Don't ship Fedex
Equipment
Just to ward off the initial question, yes this has to do with archery. I sold a bow through Archery Talk to a fellow in AL back in Feb. Shipped it from my local copy center Fedex. Put the full $750 insurance and adult signature required on it. The package was supposedly delivered a week later and he signed for it. Here's the problem: he was in Miami on that day and can prove it. When he got home a couple days later, no package.
Our guess is the driver pencil whipped his signature, left it and somebody walked off with it before he got home. He tried to file the claim with Fedex. He got the runaround for a couple weeks, then they told him I had to do it. I filed the claim which was denied a week later because they "followed all procedures". I called them to say what gives and the lady (3rd person I talked to, finally a native English speaker) told me they would do a signature verification. Got the denial today for that saying the copy center had to file the claim. That was the first place I went when this all started and they said it was all Fedex. They also hung up on me twice when I called them the last time.
Obviously getting the total run-around. I still don't know what the signature verification said. A couple times they have tried to claim I had to justify the package was valued at the insurance amount. I've provided pics and comps, but I that's BS. Just letting everyone know what insurance with Fedex is good for (Absolutely Nothing). I'm going to bug the crap out of them until they give in. Think the recipient is about to file a lawsuit.
They lost a set of mule deer antlers of mine back in August (sent by the taxidermist to the freeze dryer), they will get no more of my business, I did get a $1,700 refund from them which was apparently the maximum amount the taxi could file for.
I had a Weatherby Weathermark left on my front porch when I was away. Sat there 3 days before I got home. Website said it was held at terminal for adult signature. Thankfully no one drove back my lane. FedEx called 4 days after I got home and very politely ask if I had the rifle. I almost said no, but figured that would open a huge can of worms.
USPS is worse.They broke a Grumley I sold a guy that works at Three Rivers in half.Claimed poor packaging disputed by TRA (who ship hundreds) then claimed value(insured a bow sold for $1200 for $800).The bastards never pay I will never insure another shipped item it's a ripoff.They destroyed a bow that cannot be replaced sorry sonsabitches.
Everything I've heard is UPS is better option than FedEx for similar reasons described by nmwapiti
FedEx is the ONLY delivery company I have ever had problems with. For some reason they can't read the bright white 5 inch high numbers on my dark green mailbox! There were times when I signed up for their package tracking and they actually sent my phone a delivery notice with an actual photo of the delivered package on my front porch. Only one problem : It was a picture of my package on somebody else's front porch!!! So far I've been lucky and I recognized all the neighbor's porches. And then there was the time I was in my living room watching TV and I heard noises out in my driveway. I went out to investigate. There was a FedEx driver just getting back into his truck, and a stack of 28 cases of Fiji Water stacked in my driveway, in front of my garage door! He insisted they were mine! Until I found a case at the bottom of the pile with the name and address of the intended recipient. It wasn't even the same street, and the house number wasn't even close to mine!! Bob
None of them are perfect, it’s just like gambling every time you ship something.
Yup my company now has a new account with FedEx but I still drop off packages to UPS.
FYI....just heard starting today, USPS will add a $15 service charge for anything over 30".
Any possibility the guy did sign for it and now claiming he did not get it?
Jason, Did you send this Bow, Fedex Express of FedEx Ground? Ground is a whole different company. All of there Drivers are independen contractors, I would still tell the customer service agent that you would like to speak to a Manager, if that doesn’t work ask to speak the the Senior Manager. Keep going up the latter until you are satisfied. Good luck
Ordered some bullets last week ,as of Saturday they were in Phx. which is 1 hour away, and the were suppose to be delivered today. I checked the tracking number this morning and today they are in trinity Calf. !
Guys , I understand some packages get damaged and things like the OP issue happen, but considering the amount of packages that get delivered on a daily basis I think the companies do a pretty good job. Persue the signature comparison and as the old saying goes, squeaky wheel. Look up the CEOs name and get his email and fire off a email to him, you'd be amazed what happens. I got the run around for hours with AT&T so I gave up and fired off an email to the CEO, the next day I had a email stating his team would be in touch later in the day, and sure enough they were. Couldn't have been more pleasant and the issues were resolved. I Understand your frustrated, but shit happens when dealing with big companies. Endeavor to preserver lol. P. S. Refrain from mentioning lawsuits, they end up refering you to thier lawyers and your done, so unless you or the other gent is a lawyer I would just make more noise until your satisfied. Good luck.
Ring Alarm at my home and hunting properties. I know it won’t help the OP but it sure gives me peace of mind.
It’s also helpful catching Amish trespassers too!
