Fedex and Ups Damage thread

My latest purchase was a new RPM5 TT that arrived from the dealer with a tonearm damaged beyond repair, according to Pro-Ject. Dealer says they are sending new tonearm but can’t give a timeline or get the name of the manufacturer right. In every correspondence with me, they refer to Rega as the manufacturer of the TT and that they are relating messages from Rega about my Rega RPM5 Carbon. 

If you want a pair of speakers or a component to arrive safely and in one piece, I recommend using a freight company. They seem to get it right every time, and when an item is palletized, it just isn't possible to throw it around and abuse it.

Never had a damaged UPS item, a couple of FedEx ones I was on the receiving end of.

I have less experience than some others here but have only once had an item damaged in shipment and once had a box damaged but the item was fine.  Most items were packed extremely well, some triple-boxed.  But I have seen both FedEx and UPS drivers literally throw heavy, fragile packages down on my doorstep, so I think I have been lucky.

I’ve only had one occurrence where I’d purchased Totem Arro’s from a well reviewed seller, only to have a top corner - damaged veneer and mdf - pushed in after opening the packaging. It was a combination of the seller not applying sufficient filler and support in the corners, and UPS throwing the double box around like it was a medicine ball (puncture holes and push-ins everywhere). They still played just fine, very solidly constructed speakers. Seller ended up giving me a huge discount.