My first FedEx package was shipped from my audio retailer in Seattle to the San Francisco Bay Area. Two days after shipping, its delivery status changed to ’pending’. I called and they said they were investigating. The next day I called and was told the package was incorrectly routed to another City when it left Seattle. AND, they were trying to FIND it! The next day I was told they found it and it was being rerouted back the Hayward, CA FedEx Distribution Center. I received the package 2-days later.
My next FedEx package was also shipped from the same retailer in Seattle to the San Francisco Bay Area. Several days later, its delivery status also changed to pending. I called for 3-days straight days was finally told the package was ’RED FLAGGED’ meaning it was damaged. I asked what that meant and they said the package was being returned to the shipper. They would not tell me how it got damaged or how damaged the box was. They suggested I contact the shipper and ask them to file a claim. The retailer shipped me a replacement product using the USPS.
My third FedEx package was shipped from another store 8 miles from my home. It was scheduled for a Tuesday delivery but it, also had its delivery status changed. It is now being delivered today, Wednesday, I hope.
What is going on with FedEX? I have used FedEx many times in the past and they always delivered on time. Are other people having problems with FedEx?
My best guess with Fedex is it is state and maybe even hub of said state dependent with some faring much better than others it appears. Today, Fedex ground delivery shipped Monday from Texas, arrived 2.45pm Wednesday in Jacksonville, Florida. Even USPS Priority Mail would be hard pushed to match that. Maybe I am very lucky and our hubs are not too badly affected?
UPS has broken more of my things than FedEx or USPS combined. I myself have had nothing but good experiences with FedEx (don't you just hate the people who respond to hearing your issue with "Well, I never had any problems!"), but I have had seemingly nonsensical rerouting of packages with USPS where they went to "hub centers" or such that were nowhere near or closer to their destination. The packages finally showed up but the recipient nor the sender (me) had any idea of where it was until it arrived. Maybe the same circumstance?
I do not see the harm in a few odd political snarks/wisecracks amongst threads from time to time ( been there and done them myself I admit), but to subvert a whole thread to a political carping session is not really on.
Especially a thread that has potential information and interest to many members who are shipping or receiving items via these services.
Three Easy Well I tied to put it back on track ...
Some users here just can’t refrain from politics and profanity. I don’t know what their problem is. This is a forum for things related to audio and music - it's really pretty simple.
All I can comment on is delivery services here in sleepy NE Florida and the status quo remains the same as it ever has been here.
1/ Fedex, by far the best ontime( actually usually 1 day sooner) and zero damage or lost packages. Example Michigan to here shipped last Friday, arrived Tuesday Fedex Ground. 2/ USPS, before being tampered with by management they were fairly consistent and zero lost items and a few light damages, nothing that ever resulted in a claim. Right now though just a nightmare, 17 days for a first class package from Indiana to here, hit six other states first and some twice! Hopefully this will get better again soon. 3/ UPS, always has been bottom of the list on three major fronts. Slowest, most expensive, most likely to lose or damage stuff, 6 major high dollar claims in the last 10 years. That was people shipping UPS to myself, I refuse to use them and request all items I buy to PLEASE go by Fedex or usps but I cannot force the seller to do that just ask nicely.
I had to see why a FedEx thread got to be so long. I see now it's because it has nothing to do with FedEx after all. What a waste of time on an audio board to read this unrelated drivel.
For me personally FedEx is one of the worst run businesses right now. Most of my packages have a 50/50 chance of making it to my house. I had a electronic item weighing over 100lbs, very expensive, shipped in a wooden crate, that was lost for several weeks. I’m currently waiting for an item that has now been sent out twice, and currently is 3 days late and has been sitting in some hub in Bloomington, CA the last few days. FedEx suggested I contact the shipper while they look into it.
As bad as it is to have previous audio equipment lost or damaged, imagine the people who rely on essential medical supplies to be shipped intact and on time. That would go beyond disappointment and inconvenience.
Regarding pandemic, when I see people partying en mass all bunched together and with no masks, I find it hard to blame politicians for our difficulties in controlling the pandemic. Too many people are taking a cavalier attitude and that is putting all of us at greater risk. Of course, that is the lifeblood of American politics — assigning blame to their opponents.
