Ever have a keyboard damaged in shipping by FedEx?

[ABECK]

I just sold a keyboard last week and it arrived at the destination damaged.  It was packed better than when I got it from the factory - inside a padded case, and a cardboard box. 

I went through the claim process with FedEx, but have no idea how they could remedy this.  Do they reimburse for the full declared value, or am I gonna have to get this thing fixed and submit a repair invoice?  It's not like the buyer is going to be interested in going through a repair process (nor can I blame him.)  What a pain in the ass!

[Delaware Dave]

That sucks.....   Never experienced this but will follow the thread to see what the process is.  Eventually it will happen to me.

[ABECK]

At least I declared the value and paid accordingly - hopefully that helps.

[Docbop]

I hear when they break down and pay unless you have an current appraisal stating the value they pay low end of the used market price.    Big corporations don't get that way being nice to us lowly customers.   

[Baldwin Funster]

Even when I did shipping for a fairly big company, fed ex damage claims rarely ended good. And took a long time. Our philosophy was file the claim and be ready to take the loss. I think if you followed all their packing  rules and can prove it with before and after pics they might offer a settlement.  If it's even 60% of some target amount you seek, you are lucky. Like someone else said, they didn't get big by being nice.

[Baldwin Funster]

Duplicate. 

[ABECK]

Ugh - Im gonna be crushed if it doesn't get resolved properly.  Damn thing was packed well.  Got my before and after pics.  Left my hands in perfect shape.  How should I deserve anything less than 100% of the value and 100% of the shipping cost because some ass-hat probably drove a forklift into the box?

[Doerfler]

If the keyboard was not in it's original packaging (factory box) you are in for an uphill battle, sorry to say.

[ABECK]

Ironically it would have been WAY worse if it was in the factory packaging.  Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue!

 

[Stokely]

That sucks, and is my worst nightmare (along with some kind of lying fraudulent buyer) with selling shipped gear.

I go back and forth with which I hate worse: shipping, or dealing with local craigslist/facebook marketplace buyers (or rather, low-baller non-serious people).

I bought a used keyboard through GC, and it arrived double-boxed, hard foam between, but the corner of both boxes and the keyboard were crushed.  As you said, it almost had to be a forklift driving on it to crush it like that.  Fortunately as the buyer, and since it was GC, I just returned locally and that was that.

[Justin Havu]

Not FedEx, but had it happen with UPS.  Bought a used PC88MX through GC, and when it arrived, the box was crushed on the left side.  Sure enough, so was the keyboard.

[ProfD]

D8mn mayne.  This is my biggest fear when it comes to selling and shipping gear. 

 

I do a GREAT job when it comes to packing an instrument.  Yet, I'm still concerned until  it arrives to the buyer in excellent condition.  

 

Brotha @ABECK, I truly hope this situation is resolved 100% in your favor especially considering your level of effort and diligence.😎

[ABECK]

Thanks - Claim is in the "Investigation phase" at the moment.  I assume that means forensic analysis with white tyvek jumpsuits and fingerprint kits.

I would think the fact that there's a clear puncture in the box would help me (it's not like this was dropped and broke because the packaging wasn't up to par.)   It probably would have been easier if the buyer had just refused delivery.  Or at least got the driver to sign off on the damage.

[Docbop]

Was this package sent signature required?       I just bought a new keyboard a  week ago and talking to my salesperson he asked if I wanted signature required, I said yes.    He said I always recommend it because if you don't have signature required the shipping company says their responsibility ends when they set the package down. 

[ABECK]

Indeed.  In fact for the value I declared, FedEx required direct sig.

[Delaware Dave]

On 4/5/2022 at 2:10 PM, Delaware Dave said:

That sucks.....   Never experienced this but will follow the thread to see what the process is.  Eventually it will happen to me.

 

I think I've heard enough to stop following this thread.  

 

On 4/5/2022 at 3:43 PM, ABECK said:

Ironically it would have been WAY worse if it was in the factory packaging.  Looks like I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue!

 

After reading this thread I started where you stopped .....

 

 

On 4/5/2022 at 3:35 PM, ABECK said:

Ugh - Im gonna be crushed if it doesn't get resolved properly.  Damn thing was packed well.  Got my before and after pics.  Left my hands in perfect shape.  How should I deserve anything less than 100% of the value and 100% of the shipping cost because some ass-hat probably drove a forklift into the box?

