# NAD: New amp day... (and why I hate UPS)



## josh pelican (May 6, 2010)

I go over to pick up my package. The boxes were roughed up but I thought nothing of it. I took it home and opened it. It was a box inside of a box. There were loads of loads of cardboard and whatnot. It was in a plastic bag, packed with the packing peanuts.

You can tell it was packed thoroughly. You don't just chuck one of these in a mail and forget about it. I get it out of the box, and it's in a custom soft shell case. I take it off and my heart skipped a beat. No, I am not being sarcastic. This is the third or fourth time my heart has actually stopped in my life.

Jaw. Meet floor. Please enjoy your stay.

This thing was ****ing dropped! I mean, it looks like it came right out of someone's hands onto the ground. Top up. This amp is ****ed.

At first I thought it was just the side panels. They were cracked from front to back. I was going to file a claim with UPS, have them reimburse me, and pay to get it fixed. Then I look more...

... the back panel (metal grating) covering the tubes is bent to pieces. It's cracked on the sides from where it came apart. Even the front panel by the logo is coming off. I can see through the left hand side of the amp. That's how far it's separated.

This is blowing my ****ing my mind. I had to go outside and cool off. My heart is pounding at an excessive rate and I think I'm going to puke...

I got in touch with UPS, as well as the original seller (who did put insurance on it). He is already filing the claim. If UPS is at fault, they will reimburse me. $1,300 (rounded) for the amp. $200 for shipping. $276 for customs/brokerage.

I ran without an amp for a week before this arrived. When this shows up, I have to wait to find out whether or not UPS is at fault (which they clearly are). Then I'll have to go for a while they finally reimburse me, then try to get another one.

It's going to be a while until I hear my basses again...


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## josh pelican (May 6, 2010)

The packaging...












This corner is a little more torn from me:


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## josh pelican (May 6, 2010)

It was well packed... and ensured, like I said.

Here's the damage... PLEASE DO NOT VIEW THIS IF YOU HAVE A WEAK STOMACH!


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## Origin (May 6, 2010)

Jesus fucking Christ! Every time I hear a horror story it's fuckin' UPS. They've molested me with COD charges every time but never damaged something like this...I hope you get 100% of your goddamn money back. That company is a joke without a punchline, whenever I see one of those brown shit-trucks my blood boils.


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## josh pelican (May 6, 2010)

If they try to fuck me over with this, shit is going to explode. Volcanoes will erupt, geysers will shoot water high into the air... earthquakes, mudslides in China, tsunamis... Bubonic Josh 526 style.

We're talking two days before the day after tomorrow shit.


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## MFB (May 6, 2010)

Holy. fucking. shit.


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## Despised_0515 (May 6, 2010)

I honestly became a little nauseous and glanced over at my 5150II that wasn't even packed as well as that thing and somehow managed to make it here.

Glad to hear it was insured and UPS will most definitely have to pay up or some serious justice system crap will surely be in order.


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## josh pelican (May 6, 2010)

If they try and tell me I'm fucked, I will take the CEO of UPS and fuck them in the ass. Dry.


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## Ckackley (May 6, 2010)

I would be more inclined to say it was run over by something rather than just dropped. Damn. I'd have a hard time doing that much damage throwing it down on the floor without the packing.


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## Cheesebuiscut (May 6, 2010)

Seeing the box like that I wouldn't have walked out with it without opening it. 

Does it still work? 

Either way go raise hell.


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## josh pelican (May 6, 2010)

I didn't even plug it in. I've been so overwhelmed by it. I'll be giving it another look when I get home from work tomorrow.

I mean, it's a 90 pound amp... you'd think when moving around packages like that, you wouldn't fuck around. I highly doubt someone's shipping a fucking boulder.


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## 13point9 (May 6, 2010)

oh my days this is fucking horrible man, hope UPS refund you fully on this shit...


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## TemjinStrife (May 7, 2010)

I wouldn't even have opened it. I would have taken it to a UPS location, brought it to the manager, and asked him to witness the condition of the package, then open it in front of him.


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## ralphy1976 (May 7, 2010)

TemjinStrife said:


> I wouldn't even have opened it. I would have taken it to a UPS location, brought it to the manager, and asked him to witness the condition of the package, then open it in front of him.



i really, really hope that you can sort out the situation since it is / was insured, but i do agree with Strife there.

as for taking him dry...add gravel, it always adds a bit of spice in the relationship however brief you make it!!


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## MrMcSick (May 7, 2010)

Oh my godddddd! that is aweful. I worked at UPS before and saw tons of mishandled packages on a daily basis.


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## Apophis (May 7, 2010)

omg I have never seen something like that  I hope you will have your money back


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## drmosh (May 7, 2010)

holy fuck, that is fucked up. I am glad the delivery services over here are better than that (knock on wood)


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## Fred (May 7, 2010)

That fucking sucks man, such a wicked amp as well. Really, really hope you manage to sort something out!


