Hot Rods Damaged Strombergs FYI

Sent newly rebuilt 97's to my son in Calif. Carbs were tightly wrapped in foam. Made the mistake of using USPS. Despite the $500 insurance this is how the box arrived. Looks like it was literally thrown off the truck! Needless to say the carbs suffered damage. Made an insurance claim, sent pictures, my son took box to post office and three appeals later, claim was denied three times. Guess my fault, I used the wrong carrier. Lesson learned.

 

I sent three 97's to @uncle max along with freshly chromed bodies, he received them, swapped bodies and returned them in perfect condition. UPS. It cost me $100 to ship them but it was worth it apparently. Don't give up on that claim.

 

I've learned the hard way that if an item you're shipping won't hold up to that kind of damage, then it's not packaged well enough. Doesn't matter what carrier. They all get thrown, shifted, stuff stacked on top, etc.

One tip I've heard is if something is really delicate or you're worried about damage, go buy a cheapie cooler and package your item inside of that, then slide it into a cardboard box. Bonus if the cooler comes with a box. Those coolers can take insane amounts of abuse without breaking.

 

A guy I work with used to work for UPS. He said they found the fastest way to load a semi trailer was to build a wall 6 feet from the front of the trailer with packages. Then literally throw the remaining. packages over the wall till they were as high as the wall , then repeat.

 

I'm a former mail carrier. That looks, to my eye, like an insufficient packing job. Heavy metal objects with sharp edges in a cardboard box usually spell trouble. Was each carb wrapped individually with bubble wrap? Was the excess space packed tightly with packing material to not allow movement of the parts? Using another box, or heavy cardboard inside of the priority box is always a good idea. Just remember the number of parcels going through the P.O. these days is staggering. Amazon has turned the Mail service into a Parcel service. And the current Postmaster General is actively trying to run it into the ground so he & his rich cronies can privatize delivery to put even more money in their pockets. It's going to go away, and you'll be sorry when the prices increase & the service gets worse.

 

The standard is can it take a fall from a loading dock height to hard concrete. I've seen plenty even worse. When it goes through multiple stations and loading/unloading, each of which is all about getting more through with less time and people, this is the result.
Package you delicates the way you see stuff you've bought. Plastic bag, followed by right stuff foam (or true packing expanding foam) with at least a half inch of foam outward. This formed to a box, and if the item is fragile and heavy (carbs), this box is surrounded by another box (minimum 2 inch between sides) with pellets in between. Yes, that's going to raise the cost.

Instapack is the brand
https://www.sealedair.com/products/protective-equipment/foam-systems/instapak-quick

 

I’ve had stuff come to me in similar condition from all of the major shippers. My experience, in my area, worst to best: OnTrac, FedEx, UPS, and USPS. There is always a chance that your package will be mishandled, no matter who you choose so pack accordingly.

 

Live and learn

 

Dang it that sucks . Keep after them , you paid extra for insurance. They need to be held accountable. A friend of mine sent the transmission out of his ot mustang to a rebuilder in Dallas. It disappeared. He kept calling and calling going up the chain of command until his transmission was found. It was setting in a corner of a warehouse. He thinks someone was going to slide it out the door and resale it .

 

@hotrodrhp What kind of damage on the carbs?

 

Some places will sell you insurance,
but you are not covered if they didn't pack it.
It is a money grab.

 

One trick I learned (the hard way) is to buy PVC stormwater pipe from the big box hardware store, including the end caps. Pack the item in foam/bubble wrap, then slide into the PVC pipe. Cut to length, put the caps on and use lots of clear packing tape to secure the ends. It is VERY hard to crush PVC stormwater pipe. As long as the stuff can't rattle around, it will likely survive a courier's abuse. I used this technique to ship all the chrome for my FED.

PVC is more expensive than a cardboard box, but cheaper than busted parts. Hard to get a transmission into PVC pipe, but the bigger bore stuff (6"-8") can do most of the stuff I ship.

Cheers,
Harv

 

Amen!

 

UPS is no better. My wife kept after a lost package claim against them for about 6 months before giving up. They just kept up a run-around game. What pisses me off is that at some point these "lost" packages wind up in a "surplus" sale, and they keep the coin! As previously stated, the current Postmaster General has an agenda that will doom the USPS!

