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Main Boards => PowWow => Topic started by: John Nail on July 26, 2006, 03:37:00 PM
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Thanks to our Postal Service!!
Beautiful bow, sorely treated.
Now I have to start filling out forms.....8^(
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/johnnail/hill2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/johnnail/hill3.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v83/johnnail/hill1.jpg)
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Wow that's awful, sent a just finished bow to so. Indiana today,glad I bought the insurance just in case....................Steve
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Dude sorry to hear that... I feel your pain...
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Man, I really feel for you. The P.O. did the same thing to a nice Sley longbow I bought. I did all the paper work stuff - 6 months ago and nothing. And I mean nothing from those jokers except the run around. I've finally given up.
By the way John, I got to shoot the Kadiak this passed weekend. She handles and feels pretty good. A keeper I think, especially for a recurve.
Good Luck on your claim.
Steve
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Ugly, just plain ugly. So sorry for you, John. Just ruins all the fun of getting a new bow - even if it gets replaced in the long run.
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:banghead:
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AGH!! I wonder how much force it took to do that?
I bet the replacement bow did it: because it wants YOU to shoot IT instead !! :archer:
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John....
I feel your pain....I have had at least 3 bows broke by the USPS....
Did you get the bow direct from Howard Hill Archery....
If so they will probaly replace it and wait for the USPS....
And thats why when I sent my Saxon to Dano to refinish I put it in PVC....
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Makes a guy,wanna go postal,don't it?
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Man that is a bummer :mad:
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Man, they must have run over that thing with a truck! Good luck with your claim.
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Yes, it is a brand new bow. Stillborn.
I called Craig, and he said he'd start on another one right away.
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Dang that's a shame. I've not had one of the 50 something bows I've mailed USPS broken but I have my fingers crossed figuring it's only a matter of time.
BTW for a self bow there is no sense insuring it, if you are in trade deal or giving it away. The Post Office told me you have to have a reciept for selling it for the price or a reciept for materials for making it. On a selfbow it's mostly labor and they don't reimburse an individual for their labor, unless they are a business man and can provide proof of what their bows sell for. It would still be an uphill battle..
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When my new bow arrived earlier this month via the usps, the top 1/4 of the box was bent at about a 20 degree angle. Luckily the bow was fine.
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Fellas, I sent a match rifle barrel to a friend via UPS about a month ago. I had insured the package for it's value, about $400. My buddy didn't get it and called me. I started tracking it as it should have been a one day delivery. With many calls and many excuses the package arrived about 10 days late. Fine except for one thing, the box was torn open and empty. My friend and the driver both noted the empty box.
Here's the good part, after about a month of haggling with UPS they finally refused to pay ANYTHING on the insured package... All I got was the run around from them. They are theives and dishonorable liars. I won't use them again.
Pat
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Sorry to hear about yer HH woes, John.
I've owned 3 new HH longbows over the years and with each arrival I marveled at how lucky I'd been because each was shipped in a long, slender not-so-stiff cardboard box, with very little padding. The bare minimum for shipping a stickbow is a PVC tube. Then all ya gotta worry about, is it getting "lost". :rolleyes:
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yep, it was in a little, flimsy box. Tips were padded good, and I suppose they really had to work at it to break it.
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Originally posted by John Nail:
yep, it was in a little, flimsy box. Tips were padded good, and I suppose they really had to work at it to break it.
You might be surprised at how easy it is to bust up a bow that's boxed in *paper* (cardboard). The way shipping vendors store and throw around our goods, it's no wonder that they don't have 100% safe and sound shipments. Grrr.
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The thing you have to remember about UPS especially, is that ground shipments and third day select are loaded BY CONVEYOR BELTS into a 45 foot trailer with an aluminum deck floor.
That's right...your bow rides up a conveyor belt and falls from eight feet to the bottom of the trailer...and right behind it could be a 50 lb five gallon pail of paint, or quick cement, or a box with axes in it, or whatever. That lands ON TOP OF YOUR BOW.
The only way to responsibly ship bows is PVC if its a longbow, or package your TD bow in an arrow box, then put the arrow box inside a bigger box with lots of peanuts around it. Make sure the box INSIDE is marked to destination as well, in case they tear up your outer container.
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Ray's got it dead RIGHT.
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I have not had any problems Using USPS. I allways do an over kill on the packing just to be on the safe side. I will not use UPS. I have seen too many items come in at work that are made of cast iron and steel broken and damaged.