It is possible the guy did sign for it and is scamming me. I have not personally verified anything he said about his location and such. I've talked to him 10 times or so. A couple of them were before he bought the bow. He seems like a good guy. Trying to help as much as I can. Going to swing by the copy place tomorrow and see what I can find out. Thanks for the advice.
FedEx stopped in my plowed driveway and trudged through 2 feet of snow to leave a pair of boots on my seasonal neighbors deck. Wrong fire # and pretty obvious no one had been there all winter. Left an ice fishing tent by another neighbor 1/4 mile away. Left it by the road next to his fire # sign, obviously knew it was the wrong place. They just don't care!!
In my experience, overall FedEx is the best. There are horror stories from them all, and you'll hear them here, but from all of my experience in shipping and receiving 100's of packages, FedEx comes out ahead. USPS is the worst, UPS about the same as FedEx, except their pricing is much higher, and for the guys lucky enough to live in the midwest, speedee is the best and cheapest, but is limited in where they ship.
My biggest complaint isn't the lost package. It's the total run-around trying to get the claim processed. I get different instructions every time I call, as is the receiver. They're definitely trying to see if I'll just give up. That's the kind of treatment I have received and expect from insurance companies.
Within the last month I sent some Swarovski bino's back to them for a minor repair (which BTW they performed at no charge) They used Fed Ex to return ship them and it took three weeks for them to be delivered after being 'stuck' in some place in NY for two weeks. They can't be any company worse. They plow across my yard,. I now put up red flags along the concrete drive way to give them a hint where they are suppose to drive:) One time they backed into my post office box, and knocked it down (and drove off)
In my previous life before I retired, I worked closely with both UPS and Fed Ex. Fed Ex always used contracted owner operator drivers who were always short timers and quite a bit less than professional drivers in my opinion
I have had enough bad luck shipping items regardless of the carrier to fully understand that when you hand it off you may never see it again. The insurance is the biggest joke. I had a carrier break 1k worth of fishing rods. Took me 8 months and allot of gray hair to get the money.
Next time don't use your local copy center's FedEx...
Never have had a problem with FedEx, UPS, or USPS.
Last year around early spring Fed Ex started outsourcing to contractors... no training for the new drivers, just thrown onto routes with no knowledge of the area. I watched them just put them on stairs, behind fences, and even just left in parking lot... sometimes the packages weren't even for our company. The regular drivers would laugh when told them what I witnessed... one new driver had to be told where receiving was... 10 times! UPS was the best to work with. scentman
Tdwhip is 100% spot on with FedEx Ground vs Express. Exactly what stringwacker stated about contract labor. FWIW - the average daily shipping volume for Express in 2021 was 6.6 million and Ground was over 12 million DAILY.
NMwapiti - on your tracking receipt showing delivered, there's a signature proof link. Did you look at that and see? You'd mentioned signature verification so probably did. Our Ground driver, when delivering wine, will still use the COVID19 generic signature or type in my name(no signature) even though signature is REQUIRED on all alcohol deliveries.
Scentman, that is ONLY for FedEx Ground. Express does not outsource to contractors. Agree 100% with the rest of what you stated though.
Yes, the regular drivers were Express and they were on the ball, I dreaded seeing the ground vans as I worked Security and let the thru the gate... I literally had to walk in front of van to receiving dock!
I have a couple even worse stories about UPS fyi.
I got my hides and skulls from British Columbia via Washington state, last Sunday shipped by FedEx and I had to sign for them.
They kept sending me Text updates and I had to Reply C for confirm. I signed for them after making sure the box wasn't damage or Re-taped over.
I to have had good experiences with USPS, UPS and FedEx. Never used FedEx Ground though.
I hope it finally plays out well for ya,
Robb
Fed ex has been good. Fed ex has been bad.
They’ve delivered motors to me. Twice. Both times they far exceeded my expectations. One Saturday back in October, I come in from a bow hunt, to find a fed ex driver following me down my driveway. I was excited as I had bought a new Polaris motor for a rzr.
I pulled in the driveway, run back to the truck and told the women I’d be right back to help with the motor. She said thanks and started getting everything ready. I walked into my house, laid my stuff on the couch, turned and walked right back out the door. She was getting back into her van, motor grate and all was setting on my driveway.
I just threw up my hand as it was obvious she was in a hurry.
I often buy value packs of Milwaukee 18 volt lithium batteries. They ain’t cheap. And, for whatever reason, they leave them on the main road. By the mailbox stand. These boxes have contained $400 worth of batteries to $1000’s in batteries and tools. Multiple times. I can’t believe they’ve made it. But they have. And, no matter how many times I call, they still do it. I’ve been very fortunate on those occasions.
