Dealing with USPS

[5by3]

Recently shipped a rod to a buyer via USPS. It was a disaster from the start - rod was supposed to ship to NC and ended up in Florida. Nobody knew where it was or what happened to it. About 10 days later it arrived and the rod tube was broken in half and so was the rod inside.

 

I refunded the buyers money and have started the process of an insurance claim. Has anyone tried this before with any luck? Worried that I will be eating the cost on this rod… not cheap. 
 

 

[MN Fisher]

Did you pay for the insurance on the shipment?

[dodgeguy]

Have fun dealing with the government.

[MN Fisher]

Just now, dodgeguy said:

Have fun dealing with the government.

I've had insurance claims with USPS for things I've shipped.

 

Paid the insurance fee at shipment time - never had an issue getting it processed and my money.

[5by3]

9 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Did you pay for the insurance on the shipment?

Yes, I added insurance. So far they’ve just been a pain to deal with and it has me concerned.

[PhishLI]

4 minutes ago, 5by3 said:

So far they’ve just been a pain to deal with and it has me concerned.

Be the squeaky wheel.

[rangerjockey]

USPS could break a anvil. They will eventually pay you but it's not worth the gamble of using them.

 I had a rod tube on my front porch that looked like those canned biscuits you break open.

[GReb]

5 hours ago, rangerjockey said:

USPS could break a anvil. They will eventually pay you but it's not worth the gamble of using them.

 I had a rod tube on my front porch that looked like those canned biscuits you break open.

Ive received several like that. They claim that rods aren’t ever put on a conveyer but that’s a lie. There’s no other way for a rod tube to unravel in a circular motion that I can think of. 
 

Also it appears they’ve raised their rates. I have shipped many rods for $11-15 but now they are charging $32. 

[5by3]

53 minutes ago, GReb said:

Ive received several like that. They claim that rods aren’t ever put on a conveyer but that’s a lie. There’s no other way for a rod tube to unravel in a circular motion that I can think of. 
 

Also it appears they’ve raised their rates. I have shipped many rods for $11-15 but now they are charging $32. 

Yep, they charged me around $30. Next time I’ll go to UPS or FedEx and not have to deal with this. Lesson learned!

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

They all use the same material handling equipment. It’s just a crap shoot of who’s working when your package goes through. 

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

They all use the same material handling equipment. It’s just a crap shoot of who’s working when your package goes through. 

I hear all these horror stories and wonder what country they're in. I've never received a broken rod or crushed box in all the years I've been ordering online. I've even sent some 'delicate' items cross-country by all three - and everything arrived in perfect condition.

 

USPS, UPS, FedEx - they've all done good by me

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

3 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

I hear all these horror stories and wonder what country they're in. I've never received a broken rod or crushed box in all the years I've been ordering online. I've even sent some 'delicate' items cross-country by all three - and everything arrived in perfect condition.

 

USPS, UPS, FedEx - they've all done good by me

I just had my third claim in 15 yrs and obviously ship a lot of packages. If you’ve ever been inside a parcel shipping facility you’d wonder how anything gets delivered just due to the shear volume. That’s not an excuse for poor handling just an observation. 

[Revival]

I have and it’s a nightmare.  I shipped my reels to get serviced and the frame of one of my Stradic Ci4+ broke somehow while in the box (corner of the box was smashed).  All other reels were fine.

 

They wanted proof of purchase and pics of the damaged reel, which I provided.  I believe I paid $212 for the Stradic.

 

The part that ticked me off was I paid for insurance and they low balled the crap out of me.  They found the lowest price online for the Stradic Ci4+ at the time which was $170 and that’s what they offered.

 

I appealed and lost.  So I just I did get some money back but it took months and it was a nightmare.

[Skunkmaster-k]

I went to the optometrist about a month ago and they didn’t have my bifocal lenses in stock. They said they would mail them to me. Oh no. Danged if I didn’t come home and find them thrown down in my yard. I’m not sure who delivered them but it could have been the paper boy. Nah he gets closer to the door. 

[Bass Junke]

I have been in the shipping, receiving, distribution field for 35 years. I have seen my share of UPS and Fed Ex deliveries. In my experience small package shipments get damaged because of improper packing. Now there are only so many ways to ship a fishing rod. Hopefully a rod tube, preferably plastic. 

If I was going to choose a carrier for shipping a rod I would choose USPS for the simple reason that they can't walk in the back of their delivery truck. (at least the mail trucks around me are too small). 

I have seen UPS and Fed Ex drivers step on too many packages throughout the years. I don't know about you but have a rod in a cardboard rod tube stepped on 20 times during the day doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. 

DVT is correct, it is a crap shoot. Sometimes you get people that care about their job, other times...well. 

[Eric 26]

On 5/5/2022 at 4:54 AM, rangerjockey said:

USPS could break a anvil. They will eventually pay you but it's not worth the gamble of using them.

 I had a rod tube on my front porch that looked like those canned biscuits you break open.

I’m sorry for your loss but your response had me laughing my rear end off?. 

 

46 minutes ago, Bass Junke said:

I have been in the shipping, receiving, distribution field for 35 years. I have seen my share of UPS and Fed Ex deliveries. In my experience small package shipments get damaged because of improper packing. Now there are only so many ways to ship a fishing rod. Hopefully a rod tube, preferably plastic. 

If I was going to choose a carrier for shipping a rod I would choose USPS for the simple reason that they can't walk in the back of their delivery truck. (at least the mail trucks around me are too small). 

I have seen UPS and Fed Ex drivers step on too many packages throughout the years. I don't know about you but have a rod in a cardboard rod tube stepped on 20 times during the day doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. 

DVT is correct, it is a crap shoot. Sometimes you get people that care about their job, other times...well. 

I agree with this. I recently had 2 rods shipped to me from fellow member @FrnkNsteen who packed them as well actually better as any rod I’ve ever received. He sent them in a heavy cardboard tube and used string tied and taped along with packing to keep them secure. On the opposite end I received a  rod from Amazon in a thin cardboard box with nothing but the plastic sleeve for protection and to my surprise there was no damage whatsoever.

[5/0]

14 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

I just had my third claim in 15 yrs and obviously ship a lot of packages. If you’ve ever been inside a parcel shipping facility you’d wonder how anything gets delivered just due to the shear volume. That’s not an excuse for poor handling just an observation. 

Yep, years ago I worked for FedEx. You wouldn’t believe how far stuff gets thrown or how it’s crammed into a shipping container. I don’t think that’s changed over the years.

[Bankc]

15 hours ago, Delaware Valley Tackle said:

They all use the same material handling equipment. It’s just a crap shoot of who’s working when your package goes through. 

I wish the odds were as high as a game of craps!  

[GReb]

This was my favorite delivery. I genuinely laughed when I saw the masking tape. Miraculously the rod was fine and had hauled in many nice fish.