A couple shipping ???'s, I need some answers!!

[teeitup]

I have a couple dilemmas going on right now
I shipped some parts out to a guy and he emailed me wondering where his parts were, I looked up tracking # and it showed it was delivered to his place but was signed for by someone else not him and he don't know the name. What do I need to do about this to help, its in another state, I told him he needs to go to the Fed Ex office there and ask whats going on. He's asking me whats up, All I did is drop it off to get shipped, I didn't sign for it at his place. Is this my fault? What needs to be done? If I ship sig required it cost more for the buyer.
2nd of all as you know I ship Fed Ex, its cheaper than UPS thats why, and nobody ever likes shipping prices so I go with the cheap one. Anyway I've had 3 items damaged in the last month, one chrome piece $60, one tailgate band $160, and a NOS tailgate $500. I had insurance on each of them. None of the guys that bought these are not hassling me at all, they are taking it up with Fed Ex, I've never had a dealing with them about damaged stuff before what do I need to do to help the buyers out with Fed Ex. One of the packages Fed Ex delivered back to me after it was damaged.
This is getting frustrating!!
Thanks Randy

[Tx Firefighter]

Randy, I don't mind paying more for shipping when I buy from you. UPS my stuff if you want.

[rickspickuppart]

PM sent

[jmanz69]

To answer your question about the wrong person signing and the guy not getting his stuff. It's not up to you. It is his problem now. You did your part. You shipped it, you tracked it and it was delivered to his house. Your part is over. IF you have proof that you did your end, then it's up to him to find out where it went wrong. You can't be held responsible for the delivery.

About the damaged parts. I would just make sure you package them as best you can. My company ships hundred thousand dollar machines by common carrier, you have to make sure it can be dropped, kicked, or otherwise manhandled and still be ok. Bubble wrap is cheap compared to losing a sale when the item is damaged. The way I look at it, it has to be able to fall from 6 ft and be ok, then it will make it there in one piece and unharmed. Even if it already has a box, you should put another box over it with padding.

[jays68yak]

wow, I ship fedex all the time. Rearly use anything else. UPS way slower IMO. Anyways. I have had only one prob with fedex in the past two years. And it was a address error on thier part, got box back shipped it agian. Ok two, yesturday I went to ship a crank and a balancer. They charged me 66 lbs for each package. The cranked weighed that much but the balancer was only like 17 lbs. I noticed it before I left the building. Fixed it and its all good, even got $10 back out of it.

either way I always try to package them the best I can. Im sure you do too, but thats all you can really do. I mean weather its UPS, FEDEX, or the USPS, they are all going to beat the boxes.

As far as the lost package, I say he needs to look up the person that signed for it in his yellow pages and give them a call. At this point he needs to deal with fedex. You can help but honestly what can you do?

Good Luck
Did you ever get all those parts off that dudes land?

[sactoC10]

Yup, I prefer Fedex any day of the week over UPS or the USPS. I've been using them for a couple years and have had no problems, but I always pack things very snug, with foam, bubble wrap, extra cardboard...whatever necessary. Those packages can get beat up real good going from place to place.

As for the signature, I'd say that if you have your proof, then the ball is in his court...or the delivery person. Tough situation. Once you send it, I'd think it is not your responsibilty as long as it was addressed correctly.

my two cents worth...

JT

[Classic Heartbeat]

The damaged freight has now been put on the shipper. It has been that way for some time. What I have done in the past is to issue a call tag on the damaged part. Once I recieve it, then inspect it and the packaging to figure out why it was dammaged. I shipped 4 seperate bumpers to one customer once to get one to him undamaged. It is up to me to file claims on the 3 bumpers that Fedex damaged and also pay to bring the damaged ones back up here. That is now a grand total of $196.00 in shipping for the bad bumpers alone. If FedEx decides that I didn't package them well enough for shipping, then they will not pay the claims. If so I will recover either what they think the damage is worth and thats it. I shipped 2 tailgates also that were damaged in transport. FedEx said that a certain amount of damage was considered acceptable on large steel parts, and did not pay the claim. I told them that if I would have packed it with more packing to protect the part, then it would have been too large for them to ship. That didn't matter!!.. This is why we developed this policy:


"Damage Claims: Always check the contents of your shipment in the presents of the person delivering the merchandise. Should any damage occur immediately notify FedEx, UPS Ground or the truck freight company delivering your parts, to insure prompt replacement of said damaged parts. Contact Classic Heartbeat Pickup Parts', Claims department for instructions on returning damaged parts. Classic Heartbeat Pickup Parts does not assume liability for any damages that happen during the transit of any products that we sell.

