[Hallicrafters] shipping by the rules

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

On Wed, May 21, 2008 at 6:37 PM, jeremy-ca <km1h at jeremy.mv.com> wrote:

> It can get them fired in a non union shop but Ive no use for unions either.

You and me both! Just another layer of cost added to pay for mediocre results.

You make some very good points, Carl, and I have no doubt that the bad
handlers are in the minority or a company would go under pretty fast.
I had a small radio shipped to me USPS from a guy in California who
used a local packing company. The box rattled and banged when I got
it, but showed no real external damage. The packer had used very
little packaging material, whatever was laying on the floor by the
looks. Amazingly, there was no damage beyond a cabinet scuff from a
mounting bracket that had come loose.

I've reused packing materials, but only in excellent shape. No damaged
boxes, that's just asking for trouble. Never a complaint or damage to
anything I've shipped, but I always pack like I'm sending a rare radio
to myself from the back hills of China, with multiple gorillas
between. The extra effort is worth it, though no guarantee.

The biggest mistake people seem to make is believing that a shipper is
going to mollycoddle or otherwise babysit their package from point A
to point B. As a business, they are going to move as much as they can
as fast as they can, to be cost-effective and competitive. With
considerably more people in the world and not that many new shippers,
it's just a matter of time. As the seller/shipper, you have the
responsibility of doing the best possible packing job for your buyer
to insure it arrives intact. This also gives you a leg to stand on
when things get mishandled.

And, while good people do occasionally get stung when they do it
right, I'm of the belief (from personal experience) that too many
people want to blame the company for their poor or sloppy packing. Yes
- properly-packed items DO get trashed, but a lot less often than the
marginal ones. One of the main reasons I avoid shipping large items
whenever possible, and utilize the AM Pony Express, drop off at a
hamfest, etc.

Besides - can you imagine the outcry if folks had to pay for
'personalized service' door-to-door, to insure their package arrived
unscathed? You can ship this way now, it's just not cheap. And as the
sale of Chinese goods in this country shows - generally-speaking, the
public wants 'cheap', not 'quality'.

~ Todd,  KA1KAQ