Fed Ex disapointment. Damaged shotgun.

[Evil_Ed]

I bought a used Rossi double barrel coachgun (20 gauge) from an outfit in Texas recently. It was shipped via Fed Ex to my local FFL and when he and I opened the box we found that Fed Ex had slammed it around a bit and busted a chunk out of the stock. The piece broken off is against the buttpad on the bottom corner of the stock. So much for the "Near Mint" NRA rating the gun USED to have.
I am more than a little angry about the damage to my new gun. I contacted the seller and they are filing a claim with Fed Ex, I'll keep you updated on what is going on as I get new information.

Anyone else have a shipper beat up their guns? I heard one story about a UPS long gun shipment where the gun got run over by a truck and then beat with a ball peen hammer by an anti-gunner working for the company.

 

[Highland Ranger]

Malicious damage aside, shippers can be depended on to beat the crap out of any shipment.

Had a problem with Midway regarding a shipment damged by UPS - I argued that had they packed it right, there wouldn't have been a problem.

They essentially packed Optics and other damageables in the same box with ammo (heavy) without anything buffering one from the other.

Midway agreed and finally replaced the whole order including taking back a bunch of ammo which they don't normally do.

So, it could be argued that whoever shipped you the firearm should have been more careful and packed it better.

 

[Preacherman]

I've had much better results from FedEx than from UPS, but even FedEx screwed up big time on one shipment. I was sorting out the estate of a friend who died last year, and sent back to her father a sporterized Krag-Jorgensen carbine and a Browning 20ga. semi-auto shotgun. When they arrived, both were broken at the stock. I still don't know how they managed to do that, but FedEx were up front about accepting responsibility. They shipped both guns back to my gunsmith, and paid something over $500 to buy new stocks for both guns and have him fit them, and then ship them back to her father. I have to give them credit for taking responsibility and paying for the damage.

I did learn from the experience. When I ship long guns now, they're either double-boxed, or packed with styrofoam chips or something else surrounding them in the box, to prevent movement and absorb impacts from outside. This has been good enough - so far...

 

[wingman]

Once received a computer shipped with ups(two boxes) both were beat so bad
parts fell out as driver set boxes on porch, without pictures its hard to explain
how bad this looked, driver waited while I did a quick check and nothing was broken, the shipping gods were with me.

Having some experience with shipping companies, I will give this advice, if it can
be broke they will do it, so pack it twice what you think is necessary.
Good help is hard to find.

 

[Evil_Ed]

I HAVE seen better packing jobs than the one the dealer did on this shotgun. However, it had bubble wrap around the buttstock that should have been enough to keep the injury from happening. It looks like the pakage fell out of a truck onto the concrete below on the end of the box that the stock was against. There is a nice crease in the box right where the stock was. I'm just really unhappy that I can't go shoot my gun this weekend and have to wait possibly weeks before I can use it at the range. It's been 10 years since the last Rossi I had got stolen and I was really happy to find one in near mint condition.

 

[Russ]

Any shipper can screw things up. Doesn't happen all that often given the volume that Fed Ex, UPS and other ship.

Its too bad your gun was damaged and I hope they made it right for you.

Whenever I hear about these things, and a few have happened to me in the past, I recall the Samsonite commercial where someone checks their bags at the airport and as soon as it goes out of sight on the conveyor belt, this giganitic Gorilla does his very best to trash the luggage.

A very humerous take on things that really happen now and again.

Fed Ex should make you whole. Let us know if they don't.

 

[lee n. field]

I have to give them credit for taking responsibility and paying for the damage.

Which UPS will very often not do. We had them bang up a $7K server last year. Fully insured. Original Compaq box (very good packaging). UPS would admit to nothing, and pay off nothing. <ssssssssss>.

 

[c_yeager]

I won't ship anything valuable without at LEAST a double box with packaging between the two and around the product in the inner box. Of course i don't ship very much stuff and i am not in the buisiness of shipping things so i don't have a profit margin to worry about.

I used to load trucks for UPS and let me tell you. If your product makes it to its destination damaged or not it is nothing but luck. Those packages go through hell on their way to wherever they are going and it isnt necessarily any one person's fault. Things can and do happen just by accident. I had to load two full truck trailors with tiny little packages in a VERY limited time with a conveyor bringing more at a fixed rate. If i didnt keep up the whole line got backed up and EVERYONE was pissed. Even if someone WANTED to mess up a package they wouldnt be able to do so.

On a side note you would not believe some of the poor packaging perpetrated by people who should really know better. Amazon.com seemed to have some of the best (this is when they still shipped from Seattle) those little boxes are tough and the little inflatable bags and popcorn do a good job. On the other hand God help you if you bought anything from Starbucks (at least during that time) or were one of their franchises waiting for equipment from HQ. You dont know "fun" untill you pick up a 50LB box and have a commercial espresso machine fall out the bottom onto your toe and clatter down off the end of a loading dock.

