Try DHL is my suggestion! |
We like FedEx econo second day, and BAX Global for international shipments. The best part about FedEx is that they get you COD payments back in 2 days too! Their second day rates are quite comparable to UPS second day. |
We have not sent a UPS COD since 1994, and for good reason. We shipped over 1000 packages in 1998 and only used UPS 3x's, and for good reason. The UPS problems you mention are not unusual, but are infact rather common. For COD use FED EX 1, 2, or 3 day (same price as UPS 1, 2 or 3 day). For next day air no one is better (or safer) than DHL (www.DHL-USA.com). We finally grew tired of the problems with shipment with UPS and the (over) billing problems with FED EX (23 over billings in 1998!). We now simply pay for half of the DHL next day air cost. Instead of east coast shipments (we are in Calif) taking 7-10 days, they take less than 1 day. With such a short time in transit, the chances for damage are very low. Spending hours on claims, searching for lost packages that UPS can't track, and the other problems just aren't worth the time vs the extra cost for air service. Anyway, you get what you pay for, and UPS ground is the bottom of the barrel. Goodluck. thanks, Brian@HelloHiFi.com ph805.527.9739 fax805.527.9808 www.hellohifi.com eCatalog available. New equipment demos by appointment. All quotes are good for 30 days. Customers in every state, & 26 countries (angol/ingles/englisch/beszelunk magyarul!/ hablamos en espanol/wir sprechen deutsch). |
Well, I am sure if you have browsed the for sale section of AgN you have seen hellohifi's ads where it states: "NO UPS, NO UPS, NO UPS"? We have used UPS 1 time this year, just once, and we have had 1 problem. Customer told us he wanted his shipment shipped with his UPS service on his acct. We offered to ship it DHL 1 day air and only charge him half the regular rate (which ends up being about 10% more than UPS greound!), but he insisted that his UPS service pick it up and ship it on his acct. We told him if he would like this done, we will not be responsible for any problems resulting from UPS and will address the shipment to AND from him, the recipient, to avoid any entaglements with a possible UPS claim. He told us he had never had a problem, had shipped several hifi items with UPS before, and wasn't worried about it. Well, surprise! Unit arrived damaged, so he claims, and now he wants: us to file a claim, he wants us to take the unit back, and is searching (reaching) for any loop hole he can find to make this happen. Hmm. Well, lets see, we agreed to one thing, his shipping service damaged the item, and now he wants us to absorb this problem? If he would have picked it up, and dropped it on the way home, would he be asking for the same? Funny how when you agree to one thing, and if it doesn't work out for the other person, they decide they would like to alter the agreement. We ship it with our service, we are responsible. Someone wants to have an item picked up and shipped with their service, and are even told in advance that WE will not be responsible if they make that decision, then they are responsible. There's much more to this story, but those are the basic facts. Yes, if he's reasonable we will help him with his claim, but that will be it. UPS strikes again, this time on an $8,450 item. We will NEVER use UPS again, on anyone's acct, for any reason, to ship anything, anywhere. Please don't ask. For the record, just last month an item was drop shipped to a customer of ours, with one of our shipping services on our acct. It arrived damaged. What did we do? Asked the customer to return it, and already sent him a full refund and have even just mailed him a check for the return shipping charges. We shipped (had the item drop shipped for us), so we were responsible for getting it there. It's that simple. Remember this: NO UPS, NO UPS, NO UPS, and this: www.dhl-usa.com . You get what you pay for. |
Well, I am sure if you have browsed the for sale section of AgN you have seen hellohifi's ads where it states: "NO UPS, NO UPS, NO UPS"? We have used UPS 1 time this year, just once, and we have had 1 problem. Customer told us he wanted his shipment shipped with his UPS service on his acct. We offered to ship it DHL 1 day air and only charge him half the regular rate (which ends up being about 10% more than UPS greound!), but he insisted that his UPS service pick it up and ship it on his acct. We told him if he would like this done, we will not be responsible for any problems resulting from UPS and will address the shipment to AND from him, the recipient, to avoid any entaglements with a possible UPS claim. He told us he had never had a problem, had shipped several hifi items with UPS before, and wasn't worried about it. Well, surprise! Unit arrived damaged, so he claims, and now he wants: us to file a claim, he wants us to take the unit back, and is searching (reaching) for any loop hole he can find to make this happen. Hmm. Well, lets see, we agreed to one thing, his shipping service damaged the item, and now he wants us to absorb this problem? If he would have picked it up, and dropped it on the way home, would he be asking for the same? Funny how when you agree to one thing, and if it doesn't work out for the other person, they decide they would like to alter the agreement. We ship it with our service, we are responsible. Someone wants to have an item picked up and shipped with their service, and are even told in advance that WE will not be responsible if they make that decision, then they are responsible. There's much more to this story, but those are the basic facts. Yes, if he's reasonable we will help him with his claim, but that will be it. UPS strikes again, this time on an $8,450 item. We will NEVER use UPS again, on anyone's acct, for any reason, to ship anything, anywhere. Please don't ask. For the record, just last month an item was drop shipped to a customer of ours, with one of our shipping services on our acct. It arrived damaged. What did we do? Asked the customer to return it, and already sent him a full refund and have even just mailed him a check for the return shipping charges. We shipped (had the item drop shipped for us), so we were responsible for getting it there. It's that simple. Remember this: NO UPS, NO UPS, NO UPS, and this: www.dhl-usa.com . You get what you pay for. |
