I second the advice to avoid the USPS. I received a shipment (of speakers) that looked like it had been run over by the delivery truck. Filed an insurance claim ( they gladly took the money for the insurance). DENIED...Poor Packaging. After months of frustration and the intervention of my congressman, I was finally paid.

Fed-X is my shipper of choice from now on

Fedex is the way to go.

I to have had one disaster with UPS and with all the stories on this thread that tells me this is way too common and is a serious trend. I've nicknamed UPS the Gorilla Squad!!!!

I had a shipping account with DHL and all kinds of surcharges and misc. charges showed up. If you do ship internationally I think DHL is hard to beat in that arena especially to Australia from the East Coast.

Jerry

It's interesting that you say to avoid the USPS because many of their packages are subcontracted to FedEx and DHL. Chances are your package sent via USPS was transported by FedEx or DHL to a local hub, then turned over to USPS for local delivery.

When it comes to filing an insurance claim with any of the major carriers, they are all atrocious. Their first response is to deny any and all claims then make the shipper fight their way to get a payout. In the cases where they absolutely refuse to pay, you'll most likely have to threaten to or file a lawsuit before they will pay.

FYI... most UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, and other carriers 2 and 3 day air packages are actually transported via truck and train (not air). Only in cases where a package is going from the East coast to the West coast or vice versa, is air transport used. Sometimes you never know how your package is going to be tranported even if you did pay for a particular type of shipping service.

[This message has been edited by Ensnareyou (edited 12-20-2006).]

[This message has been edited by Ensnareyou (edited 12-20-2006).]

Folks, this really surprises me! We ship hundreds of packages monthly via UPS, and, in 11 years, we've never had a damagesd shipment or one that was lost. We rely heavily on next day air. I have shipped $5,000.00 plus banjo's for my friend J.D. Crowe, camera equipment, etc.

Recently, I got a Casio piano from George, shipped via FedEx and the box had been damaged so badly it looked like it had been through a war.

We have one person who just packs and ships, and have custom boxes built for some regularly shipped items. UPS has occasional meetings to discuss problems, packaging, etc.

We must be lucky...

Russ

When I purchase an expensive keyboard or accordion, I always pay extra to have it shipped via air instead of ground (usually 2nd day air or 3 day). It is more expensive but the item being shipped is handled way less. The more a shipping company handles an item, the more likely something bad will happen.

I use fedex and have been very happy with their service.

A few years ago I shipped a keyboard via ups and it was damaged. I paid to insure the keyboard for the full retail price, but ups refused to pay for the damage. They said it was not packed properly. I used the factory box and used more packing material then the factory uses. I also double boxed it by placing the factoy box inside another box. UPS tried every way to avoid paying for damage that was their fault. I will not use them for expensive equipment.

Russ,

When shipping overnight, two day or three day air via UPS, very few handlers are involved. Ground shipments, on the other hand, are loaded and unloaded several times at up to 10 locations, each of which is on a tight schedule. Consequently, the chances of having something damaged shipping via ground is much higher. The irony of this post is my son-in-law worked for UPS for more than 15 years, and he now works for DHL. He is in upper level management, and because of the problems at UPS, he took a hefty pay cut to go with DHL. He says the number of customer complaints are much lower with DJL.

Cheers,

Gary

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Travlin' Easy

I've shipped and received dozens and dozens of packages via UPS over the years and have never had any problems. I just recently shipped a Roland VK-8 keyboard and received a Hammond XK-3 keyboard. No damage or delays of any kind. I've also used USPS countless times without any problems at all.

I'm really surprised everyone else has had so much trouble.

I guess I have been lucky too.

I have shipped via UPS for more than 20 years..Pretty much without problems..I think I recall a customer complaint, but I think it was a fraud issue on their part[customer]..

I have been using UPS and DHL [60% and 40%, respectively] without incident.

Maybe a year or two ago, I shipped a keyboard to DonM, that had some physical damage..I don't recall the Shipping service we used..We did not file a complaint..

I recieved a parcel from a fellow SZ member a few weeks ago, that had some damage, but I was able to fix the damage without a hassle..Just checked the box, that was from UPS...

Fran, you shipped the Casio via UPS. Just a crack or two in the case as I recall. It still works great, even with duct tape over the name!
DonM