Dbluefishing = Good, US Post Office = Bad

After seeing a few positive reoprts on the Dblue kayak rod I decided to order one,
 
2 days ago I received it, (only 4 days after ordering  )

The box looked like it had been run over by a truck and the rod was in 3 pieces (a 1 piece rod),  and the box was taped up with tape that said "Rewraped/Resealed in the U.S.P.S."

Sounded pretty straight forward, the Postal Service trashed the thing and was responsible and after some hassle I'd get my money back and/or a new rod.

Then I went to the post office   .

Apparently the US Postal Service is NOT liable for ANY damage even if it is obvious that the damage was their fault.  

Unless the item was insured, then there are Forms to fill out and waiting to do.

So just to make sure I understood I had the clerk tell me again that I need to insure a shipment to make sure it's covered in case THEY destroy it.  I always thought the insurance was for things like lost/stolen packages or unexplained breakage, Now I see that I gotta pay more to cover it in case THEY break it.  

Well thankfully Dblue insures all their shipments, as part of their shipping charge.

Not only that but Dblue had me take the rod to my post office, turn in the claim, then they take it from there, they will submit a claim on their end and go thru whatever hassle and waiting time is required to get the money back.

I ran into someone at the post office who had a similar experience and she told me it took months to receive her refund via mail.

AND Dblue (Lily and Quentin) immediately shipped me a new rod which I expect to get early next week.  

While the story's not over yet, Dblue seems like good people to do business with, and the next time I ship anything at the post office I guess I'll pay extra just in case they destroy my package.

Maybe Fed Ex and UPS are the same about insurance, but I sure learned something I didn't know about USPS shipping.

dale

One of my freinds had A sword fish mounted and shipped from Mex that came in about three pieces with no insurance one time so things could be wose.

That sucks but it does sound like Dblue is really on the ball, especially if they said they'll handle the rest of the claim.
The thing with UPS is they include $100 coverage automatically and you have add on if you want to cover more $. I don't know what their claims procedure is like. I think FedEx is similar in that they do cover a certain amount initially. DHL, who knows.

Keep in mind, the difference of these companies from USPS is they are exactly that:  companies. True, USPS has to compete with them but a company is inherently more responsive to customer satisfaction and tends to be more accountable. Of course, I would never criticize any entity of the US gov't  but I've actually been fortunate not to have had too bad luck with USPS, not that I've shipped a lot of pkgs with them.

Also, having been in the office furniture biz & dealt with shipping & warehousing, sometimes it seems like a miracle that as much stuff arrives undamaged as it does. Transporting goods is brutal. I'm sure there are some folks here who work in the industry & can tell some great stories. One of my favorite damage reports was for a destroyed marker board - the digital pics showed forklift wheel tracks across the carton. Oops!

Thanks for the info about Dblue. Good luck with the replacement & let us know how the rod works out.

FedEx has $100 cover standard, you then buy declared values but the first buy takes you up to $500.  Thats for express, I dont know about ground. 

It's just part of the shipping business.  Tons and tons of packages are cramped together for shipment and the one packed lightly is usually the one that gets damage.  for all the bad rap the usps get, it deliver and cheaply compare to the others.  I took my poles on a flight to LA for some fishing and I guess they were put at the bottom of the other luggages, when I took them out of the travel container the guides were all bent..

I'm not complaining about the treatment of the package altho the BOX was broken into 3 pieces and taped back together with Postal Service tape.

My point was that the Postal Service isn't liable for damage even when it is clearly their fault, unless you buy insurance, which is pretty cheap as well.

Just spreading some info that I didn't learn til just a few days ago.

What Items is the Postal Service liable for? Can I file a Claim on an Uninsured Mail Item?

The United States Postal Service liability is restricted to loss or damage claims for the following items: Registered First Class Mail International, Registered Priority Mail International flat rate envelope, and Insured Priority Mail International variable weight or flat rate box items that begin with CA-CC and CE-CZ (from the customs declaration form), Collect On Delivery (C.O.D.) and Express Mail service items.

Additionally, the liability amount is limited to no more than the insurance value stated and paid for at the time that the item was mailed.

The United States Postal Service is now legally authorized to compensate for loss or damage of uninsured items for Registered First Class Mail International, Registered Priority Mail International flat rate envelope, and Insured Priority Mail International variable weight or flat rate box items that begin with CA-CC and CE-CZ (from the customs declaration form) items..

Note: To process and deliver the huge daily volume of mail in a timely manner, we use high-speed automated mail processing equipment; occasionally this equipment malfunctions causing damage to a few pieces of mail. The Postal Service is not held liable for damages occurred during the processing or handling of mail matter under Title 28, Section 2680(b) of the U.S. Code, except for the items listed above.

