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jwe711

jwe711

The Great Cue Masters...!
Silver Member
My new cue came like this...

The cue has 3 small hacks in the wrap, and 2 hacks in the forearm and butt sleeve...and though I'm happy with the cue it's self because I got a good deal, but it appears that I'll have to live with it.

But the rest is compliments of our USPS delivery service. thanks.

By the way, the cue was a Tad.

I know you forum police will ask what's for sale...but this is relevant to a sale that went down 4 days ago from here.

Anyhow,NICE work from our Postal System.

je
 

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who puts a tad in a regular postal box with no other security? Seriously, $3 in tubing and $1 in bubble wrap and the cue is safe. Don't blame the post office for the weak packaging.
 
Weak packaging. This shows why it's always advisable to double box at the least or use some kind of protective inner tube (be it heavy cardboard roll or pvc). Bubble wrap is great but doesn't stand a chance against something like this.
 
I agree it should've been in PVC. Any cue I ship that breaks the 125.00 mark gets packed with PVC and all shafts regardless of price. I don't see any fragile stamps on that box either. All you have to do is ask them to stamp it. There's no extra charge for handling a fragile item. I shipped a custom made rifle back to PA from a hunting trip in WY. This was in a diamond plated aluminum case that was pad locked and taped shut as well as the standard latches. Received it once home, opened it up and that gunstock was broken in half! I almost cried over that one because the man who built that gun had passed away about 4 months before that trip. Luckily, it was repairable and the insurance covered all of it. You can't be too cautious when shipping anything.
 
I just received an old Gina via USPS and the box was in similar condition upon receiving it. My wife went to pick it up and actually signed for it without making them open it up. I was pretty pissed but luckily the cue was not damaged. Just curious at to the mindset on the forum. I consider it my responsibility as seller to ensure an item arrives undamaged, and ALWAYS buy insurance except where the buyer specifically asks me not too, but they have to agree up front that any damage is their responsibility, and I get it in writing prior to shipment. I think some on here actually think that it is up to be buyer to request insurance prior to shipment, not the other way around. Any thoughts? Sorry, if you consider this hijacking the thread, let me know and I will remove.

Scott
 
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To the OP:

Was this TAD cue shipped with no insurance?

And, if so, was insurance either offered and declined or it simply didn't come up during the course of the deal? :confused:

Sorry to see this.

Best,
Brian kc
 
Always use PVC/bubble wrap and water proof in plastic, preferably with desicant packs (cardboard tube is okay, but not as good) and put that in a triangluar package (so the package doesn't roll off some pallet or forklift and get crushed). Anything else is a huge gamble, IMHO.
 
I am shocked that it was even sent Express! I always thought Express Packages would get handled less and have a smaller chance of this kind of damage. This is scary...
 
I have received a couple boxes that looked like that also. Thankfully the cues were fine.

I always try to put the cue is an old POS case to protect it more and wrap it up good in bubble wrap and shrink wrap.
 
I can't remember specifically what the mode is, but I know that through USPS, you can send high dollar items (several thousand dollars) like artwork, etc. where every person who touches the package has to personally sign for it, and it is not routed the same as general packaging. They hate the hassle internally, but it pretty much guarantees safe delivery. I think it costs extra, but for high dollar stuff, it is the way to go. I have only done it once. When they sign off on receipt of the package, they want to make sure there is nothing wrong with it so they don't get chewed out if there is damage.
 
cuenut said:
I can't remember specifically what the mode is, but I know that through USPS, you can send high dollar items (several thousand dollars) like artwork, etc. where every person who touches the package has to personally sign for it, and it is not routed the same as general packaging. They hate the hassle internally, but it pretty much guarantees safe delivery. I think it costs extra, but for high dollar stuff, it is the way to go. I have only done it once. When they sign off on receipt of the package, they want to make sure there is nothing wrong with it so they don't get chewed out if there is damage.
Click to expand...

I think maybe it's registered mail that get signed for everywhere.?
 
The best and cheapest way to securely ship a valuable cue is to pack it inside a pvc pipe with end caps (which then fits in any mailing tube), total cost for materials should be under 10 dollars, and you insure for loss at that point NOT damage.
 
JE,
It's sound great as you have the TAD.
How about it?
By the way, packing the cue with nylon sleeve, put some bubble stuffs and then put it into carton tube or PVC is great. I always do this way.

Huy Dang
 
Unfortunately, I have had to deal with USPS insurance claims in the past on 2 separate occasions. The pix below are one of them.

Bet you did not know that the insurance fine print states that you must wrap an item in a protective film like bubble wrap, package it in a separate tube, then pack that tube inside one of the USPS boxes or a similar approved package...but it does. Fortunately, this one was double packaged like that...I don't have the pix of the triangle anymore.