Last week I had a FedEx truck pull up in front of the house and I met him 1/2 way down the drive. As I turn to go back to the house, an independent contractor for them pulled up, honked and help a pkg out his car window and hollered. So the FedEx driver and I head to the car, I took the envelope and the car took off. As I was heading back to the house I looked at the label on the envelope and it was addressed to a Testing Lab in New York. I live in Kansas. Luckily the FedEx driver had gone up the street and circled back, I flagged him down, and he was nice enough to take the envelope back and start its journey over.
timely topic. A Fed Ex truck caught fire on the side of a rural road yesterday where I live. The burned packages were stacked outside the smoldering truck. There are probably going to be some unhappy customers.
So here is another FedEx story that ended in tragedy. Had a small rural gun store get a gun delivery from FedEx . The next day three men in plain cloths show up and shoot the old man in the head and rob his store. When the police reviewed the surveillance tapes they discovered that one of the men was the FedEx driver from the previous day. When Fedex was contacted they stonewalled the police and said the driver did not work for them so they would not give out any info on who this guy was since he was a contractor. Took a while for the police to figure out the identity of the driver but he was finally caught and brought to justice. I have many more FedEx story's from packages dropped off then the driver comes back and steals it to a driver trying to shake me down for a tip before he would give me my package. If I get a choice on shipping I never use them anymore.
Latest update...this week FEDEX this said the local copy center I shipped from needed to file the claim. I rolled my eyes, but went and talked to them. The copy center agreed and said they would file the claim. I had already talked to them when this all started and they directed me back to FEDEX. Then the recipient tried to file the claim, then I filed the claim, now the third party shipper apparently will file the claim. Round and round we go. See if anything comes out of this route...
Big bummer! Keep us posted.
had problems with all 3, it is a crap shoot more now than the past, the employees just do not give a rip except their pay and benies, see this across the service industry.
I have my share of stories on them too, and especially over the past year or so. This is one of the reasons why I only order anything that has to be shipped when it's the only option I have.
Great service from FedEx for years here. Not so much lately. In 2021, they lost two packages and I'm not sure they met delivery dates on any. Have not yet lost a package in 2022...but they did deliver one of my packages to a neighbor...and the late deliveries continue. I sure feel alot better these days when my shipping confirmations list UPS instead of FedEx!
Got another email from FEDEX today saying my claim was denied because I didn't provide adequate proof of value. I still don't think that matters. I sent in a bunch of pictures of the bow weeks ago. I don't have my original receipt when I bought it a year and a half ago for $1100. At this point I'm not sure if this is from my claim submittal or the 3rd party shipper. Have to visit them again today. Round and round we go...
I totally agree that fedex sucks ass! They have given me multiple problems for years. Mostly the local driver stopping 5 mins after we closed for the day and delivering the next day. The last issue was a month ago. Ordered a chassis from XLR firearms. They sent me an email that it was delivered ( and signed for). Total BS! They had not came by at all. Two days later they come after hours and leave the box outside my office door, by the street. Just a damn miracle it was still there the next day. I despise FedEx and will never use them. Another time a few years ago, I sold a boat cowling to a guy in Michigan. Used fedex freight. They wouldnt let me package it, they did it themselves. It arrived with a crack in it. Fedex would take ZERO responsibility. Return freight from Michigan cost me TRIPLE what i paid to ship it there. They would not honor insurance either since they said packaging was not visibly damaged.
I think things went downhill after the pandemic hit. Everyone started ordering online and shipping volume went thru the roof. I was surprised one day when I noticed a new UPS driver(in uniform) get out of a Ryder rental van. THen a few months later I saw a FedEx driver get out of a personal vehicle(sedan). I thought they were just turning around in the end of my driveway until I noticed my package on the front porch.
Not trying to justify all these problems, just not surprised to hear of them with the current state of things lately...................................
I try not to do the mail order thing, but these days sometimes you have no choice! It appears the brick and mortar stores(especially the big box stores) are just not stocking items like they used to. In that case I try to have the items shipped to the STORE, instead of having them shipped to my home(usually it is FREE shipping to the stores also)- that way if there is a problem, it is the STORE'S problem! ;-) But sometimes you have no choice and can only find the item online from Amazon.
Every time I get a package delivered that actually makes it with no problems, I am amazed!
