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Thread: Insure your packages!

  1. #1

    Insure your packages!

    I just went thru a shipper’s nightmare, before I tell you what happened I just want to say: When shipping any valuable item please properly pack and INSURE your item! Here’s why…

    In early January we shipped a Jaguar MK 120 hood to England to get the proper louvers installed. I built a custom crate 2’ x 2’ x 6’. Not a small box by any means. After properly securing the hood in the crate we addressed the lid with a black Sharpie (just in case the shipping label came off) called FedEx to pick it up and away it went. In a couple of weeks the job was finished and the same crate was shipped back again via FedEx. After a few day’s we thought the crate should have been here so we tracked the box. “Released from customs a few day’s ago was all the info we could get. A few days later no box and still the same info on the tracking. We called customer service and guess what? They lost the box! Excuse me, but how in the Hell can you loose a 2’x2’x 6’ crate??????? After spending several very frustrating hours we discovered that FedEx has several subsidiary’s, we were “International Heavy Fright” not that it mattered any, the still lost the frigging box! We did eventually discover that the crate was opened in Customs and FedEx now thinks the hood came out of the crate, but still no hood and no crate! So I got to thinking, What if they put the return address on the other side of the lid with a sharpie like we did and when customs put the lid back on it went back to England? Hmmmm. Put the original tracking number in and Viola! It went back to England on Feb 8th! I wish this was the end of the story, but it only gets worse. FedEx says it was redelivered and signed for back in England, the shipper claims it never came back. So as far as FedEx is concerned it’s delivered, end of story. The shipper say’s no one signed for it and it’s not there. And of course here we are with no hood and an event coming up in a few weeks.
    An insurance claim is in the works, but they will probably loose that too…

    So. Please properly pack and insure your items, and maybe you might just want to send someone along with it to be sure.
    Bernd Buschen
    R Gruppe # 357
    71' 914-6 Original Owner
    70' 914-6 GT Stoddard Built
    69' 911E Scott's car
    70' 914-6 Sold

  2. #2
    That truly sucks.
    Peter Kane

    '72 911S Targa
    Message Board Co-Moderator - Early 911S Registry #100

  3. #3
    Bernie:

    Thats REALLY good advice as I've had similar experiences with ALL the carriers.

    They lose things, damage things, tear labels off, and mis-deliver things.

    I've learned to insure everything for full replacement value, pack everything VERY VERY well, and put addresses in several places on the containers.
    Steve Weiner
    Rennsport Systems
    Portland Oregon
    503.244.0990
    E-mail: porsche@rennsportsystems.com
    http://www.rennsportsystems.com

  4. #4
    For what its worth, I write the tracking number in HUGE block numbers with magic marker on the box itself, with my cell phone number. My office is across the street from a very buisy Fed Ex office... they suggested this to me. It has saved me once.
    Bill Woods
    S Registry #1005

  5. #5
    Do a search on this subject and mudi a local fedex guy gives a very detailed set of instructions on how to prevent these sorts of nightmares.
    Phil

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by pu911rsr
    Do a search on this subject and mudi a local fedex guy gives a very detailed set of instructions on how to prevent these sorts of nightmares.
    Phil
    Phil-

    No luck in finding mudi, how about a link?

    Thanx, Bernie
    Bernd Buschen
    R Gruppe # 357
    71' 914-6 Original Owner
    70' 914-6 GT Stoddard Built
    69' 911E Scott's car
    70' 914-6 Sold

  7. #7
    I'll re-post mudi's reply,
    Phil
    It's regretable, but packages do get lost in shipment for many reasons. If you think about the volumes moving (FedEx Express 2mill per day, FedEx Ground 3mill per day, UPS ground/express 12mill per day) losses are going to happen. Here are my suggestions for shipping to help prevent this kind of loss from happening to any of us.

    1. always write the airbill / tracking number on the outside of the box, on the cardboard, not on tape on anything else that can be peeled off the box. All shipping companies use belt conveyor, miles and miles of it, with some belts running at very high speeds. Airbill pouches aren't a sure bet to hold up to the riggors of a distribution center if the package is face down on a conveyor moving 200-300 feet per minute.
    2. attach a copy of the airbill / tracking number to the part inside the box, all it takes is hitting the print button a second time or a copy machine.
    3. don't package anything loosely. It if strikes you that what you are sending/recieving resembles a bowling ball in a cardboard box, good luck getting it there in any non-original packaging.
    4. keep running track of the package, don't wait until it's overdue to call and start a trace. As Matt says, ride their ass. Ask for a live rep, supervisor or manager. Ask to be connected with someone who specializes in overgoods, lost packages
    5. Don't cash the check for a claim until you absolutely have too or don't want to deal with it. Once the claim is paid, if the item is found, you don't get it back. Be patient if you can. All the overgoods are collected and shipped to an outside company for Claims/Sale/dispersal. If they find it, and the trace is still open, you can get it shipped to you, unless you have cashed the check.

    Sending used car parts takes skill in packaging. If someone wants to charge you to correctly package something, pay for it. Wheels, Tires, Seats, Transmissions, Engines, all get shipped on a hope and a prayer if they are not in product specific packaging.

    Just my 2 cents worth. I hope this helps in the future as I know it doesn't help with the past.

  8. #8
    I appreciate your time to post the advice. I didn’t think about attaching a copy of the airbill / tracking number to the part itself, sounds like a good idea and will do so from now on. Outside of that we did everything listed. But like you said they ship a lot of stuff, and something is bound to get lost. But a 2’ x 2’ x 6’ wooden crate @ 275 lbs.?????????

    One thing I did not know is that FedEx subs out the overgoods (interesting name, it should be misplaced goods) to another company; do you or anyone know the company’s name? I haven’t given up finding the hood quite yet.

    Thanx again for the reply,
    Bernie
    Bernd Buschen
    R Gruppe # 357
    71' 914-6 Original Owner
    70' 914-6 GT Stoddard Built
    69' 911E Scott's car
    70' 914-6 Sold

  9. #9
    I've had good luck with DHL on over-size shipments. They were not always the cheapest but the stuff got where it was going (Thailand).

    It's my understanding that filing a shippers claim against UPS or FEDEX is a nice test of stamina.
    OT: Get Pay-Pal involved and you'll really enjoy yourself.

    Tom
    Early S Registry #235
    rgruppe #111

  10. #10
    I recently had two boxes of parts shipped to the US, from Norway, and the parts where packed in miles of bubble wrap. Both boxes got smashed during shipping. One of the items being smashed was a tacho and it looked like a football in all the bubble wrap before it was stuffed into a box lined with more bubble wrap............still it was badly dented. My lesson is that if there is anything fragile in the box, bubble wrap or similar is not sufficient, there also have to be some stiff material in the wall of the box protecting the box from sharp impact, or the box have to be much larger than the part being shipped and the box filled with protective material.

    A little bit more expensive to ship but save a lot of money in the long run.

    John
    Early 911S Registry #931
    --------------------------------
    1971 911 2.2S Coupe Albert Blue
    1971 911 2.2T Coupe Tangerine
    2005 997 C2S Coupe special 1965 slate grey
    1978 911 3.0 SC Targa Silver w/chrome trim

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