FedEx strikes again

[edsel585960]

Received a tuba today with bell damage. At least they found the correct house this time. Shipper did not use a big enough box to begin with. I cringe when someone ships to me via FedEx. The damage is minor and I can fix in about 30 minutes but this isn't the 1st time I've had problems with them. Moral of the story, use adequate size boxes with lots of padding and say your prayers.

[largobone]

I had a tuba shipped to me earlier this week from UPS, arrived in fantastic shape. Seller wasn't a player but he did a fantastic job packaging (took me about 15 minutes to cut through all the bubble wrap!) Hopefully this wasn't a new tuba that arrived damage.

[cjk]

Received a tuba today with bell damage. At least they found the correct house this time. Shipper did not use a big enough box to begin with. I cringe when someone ships to me via FedEx. The damage is minor and I can fix in about 30 minutes but this isn't the 1st time I've had problems with them. Moral of the story, use adequate size boxes with lots of padding and say your prayers.

Your problem was the seller, not FedEx.

[tofu]

It's really important to take control of shipping. Assume the seller doesn't know how to pack a tuba and what shipper is best to use. I always send the seller the detailed instructions on how to pack & ship a tuba that Norm Pearson of the LA Phil posted here and insist they be followed. I also insist they ship via the shipper of my choice. This has always worked well for me.

[edsel585960]

Shipper and I came to a monetary agreement. All is well. I think from now on I'll suggest who I would like to ship even if it costs me more. The biggest problem I have with Fed Ex is they keep delivering to the wrong house. Same address as mine except is a ST address and I live on AVE. Have asked them to call several times when delivering to verify the address but still packages end up 10 miles away at the wrong house.

[tubapix]

Is it practical for you to pick up your packages at the Distribution Center? I have done that on occasion if the item is valuable.

[MaryAnn]

I had the wrong address problem once, same number, and Circle as opposed to Street. Problem was, the street kept going on into the circle and the Street itself picked up a couple blocks later. I got their mail frequently, and delivered it to them amid paranoid looks. My Circle stuff kept going to the Street, they were not nice people, and either kept or threw out legal documents. When they got divorced, I had a server trying to serve me with divorce papers who had trouble believing he had the wrong house. And people kept coming to my house and doing things to it (like spraying pesticide all over the place, fixing a broken window and getting glass all over the inside, clambering around up on the roof) thinking they were at the Street when they were at the Circle. I had to put a huge sign on the front door telling people that this was NOT the street address but the Circle address, and to DO NOTHING TO THE HOUSE OR PROPERTY UNDER PENALTY OF LAWSUIT. There were other severe problems and I was damn glad when those nasty people finally did divorce and nice people bought the other house. So maybe you could offer to sue FedEx.

[tbonesullivan]

Never had a tuba shipped to me, but I've had several trombones. One came to me in the case.

JUST the case, with tape around it. It's a credit to 90's Yamaha bass trombone case design that there was no shipping damage. With musical instruments, if at all possible, I'd rather pick them up. Companies usually know how to ship instruments, but people often do not, unfortunately.

[swillafew]

Just had my new horn arrive via Fedex. When I saw the box I could have fainted. It looked bad enough to assume the worst. The horn was fine though, wrapped in bubble pack around a gig bag, and the bell was stuffed with bubble wrap as deep as it can be stuffed. Having the box absorb some of the impact might even help I suppose.

Last time is was Greyhound on a used horn. The box was a "garment" box meant for closet rod type arrangement. The box was much thicker and I kept it for another use. Box and contents were in great shape.

[tofu]

When I saw the box I could have fainted. It looked bad enough to assume the worst. The horn was fine though, wrapped in bubble pack around a gig bag, and the bell was stuffed with bubble wrap as deep as it can be stuffed. Having the box absorb some of the impact might even help I suppose.

That's why double boxing is the way to go. The first box/packing (air pillows/bubble wrap) absorbs and dissipates the energy of an impact. Similar to the way cars are designed today. In the old days of stiff steel frame construction all the energy of an impact transferred to the occupants. The cars would survive well - the occupants not so much. Today cars are built to deform and absorb/dissipate the energy of an impact. The result is that the cars look lousy (usually totaled) but the occupants survive much better and many crashes that would have been fatal in the old steel frame days they often walk away from now. That's the problem when a horn is shipped in a hard case. The case survives many impacts looking very good, but all the energy is transferred to the horn inside causing a lot of damage.

The problem with FedEx/UPS - everything goes on conveyor ramps at the distribution centers - stuff falls off - especially larger boxes like tubas which tend to be at the outer limits of what those carriers allow and the conveyor ramps can handle. The fall from a conveyor belt 12-15 up in the air can really do a number on a tuba. So you can get lucky and not have it fall off or you can pack like you expect it to fall off. Then there is the human element. The less easy it is for the drivers/loaders to grab a handle and just throw something around the better your stuff will travel. That is another problem for shipping in a hard case. To darn easy to pick up and throw/toss. A large box - in a box not so easy to toss around. Greyhound on the other hand your stuff is never more than a couple feet off the ground.