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UPS seems to be much worse than USPS when it comes to destroying stuff.
Insurance from both of them is useless for the most part, except padding their bottom line.
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I ship all over the world, not just the US, and you DO need to protect your shipped goods as much as humanly possible. I've used USPS, UPS, FedEx, Airborne and DHL ... and know of, or have had personal damaged shipment problems with, all of 'em. Expect the worse - dropping yer shipment from a height of at least 8 feet and/or having a 50# weight dropped on it. Package as well as you can for the size, weight and fragility of the object(s) yer shipping. Double box whenever possible and/or feasible. And do insure for at least the full value. YMMV, but it shouldn't (really!).
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insurance is a must. I ship with USPS priority mail and have had my experience with breakage. but they pay in 30 days and get almost all of the packages delivered intact and on time. I don't get upset at breakage anymore, it's no use. I tell people that USPS is my best customer. LOL
Mike
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Guys, I worked for UPS as a loader when I was 18. The things I have seen happen to the freight, along with their rates and corporate/ policies/ mentality, keeps me from ever using them as a shipper to this day. Aside from the incident I mentioned earlier, I've never had a problem with the postal service and use them almost exclusively these days. The nature of the business does dictate sufficient packaging though. I'd rather have a bow shipped to me for a few dollars extra in PVC or a stout tube, than to have it show up in a mangled cardboard box.
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I'm with freeman. As someone who works in the dispatch dept of a bed warehouse, I see 50kg bedsteads loaded on the same parcel truck as china, electrical goods etc. They are all packaged in cardboard and polystyrene and it just amazes me that these things ever get there in one piece.
Graham
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Something better than PVC is the real heavy- walled cardboard. The stuff they ship metal in. We get it in the tool and die shop I work in pretty regularly. I am 6'1", 200lbs and can stand on it without it bending at all. It's alot stronger than pvc.
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It all comes down to how the bowyer packs it. I use a ribbed PVC tube w. screw on ends duct taped them also, ( It looks like a giant pipe bomb) wrap the bow in bubble wrap and paper. You can drive a truck over it and it wont get damaged. I would say it is 50% the bowyer and 50% Postal Service. Why not go the extra step and maybe pay alittle more to know nothing will happen to your stuff. Plus the insurance
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Originally posted by Arrow Wraps Unlimited:
...Why not go the extra step and maybe pay alittle more to know nothing will happen to your stuff. Plus the insurance
Exactly. I'd definitely pay more in shipping to know my one piece stickbow was properly tubed.
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I got a Sentman bow in the mail from USPS like that. When the person behind the counter handed it to me, I said, wait a minute until I get this out of the box. Had about 15 people behind me in line. I took it from the box, broken, and told him I wanted to see the post master and file a complaint. All of the people were witness to this and I told the post master this. Got my money back in about 6 weeks. The sender had to file all paper work and then they paid him and he paid me.
I will not ship any bow in anything except schedule 40 PVC.
Guns go in hard case with cardboard over that so most will not know what it is.
Sorry about your bow.
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Hey freeman, I did the same job while I was in college. After working for United Postal Service (UPS) in the sort facility. I will never ship anything UPS ever, period. The way that things get handled is unbelievable. We had lots of guys that would bust boxes open just to see what was inside. If it was something good it would go home with them. Im suprised if I get somethng from UPS in one piece.
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Yes, UPS insurance on packages is really a fraud! They NEVER pay up when they destroy a package! Their line is "If we broke it, then by definition it wasn't packaged adequately, so it's your fault!" This has not only been my personal experience but that of many people I know.
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Well, I got the form filled out. Pretty painless. There are some good things about living in a small town.
I hope Craig gets paid quickly.
I sill pine for the bow.
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Sounds like everyone's got a horror story. I had a very bad experience with Fed Ex Ground (which is a subcontractor of Fed Ex). Shipped three large boxes (insured) and all three were badly damaged. One box had tire tracks on it!!! The receiver declined to accept two of the boxes and Fed Ex (supposedly) repacked them and sent them back to me. One, received further damage on the way back to me. The other one, the most valuable, was "lost" in transit. Fed Ex Ground balked at paying for the loss, so I filed a suit in small claims court. They settled before we went to court. It's gotten to where I hate to ship anything.