Sheet Metal Parts Large sheet metal parts are extremely susceptible to minor damage due to the nature of the part and shipment methods. No credit will be issued for small dings, scratches, peck marks or other minor flaws. Any body panel (factory original or reproduction) requires minor body work when installed for a show quality finish. Tailgates and fenders are packaged as securely as possible, but they are two components that are very large and easily damaged. These pieces are best shipped "Truck Freight" to receive them 100% damage free, which is what we recommend. However we leave the shipping method choice up to you. If you do not specify "Truck Freight" delivery on these two types of items, and FedEx or UPS damages them you will need to repair the damages, because damage claims will most likely be denied by them due to their being a large sheet metal part."

I recieved the two tailgates back and they were only had minor damage and next time it happens, the customer will pay to ship it back to me. Then if FedEx doesn't pay the claim, the customer will have to pay for me to ship it back and deal with the damage. It seems like a harsh policy, but if the customer wants regular freight to save money, then they need to accept the consiquences of that, should something happen. Now if the dammage is a kinked tailgate, or something like that, FedEx will accept responcability for it and pay a claim. Not the retail value though. They will pay you what you paid for the tailgate and will require an invoice from you, from your supplier. Sucks, but that is the way it is and sometimes the cost of doing business. WES www.ClassicHeartbeat.com

[Classic Heartbeat]

If you have a signature delivery, it then is up to the customer to work out the problem with FedEx or UPS. You can help on your end by calling and trying to press the issue, but it is ultimetely his problem. WES www.ClassicHeartbeat.com

[tom hand]

I do shipping for a living...and I can honestly say if you are having that much stuff damaged, you are not packing it good enough. Next time you pack something, climb up on the roof of your house and throw it as far as you can...if it won't survive that...it won't last long in a Fedex or UPS truck. I ship mostly UPS and have delt with them several times on insurance...if you file a claim, they come pick up the package and inspect it and will most likely deny the claim if the package was not packed to their specs...and they have a lot of them. You should call and raise hell with Fedex about your packages being lost and damaged....the more hell that is raised, the more likely they are to pay. If you are shipping something really valuable, don't try to save a couple of bucks on the shipping, ship it sig required...to protect yourself. And keep in mind if you insure it, and they lose it, you are going to have to prove what the replacement cost is before they will pay on the insurance...which could be an problem with used parts. Just some food for thought. Good Luck

[teeitup]

Thanks guys for the input, I'm calling Fed Ex tonight. I've been shipping about 30 packages a week for 2 months, so far 3 damaged. The tailgate as Wes said if you wrap it up any more it's to big to ship. Its pretty weird, I've shipped NOS grills and surrounds amd long chrome and none of that got damaged. Thanks again, Randy

[Classic Heartbeat]

It's the luck of the draw Randy. You can ship the same package twice to the same location and get 2 different results. WES www.ClassicHeartbeat.com

[Huck]

Randy, it might be worthwhile for you to establish a commercial UPS account which will reduce the cost of shipping by about 40%. They can pick up from your location which is convenient. I have often sent items to anywhere in the US within 3-4 days. Insurance is cheep. I would also push for signed receipt to minimize complications. I have shipped hundreds of items for board members or e-bay with no damage. I have only recieved one damaged item and it was a 68 dash with speed monitor. It wasn't worth the hassle as the dash got cracked. Never lost an item with some selling for $1200. Packing is important but you can only pack so good and that doesn't explain lost items. I can't claim the same for my experience with fed-x. They have been a problem in this area for quite some time.
Sheetmetal is especially difficult but now worse then a 1920 cardboard doll house!!
By the way, any overseas shipment is high risk especially if paypal creditcard sale. No prof of receipt and the buyer can reclaim credit card payment.
Hope any of the above helps~~~Huck

[meathead95]

i agree on the commercial ups account they give you an awesome discount plus they will take larger packages

[teeitup]

Whats it cost to set up? That would be great save me a 60 mile round trip every other day. Thanks Randy

[69 air cab]

I say fedex owes the guy some answers and parts but as a regular shipper you might help by using your leverage to hopfully make all happy.

