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UPS strikes again

I sold a turntable here on the'GoN and shipped it to Kansas City, KS via UPS ground insured in the original box/packing with extra padding/foam etc. Sent it from my local Mail Boxes Etc. They have always been very good to deal with. They inspected it before I signed off on it, stating it was well packed. It went out on 12/27, and because of the holidays it did not arrive until yesterday, 1/6. Late last night the buyer emailed me to tell me that the dustcover is cracked, a corner chipped off, the inner platter no longer lines up with the motor pulley, AND the inner platter no longer spins freely, the motor also jams and will not rotate.

UPS must have had to put people on overtime to work it over that bad. This is the second time in 6 months. I bought an ARC SP9 preamp and when it arrived from California, several caps were broken off the PC boards. This made a second trip out for the unit, to ARC for repair.

Back to claims hell for me. Any advice for speeding things up to resolve this? I am going to reimburse the buyer out of pocket first while waiting for the claim. I assume that if UPS decides to inspect the unit, they will send someone to the buyer's home in KC to reject the claim. I am going to begin the initial claim through Mail Boxes Etc.
slipknot1
tubegroover
2,320 posts
 
Sorry for your misfortune Slipknot1. Your experience almost identically mirrors my own almost 1 year ago. A near perfect condition 17 year old turntable shipped after meticulous packing. It also arrived with a broken plinth, frame and completely shattered dustcover. The motor wouldn't turn, the sapphire bearing was damaged and the base of the unit had a crack almost side to side, in other words trashed. It looked as though it was dropped off a 30' roof onto a concrete surface. Better to leave only non breakables in their uncaring hands, certainly not expensive electronics and NEVER, NEVER something as fragile as a tt.

The damages were fully documented on the other end. I sent a check to the buyer for his expenses and received payment from UPS approximately 1.5 months after the incident. The squeeky wheel gets the most attention. Call, take names and document times and keep the pressure on, otherwise it won't we resolved as quickly as you might like. Best advise I can give after 3 bad experiences with UPS is DON'T TRUST THEM WITH YOUR EXPENSIVE ELECTRONICS!! They are supremely incompetent. I am a slow learner but the 3rd time was the charm, shame on me.
avideo
222 posts
 
Sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience. Yes UPS certainly does screw things up - more often than most of us would care to admit. However - FedEx, Airborne, and the USPS are your other options - and none of them have exactly what I would call a "sterling" record either.
Though I maybe shouldn't mention it - but it does seem like a turntable is probably not the most suitable item to ship long distances. Lots of moving parts that can get easily out of alignment, not to mention flimsy plastic dustcovers and small parts that have next to no resistance to breakage. Certainly not an item that I would ever buy mail order.
cylinderking_1
130 posts
 
I really enjoy reading the threads on UPS vs FedEx It truly is interesting in the bussiness that Im in we have had the most problems with FedEx they LOST 3 machines in the last 6 months $600 to $800 and would not pay for any. Like Avideo stated NO shipper is pefect. Sometimes you can package it up that a tank could drive over the stupid package AND you still get a claim. I guess if there are any risk takers out there with say 10-20 milion you could try to start up a nitch type worldwide shipping company or use whats allready out there and cross our fingers when they come to get it.
mfkeleher
146 posts
 
I brought a package to Staples in Pittsburgh marked "Fragile" and the clerk told me her friend at UPS said never to do that, as it marks the package for special destruction. Apparently some of the handlers are unsupervised and angry at their customers. My experience with UPS has been highly unsatisfactory. I've had damage so bad that one could only attribute it to willful destruction.

I've discovered an alternative that seems pretty good so far - Greyhound express. It goes out on busses. I had 3 day service from Pittsburgh to Phoenix. You have serious people handling your package. The only drawback is there are different, and sometimes low insurance limitations. Don't believe the website showing 24/7 counter open hours either, it's more like 7 or 8 to 4 or 5 weekdays. I've used them 4 times so far with complete satisfaction. They also take the largest size packages of the three Fed-Ex, UPS or GPX. There are many more shipping points than bus terminals, if bus service passes thru your area there's probably a shipping location for you to use.
fineberg
151 posts
 
Actually by far the most reliable and safe shipper is DHL even when they go to the third world the package never leave the control of their direct employees and they are amazingly careful. They are also, however, amazingly expensive. I once shipped a laptop computer from France back to the US for repair and it cost over $200 (this was 10 years ago too). But if you need to be sure, they are the way to go.
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