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Just another option. I have used a used carpet roll to ship bows. Try going to a furniture/carpet store and ask for a section of a used carpet roll. They are a very thick and sturdy cardboard and usually free. They make a great shipping tube. Brokenwing
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Ouch! That hurts! Specially when you are just waiting to get your hands on a new bow. You have my sympathies.
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i bought one bow and the sender got some of that blue foam and cut to shape the bow into the foam and then wrapped with extra heavy cardboard. bow recieved in great condition. also it was maked "fragile"
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Had an insured bow broken 13 months ago by the USPS. Filed all the insurance papers, did everything they asked and nothing. Just a complete farce and a waste of my time. Don't ship anything by them!
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That really sucks,, Its like Christmas being canceled. Did you order the exact bow from Craig? What are the details,, I'm sure you will get the next one intact,, All the best ,,Frank
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My deepest sympathies Mr. Nail. I would have cried like a little girl if that would have happened to me.
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I haven't lost one yet but very close with U.P.S. The card board box was broken an third down from the end, all the way around!!! I closed my eyes and opened it.. The bow was fine.. I now us U.S.P.S. PVC tube is best, however i have found that the triangular shipping boxes from the post office are very very strong due to their shape... I will get 2 of them and duct tape them together for the length of bow I'm sending. That means that you have twice as much card board for part of the bow. I bubble wrap or foam the bow and tape the hell out of it.... It is very very strong due to the triangular configuration.. I've never had a problem with these and use them now in place of PVC as they cost nothing.... Jim
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Do what I do. I send a bow inside an osage stave. Never had one broken in shipping. The assembly is a little tougher is all.
That bites, John. I was thinking USPS did better than the rest but I guess they all have their moments.
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The worst damage I've ever had on a bow was when it was shipped in a tube. The sharp end of the Don Brown longbow speared right through the end of the tube destroying the tip.
I use USPS Priority mail triangular long packages glued and taped together. The bow tips are protected with leather or folded over socks. I just shipped a Doug Duncan with a spear tip and used a complete pair of thick socks on the spear tip. Additionally, I cut the boxes so the bow exactly fits lengthwise, the put enough bubble wrap around the riser that it is hard to get in the box. These two processes suspends the bow so it can't be jarred up and down if dropped on its end. The whole bow is also covered with packing paper or bubble wrap.
I've shipped a bunch of bows this way and never had a problem. I do always insure just in case. I also have a theory that postal employees take better care of insured mail.
Dave in Ft. Collins, CO
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John that stinks, all the anticipation and then the letdown. It will work out in the end. I have another coming one of these days i hope that arrives in one piece.
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John, I really feel for you. Your pictures were't available when I accesssed. I wonder if you would be kind enough to send them to me direct. I'd like to add them to the section on bow shipping on the HH Shooters web site... as a warning to always, always insure.
my direct email address is: [email protected]
I lost a bow to the PO last year. I was the shipper. fortunately, I had excellent help from the recipient and between us, I eventually did collect the insurance.
My suggestion: Pay to send an empty pvc tube to the builder, and include extra for the bow to be shipped back in it. Those tubes are tough.
Dick in Seattle
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I've also had a bow trashed by the postal service. After the first month, I called every day to find out the "status" of my insurance claim. They got tired of my calls after 2 weeks and sent me a check. This is at a small town post office, a big city post office would be even worse I would guess. Don't give up, keep hassling them until you get results.
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I have shipped and received more bows than I can count, and in some cases even PVC was not enough. In one case I sent two bows to John Strunk in a PVC tube, and when it arrived at his house about 12" of one end was missing. I have also received bows with 5" or 6" of the limb sticking out the end cap. I sent a bow to JD Jones once and the entire mid section of the tube was shattered. PVC is brittle, unless we are talking about a 2" 40, but that would have to be a very straight bow.
Heavy cardboard tubes, like carpet tubes, with wadded paper at the ends has never failed to hold up.
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If you read Hummingbirds web site they will only use Fed Ex. They have a picture of a bow trashed by ups and UPS would not honor the insurance.
Hacksaw
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Thats bad..
i have had things come through the post smashed to pieces before... =(
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I shipped a trial run longbow back to a bowyer from the old Wall gang several years ago. The end of the PVC tube was run over by a forklift. The funniest thing was that they tried to just deliver it as is. UPS did pay the claim with no problems.
I always buy the insurance.
Dan
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Dang, I that stinks,PVC container is the way to send them ...about 21.00 bucks to send a 4inch dia. pvc tube with caps by US mail...plus the cost of the pvc...mark