 

[EvilOmega]

A couple of years ago my dad ordered a custom left-handed flintlock rifle. Took a couple of months for the guy to build it. When he got it the stock was broken clean through right at the wrist, was the only damage on the whole box. Seems the gunsmith was having a problem with almost all of his packages being broken in a similar manner, seems like an anti at the shipping company was busten’ um. I can’t remember the company (it was either FedEx or UPS) I’ll ask my dad and post his answer.

If you are going to ship a gun take some advice.
1. Give the firearm a good oiling/greasing (help protect it from moisture)
2. Wrap the gun in plastic, butt to muzzle (again, protect it from moisture)
3. Build yourself a wood frame using four pieces of lumber nailed together at but joints to form a rectangle. (adds a little to the weight but adds greatly to the strength, durability and rigidity of the package)
4. Use a generous amount of packing material, recommend a couple of layers of bubble wrap, try to make it so the firearm is snuggly held in its box. (prevents it from bouncing around in its frame and protects it from dings from the side)
5. Put as few as possible labels that would identify it as a gun. (lessens the chance of an anti/thief possibly f***ing with/stealing it)
6. Insure it or check the shipper policy on item damage and replacement (the worst dose still happen from time to time)
7. Encourage anyone shipping a gun to you to do the same.

Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Kodiak AK]

Fed Ex and UPS will almost always tell you to get bent when they damage something . Actualy what they will say is "The item was improperly packaged ."

I buy alot of guitars over the internet . I recieved one from Muscians Friend double boxed with packing peanuts in it to boot , and they still managed to snap the neck . Thankfully MF took it back , and I got another one that worked out ok .

 

[Red Label]

I must be very fortunate. I sell a few things on ebay and ship by UPS. I have never had a complaint from a buyer about damage but I am also very careful about packing it. I make sure you can drop it or even kick it and it will be OK. Of course the first time I ship one of my guns will probably be the one time I have trouble

 

[Chip Dixon]

I know first hand how UPS/FedEx ship and handle their packages. They are shipped common carrier, and the boxes are stacked from the front of the truck to the back, floor to ceiling. You have a 75% chance of the package having atleast a few hundred pounds (if not close to a thousand) on top of it during shipment. Any packages over 5 feet are sent down a ramp along with other long or overweight packages. So those packages get even more weight stacked on them. Packages often get caught on conveyors and crushed as a result. The pace that the unloaders are made to work at makes gentle package handling impossible. If you are going to send anything via UPS/FedEx, make sure you can jump on the package, throw it off a 8 foot ledge onto a concrete floor, and kick the hell out of it without it being damaged. Otherwise, you're taking your chances. Also, make sure it is taped up hardcore. Smashed packages can lose their tape, and then what is in the box is vulnerable, no matter how well you packed it. One piece of tape across the top is asking for damage. Conveyor belt jams can rip off single pieces of tape that are in the wrong place in a second. To ship a firearm safely, you'd have to wrap it in a few layers of bubble wrap, pack that tightly with filler material into a box, and then overwrap that box with another box about 6" larger on each side, with the inside box suspended from the outside box with tightly packed peants, or preferable bubble or airpacks. Both boxes should be taped up heavily, and labeled to their destination individually. That way, if the outside box becomes damaged heavily, and the overpack falls apart, your box will still get to its destination safely (and not get tossed into the "we don't know where this is supposed to go" pile) and not have to be repacked by people who don't care and just want to get off their shift ASAP.

I've seen Springfield Armory M1s sticking out of the end of their broken shipping cartons at UPS having their muzzles slammed into concrete, and scraping along ramps. It makes me cringe. If you're going to ship something that costs that much, spend the extra $5 to make sure it gets there safely. I'm sure something like this happened to your stock. The unloaders are often too lazy, or pressed at too fast of a pace to tape up broken boxes as they unload them. They'll just send them down the conveyor or ramp as-is and let someone else take care of it. That adds lots of opportunity for more damage. If the end of the box gets smashed and broken, you can bet the end of the gun is going to stick out. If it was overpacked, all that would happen is some peanuts or other packing material might poke out, not the vulnerable ends of the gun.

Of course, when stuff is being shipped to you, it's up to the shipper to take this into account. Good luck there, 60% of the boxes I've seen go through UPS were obviously packed by people who have no idea what the package has in store for it.(one strip of "security tape" for each side of the box)

 

[rayra]

I've sold and shipped a lot of items, via auctions and a couple hobbies. I always wrap the items to protect their finish, use packaging that is a few inches larger than the object in all dimensions, make sure the object is NOT against any corners or sides of the packaging, and STUFF it with (biodegradeable) packing peanuts. Have NEVER had a complaint of damage, although a few boxes have been horribly mistreated.

It's a shame your shotgun was damaged, and irregardless of the bubble wrap (c'mon, a couple layers of bubble-wrap vs the vertical load of several pounds of steel and wood??), OR the shipping co's wanton abuse - the piece should have been packaged in a manner to conteract the very end-strike you describe.