Another "superb" shipment by USPS

Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

BloodRose said:
United Shipper of Pieces and shards...
Sorry to hear your troubles.... At least the neck can be fixed.. I had DHL beat a guitar to pieces that was shipped to me fromjust a couple states over...
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Yep one of the few I ever packed and sent that got damaged in fact. Still baffles me the way I packed that one how DHL Manged to get it. Think in particular those bozos are the absolute WORST of the entire industry! Was setting here one day when a guitar speaker order came . I'm sitting in my den when I hear a loud THUMP! Start looking around with WHAT WAS THAT and see the DHL van pull off. This idiot walked up in my car port and just chunked the speaker over the rail on my back porch. What I heard was the THUMP of it hitting the floor on my back porch after being thrown over the rail and dropping about 4 feet. Knocked coil out of alignment and killed it dead!
 
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Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

YeRedHouseOverYonder said:
No, I know how fortunate I am. Given the value of the build, USPS is lucky I'm not asking for the full amount. Even then, my luthier only quoted the repairs for glueing it back at about $150. The only thing that got them was the refin. The guitar is super light too, I wonder if that had something to do with it. It's going to be about 5-6 pounds once built.

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I'd go after the seller if you have some sort of protection in place (ebay/reverb/paypal)

This REALLY doesn't look like shipping damage
 
Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

Adieu said:
I'd go after the seller if you have some sort of protection in place (ebay/reverb/paypal)

This REALLY doesn't look like shipping damage
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I'm glad I'm not the first to say it. From the description and pics, I don't see it as shipping damage. Calling it shipping damage is much more speculation here than something proven. To presume high temp storage is speculative, as there is no real evidence there was any and what the result would be. UPS lucky you're only claiming part? I think you'll be lucky to get anything.
Sorry it happened, regardless.
 
Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

Yikes. Maybe I'm naive or even biased towards the post office, but, I don't think it was the seller. He sells other guitars often with good feedback. His work often looks really good. Even with the break, the finish and build quality is pretty good.

The damage on the box is pretty obvious. I've had broken guitars and amps show less damage on the box. In any case, he's offered to repair the guitar at no cost if the post office doesn't come through. My luthier quoted me about $150 still the breaks are this clean.

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Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

Having bought and shipped close to 100 guitars, I can tell you most sellers/players don't fully understand what can happen in the major shipping hubs of UPS, FedEx, etc.

A guitar box can easily be dropped 7-10 feet as part of the sorting process if it reaches a major hub! Plus, other boxes can get dropped on top of it.

Very large boxes may need to be processed by hand, but that doesn't mean they are "handled with care". It is technically the shipper's responsibility to pack an item accordingly.

All too often, shippers end up leaving room inside a package because guitars are odd shaped and tend to require lots of packing ($$) to completely fill the voids in a box, especially when a guitar is shipped bare or in a gig bag.

I'm here to tell you...if your guitar shifts around AT ALL inside its shipping box, it has a MUCH greater chance of being damaged, even if the body is wrapped in bubble wrap, etc.

In fact, shipping in a bare case, where the guitar is completely held in place and protected on all sides, is actually better than using a box with too little packing material inside to keep the item from shifting during transit. Obviously, shipping bare in a case is not ideal for maintaining the condition of the case, but at least the guitar itself is packaged "correctly" to avoid damage!
 
Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

^^ I'll piggyback off that and state that at the UPS drop off and will call for the Los Angeles major hub, they just chuck the boxes onto the belt if it's light. They man handle bigger boxes. No effs given. I'm willing to give the builder the benefit of the doubt and blame the post office. Which has a bigger track record of screwing me over with lost or broken packages.

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Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

I’m kind of siding with the comment about the neck possibly being off the guitar before shipping. That seems like a lot of damage and multiple different kinds of damage from just one shipment. I’m saying this having bought 30-40 guitars over internet transactions, and even had Fender ship me a hollow body Thinline Jaguar direct in a single cardboard box with no case and no additional foam or packing inside - but not a scratch or crack on it.
 
Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

You can see where some of the rosewood stuck to the limba. The neck was glued in place. It had a hairline crack when I dropped it off at the post office. I don't have a doubt that they damaged it.
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Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

The damage on the box (which seems to be solely on the longest side) suggests to me that the box wasn't adequately supported from the inside...either not enough or the wrong type of packing was used.

Additionally, the close-up picture of the piece that broke off (note the compressed packing/paper/cardboard stuck to the tip of the separated corner) suggests to me that the guitar probably wasn't well padded and/or properly supported inside the box and, as a result, the weight of the entire guitar was largely resting on the longer corner which ultimately broke off. Temp may have had a role in weakening the joint, but it more than likely sheared off due to shifting and shock that corner received during transit.

Multiple joint failures would tend to suggest that the type and/or amount of glue used wasn't correct or sufficient. However, this is unlikely. It is more likely that, again, the guitar was not properly padded and protected against movement inside the box and experienced shock at the headstock end, causing the separation.

Basically, I'm 90% sure this is a shipper issue more than a carrier issue.

Regardless, I hope you get the claim settled and get it repaired satisfactorily. Seems like a really cool guitar
 
Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

That, I'll agree to. It probably did shift more than I would've liked to. I don't think it was initially built or shipped to fail. It was insured for full value and they've been supportive throughout.

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Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

Ascension said:
Don't think so. Had 2 different very rare Pointy Carvins sent from California to Alabama by USPS the same way and both arrived with out so much as a scratch on even the case much less the guitars. With both the seller did the same thing, strip of Duct tape around the cases to hold the latches shut slapped a label on them and dropped them in the Mail no box. Both arrived intact so---. On the other hand Fed X in particular has torn up so much stuff to and from me I think those bozos could break a steel ball with a rubber hammer in a sandbox!!
Worst was the Fender Prosonic combo they dropped off the side of a conveyor at O'Hare swept up and re-boxed the carnage then sent it on.
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Then there was the MG130 and then the 2x12 cab. With the cab, the jokers left it out side my front door in the pouring rain...
 
Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

Oh crap....I hope that wasn't the lost 1958 Moderne! Although, maybe it was put in the mail in 1959 and just showed up....damned USPS! Sorry for your problems, that really does suck!!!!
 
Re: Another "superb" shipment by USPS

masta' c said:
Multiple joint failures would tend to suggest that the type and/or amount of glue used wasn't correct or sufficient. It is more likely that, again, the guitar was not properly padded and protected against movement inside the box and experienced shock at the headstock end, causing the separation.

Basically, I'm 90% sure this is a shipper issue more than a carrier issue.
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Certainly it is the shipper's responsibility to pack it properly to prevent this type of damage.

But I have to agree about the joints. If the proper type of glue is used with the proper preparation, the glue would actually be stronger than the wood and would never break clean at the glue joint. Maybe the builder used flour and water paste as the glue.

I was a contractor for many years and even under extreme weather changes and thousands of pounds pressure, I've never seen a glue-lam beam, rafter, subfloor, or floor/ceiling joist separate at the glue joint. I've built many guitars and other wood projects and have never had a glue joint break. I've seen the wood next to the joint break, however.
 
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