Hot Rods Damaged Strombergs FYI

Sorry, but cramming three Strombergs in a medium flat rate box...destined to fail. Sometimes it pays to upgrade.

 

I sent, something, by UPS one time. As I am doing the paperwork, the truck shows up.
The driver was throwing the boxes on the truck. Not just tossing. The only thing surprising,
is that more stuff doesn't get destroyed.

 

Some things are sure.
USPS will lose stuff.
UPS stuff If Damaged will be Hard to collect on.

 

A friend in Detroit, would get boxes delivered by USPS. And every box ALWAYS had hole
in one corner, big enough to fit your hand in. Sometimes, some of the contents were missing.
Enough people complained, got a new mail carrier, problem stopped. Interesting coincidence.

 

I've been shipping parts for years. Seldomly have an issue. For anything expensive, I don't use USPS. Their insurance as you found out is worthless. I used FedEx for many years exclusively...but now sometimes UPS depending on the rate. You reinforce the box internally, pack the hell out of it...and use thick folded cardboard dividers between parts and things that stick out..like a throttle arm on a carb to the edge of the box. I've been turned onto newsprint. It's cheap..30 lbs of newsprint will last a long time. You just keep wadding it up and sticking it in the voids. Probably add another cardboard piece the size of the whole box, on top of the whole works. Then close the flaps and tape her up. That's how I do it. Remember though, no matter how well you box it up..its not going to stand up to a forklift blade or a pos employee.

If you indeed had 3 carbs in that medium flat rate box...I think that was pushing it. I'd like to know how you made them fit frankly...those boxes are not big at all.

 

I have a giant bag of packing peanuts. I put them in zip lock bags so they are like a small pillow and only use them for light weight items. I sell a lot of bike parts most are under 1 pound.

I'd say the peanuts were the problem.

 

I figure insurance is only good if the package is lost entirely. Hard for them to turn down a claim if they lost the package and had nothing to deliver. I've only had a few things ever get damaged in shipping over thousands of shipments and I've never successfully won a claim over damages.

I get carpet "core" tubes from flooring installers which are great for shipping long moldings in, they're very hard to bend and free is better than buying PVC pipe every time you need to ship something long, although PVC does work really well.

 

shipped over 2500 items USPS only had 2 damaged they paid for both one was a cast iron skillet it looked like it had been run over with a steam roller most pieces smaller than a marble.1 lost but probably delivered just not marked as so.

 

Next time any of you package something, here's a simple test as to whether the packaging is secure. Take the finished package out to your garage, hold it in front of you and turn it on its side. Now ask yourself: Are I willing to drop it? If not, it probably isn't packaged correctly.

 

Sorry that happened.

Years ago, I almost couldn't believe it when I heard that packages literally get thrown.
But it's the reality.
So I always package parts assuming they're going to get flung...
... from an airplane.

 

Yup- peanuts are worthless unless- newspaper is cheap and will wad up tightly around even heavy parts. The crate in a box concept is always the best approach-

 

Everyone just quit using peanuts. They don't work. They make a mess. Even throwing them out is a mess.
I usually wrap each item with layers of bubbles then fasten them together. Then wrap that.
I have shipped all sizes and everywhere annd every shipper and never had an issue. It's not the USPS it's the packing.

also was it two carbs or three? I would think 2 is just over 500.00 value right?

 

If you REALLY want stuff lost or broken, ship something right around Christmas. I avoid shipping anything about three weeks before, and two weeks after. That said, I typically over-pack everything. Rigid Styrofoam is your friend. On anything "high-risk", I take pic's of everything before I seal up the box, just in case.

 

I have shipped over 200 Stromberg carburetors with no damage. I ship only 2 carburetors in a large flat rate box. The extra cost of the larger box is minimal to the grief and aggravation you get from damaged parts. I use wadded up newspapers. They work fine, and are free. The last 3 boxes That I got in the mail look like they were in a battle zone. The last box that I shipped to a good customer told me that the box was almost totally destroyed, but the 2 carburetors were fine.