't shipping our babies around so much back then. Also what sully says about not packing the headstock is something I agree with. If you pack around the head but the body still can move forward/back, the hs point can still smash into the end of the case and there's your busted hs. Even putting too much packing at the end of the hs can just give it something firm enough to bump into and chip off when it might otherwise touch nothing if the body is secure. Envision your Jackson upside down in its case and that in-line pointy standing right on the end of the case, then the box dropping 6 feet to hit concrete...

A more specific tip for ex., if you ever buy a custom shop BC Rich, make sure what kind of case you're getting and request packing accordingly! They are particularly notorious for not selling fitted or even custom shop cases with their custom shop guitars, whether you pay for them or not. They've got no problem giving a $40 case with a $4000 guitar. Jackson overall has had well designed custom cases for everything I've bought, as well as Carvin.

Its just sometimes you're damned no matter what ya do, but do your best. If UPS can crack/shatter a USA skb Jackson case bubblewrapped and padded inside a brand new industry standard box and break the neck of the guitar inside (trust me - they can), you can't really protect from that kind of brutality.

[emperor_black]

My guitar arrived safely...and actually a day earlier!! I couldn't be happier with UPS. *knocks on wood*, UPS has never broken a single package that I've received so far. however, I always use Fedex for shipping big items.

maybe some UPS employees can answer this; is there a way for them to find out if the content of the package is insured or not? If its not insured and something breaks, its sort of a real-life advertising to purchase insurance in the future. I've shipped probably 5 amps and 5-10 guitars so far and only one guitar was broken by Fedex and that happened to be the only one I forgot to insure.

[trip]

I work in the shipping department of a major company.if u knew the half of it you would never order on line again

[MetalHeadMat]

I remember my buddy ordered a box of computer parts labeled "Fragile" and "Do not get wet" and all that fun stuff, and the person delivering the package to his house left it on his front porch, in a thunderstorm. Nothing was damaged luckily, but you'd think a package monkey would be able to read.

[roodyrocker]

UPS and Fedex are about the same when it comes to shipping damage. I've had holes punched clear through road cases with UPS and a brand new Rhoads arrive through Fedex with its SKB case crunched at the corner of the long wing so badly that the case had to be opened with a prybar! I've had Marshall cabs arrive with holes in the back of them. Of these scenarios I'd say all were the shipper's fault, whether it be UPS or Fedex, except for the Marshall 4x12 cabs. Marshall pretty much ships their cabs with nothing more than a cardboard box and some corner reinforcement strips! And this is supposed to survive the trip from England to here and then on to the buyer? :think: The back of the cab is right up against the cardboard box. Anything that tears the box is pretty much going to hit the cab. BTW, I don't recall where I heard this but I was told whether you write "Fragile" or not on the box makes no difference as they don't pay any attention to that. I would assume the same goes for "This End Up". The box is going anyway it can fit.

[MetalHeadMat]

BTW, I don't recall where I heard this but I was told whether you write "Fragile" or not on the box makes no difference as they don't pay any attention to that. I would assume the same goes for "This End Up". The box is going anyway it can fit.

Ship in cone shaped boxes. I just saved everyone of you some broken packages.