Trade gone wrong!!

You think to much.

 

Can we ask what the main bottles you were looking for?

 

Don't take a step back from trading after this experience as this most likely could've been prevented and we can't afford to lose another trader. If you need anything from NE I can most likely help you out eventually.

 

Twice in a row to the same destination just seems highly irregular to me, even if UPS sucks (and they do). That second box should have been bomb proof, sound proof, tamper proof, etc. Unless you have a driver that has it out for you that is inspecting your boxes out of spite, which is highly unlikely as most of them just want to get from one delivery to the next as fast as possible.

It might be worth ordering something innocuous requiring UPS delivery and seeing what happens. Although that's not going to help in this trade.

In this case, have you contacted UPS and/or created a claim or ticket? Sometimes they still have the box. I've been put through the wringer with logistics companies once or twice. One time it took a few weeks and they had my box the whole time and I wasn't about to let them keep it. Another time they repackaged a ton of beer in a garbage bag and handed it over even though the main bottle was shattered and soaked everything inside in stout. Even though you feel like you don't want to get "caught", there's no penalty from UPS, and unless they stand firm on not allowing you to ship whatever they think is inside, you need to stand your ground that you want your shipment. It may not have even been opened, but again, I don't understand how two boxes in a row become undeliverable, the odds have got to be astronomical.

 

Everyone has their opinion on preferred shipper. I’ve used a variety and have never had an issue with any so I’m not going to blame UPS here.

Undeliverable and leaking, etc., and this person is a veteran BA or a veteran trader?

For me, are they packaging poorly? If things aren’t secured well on the inside, whatever happens on the outside could impact that. If they are packaged well on the inside, bomb proof, then the outside comes into play less imo.

I’ve often sent trade partners pictures of the box on drop off so they can see and know the condition once it leaves my hands. Then if it arrives a mess, we know it’s been put through the ringer on it’s journey. But the prize inside is taken care of.

Again, good luck. Hopefully it doesn’t take you out of the game. In turn, hopefully this veteran improves their game in terms of packaging if that was part of the problem with these boxes not being delivered.

 

Agreed.

I've had some supposed long time beer trading vets pack really shitty boxes, leaving me dumbfounded as to how they had completed so many successful trades with that level of carelessness. Being a vet doesn't necessarily indicate quality, care or courtesy.

If we can rule out mistakes or damage done by the shipment process (which we can't, I've seen a forklift stab entirely through one of my boxes before), then we're left with ineptitude or intentional sabotage, either on the part of a driver or the trader. My mind can take dark turns and I can imagine someone not really wanting to complete their end of a deal and resorting to sending you junk packed poorly they knew would blow up or break.

While I don't really like the way this smells, it's hard to really advise as this is a little more vague than these threads tend to be at this point.

 

I wouldn’t trust him to ship your ne’er back, at this point, I would make him pay and not trade with him anymore.

 

What was the full, official trade agreement the first go around?

 

Yep, agreed. I am not even sure I would put him on blast at all. That does suck, but I was thinking more of cutting your losses and stress as was mentioned by someone earlier. But, you are correct in that the secondary value would be lost in that move. Sorry to hear this. Trade issues stress me out.

 

Totally up to you, obviously... but I'm curious as to why you wouldn't just want your box back at this point?... you could agree beforehand both (1) to have it shipped via a different carrier with the original packing and (2) agree on a secondary value beforehand that he reimburses you for if he makes it clear that he absolutely positively can't ship a package safely.

 

This is a great response. Completely agree with this approach.