FedEx strikes again... - Videokarma.org TV - Video

Nolan Woodbury · #1 09-12-2005, 09:07 PM

It's been awhile since the latest shipping horror story hasn't it? Well, not long enough if you ask me.

First off, my latest eBay purchase:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=5803939060

Although this MJ1035 didn't have the accessory speaker, it seemed a solid unit; the seller friendly and helpful. It came with several nice features, including an external Wave Magnet. I wasn't in the office to receive the package (I always tilt 'em while the driver is there, and if something sounds bad I'll make him wait) but the exterior of the box told the story: Heavy crush damage. Once inside, I discovered the upper right hand corner of the cabinet dented, and this is no small feat, because these Zenith cabinets are pretty sturdy. The force of the blow was so great the chassis ripped itself from the cabinet, breaking the little plastic feet off the bottom, which were still held to the cabinet by the screws. Pulled the mounting screws off too. The tuning shaft was sheared off and the tuner, plus the dial cord is broken and/or shattered. The whole bottom of the box was littered with broken parts, springs and busted plastic bits. Is there a war zone somewhere between Arizona and Kansas I don't konw about?

I am furious at Fed Ex. Will I ever learn? NEVER AGAIN. Note this Zenith was packed well; double boxed, bubble wrapped and well fitted. Too bad, because I can tell this was a very nice set.

I have been looking for this radio for months. I think I need a hug.

Currently jumping through the claim form hoops in hopes of reimbursement, but I'm not holding my breath. One fine old Zenith, taken out before its time.

3Guncolor · #2 09-12-2005, 09:38 PM

Sorry to hear about your radio. I think those Zeniths were some of the best consumer electronics ever made.

Chad Hauris · #3 09-12-2005, 09:39 PM

That's too bad about your radio....maybe next time ask the seller to take the back off and stuff it full of plastic bags or such as this will help immobilze anything such as the chassis from generating a force due to gravity and moving around and breaking stuff inside the cabinet.

It's not just FED EX that can do this...had something similar happen with a TV shipped by another shipping company. Chassis sheared off from the cabinet and the CRT broke loose too! Huge amount of damage. It was well padded from the outside too but all that momentum caused by tumbling the package did it in.

I wonder if Greyhound may be a better way to ship? The only places the package gets moved is between the baggage compartments of the busses and then into the bus depot at its destination. There wouldn't be all the hazards of package sorting and truck loading that plagues truck express services I would think.

dgwojo · #4 09-12-2005, 10:01 PM

HMMM, Maybe it's time to switch to DHL, I notice the local theatre uses them for movie shipping and they come in unschathed. IMHO, shippers are more careful with commercial shipments, consumer shipments are always $hit on!!

3Guncolor · #5 09-12-2005, 10:03 PM

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steve gibson · #6 09-12-2005, 10:38 PM

Nolan, Sorry to hear this. Shipping is a crap shoot at best. I will keep my eye open for a replacement.

mywifespissed · #7 09-12-2005, 10:59 PM

I bought a Dynakit ST 70 on Ebay a few months back. This one was in excellent condition BEFORE it came my way. It came via UPS and had a dented chassis, torn-off output transformer and a totaled cage. After a little cajoling, I got the owner to admit he had given the amp to his UPS driver to ship!!! Hello! Why would a driver understand how to pack a cumbersome backheavy item like this? The amp. was just floating around loose inside a double box with a good two inches per side. Dumbest thing I may have ever seen. One less classic amplifier in the world. I got a full refund thank God.

Jeffhs · #8 09-13-2005, 12:03 AM

Nolan -

I am very sorry to hear that your Zenith radio was destroyed in shipping. The damage sounds incredible. The MJ1035 was a very good set in its day, from what I understand (I've never owned one personally, just seen pics of them here in this forum and on ebay). What I can't figure out, try as I will, is why on earth the set was damaged so much if it was double boxed, bubble wrapped, the whole nine yards. I would think anything packed that well should withstand anything thrown at it, put to it, etc. The only thing I can come up with that makes any sense is that the box must have been hurled around, dropped, and maybe kicked across a floor a few times before being loaded onto the truck. I've heard that packages are often subjected to such abuse by FedEx and even UPS, although all but one of my antique/vintage Zeniths were delivered by UPS and every one of them arrived here without a scratch. (The one set that was delivered by USPS Priority Mail, my R-70 Zenith portable, also arrived here in good condition, with only normal wear on the case around the tuning dial.) My K-731 came to me from Miami (over 1000 miles) and was in excellent shape when I unpacked it (the seller had bubble-wrapped it and packed it very well).

