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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Let say...
You live in the CONUS -in the Greater Mid-Atlantic region and you buy a guitar from a seller in British Colombia who charges $65 to ship said guitar via DHL "Expedited Service"
How long would you expect the guitar to be in transit once the seller has placed it with DHL - AND still call the service, "Expedited"?
Curious what your expectations would be... |
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Location: South of most, North of few | I'd call DHL and ask them exactly that. "Expedited" does not have a universal meaning. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | It's a meaningless question, because "expedited" is just marketing BS. Unless you know what NON-expeditied is, than there's no way to define it. When FedEx says 2-day, that's something I can pretty easily understand.
Now, that being said and ignoring how long it takes for a moment - $65 to ship a guitar from BC to VA is a pretty fair price. Rates have really gone up in the last 6 months. It used to cost me $42 to send guitars to the gloss parlor. Now it's $57.
Dave
Btw - you need to see how nice a book mando looks with glossed neck and headstock. Ooooo. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I really don't care how much the shipping service cost... I recently paid nearly twice that to have another guitar shipped from Colorado. And I really don't mind it taking a while to get here (though, admittedly, I am a little uneasy about a guitar being in transit for more than 10 days)...
It's more...
At what point does language as "common consensus" become utterly meaningless, to the point that nobody knows what anyone else is actually saying?
And you're right Dave, it's largely due the F'idiot-"OhAren'tWe SoClever"-Marketers wrangling words through contrived/invented specialization and highwire legalese . . . . And thanks for peeling yourself off your glossed neck mando long enough to post your opinion. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Here's a current example for reference: Standard UPS ground, Denver to New Hartford, 20.7 lbs, packed in the manufacturer's original shipping carton, insured for $2500, $83 and change, seven days point to point. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I can give another example....
UPS 3 Day Service CO to Va insured for $1600.00- $102.00.
The point being-- What is YOUR expectation of "Expedited"?
This word ACTUALLY has an accepted meaning among English speaking peoples, except in the hands of marketing-spin doctors where it's meaning is completely privately invented... private language is meaningless in a social group.
/end rant/ |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I've had parcel post and media mail take 3 weeks for that distance. To me, expedite means to half the time. So if I didn't get it in 11 days, I'd be upset and calling the seller and asking for the tracking info. |
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Location: Marlton, NJ | I just had the opposite experience. My guitar was shipped from Ct. via UPS ground - which to my expectations is anywhere from a few days to a week - took one day.
It also depends upon WHEN they ship it... is it expedited once it leaves their shipping dock? Or do they expedite getting the product from inventory to the shipping dept? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Hey, just live with it. Expedited probably has no meaning at all in this context.
It's like the hotel. When you check in and they tell you you're in a "Deluxe King", ask to see the Non-deluxe King. I doubt it even exists.
Dave |
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Location: closely held secret | In my experience "expedited" just means they put it on the truck sooner. Doesn't necessarily mean the truck leaves any earlier or drives any faster or takes less pee breaks. |
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Location: SoCal | Jeff, DHL "Expedited Service", to me implies a specific product/service offered by DHL. Does DHL even have a product called "Expedited Service"?
For international shipments claiming expedited service, I would assume that the carrier is taking care of all documents and clearing Customs. |
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| 'Expedited' is legaleese for 'we get your money as fast as we can'... :rolleyes: |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | DHL in the pointer page calls this an expedited service:
DHL has partnered with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to create a new service designed for business-to-residence shippers who desire a secure, cost-effective shipping solution. Shipments are picked up by DHL and delivered directly to your customers by the local post office.
Features and Benefits
An efficient service for shipments from businesses to U.S. residential locations, including P.O. boxes
Standard delivery within 2 - 4 business days, Deferred delivery within 2 - 7 business days
Shipments up to 70 lbs.
Door-to-door visibility and tracking
Associated Value Added Services
Hub Induction |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | 7 business days. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | plus time for him to process and package. |
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Location: Cicero, NY | I would think that it would mean somewhat faster than "regular" mail, whatever the hell that means.
Maybe the driver does take one less leak break. |
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Location: west | after reading all this - it makes sense to use fedex (fedex gnd) for all your continental needs..
