Anyone Let Fedex Pack & Ship Gear?

Cactus Bob

Desert Rat
Subscriber
Anyone have experience using Fedex for packing & shipping? This would be for a personal account not a business. Please tell.
 
i used ups they shipped a set of allison 4s resently no problems came in 2 days from boston to ny perfect cond.
 
I`d venture to say that a LOT would depend on the experience and common sense of the individual doing the packing. If he views your item like a rare piece of art that can`t be replaced, you should be OK. If not, well....you`re just rolling the dice, and hoping for a good outcome.
A number of years ago, I helped a friend pack a pair of large-ish, 60 lb. speakers, and deliver them to FedEx. The clerk wrote up the order, picked one of the boxes from the counter, turned around, and dropped it from chest height onto a concrete floor (I shit you not !). I was pissed at the mental midget, even though I knew that my packing job would survive that drop. I was glad that WE had done the packing, and not left it up to some corporate chucklehead....
 
I`d venture to say that a LOT would depend on the experience and common sense of the individual doing the packing. If he views your item like a rare piece of art that can`t be replaced, you should be OK. If not, well....you`re just rolling the dice, and hoping for a good outcome.
A number of years ago, I helped a friend pack a pair of large-ish, 60 lb. speakers, and deliver them to FedEx. The clerk wrote up the order, picked one of the boxes from the counter, turned around, and dropped it from chest height onto a concrete floor (I shit you not !). I was pissed at the mental midget, even though I knew that my packing job would survive that drop. I was glad that WE had done the packing, and not left it up to some corporate chucklehead....

Thanks MV, I kind of figured that. If the store isn't managed properly there could be issues also.

I do have a whopper of a story about a UPS store. I sold my beautiful Altec 19 speakers to a man up in British Columbia. I told him I could assist as long as he makes all the arrangements for shipping. The UPS store picked them up from my house and packed them at the store and they went UPS Freight. The buyer paid about $800 for shipping if I remember correctly.

When they made it to B.C. they were totally destroyed! They stacked the speakers (130 lbs. each) on a skid on top of each other and wrapped them with one layer of corrugated.

I guess I'm having second thoughts again about using them again. :(

This is how they arrived in B.C.

Altec_1.jpg


Altec_2.jpg


20150505_112716.jpg
 
Thanks MV, I kind of figured that. If the store isn't managed properly there could be issues also.

I do have a whopper of a story about a UPS store. I sold my beautiful Altec 19 speakers to a man up in British Columbia. I told him I could assist as long as he makes all the arrangements for shipping. The UPS store picked them up from my house and packed them at the store and they went UPS Freight. The buyer paid about $800 for shipping if I remember correctly.

When they made it to B.C. they were totally destroyed! They stacked the speakers (130 lbs. each) on a skid on top of each other and wrapped them with one layer of corrugated.

I guess I'm having second thoughts again about using them again. :(

This is how they arrived in B.C.

Altec_1.jpg


Altec_2.jpg


20150505_112716.jpg
Wow....that`s just TRAGIC ! I hate seeing things like this....
 
I just bought a heavy Threshold S/500 amp. I told the seller that I would send him some packing guidelines that were written by a guy named kolliedog that I found online. They were good instructions, very concise. The seller said nevermind because he was going to take the 80-pound amp to the fedex store and have them pack it.

Fast forward one week...My Fedex driver pulls into my driveway and tells me that he has a box for me that I'm not going to like. He opens the back of the truck and there's the amp, loosely covered by 5 sides of a 6-sided box. I lift the remains of the box off the top of the amp. Dented cooling fins and all 6 feet are busted off the bottom.

Here's how the Fedex store packed the 80-pound amp. They took a roll of bubble wrap out of the bubble-wrap box and wound it around the amp. They then put the bubble-wrapped amp back in the bubble-wrap box. The bubble-wrap box was rated to carry 18 pounds. I wouldn't have shipped a cat in the flimsy thing. Of course the amp tore through through the box. Of course the amp got damaged. The only good thing was that because Fedex did the packing, they refunded my purchase price with no questions. The tragedy was that the classic amp got all smashed.
 
I would NOT trust FedEx or UPS to pack a pound of lead for me. If you want something done right ya have to do it yourself.
I've gone by that rule most of my life and anytime I failed to abide by it I suffered the circumstances.
Trust NO one to do what's right, they'll disappoint you every time.
 
I had FedEx pack and ship a speaker that arrived destroyed. Am trying to figure out how to navigate the claim process now.
 
Not anymore, since a microscope I shipped to Needlestein was destroyed by their insistance on packing it themselves.
 
Keep in mind that these stores are franchises not run by UPS or FedEx but by individuals who have the same packing experience qualifications as one who owns a Subway or McDonald’s franchise.
They may be able to smother a lava lamp or teddy bear in peanuts but they haven’t a clue about packing vintage electronics to survive a trip across town let alone across the country.
I personally pack each item that leaves my shop and know it will make it okay.


Bob
 
A trend I've noticed is that the likelihood of damage or destruction increases if the package doesn't get delivered and signed for on the first arrival.
 
Depends your location. Out of 5 Fedex staffed office here, there is only one person in one location knows how to pack stereo equipment. The others are junk. Some even claims that the Fedex insurance will be invalid if I dont pay them pack. So I always pack it myself.
 
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