I need shipping advice

Thanks everybody for the advice. Any shipper can be rough. I lost a 90 pound Thiel 2.2 to FedEx. Piezo is right, they drive their workers like slaves to off load and load. Common carrier may be a better choice.

I've had both UPS and Fed-ex destroy things and they tended to be heavy amps in 2 out of 3 tries. I recieved a set of large floor standing speakers by using a trucking company that had room on a normal run. the price was reasonable, they did cod, and they were more careful with the gear. The guys in UPS and fed-ex are driven like slaves to make production and if something hits the ground...oh well. It may be worth it to make a few calls. I had to pay up front for round trip shipping costs, maybe you should ask the same. good luck

I just received a 130lb amp from across the country UPS ground. It arrived damaged. I have entered the collection process my fingers are crossed that I will recover my losses. Fortunately the seller was a saint and has picked up all the cost without batting an eye. Try a freight service or someone else like fed-ex.

Fedex DOES have COD. If I do COD it is by FEDEX ONLY. Frankly it is the best form of COD for the seller because you get your money/check overnighted back to you.

Peace.

Keith

FedEx isn't that more expencive but sometimes cheaper than UPS and their service is much more reliable. The dowside is that FedEx doesn't have any option for COD. It is easy to fool arround with COD by placing bricks or something instead of component inside the package. FedEx is considered to have a "shortest path" service which means that your package doesn't go trhough the bunch of scanning stations instead of going non-stop directly to the destination. I always use FedEx. Yes it is always possible to insure the item for more than you've sold it.

I would recommend ANYONE other than UPS. The last shipment I had 110 pound speakers sent to me through them. One has a hole in the speaker cloth and four impact marks in the side. On the other they destroyed the speaker grill and actually managed to grind the grill into the front of the speaker hard enough to leave marks. With complete pictures before and after shipment, they have been dragging their sorry butts for weeks over it, and are trying to deny damaging one. This was a Legacy speaker in a brand new container purchased just for this shipment. I started a thread in the best of lists "Best shipper for large packages" because of it and got a lot of excellant feedback. I would really recomend you try someone else, I wish I had known enough to before.

Greg

U.P.S. is brutal on packages and I can tell you several horror stories that have happened to me using this company. I have learned though that if you package it well enough you should be ok. Of course double boxed is a must but on top of that the less the item can move inside the box the better. Pack it nice and tight.

May I suggest any shipper but UPS. If your buyer insists get it in writing that the item belongs to him, not you, when you ship it. The cost of the item & shipping are all his, and prepayment is a requirment.

GET IT IN WRITING, BEFORE SHIPPING ANYTHING.

Just a suggestion,

Good Listening,

hi

no ups does not pay for a refused cod .. you are charged for it ...yes the best way is to get the frt at least pre-paid and insure the package for what you want ....
but if there is a problem with the package in shipping .. you will have to put a claim into ups and also submit invoices for the amount the item cost ..

so -- its a chance ... good luck --- ps we only ship fedex ground ...we find them to handle the packages better ...

good luck
stephen

Sure you can insure for more than the COD amount. For UPS you pay $1 for every $100 declared value past $100. On COD you take the risk - if it comes back you eat the shipping.

Pack well- UPS is not kind to heavy items, though in my experience they do OK on small light stuff up to around 50 lbs.