Common Sense When Shipping Items

If you live in Canada and are getting parts from the States INSIST on USPS. UPS will charge the SHIT out of you in brokerage. A friend sent two bottles of wine to me.. $70 brokerage!!!! UPS has class action lawsuit against them in Canada for their overcharging-ass ways! And I'll be signing up for that action! Stu

 

All you have to do to ship to Canada thru USPS is fill out a Customs Forms that is a sticker that goes on the box. All they ask is, what is it? why you sending it? is it a gift? Plus USPS will give you free boxes and shipping labels if you go on their web site. They will ship you up to 50 boxes at a time. Only catch is that you have to ship them Priority Mail, which is usally best, for me anyways.

 

A set of traction bars and axle hdwe. arrived yesterday UPS from an E-ay purchase. My wife called me at work to ask if she should even accept it since the heavy parts were sticking out of the box. Sure enough-shipped loose in a single box with peanuts thrown in so the holes punched in the box would leak peanuts and parts...

I got a Holley shipment recently of Hooker Header install kit with gaskets, bolts, and heavy cast port divider thrown loose in a box. Gaskets were torn up by the casting before the holes punched in the box by the casting let out most of the hardware.

I did get a kick out of the rental van delivering the FedEX shipped rear leaf springs with just a label on them. The heavy steel springs were thrown on top and banging around on top of all the packages labelled "FRAGILE".

My son ordered a fiberglass bumper fascia for his drift ricer. Vendor shipped bumper size f'glass item with cardboard taped over it. Arrived with both ends broken off.

More stories ... same old story...

Powerband

 

Ahhh, this thread has been good for some healthy laughs.



I once bought an old archtop guitar off eBay and the seller threw it in a box without any packing material. It arrived broken. I was so mad. The seller had zero respect for me or the guitar and no remorse.


I try to pack things as safely as possible, and appreciate it when someone else does the same for my goods. I even throw in some free stickers and draw cartoons on the box when I ship things!

 

That was me. Is DHL really that bad??? Somebody here really though that they were the rat's azz and loved them. . I thought that after having rotten luck with UPS and so-so with Fed-Ex and thought I'd try 'em. But I'll take your word for it. The last thing that I want is for my customers' items to arrive damaged or late. BTW, I believe in overpackaging to make sure that doesn't happen. If possible sizewise, etc, I 've had the best luck with the Post Office.

Jan

 

Thanks for the info. I've listed my auctions as US Only since I didn't want to have to play with Customs. That sounds easy enough.. Even though I don't list it in my auctions, I generally ship Priority.

Jan

 

Last year a HAMB'r was looking for some help to get something shipped from Michigan to California. I was near the place here in Mi. so I decided to help the brother out. It was just a poster right? It was a poster, but it was framed under glass and about 24" X 32". I packed it in cardboard with hardboard under that and foam padding over the glass, banded with those nylon straps. All the packing was done at work, with co. supplies, on co. time so i didn't mind. I was very happy to hear that it made it to California unscathed. On the other hand i shipped an axle to Mosers in a nice hardboard box and it came back sticking out the end of some cardboard wrapped around it!!!

 

I think the point is that those of us selling parts, and understanding the value of said parts, could take the time to pack them appropriately. I bought a set of nice Edelbrock 24 stud heads for my coupe from a fellow Hamber. When he packed them he used popcorn and stacked the heads with no bubble wrap or anything between them. Needless to say the nice heads arrived with about a dozen busted fins laying in the bottom of the box. If you're going to sell shit..... pack it like you're the one receiving it.

 

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the UPS "stores" that operate out of storefronts are all privately owned so the service isn't consistent from one place to another. Another reason we agreed to go that route with the crating was to put the responsibility on them, though I've heard plenty of horror stories of people trying to collect on shipping insurance. I was sure that there was no way other than a relay to get the nose to Montana in one piece, but I was actually proven wrong for a change.

 

Thats correct........I sold an intake/carbs/air cleaners setup to Killer a couple of years ago and paid the place to pack it as well as ship. I was worried about it but when it arrived he said it looked like it would have survived nuclear war it was packed so well.

 

I've had a hundred or so parcels, from small brackets to dashes and trans cases, from the US, nearly all by USPS, and just about every one has been well packed. There was once an SBC-to-early Ford trans adapter that arrived hanging out of the box, but that's about the only near-loss.

One thing I usually ask is that the seller ties or sticks an extra label to the part(s) in case they do get separated en route, but happily that hasn't happened yet.

 

Amen...