 

Guess I picked the wrong week to stop drinking as well....

[ABECK]

Latest update - Your Claim has been Denied.  Not..here's a partial reimbursement.  Not ...Sorry we charged you extra to break your keyboard.  Simply...denied.  "According to the pictures submitted regarding your shipment, we have determined that it was not adequately prepared or packed for safe transportation."  Apparently "Safe transportation included getting rammed by a palette jack.  What bull crap.  Let the appeals process begin.  (Thankfully the buyer already has it at a repair shop)

[Doerfler]

sorry to hear, but exactly as I had expected. I have been through this myself personally and as an employee of a large retail store, so I speak from experience.

[re Pete]

An experience I had while not Fedex but UPS. I ordered a new Kronos 2 88 from a store in NYC shipped UPS. I asked for a signature delivery and was told yes. 

The board came across the country from west coast and I found UPS just dropped it in the middle of my driveway feet from the street. No notice. Any car could of taken it.

Anyway, it had a keyboard problem and the store sent another one to me after I returned it. Again, I asked for a signature delivery, was told yes but the same thing happened. Dropped off in driveway by street, no signature and no notice. Anyway, that board was fine. Obviously, these were original packaging and new boards.

Good luck.

[ProfD]

Claim denied is a bummer. Hopefully the appeals process will be better. 😎

[Julius D Majestic Studios]

This sucks bad ... So is the buyer going to keep it and just ask you to help get it repaired?  Or are they going to file a claim against you?  I'd definitely take it as high as I possibly can within the FedEx chain...

[Julius D Majestic Studios]

1 hour ago, re Pete said:

An experience I had while not Fedex but UPS. I ordered a new Kronos 2 88 from a store in NYC shipped UPS. I asked for a signature delivery and was told yes. 

The board came across the country from west coast and I found UPS just dropped it in the middle of my driveway feet from the street. No notice. Any car could of taken it.

Anyway, it had a keyboard problem and the store sent another one to me after I returned it. Again, I asked for a signature delivery, was told yes but the same thing happened. Dropped off in driveway by street, no signature and no notice. Anyway, that board was fine. Obviously, these were original packaging and new boards.

Good luck.

 

I was doing an install at a church and ordered their equipment.... FedEx left it all on the porch just like this.  I was home waiting on it, they never rang the doorbell or anything... I think I realized it was out there because my wife came home and told me there was a bunch of stuff on the porch.  Smh... Horrible. 

 

Part of the problem is because of covid and nobody wanted to have to come in contact with anyone else... So signature confirmation became irrelevant.  

Thr delivery guy was signing for us.  Crazy.

 

[kaptainkeys]

10 minutes ago, Julius D Majestic Studios said:

I think I realized it was out there because my wife came home and told me there was a bunch of stuff on the porch

I'm shocked that your wife was able to walk between the boxes to get into the house.

11 minutes ago, Julius D Majestic Studios said:

they never rang the doorbell or anything

They did the same thing when they delivered my computer, I live in a low crime neighborhood, so I wasn't too worried about it being stolen, but a box with HP plastered across the side is clearly a computer, and they just left it without ringing the bell.

[Docbop]

The mega corporations suck we're living in dark times.    They view you/us as trying to take part of their profit margin and have their legal team ready to fight and make you give up waiting for something happen.    Sadly for all of us they see paying for a big legal department more profitable than in customer service and well trained/equipped staff. 

 

I realized  this when working in computer developer support and the suits constantly cutting our budget because tech support isn't a "revenue center".  To them customer support and services were chewing into their profits.  

 

Not that I have an opinion on the subject. 

[kaptainkeys]

4 minutes ago, Docbop said:

The mega corporations suck we're living in dark times.    They view you/us as trying to take part of their profit margin and have their legal team ready to fight and make you give up waiting for something happen.    Sadly for all of us they see paying for a big legal department more profitable than in customer service and well trained/equipped staff. 

 

I realized  this when working in computer developer support and the suits constantly cutting our budget because tech support isn't a "revenue center".  To them customer support and services were chewing into their profits.  

 

Not that I have an opinion on the subject. 

This is why I always try to support the two independent music stores near me.  One of them is a general music store, while the other is a dedicated keyboard/synth store/repair center.  The owners of both stores always do what is best for the customer, it helps spread the word about their store and ensures that the customer will come back again and again, and the customers appreciate it.