I manufacture a record cleaning product, which utilizes bottles manufactured in Italy, and distributed to me out of the Bay area. Every time I order these glass bottles, which hold a substance labled LP#9, the box shows up beat ALL TO HELL. The distributor will only send UPS for one reason or another, so everytime my double boxed order is received, I worry. I am a small business, and sometimes with the other (real) business, I can't wait on a UPS guy to show up. So, when this happens, they just leave a beat to shit package with "Caution, Glass Contents" written all over it. Now , how much sense does that make? How about I come by your house and f-up your goodies? |
I must lead a charmed life (knock on wood) I have bought and sold 8 to 10 items over the last year or three and so far UPS has worked fine. Sounds like statistically I am due for a rude surprise. Suppose I will check out the DHL/Fedex option and pay a bit more for ground. |
I agree that UPS isn't all that great. My item was destroyed once, but UPS actually payed more for it than I had it insured for (since I had it insured for the actual value, which was below the replacement cost). BUT I'VE BOUGHT AND SOLD MANY ITEMS SINCE THEN THRU UPS, AND HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS. Perhaps it depends on what part of the country you're in, as to where UPS can do a decent job, or not. Anyway, I've posted some angry stuff elsewhere on here (perhaps), but the above comment by "Recres@msn.com" shouldn't go unnoticed by those thought police that don't like to see people vent anything remotely vulgar on this site.... |
I had loudspeakers shipped from Europe to the East Cost with 2nd Day delivery option: - first time, the boxes disappeared (no one could tell us what happens) - second time, one of the box and its content was damaged. On top of this, UPS was not dealing in a fair and efficient way with this! |
0 UPS shipments in 2000 = 0 problems. 1 UPS shipment in 1999 = 1 problem. 3 UPS shipments in 1998 = 2 problems. 1989 - 1997 had several problems (mainly with packages shipped to us). If you're not willing to double box and quadruple pack your hifi before sending it, you shouldn't use a ground service. BTW, "but that's the box it came in" is a very poor excuse. |
Another damaged item arrived via UPS (ground) today (Marantz receiver). Our driver is great, but we can pass on the rest of the company. |
Good point Brian. Our driver is also great and a decent golfer too :-). However the rest of the company is difficult to call even decent. My company has employees in 6 states all on a contract engineering or IT job. All they want is their paychecks on time. We stopped using UPS when each week one at least one of 20 someodd payroll packages would be "lost". We now use fed-ex 2nd day service and have had zero problems since. I have much more to do that track payroll packages that I should not even have to think about again. |
Reading review of new Infinity speaker in May 2000 Stereophile. Reviewer says."FEDEX drop-kicked the speaker" completetly dastroying the low bass driver. Read review. |
UPS gives a whole new meaning to the words " DROP SHIPPED"! My Dac looked like it was dropped off the Sears tower! |
Fed Ex:....... as far as Fed Ex goes, we have had one damaged item with them (total, to and from) in the 8 years we have been using them. If we would have known the repair amount we woudln't have even bothered with the claim (*$35*). We haven't used them much in the past two years, except for CODs, but I am sure they are just as good as they were when we used them daily (we now use DHL, but they do not offer a COD service). |
whats wrong with the good ole US postal service? Thats all I use. I have never had a problem and thier 2 day air is the same price as UPS 3 day and CODs come back 10 times faster. |
Has anyone in these comments rated UPS on their record of handling their responsibility to pay legitimate claims in a timely fashion? As far as I am concerned, my loss of ONE of a pair of rare and expensive monoblocks by them having used the drop-kick method to get it here, is total, and I will suggest to their inspector TOMORROW A.M. when he shows up that I will not budge from this position and that no negotiation over the matter is being offered. Do wish me luck as, for possibly others in love with high-end audio and the gear required to constantly up-grade systems, for me, this is a life-changing amount of money. |
I wish you luck, and hope you are a lawyer. |
I bought a parasound amplifier about 8 months ago off of Audiogon and had it shipped to me COD. I got the amplifier in perfect condition and the driver took my money order and I thought everything was fine. Around 2 months later I got a letter from UPS asking me to pay the amount of the C.O.D. I explained to them that I had given the driver the money order when he delivered the amp and that in no way was I going to pay for it again. They continued to send me letters and each time I told them the same thing over and over. Then they started calling me and harassing me and threatening me with legal action and I basicly told them to stick it and do what they had to do. The funny thing is is that the money order was cashed so someone must of had it in their possession. I will never deal with them again. I have since moved, but I can only assume they are still lokking for me. |
First: I've used UPS for a bunch of things: computers, stereo equipment, books, a lot of mail-order stuff.... I think I've had about a 20% damage rate -- but I haven't really been keeping track. I'm not a big UPS fan. --------------- Second: Grumpy: you should get a copy of your credit report from one of the big agencies. Your problem with UPS may later turn into a problem trying to get a loan for your next car or house. |
UPS in an attempt to save money has hired an outside company in I think NJ. to handle COD. The contractor sucks and is screwing up all kinds of things but they are saving UPS money so that is all the company care about. |
Having worked as a loader for UPS while I was in college, that short experience taught me NEVER to send or receive ANYTHING UPS. Not pretty what happens inside the truck on the swing shift, believe you me. |
I used UPS to ship some heavy amps to a guy in California and they lost them. When they finally did show up at his house they were heavily damaged.After about 2 months of phone calls and paperwork UPS cut me a check for the full retail ammount.$7,500 bucks.I found their customer service to be a hassle at first, but when the right people were contacted the reimbursment process went fairly smooth. Would I use UPS again? Not for 85 lb monoblocks! |