I wish more businesses would dump OOps and open a FX acount...
then we would have our guitars faster, safer, and more economical... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by an4340:
Shipments are picked up by DHL and delivered directly to your customers by the local post office. Let me get this straight, you're gonna take DHL who can scarcely compete with FedPS as it is, and you're gonna team them with the US Gov't??? Oh pull up a chair, this is gonna be a good one ...
I use FedEx 100% of the time, no exceptions, no question about it. And that ain't gonna change. Folks who use UPS like them just as well, that's fine. I just don't care for the color.
Dave |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Well ... this DHL / USPS partnership has been going on for quite a while. A lot of packages go this way. Don't shoot me, I'm just the messenger ... I found it odd too, but WTF. Jeff ... let us know what truck pulls up. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Just for comparison... USPS Priority Mail, 16 lbs.,
Left Michigan on 2/6, got to Oregon 2/8. $58.90!
Don't know about insurance. They didn't smash the box :rolleyes: |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Just out of curiosity...
How many people here have shipped and/or received over 200 guitars in the last 5 years worldwide with less than 3 incidents (or at least very few incidents) of damage? Being bit by a scam doesn't count... |
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Location: NJ | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
Just out of curiosity...
How many people here have shipped and/or received over 200 guitars in the last 5 years worldwide with less than 3 incidents (or at least very few incidents) of damage? Being bit by a scam doesn't count... me |
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| Can't believe you walked in to that one Miles.
USPS got all my Os and As here in no more than 10 days tops. In perfect condtion. |
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| Anyhoo Jw - whatcha waitin' fer? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
How many people here have shipped and/or received over 200 guitars in the last 5 years Me, if you include ukuleles. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Not exclusively Guitars... but, other large/valuable packages and the only issue I have had was when I shipped a painting home from HonkGong via...
you guessed it.... DHL.
I'll let you know how it turns out... and who shows up at the door. Today is "Day 10" in transit. |
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Location: NJ | jeff
many people are starting to choose dhl. their service is significantly cheaper than UPS.
I have considered using them myself. Ever since the shipping rate hikes last year, I have been getting complaints about shipping costs across the board. Unfortunately I have no control over what UPS charges. I still believe that they offer the best service for parcels.
IF i had a million dollar acount with them, I would consider Fed EX but NOT fed ex ground. their ground service is often subcontracted out and is a mess. kinda like dhl's.... |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Al,
I certainly understand the move to a "More Affordable" service and as long as they are reliable, I don't see any issue... I don't much like people (or companies) calling services, "Expedited" simply as a marketing ploy... (not to say you'd do that)
You are right about FedEx- 'round here, I never know who's going to show up. Could be a FedEx truck, a Ryder rental, or "some dude" in a van... hardly ever the same person twice. DHL is the same way.
I have used DHL for a number of years shipping to and from Asia and South America because- that was really the only game in town until the last two or three years.
On the other hand, I know the two drivers by name who service this area for UPS, they always show-up in an ugly brown truck. My dog loves to jump in and help them find my parcel and get a treat for the effort, and I've never had any sort of issue with UPS service. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I've received Guitar shipments by DHL, never an issue. In fact all those Tak books from Germany arrived by DHL.
Dave |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Maybe it's just marketingspeak to show off DHL's sponsorship of the Porsche Spyder Le Mans car. I'll see if they make a poster. |
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Location: west | expedited shipping - is that shipping that exhibits both female and male shipping attributes?? |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
. . . DHL's sponsorship of the Porsche Spyder Le Mans car. . . "Expedited Finishes" |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | The point of my silly post earlier that since about 5 years ago I have shipped and received literally 100's of guitars. I subscribe to the Alpep Rules of Shipping 101, and in that time only one guitar sent and one guitar received were ever damaged and in fact only the one received was really the transports fault, the other was just an accident as they do happen.
My point is.. I don't care or even have interest in doing things different as far as I'm concerned there is only one way to do it right, and all else is a compromise of some sort. That's just the way I feel about it, and I have the results documented to prove it.
Do I sometimes stray from my own rules... yes.. Sometimes I just have to for whatever reason, mostly having to do with me not being the one paying the bill. But then I insure it anyway, and just hope for the best.
just my 2 cents... ya gets what ya pays for. |
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Location: ms | I`ve had no trouble with UPS in over 20 years of shipping guitars. I have had a couple of complaints with FEDEX, |
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"EXPEDITED" Shipping- Your Perspective?