[R-390] Info on Shipping R-390As via FedEx Ground

[Barry Hauser]

That's not typical of a UPS Store, previously MBE - Mailboxes Etc.  After 
the they take his money and the seller leaves, they pack it in a large 
flimsy box - usually $8.00 or more, bubblewrap and often, used peanuts.  The 
box is so soft, if marooned somewhere, you could probably eat it and not 
suffer indigestion.  Easily torn or crushed.  New bubblewrap, while 
inadequate, is expensive, so they try not to use too much of it.  They don't 
even attempt to bag the peanuts or compress them and they don't put enough 
in, but what does it matter.  The price for all this is usually high, what 
with the materials and labor charges.

Not sure how they get these to the drivers.  When you try to pick up one of 
these abominations - typically by the far corners -- the corners crush just 
under the weight of the package.  The payload shifts around until it's right 
up against 2 or 3 sides of the carton.  Out of balance, with corners that 
crumple when you try to lift them,  they're also more prone to being 
dropped.  Very difficult to hand-truck, unless part of the radio is sticking 
out with skid marks already on it and that would be the bottom and the place 
to jam the hand truck under.

Finally, on this particular diatribe, UPS Stores are franchises and the 
shipper of record -- unless something has changed recently.  Any claim has 
to go through the seller, then through the UPS store as the shipper and then 
through to UPS itself.  (Unless they've streamlined something.)  It's not 
the same thing as shipping something from a regular UPS staffed "customer 
counter".  The only good thing -- under the franchise arrangements, they 
have to charge the regular retail UPS rate -- not the 10-100% markup of the 
MBE days.  There are some UPS centers that do packing and have sturdy 
double-wall cartons that say UPS on them.  They also do in-place foam with 
double boxing.  But, if you call the 800 number, the reps know nothing about 
it.  Not all of them do it, but it is an alternative and I think they do it 
while you wait.  To find out, you have to visit or somehow get the phone 
number of the local depot.  Two sellers have shipped me gear this way - one 
in the Orlando area.

The UPS Stores have this commercial -- which I haven't seen in a while --  
where they're promoted as the packing experts .. I think it showed them 
crating a grandfather's clock. Yeah, right.

Barry





Frank wrote:

A brief word about the dear folks at UPS.  Several years ago I bought a 
R-390 from W3INK.
He took to a "ups subsidiary store" where they packed it for him.  I don't 
recall what they charged but it was a lot.

When it arrived here in SW Missouri the driver who knew me well said "I 
think we have big trouble today."

The box presented was the most worn out old large TV cardboard box you can 
imagine.  The packing was phone books, old clothing, wood shavings, you name 
it.  A mile of string held it together.  Every corner was smashed in.

He wasn't allowed to take it back since we had opened it.

The right end of the front panel was bent completely into an "L" with the 
rack handle torn off and in the box.  And that was just the beginning.

Took weeks before their inspector from near KC made it down here and looked 
at it and was not going to honor the claim because of packing...... I showed 
him a photocopy of the so called UPS store where it originated from.  He 
turned pale.  Especially at the $2000 value insurance.  He took it to his 
van.

W3INK battled with them for months.  He sent my money back to me right away 
but we kept in touch via his BBS on the slow progress of getting that claim 
settled.  He finally won.

Oh for the days of Railway Express.  My first KWS-1 was in two wooden 
crates, one had been dropped (the PS of course) and splintered the crate on 
two sides.  The steel banding was broken.  No sweat.  Within 48 hours 
another one was enroute from Harrison Radio and we were all happy.

As for HDL... only one thing came in so far from them.  A box of new hard 
drives.  I saw the deliver guy toss the box up onto the concrete porch from 
a distance of about fifteen feet and scurry back to his beatup old truck. 
All drives were DOA.  That was a few months ago and I understand the dealer 
still is waiting for his money....he shipped me another batch via Fedex in 
the meantime.

The prefab shipping crate sounds good, very good in fact.

73,

Frank Gilmore K0JPJ   ex-W5PVX



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