FedEx Ground Vs UPS L@@K!

Dave O'Brien · Post by **Dave O'Brien** » 7 May 2010 7:41 am

2 boxes arrived today!
UPS:

FedEx:

and the UPS box was from a Pack&ship place. Good thing they had an "inner box" too.

Geoff Cline · Post by **Geoff Cline** » 7 May 2010 7:58 am

No dog in this perpetual fight, BUT I have had the exact opposite results and UPS is 25 miles closer to my place...

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 7 May 2010 8:04 am

ups is better at damaging your packaging, but fedex is far better at losing it or delivering it to the wrong address so its a tossup which is best

that ups box above doesnt look packed well to begin with and the fact that they packed it and are therefor responsibile, doesnt really bring back your damaged item. id never let anyone else pack my stuff becuase thats what you end up with.

The main thing about packing is to make sure the item is tightly packed into the box with no room to move around even if dropped. Stuff it tight with peanuts or foam or whatever but your pakage needs to be a solid mass, not an eggshell with a heavy yolk rattling around inside there.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 7 May 2010 8:26 am

I agree with Ben the UPS box wasn't packed right.

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 7 May 2010 8:31 am

The torn box is very cheap cardboard more suitable for shipping pillows. Certainly nothing I'd feel comfortable shipping anything in. The fact that it was underpacked (meaning there is way too much empty space) just exacerbates the tearing and damage.

Dave O'Brien · Post by **Dave O'Brien** » 7 May 2010 8:38 am

The shipper of the UPS box told me it was a company store. They left a big airspace filled with peanuts! Perfect for a worker to punch a nice grab hold in!

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 7 May 2010 9:27 am

Mike Neer is right that's a very cheap box,If I have to ship something I buy a good box at U-Haul.

Dennis Wallis · Post by **Dennis Wallis** » 7 May 2010 9:31 am

So far I've not had any trouble with either one but I always pack well .

Duane Dunard · Post by **Duane Dunard** » 7 May 2010 9:51 am

That Fed-x box is the Zum Universal 12-string I just shipped to Dave. It took me a long time to tightly double box it, but I clearly see it's well worth the extra effort. D.D.

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 7 May 2010 10:37 am

in all fairness, let me ask, and I have no dog in this hunt.

The Fed Ex box had a Steel Guitar case inside it ? A strong durable case that basically is supporting the box ? No..?

the UPS Box, what was in it ? I can tell you from my own business experience packaging and shipping well over 400 boxes a year, that box is the wrong box and is packed totally wrong, say hello damage.

peanuts are not a good packing material they settle to less than 50% of the box in a very short time. Quite frankly whoever left something to be packed like that is equally to blame.

Wrapping cardboard around a Steel guitar case is not the same as placing peanuts in a thin cheap box and letting them settle. That box looks like it was damaged from the inside, not the outside. It's way to thin as well.

Guys, by now, after all these threads we should all know how to pack, especially items of weight, guitars, amps, etc...

What was in the UPS box , how much did it weigh ?

just my take...

John Ummel · Post by **John Ummel** » 7 May 2010 10:54 am

Tony is spot on regarding peanuts......totally worthless, I worked as a warranty tech receiving electronic equipment from customers, heavy items shift around in peanuts, use sheet foam instead. I've never personally had a problem with UPS or FedEx but DHL (when they were delivering domestic) delivered my new Simmons pedal steel to an address about 35 miles from my house. I knew because I was tracking it online and saw the status change to "delivered", well not to me it wasn't. I called the DHL office at once and they had the guy go back and get it, I drove to the office and picked it up. close call!

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 7 May 2010 11:06 am

Crumpled up newspaper is much better than peanuts and better for the environment. I use it often to fill voids in packing.

Tim Kowalski · Post by **Tim Kowalski** » 7 May 2010 11:48 am

Stu packed up a Pro 111 and shipped it UPS from Anchorage to Illinois for me. The cardboard was perfect, but the licks and fills were nowhere to be found.

