Cue damage - concerns

[TATE]

The tube was probably 36" in length. There was sufficient room at both ends to push in some bubble wrap in a wad. I'm sort of wondering if the cue might have been removed from the tube was well. The tape I used was the old priority mail tape that one used to be able to get free from the post office - several layers of it.

Very strange mystery indeed. I'm wondering if it's vandalism myself.

Could the package have been left on the doorstep? Does the recipient have anybody harassing him?

This cue looks like the damage would be caused by someone leaning it up aganst the wall and stepping on it. or possibly pulling it hard against their knee. In other words, crushing pressure with no real impact - like it was purposely broken. Look at the way the forearm split at the "A" joint - that comes from a lot of weight pressing hard on that relatively weak area - and the cue would have to be well supported on both ends to do it. if it happened in the tube the tube would have at the very least been creased.

Chris

 

[Bob Farr]

Hi everyone, I'm the lucky recepient of this cue. The tube was a 3" mailing tube 36" long. Rich had about 3" of bubble wrap around the cue which was in a plastic sleeve with the two shafts with bubble wrap on the top and bottom of the cue. It was snug and should have been safe.
There was USPS issue packing tape over the end caps and I guess they could have been removed and replaced but I couldn't say for sure. There was one small crease on the tube about the middle that didn't penetrate to the inside. It was about one to two inches long, otherwise there was no other damage to the tube. It wasn't left at my door as it was insured and I had to go to the Post Office to sign for it.
If USPS dosn't pay then I have a good handle and sleeve and 2 nice shafts. I can buy a forearm from Prather or Atlas and find someone that will assemble my other parts around it. Thanks for everyones concern, B.F.

 

[TWOFORPOOL]

Hi everyone, I'm the lucky recepient of this cue. The tube was a 3" mailing tube 36" long. Rich had about 3" of bubble wrap around the cue which was in a plastic sleeve with the two shafts with bubble wrap on the top and bottom of the cue. It was snug and should have been safe.
There was USPS issue packing tape over the end caps and I guess they could have been removed and replaced but I couldn't say for sure. There was one small crease on the tube about the middle that didn't penetrate to the inside. It was about one to two inches long, otherwise there was no other damage to the tube. It wasn't left at my door as it was insured and I had to go to the Post Office to sign for it.
If USPS dosn't pay then I have a good handle and sleeve and 2 nice shafts. I can buy a forearm from Prather or Atlas and find someone that will assemble my other parts around it. Thanks for everyones concern, B.F.

That one to two inch crease is all it takes to break a cue. The package could of fallen and hit the edge of a table and like a "Karate Chop" broke the cue. It would leave very little damage to the tube. Keep in mind the tube wouldn't bend in two since the cue is keeping it from bending to begin with.

 

[hangemhigh]

The shipper is responsible for insurance and will have to file the claim with the Post Office. Please keep us informed on the whole experience. I expect they will deny your claim because of improper packaging, that being not double boxed, I hope I am wrong. Read the claim form carefully before you proceed, and if you need any documentation you cannot provide, there are some here who can help. Although your experience is disheartening, the knowledge all of us can glean from the process you are about to go through is very valuable, and will help for all future shipments.

 

[Bob Farr]

That one to two inch crease is all it takes to break a cue. The package could of fallen and hit the edge of a table and like a "Karate Chop" broke the cue. It would leave very little damage to the tube. Keep in mind the tube wouldn't bend in two since the cue is keeping it from bending to begin with.

Thanks that's good info. I've kept the tube in case we need to show it to someone at USPS. Thanks to "hangemhigh" also for your comments. Rich the shippper has filed a claim and has been quite the "BULLDOG" about following through on this.
Who knows? Maybe we get lucky!!!

 

[stevekur1]

That's horrible!
I heard people here say that they ship cues in a pvc pipe.

PVC shipping tube is the best way to ship... last 3 cues i shipped i used the pvc without a problem !

 

[jrackman]

That's horrible!
I heard people here say that they ship cues in a pvc pipe.[/QUOTE

PVC pipe?.... I get my shipping tubes at post office, built a little stronger then staples etc. bubble wrap it real good..so far no problems . I will not ship in rectangular type box, too weak in the middle imo.

 

[cuedoctor]

This is for you moron

it could have been done by a postal worker just being an ass.did the tube look like the tape had been messed with on the tube plug?alot of people had access to the cue between shipping and arriving.some people have no respect for others property.could have been taken out snapped across a knee and put back in the tube.

25 years ago when I was taking the test right in the middle of it this big guy comes up to me and say's come outside. He shows me 6 pool cues laying on the ground and say's "If you can break these in half in less than 2 minutes your hired''. I said no problem and 25 years later thats all I do is go from post office to post office looking for pool cues to break in half . People.....do the post office a favor and ship your cues ups and fedex please....I'm 6' and 235 and use to bench press 375 and your cues stand no chance

 

[johnqbs]

look at the box

from what i see something had to have been droped on that cue .
when i recieve a shipment of any kind , the first thing i look at is the box.
who has the box that was used to ship the cue.
not much , johnqbs:anderson sc

 

[danquixote]

If the plastic tube is flexable.....ie...not rigid pvc....it is possible for the box to show only a small crease. The cardboard has a crushability factor that allows it to return to shape somewhat after impact, the tube itself will also rebound to it's original shape. The bubble wrap is great protection against impact damage but offers minimal protection against bending. Use rigid pvc and crush damage is easily proven.....Dan

 

[Underclocked]

WOW! Do I have some good news or what! The USPS help desk for claims resolution has emailed me that the claim that I submitted (which was not for the full amount of the insurance I paid for) has already been approved and a check has been written to Bob.

I have to believe they must have somehow known this was entirely their doing?!

Bob will actually come out okay on the whole deal and I will rest easy knowing that.

Besides that (I just got in and checked my emails), I played a tournament tonight with a cue I got from Marcus and won. Wasn't a lot of money but there were some pretty strong local players there (Springfield, MO area).

For those of you that might suffer damage at the hands of USPS shipping, I can tell you that I filed an online claim as directed by my local postmaster and the approval took 3 days (actually a bit less).

 

[mikeyfrost]

I recently had an OB classic shaft delivered to me. The package was ripped, triangle box all beat to hell. Only wrapped in some paper with a little styrofoam in there and I mean I was in shock about it. Tape everywhere and I just knew the shaft was going to be in several pieces.

By far the worst package I ever recieved and my shaft is fine. I know less can happen but I can tell you as someone who has seen first hand a forearm crack from temperature change it is a real phenomenon. I agree temperature may have played more of a role in this than physical damage.

 

[RBC]

The crease in the tubing is the clue to the cause of the damage. The damage this cue received was lateral pressure, or being bent. Thermal expansion can't cause something like that in my opinion.

When packages are being sorted, they travel down many conveyor systems. The long narrow packages, like tubes, can get caught on the edges of the sorting systems and stop moving. The remainder of the boxes behind them just pile up against them until something gives, which is usually the cue.

As you can imagine, we ship a good number of packages. We use the triangular mailing packages like what you can get from the major carriers. Our products are not packaged tight inside the box on purpose. We wrap the shafts in a foam wrap and use bubble wrap to pad the ends. What this does is allow the box to be "bent" a fair amount before the shaft inside is affected. When you pack a shaft tightly, if the box bends just a little bit, the shaft will be bent too. The combination of the large triangular box with plenty of room inside and all the room the shaft has inside is what protects our products from damage. We have never had any damage from a cue or shaft impacting the inside of an undamaged box.

I'm glad that the post office has accepted your claim. My experience with them is not near as good as UPS.