[old Rusty C10]

Once a package is signed for by a party its done fedex did their job unless the driver is making up names and stealing which i doubt. Your recipient needs to find out if this person lives near him and may have the package for him. If its a case of theft , theres insurance for that
as for the damages youll have to pack better. I have things i send out and i send it out wrapped like its going to be run over by a mack truck cause i know that these guys in the shipping business dont give a hoot about my stuff and it gets tossed and damaged without care. hell half the time i think its a sport see how much damage ya can do.. Bubble wrap and those styrofoam pellets are your friend!!use em and use lots its better to have over protected than to have under.. pass the costs along to the buyer i do and they understand ( i dont do near the volume i think you do anyway i have only half parted one truck)

[72c10step]

I prefer to use UPS now over FedEX after the dealings I've had with them lately. I got a rear spoiler for my brothers Mustang for his birthday, seller said it was good, no cracks, pics showed perfect condition, and when I got the package, both ends were badly cracked, and a chunk was taken out of the middle. Then, my computer's processor died, so I sent the computer back to my friends dad through FedEX (part of his business is building computers), he had me ship through his account and insure it for $800. He got the package a few days later, and the case was mangled, and the bracing inside was actually bent. The memory chips had gotten knocked out (they have retaining clips), and wedged into a tight internal spot. At least FedEX had to pay for it, it looked like they had dropped it from 20 feet!

[nu2-72]

Was it a business address?
I have almost all my items shipped to my work.
1. I have a receiving person there to inspect at the time of drop-off.
2. I am there 5-6 days a week
3. Any signature will be an employee I know
And all shipping out is usually a little cheaper for me.
I sign for stuff all the time at work also. Each and every time, the driver asks me to say my last name. I know he knows me but must help for them to remember who signed.
If it was a private residence. You are done. Is it a board member or Ebay person? Perhaps this person does this to other people as a way to get free parts. Maybe someone else here has crossed paths with this person.
You don't need to give names yet. Just give it some thought.

[drink2mny]

I know it might cost a hair more, but I use the UPS Store near my house.
I pay for them to box it up, and for one item I am glad they did the job and not me.

UPS actually lost an '64 olds 330 steel forged crank. I sold it on ebay for over 200.
The UPS people packaged up the flexplate in it also..

Guess what they lost..
The DAM Crank..How the heck do you lost a 68lbs item and not the flexplate..
I had to prove with a paypal reciept, because they had a hard time believing me that I sold an engine crank for that much, and paid for 300 insurance on it.They didn't want to pay me for the 300(the people at the store didn't have a problem, they wanted to repay me and the shipping cost)

Needles to say 3 weeks later I got a call from the store I use and had a check waiting for me with my flexplate..( got the amount of insurance back +shipping cost..

I still deal with the UPS Store
1 i get a military discount
2 It falls on them when a box breaks not on me.
thats why in my auctions I state buyer pays S&H (handling being getting a box)..

IMO the signed for item is no longer your responsability, that gentleman need to deal with Fed Ex and see why the let someone else other than him sign for it..

Good luck Randy and sorry for not stepping up and getting a steeringbox off ya

[teeitup]

No problem on the box.
I think I mislead some of you on the sig required, I was meaning to say if I do the sig required it would cost the buyer more, I'm calling Fed Ex now. Thanks Again Randy

[70c10]

I have only had one item get crushed by UPS. It was a custom headliner I did for a guy in CA. UPS requested me file a claim and send them a copy of my invoice to him. The customer sent me a digital pic to prove it was damaged. I sent him another one at my own cost. Luckily the package was insured to cover all expenses. He was happy, I was happy!. Good Luck Randy, hope it works out!

[gonebad2]

Another thing I have learned....If you ship in a used container and the item arrives damaged, UPS will almost always deny the claim just on that alone. They say the integrity of the box is not as strong as when it was shipped when new and voids the rating certification printed on the bottom of the box. Getting a UPS account is pretty easy. At work, they gave us a free computer, software, printer and scale. They even sent one of their reps out to train my employees on how to use it and they configured the whole system. They will even send all the shipping labels you need for free. Plus, now all we use are brand new boxes, no exceptions and have had no problems at all with outgoing shipments. If I was selling NOS high dollar sheetmetal, I would have it shipped by truck in a quality wooden container. Contact several account reps from an LTL carrier. That is a cutthroat business if you are good at negotiating, you can get some awesome deals even if you are not a high volume shipper. I hate it when I buy new parts from a real dealer (business with a catalog,staffing and a business license) and they ship out in crappy used boxes. It makes the business look low budget and unprofessional.

[VTKidder]

Hope you're not taking about me Randy I got my stuff yesterday; all looks great. Thanks again, I appreciate it!

-adam