I also think it is always good to require a signature at delivery for UPS
(and maybe FedEx) to keep the guys on the trucks from just stealing stuff
and then saying they delivered it.  I am sure that happens.  I like the
suggestion to never use a box that shows or suggest electronic content.

Best,
John Haley


On Sat, May 31, 2014 at 4:42 PM, Eric Jacobs <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I¹ve had much better luck with FedEx, and often they are quicker and more
> cost effective than UPS.  See my UPS claim story below.  I¹m also loving
> USPS these days (see below).
>
> No more UPS for me.
>
>
> US Postal Service
>
> =================
>
> I¹m a big fan of the fixed-price USPS Priority package ($12.35, any
> weight, anywhere in the US), which includes insurance and tracking.  I use
> this for most of my media shipments now, and FedEx for most of my
> equipment shipments.  The other nice thing about USPS is that you can use
> the self-serve kiosk after hours - the extra flexibility helps.
> Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical about USPS for anything valuable, but
> after a year of using USPS more and more, I¹m very satisfied.  The
> self-serve kiosk may be enigmatic to use at first and could really use a
> UX makeover, but like anything, after using it a few times, I got used to
> the quirky menus.
>
> I still use FedEx for critical media shipments when I need the item(s) to
> go by air to minimize risk of damage.
>
>
> Shipping 2nd Day Air
> ====================
>
> IMPORTANT: If you are shipping something especially fragile or valuable,
> ship it by 2nd Day air.  One, it won¹t be sharing space with heavy
> freight, where it might get impacted or crushed.  Two, the package is
> moving more swiftly through the system and there¹s less opportunity for
> the package to linger in transit and get stolen or damaged.
>
>
>
> UPS Claim
> =========
>
> I¹ve had more claims against UPS (1) than against Fedex (0).
>
> Trying to recover a claim from UPS is hard work, even if insured - it
> requires lots of documentation and photos proving that the item was
> properly packaged, and conviction to keep fighting for your claim.  I
> strongly recommend photographing the package before it goes out as
> back-up, especially if the item has significant commercial value.  UPS
> makes a claim so difficult that I imagine many just give up.
>
> I had some electronics rifled through and then repackaged so poorly that
> it led to damage and 100% loss.  After a 2-month battle, I finally
> prevailed - and fortunately I had photo back-up and receipts because UPS
> first claimed that I did not properly package the item, then they
> questioned the value of the item.  I later learned from one of the UPS
> adjusters that they had a lot of theft of electronics at one of their
> transfer facilities.
>
> In my case, I had repurposed a very sturdy Sony box (the item I was
> shipping was not a Sony), and that may have attracted potential theft -
> and disappointment when they didn¹t find some shiny consumer electronics
> inside.  The repackaging was fast and shoddy, and the perpetrator had
> removed (!!) the inner hard styrofoam protection (which I had photographed
> prior to shipping).  When the recipient received the package, I instructed
> them to photograph the torn up box, the missing styrofoam (there were a
> few pieces of broken styrofoam left) and each step of unpacking it.
> Fortunately, the recipient photographed the package when they signed for
> it because the box looked so beat up.
>
> IMPORTANT: I now ship items in plain boxes and crates, void of brand names
> or content description.
>
> In all fairness, I don¹t know if making a claim against FedEx is any
> better than UPS.
>
> ~ Eric
>
>
>
> On 5/30/14, 5:39 PM, "Stewart Gooderman" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >Personally, as a person in business who ships things fairly regularly, I
> >prefer FedEx to UPS. It's going to be different for different people
> >depending on from where you do the sending, to where you are shipping,
> >and what kind of contract you have (or can negotiate) with the carrier.
> >
> >In San Francisco, UPS packages often come broken, smashed, and wet. FedEx
> >packages never seem to. I've had UPS packages stolen from their drop
> >boxes, and one UPS representative told me that, for a while, there was a
> >crisis brewing in New York City as many packages were being stolen within
> >the handling facility.
> >
> >FedEx has outlets all over the city, some open from 7 AM to 11 PM, as
> >well as Sunday hours, so drop off is a breeze. Not so with UPS.
> >
> >Regarding taxes and such, both companies have share of blame here. First,
> >FedEx is not the only large company evading taxes. If that's what you're
> >looking at then you won't be buying any products from Apple, HP,
> >Microsoft, as well as FedEx, and many, many others. UPS has fired workers
> >just for standing up for their rights. FedEx treats their Ground workers
> >as independent contractors, their Express workers as employees.
> >
> >DrG
> >
>