I have always used FedEx to ship the vintage drums I restore, and have in over 900 ebay transactions not had a single carton damaged or lost. I pack everything myself, lots of bubble wrap and blocks of foam.
Sheila Berdan just shipped me a tube power amp, about 70 lbs. in the custom wood crate someone made for it (lined with dense foam). I heard the UPS truck drive up, and quickly opened the garage door and started rolling my dolly down the driveway. When the driver and I met in the middle, he leaned forward and dropped the crate onto the dolly from about a foot above it. The crate was stenciled "Fragile" on it’s top and all sides, along with arrows pointing upwards and "This Side Up".
I of course removed the bottom panel of the amp after unpacking it, and was relieved to see nothing had been knocked loose. Roger Modjeski built his amps to last. ;-) Just for the record, though born and raised in Richmond, Virginia, Roger moved to the ultra-liberal, leftist California to attend Stanford University (whose dorms my teenage band performed in, all the while being plied with keg beer). I guess that's when Roger was brainwashed and indoctrinated by his radical electronics professors, for California is where he set up shop for his Music Reference and RAM Tube Works businesses.
Apparently beautiful Santa Barbara wasn't radical enough for Mr. M, as he eventually moved his operation to the Bay Area, the Berkeley side of the Bay no less. Not far away (on the coast above Mill Valley), the true genius (a term used far too, heh, liberally for my liking) loudspeaker designer Siegfried Linkwitz did his research and development. Nelson Pass---another radical thinker ;-) ---was a neighbor.
keep politics out of it - country is divided and nasty enough, don’t need to import it here - or if we discuss it here, have a modicum of decency courtesy good will and good humor and respect for others of opposing views
nothing is as simple straightforward or onesided as it seems
music and music reproduction should soothe and distract from the lousy nationwide/worldwide condition we are in
lets get some joy out of being in this forum - otherwise we can turn on fox or cnn or msnbc
A package from London sent by Royal Mail sat at Heathrow for 3 weeks before it left the UK. Meanwhile, DHL got a package of cds to me in Virginia from Tokyo in 4 days. No wonder that Amazon ships everything here on their own mini-vans.
It is all because you live in California. FedEx is great everywhere else. You need to move. Just leave it to the Celebsand illegal aliens. They can get along fine on their own, a match made in heaven.
I suggest Cleveland. I've never been there but how bad could it be?
I’ve had absolutely TERRIBLE luck with FedEx. They darn near destroyed a set of REL SHO’s. Also forged a signature and delivered my UHQR Hendrix from Acoustic Sounds to some random person in Everett when I asked for it to be held in Bellingham WA as I wouldn’t be home to recieve. I NEVER use them willingly, and hope they go bankrupt. They claimed it was signed for by me, problem is I was in surgery that day in Seattle getting a new hip. Bastards.
You are not in your right mind. Far from it. Try reading some newspapers for a start. Or, just give up and keep what you're doing since it looks like you drank most of the kool-aid.
California is one of the
most productive areas in the entire world---with a larger economy than
most countries, and the home to a lot of innovation and industry. It is
also the largest tax base in the U.S.A., subsidizing other parts of the
country (including Seattle ;-). All the major record companies and movie
studios are located in Los Angeles, many of the albums you own having
been recorded there. Pass Labs and Vandersteen---just to name two---are
both located in California, the former in Northern, the latter in
Southern. Those who diss the state and it's residents should therefore
boycott those two companies and burn their LP's and CD's, right?
California is also home to the Presidential Libraries of both Richard
Nixon and Ronald Reagan. Lots of gun shops, too.
While I'm at it,
don't be scared off by one small-minded fearmongerer: Portland is a
very safe and peaceful city, home to many musicians, some world class
recording studios (Bill Frisell routinely records here), lots of great
live music venues and record stores.
FedEx has been an absolute disaster lately. For as much trouble as the USPS has had, I see zero reason for a private carrier like FedEx to be suffering similar troubles.
I am sort of shocked just how many problems I have had with FedEx lately. Late packages, missed pick-ups, etc. etc.
Well said, @jjss49 I know it’s hard to keep things in perspective but for those of us who are fortunate enough to be above all this, we have to have the capacity and empathy to walk in the other guys shoes and realize, that we are not the center of the universe and those "other" people have it really bad, doing the best they can with what they’ve got.
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