[KuruPrionz]

2 hours ago, ABECK said:

Latest update - Your Claim has been Denied.  Not..here's a partial reimbursement.  Not ...Sorry we charged you extra to break your keyboard.  Simply...denied.  "According to the pictures submitted regarding your shipment, we have determined that it was not adequately prepared or packed for safe transportation."  Apparently "Safe transportation included getting rammed by a palette jack.  What bull crap.  Let the appeals process begin.  (Thankfully the buyer already has it at a repair shop)

I've sold on eBay since 2000, have almost 1,000 feedback at 100% positive. 

Here are the cold, hard facts:

The ONLY way FedEx or UPS will acknowledge insurance claims is if you go to one of their outlets and have them do the packaging, which is not cheap and certainly not any better than what you could do yourself. Since you've entered into their maze, just know that they will never make good and they will probably take a long time to tell you that again.

 

In a way, USPS is worse. They won't pack your item, they will just refuse your insurance claim. 

USPS somehow broke the cabinet on a Mesa Boogie amp I sold to somebody back East. It was double boxed with double-thickness corrugated, extra corners, heavy foam padding, etc. You'd need to drop it off a forklift onto the edge of a loading dock or some other catastrophe to bash it up like that. USPS denied the insurance claim, I ate the shipping both ways and had to repair and sell the amp myself after refunding the buyer's payment. 

 

Bottom line is you either pay way too much (meaning you have to reduce the price of the item to compete) or you get screwed if they damage your item. 

Prior to Xmas 2021, I sold almost $7k in guitars for an estate locally on craigslist. No shipping, no damage, no returns, all cash. 

 

I only sell smaller, less vulnerable items online now and I pack those for war. 

Sadly, while persistance may give you some false hope for a bit, your only real option is to boycott FedEx for eternity but you have to understand that the other primary options for shipping are just as bad only worse. 

Cheers,

Kuru

[ABECK]

1 minute ago, KuruPrionz said:

I've sold on eBay since 2000, have almost 1,000 feedback at 100% positive. 

Here are the cold, hard facts:

The ONLY way FedEx or UPS will acknowledge insurance claims is if you go to one of their outlets and have them do the packaging, which is not cheap and certainly not any better than what you could do yourself. Since you've entered into their maze, just know that they will never make good and they will probably take a long time to tell you that again.

 

Ha - I am in the maze.  So true.  You think they'd give you a heads up when charging extra for insurance "oh, btw, this doesn't cover anything." Now I play the - escalate me to your supervisor game.

[KuruPrionz]

11 minutes ago, ABECK said:

Ha - I am in the maze.  So true.  You think they'd give you a heads up when charging extra for insurance "oh, btw, this doesn't cover anything." Now I play the - escalate me to your supervisor game.

That will at least yield the swiftest denial and you can move on. I wish you all the best and would love to see David take down Goliath, my own experiences tell me otherwise. 😉

As I mentioned, I mostly sell on craigslist now and every posting has a final sentence: "Local cash only, no shipping and I will not meet you elsewhere."

 

Seems to eliminate scammers and tire kickers pretty well. I don't mind somebody checking something out and then saying "Thanks, not quite what I wanted."

That only takes a few minutes. Most of the time the first responder buys the item. 

 

I've had LOTS of requests to meet an hour's drive or more at another location so they can check out the item. I welcome them to come take a look as their only option. I'm not going to waste the time. 

[Outkaster]

My buddy works at Fedex.  The difference between express ground and freight is different.  Sometimes ground can be rough.  I just had a Leslie shipped from CA with no problems from Fedex Freight.

[FatFingers]

Sorry to hear the news, ABECK.  That sucks and I hope you make some headway on appeal.   I recently sold an SK Pro that was shipped via UPS and deemed totaled by the buyer when it was received.  I sold it using Reverb and used their safe shipping guarantee.  Reverb relied on the buyer's photos and descriptions and the claim was settled in a few days -- I was able to keep the money he paid, and he got a complete refund.  I had taken photos before and after I had packed it, but Reverb said not to bother sending them in.  I've sold a few keyboards on eBay but count myself as lucky, and after that good experience with Reverb, I'll never bother to sell a keyboard on eBay again.  First choice, tho, continues to be a local sale if at all possible.