 

I send hundreds of parcels with antiques every year, even to Japan and China and never had a problem.
I have 3 rules when packing:
1. use a strong cardboard box.
2. wrap everything in bubble wrap. That keeps the stuff protected even when the box gets wet.
3. use paper from newspapers as a filler. It makes the parcel really sturdy and even heavy parts won't move. it also is a good damper when the parcel gets thrown around. I never use foam.
You can get old paper for free and it's better for the environment than foam (if that's an issue).

 

99 times out of 100 damage comes from poor packaging. on my first ebay "business" 15 years ago I shipped 2500 packages using mostly USPS and only had one damaged. it was a 3 foot long piece of chrome trim and I should have used a mailing tube but shipped it in a long box.
in my current round of ebay I have shipped 428 packages over the last year and all arrived just fine. I sell bicycle parts on a bicycle forum, (the CABE) probably 150 shipped over the last few years and all good there as well.
99% of my shipments are in boxes and packing materials I have scrounged from wherever I can find them.

at my old job of 15 years I shipped anywhere from 1 to 6 or 7 every day via UPS and nothing ever got damaged.

 

I worked for a Harley dealer in Texas for 18 years and EVERY claim(didn’t matter what carrier was being used) was ALWAYS denied because of “insufficient packaging” no matter how beat up or tattered the box arrived. Only “won” 1 claim out of many when a painted gas tank for a Harley arrived with numerous dents and gouges arrived and it was very evident it was handled with very little care.Many packages are dropped,thrown,kicked,etc because nobody who works for the shippers really cares/they justwork quickly and fast to get the job done/nobody really cares!!!

 

UPS set my $2500 lathe chuck in the snow by the mailbox this winter. It sat out all day and night before I got an email that it was delivered. Lucky for me it wasn't damaged.

 

The few times I’ve shipped something of value through the USPS, I was forewarned about claims.
So I’d go to the counter with the flaps opened, ask if it was packaged correctly for damage.
I always figured it it was damaged, I could go back to that clerk and say “remember me” ? Never had to though. Unsure of how an outcome would be.

 

Well wtf is the insurance for then? Don't give up. Continue the good fight.

 

I ship a lot of carburetors through U.S.P.S. with very few problems. I won't ship multiple carburetors in one box, though. I also wad packaging around the carburetor until the box can't handle any more, and tape the hell out of it.

 

I'll never use the USPS to ship anything. It's always the customers fault, always. Good luck with the claim.

Larry

 

I had the carbs wrapped in multiple layers of bubble wrap and the box voids filled with foam "peanuts. " I should have lined the box with carbon graphite panels. Next time I'll wrap items in plastic baggies and fill the box with spray foam. lol
My son received damaged parts sent through UPS got reimbursed 100% So some carriers are better than others. Just saying

 

So, how is that you pay for insurance, and have a claim denied when you have proof of damage?

A few months ago I shipped a T5 tail hsg and fork rod to a fellow HAMBER. Stuff was worth only $50, but I double boxed it, and added a few layers of cardboard on top and bottom of the box, then made a piece with a hole in it that fit the end of the tail hsg to keep it from moving. IIRC I used UPS, and it arrived unscathed.

 

Go 'Postal' on 'em!!

 

They are all bad, but my worst experience was with Fedex who "lost" a set of fresh "Triple Nickel" early hemi heads. After going around and around with them, they sent me ONE SBC "smogger" head and called it good. USPS was able to break a cast iron Merc water pump pulley for me, but they handled the rejection of my claim with a little more panache'.

 

I bought a set of fuel tanks from a guy in CA several years ago . I received the tanks and there was a hole in the box , one fuel tank had a definite forklift fork dent in it . The seller offered to replace the tank but needed them back . I cut a wooden pallet in half , bolted the tanks to a piece of plywood and then built a box around them . He got the tanks , replaced the damaged tank and shipped them back to me in the wooden box . When I received the box shipped by the brown truck again it looked like it had been used in a game of parking lot hokey . The fuel tanks were ok

 

@hotrodrhp Packing "peanuts" shift, and let your parts shift. The heavy parts will go to the bottom of the box, bang together & the outside of the box. I'm not sticking up for the USPS, just giving you firsthand knowledge from 30 years of work. Double box & pack it tight w/ Styrofoam, old newspapers, etc. Write the address on the inside box, as well as the outside box. Use correct packing tape to seal the boxes. Not electrical tape, masking tape, first aid tape, etc. I've seen it all.

 

I will second Ipickup on packing peanuts. For anything that isn't light or like a box packed inside a box packing peanuts are junk, especially if the box has been compromised and the shape has changed from it's original. Doesn't excuse the crap shipping but unfortunately you have to package items for that these days.