At this point I am too nervous about this bad shipping to even consider sending one of my babies into the mist, although I have actually been thinking about having two shaved down to drop weight. My story: 2 years ago I was sent a bow from South Africa. This bowyer did the same thing with usual packing and had never had a problem. I watched it go to Dubai, France, Spain, and then to Memphis where it sat for TWO weeks waiting for Customs to clear it. When it was released I was notified that it was on its way and it moved quickly to PA where it was supposedly being delivered each day for two days. Never arrived. I was livid and upon contacting Customer service for 4th time, I got only that the box that arrived in PA was empty and that they don't deliver empty boxes. I then wrote an "unhappy " email to the CEO whose email address was listed on-line. THAT VERY AFTERNOON I got a call from an administrative assistant in Memphis (?) (or wherever the corporate office is) and she explained that she would work with me to try to locate my bow. She explained that the box is weighed at the beginning and then after that NO HANDS touch it and essentially no eyes on it: fully automated. Then they could tell me that the box opened and the contents came out after passing through Customs, as it was again weighed. We agreed that I would give her 2 weeks to try to track down the bow and I called her back in two weeks. It was not easy to get in contact and a lot of going around in circles but I believe that she made a good faith effort AND DID FIND THE BOW: in the Utah FedEx Lost and Found. The other items in the box including strings and an armguard were never located. The icing on the cake was that even though they had a clear record of the shipper, and I had sent them several photographs to use, that I had to describe the bow and what was written on it before it was finalized that it was the correct item. It then arrived in 2 days with a few minor scratches from being tossed around. The following year I got another one sent from S Africa and it took 5 days to arrive.
I don’t make excuses for people or companies that sell you one thing but, deliver you another. The blame for the actions that leads to these situations lie at the feet of those who didn’t deliver what they were selling.
Things happen. It doesn’t mean you gotta be mad about it. But, it surely doesn’t mean you gotta accept subpar performance because the job is hard. It’s work. It’s supposed to be hard. If you screw up; own it. When was the last time any shipping company did that?
It’s the new American way. Work if you want. But, don’t be dedicated or expected to work any harder then you want. So, when that screw up happens, we can shrug it off because we don’t have to care. Hoo-ray.
100% I can confirm that you should not use Fed Ex ! Earlier this year I sold a VXR on the other site. Via the Fed Ex web site they changed the delivery address internally for some reason... Then claimed the package was delivered. The first problem was that I had a print out from them that it was not delivered to the address on the package. The second problem was that calling someone who had any knowledge or authority was hopeless. The claim was denied three times using their online claim system. Finally it was approved !! Yay $ 150.00 on a $850 insured package..............Due to my error in addressing the package......
Also, The good old days of shipping are over. I think you need to send packaged discretely. I simply shipped it in the Mathews box anyone who knows archery looked right at the box and knew what was inside. I would wrap it in brown paper next time and only ship signature confirmation on everything.
Same story with a T&T fly rod being shipped to me USPS last month... They did find that package after a bunch of effort.
I think every delivery company has its issues. I talked about Fed Ex above, but years ago I had my first P&Y animal shipped to me from the taxidermist (Via) UPS from the local that I hunted.
UPS called me to the center to picked up the large crate...then couldn't find it when I got there. They said 'no worries' that they would find it. Eventually they paid me the price of the hunt (which I thought was very good).
7 years later I got another call from UPS and said they found a crate in the warehouse addressed to me and asked if I would pick it up! It's in my den today.
I have had more than one priority USPS mail lost. Most recently they paid me and found the package about three months later.
Stuff happens.....
Over many years have had numerous items shipped UPS, Fed-Ex, USPS and have never had any delivery issues...sometimes earlier than indicated...sometimes a day later; but nothing to complain about.
The local copy center manager called me back. She said she hated dealing with Fedex. I told her it's a big club. She said Fedex wants an invoice to prove the value of the bow. I told her it's a used bow from a private seller. I had already provided screenshots of similar listings for about the same price. Anyway, I made an invoice and sent it to her. We'll see what they come up with next...
I would imagine you could provide correspondence from Archery talk that shows what you were selling what you sold it for in the shipping address you sent to. It would be dated prior to shipping. It seems that would be hard to deny it’s not worth what you’re saying it is.
What kind of feedback did the guy buying have on AT?
I have no dog in this fight.....but I just watched a very recent online video of a DHL cargo jet break in half after landing....wonder how packages are strewn along the runway.....
Fed-Ex may be good somewhere but not on the VA Peninsula. My ire comes from multiple attempts in the past to overnight with them. They just don't meet their commitments AT ALL.
My latest episode was a flat, rectangular package delivered that was placed directly behind my parked car. I mean 18" from the rear bumper. If I had not witnessed it from the house, it's very conceivable I could get in my car and backed right over it. The driver just backed up and drug it straight out of the back. Plop - absolute minimum handling just to get it off the truck. I avoid them at all costs.
I think it's hit n miss with all of them but I've had more problems with the USPS than any of them
If you have a business account with FedEx or if you can use your company’s business account, the prices are waaaaayyyy cheaper than UPS or USPS. Not going to change issues you have with delivery……but I feel FedEx handles business accounts better than a personal delivery in my experience.
Well, I got an email today from FedEx saying they are going to reimburse me plus shipping. Made up an invoice for them last week. Guess they surrender.