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## Andrew_B (May 7, 2010)

UPS


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## JPhoenix19 (May 7, 2010)

josh pelican said:


> If they try and tell me I'm fucked, I will take the CEO of UPS and fuck them in the ass. Dry.



Not the CEO, get the union stewards of every hub that package went through. I used to work at UPS in the Whites Creek hub, and it's the Teamsters' fault that a lot of this crap happens. People get lazy, supervisors can't help, packages pile up, packages get busted, people get injured. It's a terrible situation because the management has their hands tied. They can't fire the lazy ones, so the run skinny and terrorize anyone who isn't union.

I'm terribly sorry to see this, man. I've seen many busted packages in my time there but none has made me cringe like this.


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## SnowfaLL (May 7, 2010)

woah. that made me more disturbed than watching a murder with blood squirting out everywhere =/


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## sevenstringgod (May 7, 2010)

Man that is incredibly WRONG, how can they be so fucking inept, and on top of that you will still have to bust your ass trying to get a refund, I hope everything works out for you.


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## josh pelican (May 7, 2010)

I just got home from work and plugged it in... it does not work. The lights don't even come on.

Whether it's UPS or the shipper, someone is fixing this situation. I may end up getting one sent directly from Ampeg if this is taken away.


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## vampiregenocide (May 7, 2010)

Fucking rape the shit out of those dudes until their asses are pissing blood, and get your money back. That is so fail.


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## Origin (May 8, 2010)

I don't understand how anyone that is being paid could do such a shitty job of lifting/transport. It inFURIATES me that people don't grasp the simple concept of being paid to DO their work; do a good fucking job and be happy to have it, or quit and let an unemployed hopeful do it better than you.


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## Matt-Hatchett (May 8, 2010)

Dude that makes me sick. I worked for Fed Ex for one day because when we were unloading the trucks, the employees were literally throwing brand new computers and everything else from the very top of the pile straight to the floor. I refused to do that and the managers got pissed and complained about me being too slow. I left there that day and never went back. I imagine it's the same way everywhere else.


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## Bevo (May 8, 2010)

That sucks!

Don't leave it plugged in..


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## Spinedriver (May 8, 2010)

Just so you know, UPS is being handled by Purolator in the maritimes (NB, NS, PEI & NFLD), so if you want to know where to find the boneheads who trashed your amp, now you know where to find 'em.


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## josh pelican (Jun 4, 2010)

After a lung struggle/battle with the shipper and I versus UPS, it looks like we've won. After PayPal clears the money, the shipper will be refunding me a total of $1,714.49. This gives me enough to order another one (perhaps a CL for the tube gain) and lots left over.

I'm trying to save up for a truck (and a Coach bag for the girlfriend's birthday...) so any extra cash I have left over will me fine with me!

The shipper has been the most amiable dude ever. I was busy for a few days with work and he kept on fighting. It got to the point where he was going to take legal action. They quickly sent him the claim forms and he filled them out.

Hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks I will be posting another story about a new amp that arrived in good shape!



Spinedriver said:


> Just so you know, UPS is being handled by Purolator in the maritimes (NB, NS, PEI & NFLD), so if you want to know where to find the boneheads who trashed your amp, now you know where to find 'em.



I found that out the hard way. The day it arrived I called UPS and they said it was coming in with Purolator. Called Purolator and they had no idea what I was talking about. I told them I called UPS and my package should be in the store. Gave them the tracking number and they said it was a UPS number.

Well no shit. I called UPS back, then called Purolator. 25 minutes later Purolator calls and tells me my package is there.


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## josh pelican (Jun 14, 2010)

Good news, everyone.

My bank was refunded $1,530 for the amp and will be refunded nearly $280 from Brokerage tonight or tomorrow.

The seller/shipper is the best dude ever for helping me through this. When I sent him the pictures the first night, he nearly cried. Some people on TalkBass said it was packaged poorly, but that's how it was sent to him.

I have a guy in New Brunswick who is playing a show here in a week or two and is going to bring me a brand new Ampeg SVT-CL for $1,000. He said he used it for two hours.

It's no VR, but it'll give me awesome tube grind.


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## Dragonfly (Jun 14, 2010)

Andrew_B said:


> UPS


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## CrushingAnvil (Jun 16, 2010)

Thank fuck my new guitar was shipping via USPS (I don't know if they're any better or worse) but UPS sound like a bunch of tossers.

Hope your shit gets sorted dude, those amps look sweeeet.


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## josh pelican (Jun 16, 2010)

It's hard to say whether UPS or USPS is better. I worked with an online company (drugstore.com/visiondirect.com) for a while and USPS seemed to get people angrier. Their tracking always failed for us.

UPS seems to have better tracking and allow shippers to intercept packages. I've seen a lot of tracking change to "Package damaged in transit. Returning to sender." Luckily with the company I worked for we could send out replacements right away.

