Gettin' screwed over

beginner #1 · Regular Member Joined: 07 Jan 2002 Posts: 62

Just a few days ago, I sent an e-mail to a dealer again asking him if he wanted to trade horns. (My Stomvi for a Benge.) He said as soon as he recieves it that he would send out the Benge. Now what I don't understand is why he said he sent it out today and he e-mailed me the tracking # and the website (UPS.COM) said that they had no info on the tracking #. Does anybody think I got screwed?

Quadruple C · Heavyweight Member Joined: 28 Nov 2001 Posts: 1448

[ This Message was edited by: Quadruple C on 2003-12-18 13:48 ]

trumpet2k3 · Regular Member Joined: 30 Jan 2002 Posts: 11

trumpet2k3 · Regular Member Joined: 30 Jan 2002 Posts: 11

Yeah, as a CRONIC eBay seller/buyer....it's been my experience that UPS in particular takes their time when entering tracking info into their database. Just wait a day or two, and keep records off all correspondance.

SHS_Trumpet · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2002 6:59 pm Post subject:

Yeah that messed me up when i started selling on ebay
_________________
Andrew Fowler
MYNWA
"90% of trumpet music is below high C"

vivace · Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2002 6:07 am Post subject:

how about this...

i ordered the silent brass 2 years ago (didn't like it, sold it... long story)

anyhoo, i was waiting and waiting, and the ups site said that it would be coming today. 5pm passed. I checked the site ... no such address, package in some holding site. Turns out that the company heard my address wrong ( i live on Thunder Rd.) The lady on the telly thought I said Funder rd. She didn't ask me to spell the street or anything. so I finally got it 2 days after the late, original date.

not the only time. I ordered a black suit from a mail order company. It was a suit separates deal, and the lady put in brown pants with a black jacket. just one word, DUH! who wants a brown pair of pants with a black suit?

so don't feel bad, it should come, as long as the address is correct.
_________________
"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard no horse sing no song." - Louis Armstrong

_Japle · Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2002 4:13 pm Post subject:

UPs has spent a lot of money on their tracking system, but their employees very often don't scan packages into the damn data base.
I've lost count of the times the UPS website said my package was still 600 miles away when the guy was unloading it off the truck at my feet.
This, plus the frequent damage to our computer systems, is one of the reasons my company no longer uses them for shipping.
John

Blumood · Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2002 5:06 pm Post subject:

Good afternoon folks,

I've found that UPS seems to enter their tracking info into those handheld gizmos, then at the end of the shift it must be downloaded to the Big Computer. That's why the packages don't show up right away. I've had some harrowing experiences with those brown truck drivin' folks, but nothing like I had with Airborne. A package was over due by a day or so, and on the day they delivered I get this phone call from Airborne HQ telling me I had an impossible address to find, that the driver couldn't locate me, and that I'd probably have to make a trip to the airport to get the box. The funny thing is this, I told the guy to have his driver turn his head 90-degrees to the left and he would see me waving at him! The guy was in my driveway behind my house and couldn't find me!
Oh, well. All biz with them was cancelled, and now I only use the folks outta Memphis.

Best wishes to all.
Blumood

trumpetguy99 · Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2002 7:22 pm Post subject:

I too have found that UPS takes a day or two to enter tracking numbers. A word of warning, my roommate worked for UPS, and I've heard lots of stories about people walking on packages, packages breaking open when dropped, and even people getting mad and spiking packages into the ground. BUT every horn that has been sent to me via UPS came in perfect working order. Just be sure to use lots of packing peanuts/bubble wrap .... what ever works.

Cozy · Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 6:35 am Post subject:

tptguy said: Just be sure to use lots of packing peanuts/bubble wrap .... what ever works.

Great point. Stuff the box with styrofoam/bubble wrap (leadpipe and bell!). Doesn't add much to the cost, but helps big time. Seal the box before you step out into Mother Nature. Packing peanuts have a mind of their own...so I've heard. Wouldn't know myself, of course.
I've had great success with UPS and USPS. I usually use UPS. Personally, I guess I'm trusting, too busy to check Tracking #s, so I don't have many Tracking # snafus.
Be sure addresses are absolutely correct. When a guy gave me the wrong zip for his music store, the UPS 'puter refused to print the label. Had to guess from UPS's list -- Whew! Worked.
btw, UPS likes a ph. no. for both parties, just in case. It's up to you to decide if you are willing to share it with some guy out in cyberspace.

Cozy
http://www.cozychops.com

_Don Herman · Posted: Thu Feb 28, 2002 6:45 am Post subject:

FWIW. Consumers Union (a consumer advocacy group) sent a number of packages around the country at Christmas time a few years ago to test handling. They mounted sensors on the boxes to judge how well (or, poorly) they were handled. The best was USPS, followed by UPS 3-day, then Fed-Ex. The faster something was shipped, the worse it was handled -- 1 day was by far the worst in all cases, though again the USPS was on top. In fact, for all cases, the USPS was well above the other guys. Takes a day or two longer, but much better care.

Wayne Tanabe (Brass Bow) published on TPIN a while back very detailed directions on how to pack your horn for shipping (he uses USP, FWIW). Clean dry horn, tightly bubble-wrapped, with several inches of styrofoam peanuts on all sides is what I remember. Loose parts cushioned in a separate bag, near the horn (perhaps taped to the outside of the bubble wrap), and all slides/moveable pieces tied down. N.B. Do NOT use rubber bands or tape! There are chemicals in them which will permanently damage a silver finish!

HTH - Don
_________________
Don Herman/Monument, CO
"After silence, that which best expresses the inexpressible, is music." - Aldous Huxley