Seriously - the box was in great shape, but the UPS dude was kinda messed up from carrying it to the door.

Eric Philippsen · Post by **Eric Philippsen** » 7 May 2010 12:18 pm

I just had a steel shipped to me this week from Texas to Indiana via FedEx. Here's my experience:

- Wasn't home to sign for it when FedEx first showed up.
- Called FedEx and told them to hold the package at their hub. I would pick it up there the next day. They assured me they would.
- Went to hub the next day. They brought out two packages for me to sign for. Wait a minute! Those packages aren't mine! They apologized and took them back.
- They couldn't find my package for 20 minutes. I saw them running all over their hub. It ended up being on the delivery truck waiting to go out and be redelivered.
- Opened box right there. One floor pedal had come loose and fallen off the rack. Other than that, everything else was unscathed.
- I breathed a sigh of relief.

Larry Bressington · Post by **Larry Bressington** » 7 May 2010 12:40 pm

My delivery man used to throw my parcels down on the step.

Kevin Hatton · Post by **Kevin Hatton** » 7 May 2010 1:07 pm

Bad packing iob on the UPS package. Packing correctly is 90% of the job. Heavy duty carton is a must.

Bill Ford · Post by **Bill Ford** » 7 May 2010 3:25 pm

FWIW, My 2 cents worth, Had to ship a couple pieces of hard to find door glass for a Ford Mustang, I packed it to the max, wrapped each piece in heave duty cardboard, put styrofoam sheets (cut to fit)all around so that there was no movement. Really proud of the packing job that I had done.The UPS agent insisted on unpacking it to "be sure" it was properly packed.I let him unpack/repack. I was sure that it would not make it in one piece, but it did,still to this day don't know how.

Never had a problem with any carrier, other than that.

Bent Romnes · Post by **Bent Romnes** » 7 May 2010 7:22 pm

My 2 cents:
I shipped 2 beer glasses to my sister in Norway.
The Ups man packed them like this:He got a box where there was enough room around the glasses to fill at least 2 inches with peanut chips. The glasses arrived in excellent condition.

Roual Ranes · Post by **Roual Ranes** » 8 May 2010 5:58 am

Bobbe Seymour sent me an NV112 which arrived in good condition so I e-mailed him that it was rec'd and working fine. He replied that they sent it in pieces and the shipper put it together.....

Martin Weenick · Post by **Martin Weenick** » 8 May 2010 3:38 pm

My box looks better than your box. Heres 350 feet of .109 stainless steel pull rods. I love the way they tried to tape it back up. Thanks UPS. Martin.

Stu Schulman · Post by **Stu Schulman** » 8 May 2010 4:07 pm

Martin,Ouch!

Bill Miller · Post by **Bill Miller** » 8 May 2010 4:28 pm

In my experience the Postal system damages less stuff than any courier I've tried. And the original packaging is the ideal way to pack. The manufacturers have a lot of experience shipping their product and they know best what works. On any pricey item I buy I save the packaging.

Ben Jones · Post by **Ben Jones** » 8 May 2010 10:16 pm

Thats been my experience too Bill. The USPS has the least damaged packages and the most reliable delivery rate (meaning the most completed deliveries and least lost packages). The trade off is they have the least responsive customer service over phone or internet (in person they are great to horrid depending on your station) and the worst "tracking".

Dwight Lewis · Post by **Dwight Lewis** » 8 May 2010 11:19 pm

Lets all stick with the ole stand by steelers, US Postal Service. Help keep 'em a-float.

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 9 May 2010 9:49 am

Dwight Lewis wrote:Lets all stick with the ole stand by steelers, US Postal Service. Help keep 'em a-float.

Meaning no disrespect for your viewpoint, I've had several amps smashed by the postal guys. I've also had a couple packages lost to their "black hole", one finally resurfaced after 6 months. The others still long lost. And that's even with delivery confirmation. I've had MUCH better luck with Fed-ex and UPS. James

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