Shipping and Insurance

[gt6267a]

Due to the threads about shipping and insurance problems, I decided to try a slightly new approach to sending the bicycle I just sold via the classifieds. Hopefully, there will not be a problem and the extra precautions will not be needed. I am writing to share my ideas and am interested to hear if anyone has done this and if it helped:

To obtain the box and get the bike packed properly, I had my bike shop pack the bicycle. As people in various threads talked about getting rejected by UPS under the auspices of improper packaging even with a shop doing the work, I brought the bike to my UPS store with an open top. I then had the UPS attendant look in the box and determine if the packaging is sufficient. She decided to add some foam and charged me an additional $3.99.

In addition to providing safer travel, I am hoping that since the packaging has now been blessed by a UPS representative, there is no chance of them not paying an insurance claim, at least for packaging reasons.

Thoughts?

Regards,
Keith

[Serotta PETE]

Sounds like a good idea.....let me know how things turn out.

I have been using FED EX for the past two years without problems. The first time SPOKEs uses them for SOLVANG - - THey do not damage his bike - THEY KEEP IT!!!!

[Lanternrouge]

If its damaged, you will be in a much better position to tell UPS that it could not have been improper packing. Was this done at a UPS counter or by a shipping center? If a shipping center, it's possible that UPS would say that the person inspecting the packaging wasn't its agent, etc. Hopefully, it will arrive in perfect shape so it will no longer be a concern anyway.

[gt6267a]

If its damaged, you will be in a much better position to tell UPS that it could not have been improper packing. Was this done at a UPS counter or by a shipping center? If a shipping center, it's possible that UPS would say that the person inspecting the packaging wasn't its agent, etc. Hopefully, it will arrive in perfect shape so it will no longer be a concern anyway.

Thinking along these lines, I went to a converted mailboxes etc. My receipt says "The UPS Store". The "agent" wore a UPS hat, UPS apron, and I signed with a UPS pen! A claim of not their agent so it might not be packaged to UPS standards would be pretty wild.

[YO!!!]

I have taken pixs of the entire packaging process before sealing
the carton for shipment.

[coylifut]

has anyone ever had a bike damaged inside a hard case? I have to ship my bikes to cx nats and due to recent threads, i'm worried.

[atmo]

has anyone ever had a bike damaged inside a hard case? I have to ship my bikes to cx nats and due to recent threads, i'm worried.
make sure you youtube the entire procedure atmo.

[manet]

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND lyrics - "The Gift"
...

It was a New York company. You could go anywhere in
the mails. Then it struck him: he didn't have enough
money to go to Wisconsin in the accepted fashion,
true, but why not mail himself? It was absurdly
simple. He would ship himself parcel post special
delivery. The next day Waldo went to the supermarket
to purchase the necessary equipment. He bought
masking tape, a staple gun and a medium sized
cardboard box, just right for a person of his build.
He judged that with a minimum of jostling he could
ride quite comfortably. A few airholes, some water, a
selection of midnight snacks, and it would probably be
as good as going tourist.

By Friday afternoon, Waldo was set. He was thoroughly
packed and the post office had agreed to pick him up
at three o'clock. He'd marked the package "FRAGILE"
and as he sat curled up inside, resting in the foam
rubber cushioning he'd thoughtfully included, he tried
to picture the look of awe and happiness on Marsha's
face as she opened the door, saw the package, tipped
the deliverer, and then opened it to see her Waldo
finally there in person. She would kiss him, and then
maybe they could see a movie. If he'd only thought of
this before. Suddenly rough hands gripped his package
and he felt himself borne up. He landed with a thud
in a truck and then he was off.
...



It was at this point that Mr. Jameson of the Clarence
Darrow Post Office rang the door bell of the large
stucco colored frame house. When Marsha Bronson
opened the door, he helped her carry the package in.
He had his yellow and his green slips of paper signed
and left with a fifteen-cent tip that Marsha had
gotten out of her mothers small beige pocket book in
the den. "What do you think it is?" Sheila asked.
Marsha stood with her arms folded behind her back. S
he stared at the brown cardboard carton that sat in
the middle of the living room. "I don't know."

Inside the package Waldo quivered with excitement as
he listened to the muffled voices. Sheila ran her
fingernail over the masking tape that ran down the
center of the carton. "Why don't you look at the
return address and see who it is from?" Waldo felt
his heart beating. He could feel the vibrating
footsteps. It would be soon.

Marsha walked around the carton and read the
ink-scratched label. "Ugh, God, it's from Waldo!"
"That schmuck," said Sheila. Waldo trembled with
expectation. "Well, you might as well open it," said
Sheila. Both of them tried to lift the stapled flap.

"Ahh, ****," said Marsha groaning. "He must have
nailed it shut." They tugged at the flap again. "My
God, you need a power drill to get this thing opened."
They pulled again. "You can't get a grip!" They
both stood still, breathing heavily.
"Why don't you get the scissors," said Sheila. Marsha
ran into the kitchen, but all she could find was a
little sewing scissor. Then she remembered that her
father kept a collection of tools in the basement.
She ran downstairs and when she came back, she had a
large sheet-metal cutter in her hand.
"This is the best I could find." She was very out of
breath. "Here, you do it. I'm gonna die." She sank
into a large fluffy couch and exhaled noisily.
Sheila tried to make a slit between the masking tape
and the end of the cardboard, but the blade was too
big and there wasn't enough room. "Godamn this
thing!" she said feeling very exasperated. Then,
smiling, "I got an idea."
"What?" said Marsha.
"Just watch," said Sheila touching her finger to her
head.

Inside the package, Waldo was so transfixed with
excitement that he could barely breathe. His skin
felt prickly from the heat and he could feel his heart
beating in his throat. It would be soon. Sheila
stood quite upright and walked around to the other
side of the package. Then she sank down to her knees,
grasped the cutter by both handles, took a deep breath
and plunged the long blade through the middle of the
package, through the middle of the masking tape,
through the cardboard, through the cushioning and
(thud) right through the center of Waldo Jeffers head,
which split slightly and caused little rhythmic arcs
of red to pulsate gently in the morning sun.

[atmo]

red to pulsate gently in the morning.

film at eleven atmo.