FedEx shipment exception

According to a buddy who works at FedEx, the "fragile" sticker is considered a challenge by some warehouse employees...

 

Yeah, I've been reading that is NOT a thing to do to keep your package safe. So I won't be doing this.

 

I reused a box that had “fragile” written on it in sharpie. It was one of the very few times the FedEx employee asked me what’s in the box. He said “Oh! Fragile huh? What are we shipping that’s fragile?”

 

I've done the same thing and heard the same thing from the employee. I skirt the question by telling them "I'm just reusing the box." That was the end of the questions

 

I use UPS ("United Parcel Smashers") and have never had an issue. I have found they are less expensive by about 10% and when packaged well it gets there safely.

 

You may be the first person I have seen mention UPS as less expensive =P

 

In nearly 100 trades on this an another site, I've only had problems when the box had a "fragile" sticker on it.

 

Just had an exception on a package shipping from colorado to me in Cali and the box must have made it most of the way to me when i got the dreaded exception. I called and they said it couldn't be delivered and would be shipped back to the sender (despite it being a label from my account) and that the sender would have to contact for a refund. Any chance it actually gets shipped back to sender? It was all cans (a 4 pack of them which was fruited) so I'm guessing one either got punctured or exploded and leaked everywhere. I don't care about losing a couple, just don't want all 4x 4-packs to be lost to the shipping Gods.

Should I just wait and see how it works out? Probably would be til later this week for the package to get back to CO if they're actually send it back.

 

Never had trouble using fragile stickers. I have had maybe 2 bottles/cans bust in transit but that was on larger boxes (~40 lb) and lucked out with no external leakage signs. No issues on smaller boxes.

I typically utilize baggies, bubble wrap, and a newspaper wrap around those. I use a lot of newspaper as filler as well. I reinforce the insides of the box with more cardboard or empty plastic bottles to provide resistance to crishing. When I am done, I shake it to see if anything moves and repack if it does.

 

Wanted to add something - not sure where, so here it will go:

I mentioned (in one of these threads) sometime last year that my local shop mentioned that FedEx/UPS tells them to get suspicious around the time of beer competitions because of home-brewers sending in their entries. Today when I dropped off a package, which was a gift and not a trade (not even related to the BA community), it was definitely audibly "sloshing." She said "ohh no." And I proceeded to tell her that it was a box of marinades for a guy's wedding. Which is half true. The half being that this is a wedding present. The marinades part - not so much.

I've shipped to this guy before - last year at Christmas for "Marinades" - as a thank you/present relating to our business. So, it's not implausible. Anyway, to the point:

She indicated that one of the carriers told her (and is telling others) that the festivals have instructed people to tell shipping locations that they are "shipping marinades and/or Olive Oil".

My package should begin to move in the next 60 minutes, so I should know if anything hokey goes on. I have a good relationship with them, but if not I would be concerned at this location.

 

Just have the FedEx person pick it up. Drivers don't care/can't hear/are too busy to worry about a little sloshing.

 

In this case - I have to go in because I need a bill of sale for expenses. My fedex account gets charged only once a month, and in the past it was a problem trying to turn in expenses this way.

I also live out and away. As I recall, I have to pay for a pickup ($2?). We don't even have a FedEx location. This is just a mom-and-pop shop that does everything.

 

$2 for a pick up is a steal. In CA as I recall its $5 and it has to be 2 day Express shipping or overnight.

 

Speaking of sloshing I cannot stress the peace of mind packing bottles upright with a simple arrow indicating which side should face up does. Even if it's not the most ideal way of getting the most bottles packing in a small surface area, think about the distribution of glass in bottles. The most dense region is the bottom for good reason. You pack on the side your chances of breaks go up so much regardless of how good of a bubble wrap job you do.

 

I agree but at the same time I've seen stories where place know those tall boxes are bottle boxes and have refused people.

 

It very well could be that here as well. I may be confusing the Amazon UPS pickup service for returns.

 

No Amazon locker?

 

Not here. Even if so, it'd be easier in most cases (that I've seen) to drop off via UPS. More UPS locations than Amazon kiosks. It was convenient when it existed in the same complex that I existed, though.

 

So if you have a delivery exception, do you get refunded the money you paid shipping? The damage was, in part, caused by them.

IOW I paid them $30 to ship stuff across the country, damage it, and then send the rest back to me? Do I now need to pay AGAIN to ship the same stuff once I get it an repackage?

What about insurance?

 

Yes, you will have to pay again. They will tell you that since you were shipping beer, that you are out of luck. Filing a claim for the amount damaged will also be a complete waste of time.

On a semi-related note: I was involved in a recent trade where the guy from the other side of the county wanted to expand to “make shipping across the country worth it”. Despite being perfectly happy with our agreed to 1:1 trade, my commercial grade single bottle shipper would have been cheap to send. So I packed the stuff well for it’s long journey, and shipping such a large box cost me $50 to get a bunch of extras I didn’t really want. His box showed up and I was shocked how poorly packed it was. I was there once, just kept getting lucky with poor packing jobs... eventually everyone’s luck runs out.