One thing most people didn't get was zone skipping. People wanted updates every 30 seconds. Some people would get so fucking mad. I'd be all, "Look, bitch. If you want them to scan your package at every UPS/USPS location, you'll get your package next month. If you want them to zone skip, you'll get it within a week. Suck it."

Anyway, I've been refunded the full amount! If the shipper doesn't want me to send the amp back, I've got a dick load of extra tubes! I'm getting a brand new SVT-CL on the 25th for a grand! Stoked to have an amp again.


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## cwhitey2 (Jun 16, 2010)

wow i would be in tears...of hate


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## eyebanez333 (Jun 16, 2010)

Same thing happened to me awhile back with an amp head. I don't use UPS anymore. Even if fedex or usps costs more...I'm willing to pay it. I even paid a dude an extra $5 to send it fedex...on top of covering the extra $4 that fedex costs. I hate UPS....and I've yet to have a problem with Fedex or USPS (other than a lack of tracking system on USPS's part.)


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## CrushingAnvil (Jun 18, 2010)

josh pelican said:


> It's hard to say whether UPS or USPS is better. I worked with an online company (drugstore.com/visiondirect.com) for a while and USPS seemed to get people angrier. Their tracking always failed for us.
> 
> UPS seems to have better tracking and allow shippers to intercept packages. I've seen a lot of tracking change to "Package damaged in transit. Returning to sender." Luckily with the company I worked for we could send out replacements right away.
> 
> ...



My package is on the way to me so I guess my NGD thread will clarify whether USPS are the right company for overseas/international shipping.

Glad that got sorted though, man.



eyebanez333 said:


> Same thing happened to me awhile back with an amp head. I don't use UPS anymore. Even if fedex or usps costs more...I'm willing to pay it. I even paid a dude an extra $5 to send it fedex...on top of covering the extra $4 that fedex costs. I hate UPS....and I've yet to have a problem with Fedex or USPS (other than a lack of tracking system on USPS's part.)



Yeah, I had nothing but 'your package left the united states at blah blah pm on blah blah date' for like a week with USPS  but it's in the country so....we'll see.


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## Stealthdjentstic (Jun 18, 2010)

Fuck UPS, nuff said.


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## s_k_mullins (Jun 18, 2010)

Stealthtastic said:


> Fuck UPS, nuff said.



^ Damn right!
I'm still waiting for my UPS fuck-up to be sorted out, so I can finally have a new amp!


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## MaxOfMetal (Jun 18, 2010)

josh pelican said:


> It's hard to say whether UPS or USPS is better. I worked with an online company (drugstore.com/visiondirect.com) for a while and USPS seemed to get people angrier. Their tracking always failed for us.
> 
> UPS seems to have better tracking and allow shippers to intercept packages. I've seen a lot of tracking change to "Package damaged in transit. Returning to sender." Luckily with the company I worked for we could send out replacements right away.
> 
> ...



While USPS has, by far, the WORST tracking humanly possible (fuck it might be aliens it's so bad) and it's just about the least "user friendly" shipping method as far as getting everything set-up and having your package "properly packed", from my experience they have some of the best prices (at least from what I've used) and have yet to damage a single item I've shipped or received with them. 

If you're getting something from a reliable source, such as an official online retailer, or someone you know personally (basically someone who you wouldn't necessarily "need" tracking for) USPS is the BEST choice. I'm not going to say they care about the package more, but they certainly tend to treat them better overall. 

For years I used UPS, but then I stopped caring as much about knowing EXACTLY where my package is, and more about it arriving to me in one piece.


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## SnowfaLL (Jun 18, 2010)

exactly; USPS may have shitty tracking but I have yet to have anything damaged, and it always arrives eventually. Prices are wayyy cheaper too. So only USPS for me.


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## MFB (Jun 18, 2010)

I have YET to have UPS fuck my shit up, and it's always arrived on time for a fair price; however, whenever I go to USPS I feel like I end up paying way more plus a small fee for tracking (which UPS does for free) and I HAVE had them actually fucked up a guitar when it got to me. Granted, it wasn't totally their fault since it was also partly the guitars fault but from what I found, over the 3-5 days it was shipped - it got hit enough to combine with the glue coming apart and took off a wing.


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## chucknorrishred (Jun 18, 2010)

......,,,,,,,,

DAAAAAM, now i dont want to get an amp over the net. 
that just fuced up

there some crazy vids on u tube showng UPS drivers throwing shit all over the place


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## josh pelican (Jun 23, 2010)

The funniest thing about all of this is that I had the opportunity to buy Glen Benton's Mesa 400+ (autographed and in rack case) with an authentic letter signed by Glen himself. The bragging rights would be monstrous. 

I stuck with the Ampeg 'cause it was going to look so fucking beautiful ontop of my 810.

I do want a 400+, but I love the sound of classic Ampeg amps. Now that it's broken I am buying an SVT-CL. At least I'll still be happy because these fuckers are LOUD. Plus, I'll still have the exact tube grind I've been dying for.

EDIT: Getting that SVT-CL on Friday! Fucking stoked!


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