There's a reason that I never shipped parcels via USPS, even during the 10 years that I worked as a mail carrier...

Dblue could do with a website tho.

(Or am I the only persons it doesn't work for).

I've only been able to access the actual Dblufishing.com site once, most of the time it doesn't work for me. But I believe they sell just about everything they have on ebay.  Go to ebay and search on dblue, click on any of their items, then click on visit dbluefishing store, you're still on ebay but it's all there.

I'm really happy with my Dblue rod. Great for kayak rockfishing. Its the short TC4 rod. I believe its about 6' 2" and rated for 1-4oz / 15-40lb line. I have it paired with a regular old Shimano TR-100G reel and 30lb braid. It has been out-performing my Trevala/Abu combo lately.

Dblue is the bomb.  Love mine...  the 6'6" boat rod, like Sin Coast has, not the kayaking one.  I also have one of their 9 foot surf rods and it's fantastic.

Lily told me they are redoing their website...  They do have an Ebay store, though, and Lily is very good about answering questions via email.

-Eric

I'm sure there are some folks here who work in the industry & can tell some great stories. 

We had a customer in Los Altos Hills order a custom rug, (45' x 60') to fit her banquet room.....8 months to craft and $65 K worth of fine french weaving.  This thing was crated in 1" thick Ply but had to be moved by a forklift stinger pole thats inserted into the middle of the rug.  Somewhere along the line a driver just ran the pole in and ripped the hell out of it.  Someone took a big hit that day.     

Tearing up a 65,000 dollar carpet, musta been an interesting conversation around that one.

Well, today I finally received my one piece Dblue rod, it actually showed up 2 days ago but this time they wanted a signature, go figure, so today I got it, Dblue did great getting the replacement out to me.

And crap, the box again looked like it had been crushed end to end, parts of it looked like an accordion.  I don't know how it's happening but it looks like this box got exactly the same treatment as the last one. Good thing rods are really flexible. The rod was fine.

I'm not sure when I'll get to use it, I know very little about the technical aspects of rods,  but I like the way it feels so far, pretty too, dark blue metallic, I actually weighed it, 8 oz.  No bull, a 6'8" casting rod, 12-35 line wt, cork grip and it weighs 8 oz.  I even thru an 8 oz sinker on just to check my scale, Now let's see if it snaps with the first rough treatment.


dale

And crap, the box again looked like it had been crushed end to end, parts of it looked like an accordion.  I don't know how it's happening but it looks like this box got exactly the same treatment as the last one. dale

My advice is that if you don't want it broken package it so it can't break.
Most people think their package is carefully handed from one person to the next until it gets delivered and if something goes wrong it HAD to be intentional. That is just not the case.
Most rods shipped by companies are in a long somewhat flimsy box. I know the Post Office has a 70 lb weight limit and UPS and FedEx are more.
Take the box and rod you ordered, lay each end on a solid stand then drop 70 lbs on it.
That's what happens when it comes down the parcel slide.
Most individuals that mail rods mail them in heavy PVC tubes so they won't break.
If it did happen all the time then all delivery companies would be out of business.
My guess is that it doesn't happen enough for the company you got it from to insure it. Some of the other delivery services have 'automatic' insurance but you are already paying for it EVERY TIME you send something through them. You just have a choice with the Post Office whether you want to pay more or not.
The company you ordered it from made it good. They probably save money in the long run by using the Post Office and not having to pay for insurance everytime they send out a product.
The insurance process is a hassle but that is because there are so many fradulent claims they have to sort out the real ones. It is unfortunate but that is just the way it goes.
Below is a pic of a parcel sorter. It isn't even a very big one but gives you an idea of how many packages your package bumps into and gets slammed into on it's way to the final destination.

Did I hit a nerve somewhere along the line,

Perhaps using US Post Office = Bad in the title wasn't a good idea, I didn't mean to offend anyone who works there, after all I work for an Oil Company.

I started this post to point out something I didn't know,

that the Post Office isn't liable for anything unless the shipper pays insurance.

I don't remember saying anything about breakage being intentional,

I did stress though, that If THEY break it, they're only liable if YOU paid insurance.

Whenever I ship something at the post office they ask if I want insurance, not once did they tell me it was in case they crushed or otherwise destroyed my package,  I may be dense but I thought the insurance was for things beyond damage in shipping like theft or loss. I always thought just plain damage was the carriers responsibility.  Like I said, dense on my part.

Dblue uses USPS and does insure all shipments,

dale