[R-390] FedX ground much better than UPS

[Todd Bigelow - PS]

Cecil Acuff wrote:
<snip>

> A lot has to do with packing methods....don't use peanuts or bubble
> wrap...it don't work!!!  1/2 or 5/8 sheets of foam....like the stuff they
> nail on the outside of your new house...cut to size to sandwitch the
> contents to where they can't move in any direction (with protection for
> protrusions like knobs and connectors) is the ticket!  Also a heavy duty box
> is necessary....look for large computer monitor boxes. (I use Dell boxes)
> All the effort to do a great packing job is totally wasted when the side
> comes out of your wimpy box!

Have to agree with Cecil here. I've used FedEx, UPS, USPS. I've never had
anything arrive damaged or even close if properly packed. Last night I had two
pieces of gear waiting for me from Maine, shipped parcel post. One box was
ruptured on a corner from either being dropped or having something heavy stacked
on it. Fortunately the person who shipped the items did a decent job of
packaging, so the hole in the box didn't matter. Think of the box as the
container, not protection, and think of the wrapping and packaging as the
protection.

I recently opened an account with FedEx. Sent out a 75A-4 and 51S-1 using the
account. To my horror, when the bill arrived the cost was roughly *double* what
their site quoted me for the weight, dimensions, and location. Still need to
work that one out. I was pretty excited about using them because they have a
good reputation overall. The aircraft gear I received from Australia recently
came via FedEx, only one box was slightly scrunched.

I think part of the issue is how long the item remains in the shipper's hands.
The longer they have it, the more times they move it, the better chance
something could happen. Even with UPS though, I haven't had anything arrive
damaged. The only issues I've *ever* had were from bad packaging, including one
item sent from a Kalifornia packing place that used foam children's blocks with
duct tape for binder, laid around and over the radio in a random fashion. I knew
when I got the box it hadn't been packed well. The collapsed top and rattling
sounds were big clues. Fortunately there was no real damage, only loose cabinet
parts. A miracle, though. When I asked the seller, his reply was 'sorry, I just
paid the place and left it with them'.

A while back I had an R-320 (SC-88) shipped to me from Colorado. Since I
couldn't pick it up, I had no choice but to use a packing place. I spoke with
the owner of the business and worked with him, insuring the best possibility of
safe arrival. He even cut me a price break since it weighed 100 lbs, but it was
still almost as much as I paid for the radio to ship it. End result was a � inch
split seam inside the cabinet despite the Versa-pak type foam and double boxing.
The radio was fine though, because the packer followed my instructions, but
weight is the enemy. The sudden deceleration when a box falls or is pushed off
makes for problems.

I think the one thing that is being overlooked here is the most obvious: these
companies are paid to ship millions of items all over the country and world,
daily. They aren't paid to babysit your radio in the event that the person
shipping it did a crappy packing job. This is why people have said good and bad
things about all shippers - because none of them are perfect, and they are in
business to make money, not to be sweet and kind to your package. If you have
something heavy to ship, pay to have it crated or do as Hank says and get a
shipping container for it. Spend the money, do it right. Or, at the very least,
minimize the chance of damage by insuring it is packed well, even over-packed.
Ia lways pack things like I'm sending them to myself from the back hills of
Burma, with multiple shipping gorillas handling them. The main thing is to get
it there in one piece. Unfortunately, too many of us (I've been guilty of this)
don't want to inflate the already high price of a piece of gear more with
expensive shipping. So, it all comes back to money and cost. You get what you
pay for. Don't expect an 85 lb item to do as well in the same type of packaging
that a 20 lbs item arrived in just fine. That's about as sensible as expecting a
Mack truck to go down toe road on tires made for a Ford pickup. sure you might
get away with it for a while, but eventually it'll come back to haunt you.

Do it right and you won't be sorry you did. Barring a rabid forklift operator
(which even a proper shipping container won't survive), you should receive the
item in the same condition it left in. And don't blame the shipper when your 75
lb radio flattens the packing peanuts, pops the bubblewrap, and eats its way
through the side of its single-walled box during the 5-day trip across country.

de Todd/'Boomer'  KA1KAQ