In 2008, it took me a six month argument with the USPS insurance handlers in St. Louis before this one was resolved, and, since I use automated USPS shipping, the max I insured it for was $500. I never dreamed something like this could occur.

As I said earlier, this was the second time something like this had happened. Believe it or not, that was the excuse that USPS insurance settlement gave me..."I notice that you have made a claim for USPS damage before." Why, yes, I have, but I shipped and insured hundreds of packages and none were damaged, except for those two...what is your point....point being that I was trying to rip USPS off on insurance scams.

The item was packaged in a tube sold for shipping by USPS, then placed inside a USPS triangle shipping box. I argued that this was gross negligence on the part of USPS...no amount of packaging could have saved the cue...the solid pin was bent at a 90 degree right angle. They did not agree.

Well, that pretty much settled it for me. I e-mailed the pix along with the correspondence from USPS to the Office of the Inspector General, USPS in DC. I received a call within 24 hours approving my $500 settlement...I still lost $800 on the incident.

Even though I now package items of value much, much better (usually shipped inside PVC tube inside the triangle), nothing would have saved this cue.

Joe

Barnhartbrokencuepix.jpg
[/IMG]
 
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Joe,

That just makes me sick to my stomach.. I think I remember seeing this when it happened.. Didnt you have it happen to a Nitti also?
 
plshrk22 said:
Joe,

That just makes me sick to my stomach.. I think I remember seeing this when it happened.. Didnt you have it happen to a Nitti also?
Click to expand...

Yes...those were the 2 cues...both broken in half. Chris was able to repair the Nitti, as it broke cleanly at the handle (see below), and build 2 new shafts for it. The Barnhart here was another story. You can tell from the pix, but the forearm was shattered and splintered like the shafts were.

Joe

DSCF8271.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I use USPS for international shipping because it is much better for the recipient, but when I do I always double box, and fully insure, and pay for postage at the post office.

For domestic shipping I always use UPS.

I'm not saying that UPS doesn't on occasion lose or damage a package, but it seems to me that it happens much less often, and there is NEVER any hassle with the insurance claim. If they damaged it, they will pay for it if it was insured.
 
Bamacues said:
Unfortunately, I have had to deal with USPS insurance claims in the past on 2 separate occasions. The pix below are one of them.

Bet you did not know that the insurance fine print states that you must wrap an item in a protective film like bubble wrap, package it in a separate tube, then pack that tube inside one of the USPS boxes or a similar approved package...but it does. Fortunately, this one was double packaged like that...I don't have the pix of the triangle anymore.

In 2008, it took me a six month argument with the USPS insurance handlers in St. Louis before this one was resolved, and, since I use automated USPS shipping, the max I insured it for was $500. I never dreamed something like this could occur.

As I said earlier, this was the second time something like this had happened. Believe it or not, that was the excuse that USPS insurance settlement gave me..."I notice that you have made a claim for USPS damage before." Why, yes, I have, but I shipped and insured hundreds of packages and none were damaged, except for those two...what is your point....point being that I was trying to rip USPS off on insurance scams.

The item was packaged in a tube sold for shipping by USPS, then placed inside a USPS triangle shipping box. I argued that this was gross negligence on the part of USPS...no amount of packaging could have saved the cue...the solid pin was bent at a 90 degree right angle. They did not agree.

Well, that pretty much settled it for me. I e-mailed the pix along with the correspondence from USPS to the Office of the Inspector General, USPS in DC. I received a call within 24 hours approving my $500 settlement...I still lost $800 on the incident.

Even though I now package items of value much, much better (usually shipped inside PVC tube inside the triangle), nothing would have saved this cue.

Joe

Barnhartbrokencuepix.jpg
[/IMG]
Click to expand...

Nice pics..........
 
I have had to make 2-3 claims to the post office for slightly damaged cues, not totaled, just needing mostly refinishing. It took a couple phone calls but the end result was very satisfying: I needed to bring in a quote from the repair person, fill out a form and bring in all the packaging. None of them had tubes inside the triangle pack. And once the manager of the post office sees it was packed fairly well, she approved the claim and I got the checks within 3 weeks. The packaging goes no farther than the local branch I was told.

If the cue was totaled and I wanted a full refund for the amount that was insured, they would keep the broken cue. To me USPS seemed happy to only have to pay a partial claim and jumped on the chance to do that vs a full refund.

The worst I ever had over a claim was a cue I sent UPS through a mailing service - it looked like the package was dropped from the plane onto cement pin down. Bent the pin and the joint where the forearm & wrap came together needed repair. UPS declined the claim. Luckily the shipping company came through and took care of the repair 100%.

Moral of the story, if the shipper took out insurance, you can get a quote from Tad for the refinish & file a claim w/USPS (talk to someone in person at your local branch first). There is a time limit to do so so get a move on :).

Dave
 
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