You have my sympathy. I hope you get things straightened out as far as damage claims, etc. are concerned, and also, I hope you find another MJ1035 on the 'bay soon. That model isn't scarce (yet, anyhow--I see them every now and then in my frequent searches of Zenith radios), so you may find another one fairly quickly if you do a little looking.

Good luck.

Kind regards,

merrylander · #9 09-13-2005, 07:05 AM

I shudder everytime someone sends me anything via FedEx, I never get a chance to make the driver wait because they drop it (literally) outside the garage door and take off. Then when anything is damaged they refuse to pay no matter how much insurance the shipper has paid for. UPS is not 100% perfect, but when they damage something I have shipped they make good.

It got so bad with FedEx, DHL and USPS simply leaving packages outside the garage door that I installed a wireless doorbell and a sign asking them to at least ring the bell. My big mistake was assuming that they could read.

Rob

Nolan Woodbury · #10 09-13-2005, 09:47 AM

Thanks everyone, for the sympathetic replies. More than anything the thought of a perfectly good, high quality radio being needlessly destroyed is what bothers me most.

Chad, last night I was halfway kicking around the idea of sending you the Zenith for evaluation. If it were repairable, that might be something I’d be interested in doing. If not, it is full of valuable parts. Obviously, you’re in a better position to distribute or use them than I. Let me know.

The seller is upset too. He told me if he would have known this was going to happen, he never would have placed it on eBay to sell. Some money was spent to upgrade (re-capped, etc) and it’s been in his family for years. In the light of current world and national events this is small potatoes, but it's tragic nonetheless! Back on the hunt I guess...

El Predicta · #11 09-13-2005, 11:01 AM

Watch out for DHL, too. I've been working on a claim for damage they did to a well-packed Predicta back on July 1st. Tore it to hell. Insured, but what recourse do we have if they refuse to pay? Anybody ever took them to Small Claims Court?

Here's another weird thing that the post office is doing to Predictas-breaking in the pkg. and unplugging the CRT socket! It's happened on several I've personally shipped AND on one recently shipped to me that I bought on eBay. Guess they think they"re 'disarming' it?? Talk about troubleshooting ones sent to good-paying customers!

Donny · #12 09-13-2005, 12:49 PM

Sorry to hear about that radio getting smashed

I think most people at AK have had a few things damaged from shipping what makes yours so odd is it was packed well.

toxcrusadr · #13 09-13-2005, 01:57 PM

I have had very good luck with Fedex and have switched from UPS mostly because of customer service, office hours, UPS wanting to inspect my packages and not taking anything glass at the customer counter any more, etc. Fedex has been friendly and have not broken anything. They did lose one pkg. real bad for a couple weeks but they found it, and it was partially my fault due to a bad zip code. I guess it depends on your experience with your local people. I am disappointed to hear they smashed a radio though. I always heard UPS was worse on that and still believe it.

john_w · #14 09-13-2005, 02:15 PM

The more I read about these things, the better I feel about driving my new speakers 1300 miles across the country myself.

I had a pair of skis in a cargo hold on a plane that were damaged in such a way that I think a truck or some other tarmack service vehicle must have literally run over them! Maybe something similar happened to the radio? Watch out for those wild forklift drivers!

prewtv · #15 09-13-2005, 02:17 PM

I have had so many damaged items from all shippers, but the best is a set of head gaskets that UPS gave me at my door that were in a shape of a U with a tire track down the middle. I could not believe he was even trying to deliver them.
The items that make it like my RCA 621 was double boxed with old auto seat foam everywhere. Box was now almost round and bounced like a ball.
TV made it fine.