I have a good amount of transactions between here and a couple of other sights and can say with certainty that over the years UPS has been the worse BY FAR for damage, and not making good on insurance. I once had a pair of (heavy) mono blocks delivered to me- both damaged. UPS said they were not packaged properly so the claim was denied. They were both in the factory cartons with factory packaging. No UPS for me ever again. I use Fedex for the heavy stuff and USPS for everything else.
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...