UPS. Friend Or Foe?


Recently shipped two speakers and the stands all in very good (8/10) condition to a buyer in another state. One speaker and the stands were in the factory boxes. The other speaker was boxed by UPS. The buyer sent pictures and stated they arrived damaged. One of the speakers had a rattle but no visible damage, the other speaker, (the one UPS boxed), had visible damage. Not surprisingly, the stands arrived unscathed.

All items were picked up by UPS in that city and taken for inspection.

And the results were...UPS is not at fault because they have a policy, buried in very fine print, that it is the shippers' (sellers') responsibility to ensure proper packaging.

My wife and I also found out the local UPS stores are legally not affiliated with UPS!!!

We are currently attempting to discuss this with the owner of the local store.

Sad but true...

tomcarr

Showing 1 response by captelee

Sorry to hear this story and claims etc. are always a pain in the ass.

I pack all my gear myself. Recently sent a pair of B&W 802D3 to Washington from Florida, using the larger B&W 801D4 boxes.

It is completely possible to ship anything if you take the time to properly package it. Speakers should wrapped in multiple layers of protection and then I ratchet strap them to a wood pallet. I have five cross country shipping scenarios with heavy speakers and never had a single problem. I only Reg Bennett of Blue Sky Traders in Noble OK to manage the shipment. He calls the drivers and ever so kindly asks them to be careful. And yes, always insure to the max value.

For a big set of speakers I'm spending around $100 for packing and straps and it takes me about 2 hours. Huge pain in the ass, but no where close to dealing with damaged gear.

Never had a problem.