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Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | The Country Artist arrived today and I could tell by the appearance of the box something was wrong. Fedex seems to ALWAYS ask for signature but this time they just left it on the porch.
The neck is snapped off at the heel.
I mean snapped.
I'm pretty sick about this. Can I file a claim? Probably. But from what I've read, FedEx will doall in their power to weasel out of it. And maybe rightfully so this time. It was packed with plenty of bubble wrap but it was shipped in one of those cheap trapezoidal guitar boxes that won't withstand much.
Can I fix it? Oh yeah. I've fixed worse. I've pieced headstocks and neck heels back together many times. But I know each and every time I look down on the repair on the heel I will remember that sick feeling I got when I opened the box. If it were lacquer I would stand a snowball's chance of airbrushing over the repair but I suspect there's no touchup for O finishes.
I'm really upset by this. Would it even be worth contacting Ovation to have them replace the neck? How much do they usually charge for this?
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Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Woah! |
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Posts: 3969
| Ouch, feel sorry for you.
Generally, the shipper needs to file a claim. You and/or the shipper should cite the Carmack Amendment every time you speak with anyone from FedEx. You might also call your homeowner's insurance agent; the underwriter may pay the claim and then go after FedEx with the full force of their legal team.
Mother can certainly replace the neck; you might want to get a quote from KK or JB and have that as part of your arsenal when dealing with FedEx and/or your insurance company.
Best of luck. |
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Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Oh my, I hate to see that! Now the aggravation begins...
Check out this article on the CARMACK AMENDMENT concerning claims.
Actually, I think this should be tacked somewhere on this site. Great info...
Good luck, ks!
edited to add: Serge beat me to the CA reference. Use it!!! |
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Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | I'm at the point where I don't even want to make a claim. The reason being that I only paid a hundred bucks shipped, the top and bowl are nearly flawless, no cracks, bright and shiny... I mean this could be a keeper. It's friggin' gorgeous. BBurg and his Heart of Gold is helping me out with a correct preamp and I've got an email in to John B asking about a saddle.
At this point I may not be thinking with my head, but I can live with that. I'll eat the hundred bucks; I think anyone would agree I stole it for that price. So what it means is that I paid a hundred bucks for a bowl and have to start there. It just comes down to what the MS would charge me. Can I have them put on a new neck for less than the street price of a 1674? |
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Location: Right now? | Ouch. Oh, my ... so sorry for you ... what a nightmare ... good luck with that one. I know you have pretty magical skills, so I look forward to the end of this story. Keep us posted.
;)
Willa |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | OOooo... That's depressing :eek:
Okay... I use Fed Ex.
Mythology has it that FX breaks less stuff than UPS.
BUT... When they destroyed that beautiful 1121 they paid NOTHING.
Even thought I declared the value at $350.
They just claimed that I packed it wrong.
Yeah... That is why the just left it at your door...
So they can say that if was fine when it was in their custody.
Go after them anyway! |
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Posts: 416
Location: On the Coast - Halfway between SF & OR | Originally posted by ksdaddy:
It just comes down to what the MS would charge me. Can I have them put on a new neck for less than the street price of a 1674? I've had them replace a couple of acoustic TRC necks and the cost has been in the $500 range. |
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Posts: 715
| Ksdaddy, I hope it works out for you. But if it doesn't, you could always write a "FedEx Breaks Guitars" song. ;)
Michelle |
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Location: East Tennessee | Major Bummer. If it was shipped in a box made to ship guitars in I would think FedEx would be liable. |
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Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | A Fedex truck t-boned the minivan a friend of mine was driving. 2 years of pain later they're trying to weasel out of that... |
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Posts: 1851
Location: Newington, CT | Ok, and here I am being a tad paranoid...Do you know the seller? I'm not REALLY paranoid, but are you SURE it wasn't broken BEFORE it was shipped?
The reason I ask is that 100 bucks IS absolute theft for that...but not if the neck's already snapped. |
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Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I'm with AlanM on this. You SHOULD file a claim. There's nothing to loose. Get a qoute and file a claim. That's just a no brainer. You bought something, they broke it, that's what insurance is for. However, having said that... that is a VERY suspicious break to happen IN a box of any sort. Possible, but I would think the box would be destroyed in the process.
And finally... I just have to say... not that anyone will listen... The question of how to ship a guitar comes up often around here. If you notice Alpep and I no longer even comment. I won't say UPS is flawless, it's not, but if something happens to a guitar, they are better prepared. I've NEVER had a UPS claim denied for anything, and I've only ever had ONE issue with a guitar shipped UPS.
My recommendation to use UPS to ship guitars within the continental USA is based on shipping and receiving over 500 guitars in the past 10 years or so, with only ONE claim ever having to be filed... and that actually was the packers fault cause they put the label on the top instead of the side. The mothership just had to eat the cost of a repair because they did the same, but that's another story.
So here it is...
To ship an Ovation Guitar.
1. Use a Guitar Box.
2. Put guitar in a case in the box (any case, but something)
3. Insure the guitar is secure in the case, just snug, NOT tight.
4. Insure the headstock/neck joint are supported, again, snugly, not tight. (basically the guitar shouldn't rattle in the case)
5. Float the case in the box with newspaper or foam or whatever.. again snug, but NOT jammed in tight.
6. The guitar should be tuned to pitch, then detuned evenly about 1 step. (tune the low string to D then tune normally).
7. The shipping Label... Put it on the NARROW SIDE OF THE BOX!!!! If the label is on the end, it's all too tempting for someone to stand the box on its end, not leaned against anything and it can take a face-plant. On the wide faces of the box, there is a temptation to lay the box flat and stack stuff on it... On the long, narrow ends, the box will MOST LIKELY end up with the guitar traveling in the position it's played.
8. DO NOT put FRAGILE stickers on the box. These are a flag to handle the box separately. While I won't say that no shipper doesn't toss a box across the room once in awhile, it is MUCH MUCH more likely that something FRAGILE will be set aside, on it's own and hence handled MORE than if it was just put on the truck or plane. Think about it. These people are moving 1000's of boxes each day. It's what they do, it's what the system is designed for. The LAST thing you want is for your guitar to be "oh just stand this one over there, we'll put it on last cause it's marked fragile". They aren't guitarists (maybe they are, but that's not what they are doing). When was the last time you heard of a plain box getting run over by a forklift or falling over, or falling off the loading dock. No... you hear about the "clearly marked as fragile" box getting damaged.
You can agree, you can disagree. But as I stated above, I have over 500 successful, undamaged guitar shipments to back up my methods... and actually I guess I can include one bulk shipment of 150 guitars across country that were not done by UPS but by a trucking company, also with ZERO damages, packed by my method.
your mileage may vary. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Thank You Miles. (Everybody read that before reading this)
KSDaddy... It is the Shipper's responsibility to pack it securely and claim the value.
It is also the shippers responsibility file a claim.
If you bought this on eekBay it is the sellers responsibility.
When that BC Rich Perfect 10 got stepped-on, UPS came back and retrieved it, then they shipped it back to MD and eventually inspected it and Paid the Seller. He had already paid me.
When FX broke the 1121, I immediately repaid the Buyer...
Then FX returned the Artist and told me that I was SOL.
Either way, it is really the Shipper's responsibility to file the claim. |
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Location: T-Town | Boy that's a sad one ksdaddy.
Best of luck with a claim. |
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Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Man.. the more I look at that break, but more I'm curious as to how it can happen. Thats a really strong part of the guitar, and to break there means that either the neck or the body had to be held tight in place while the other part (neck or body accordingly) was flexed enough to break, yet not enough to break away. I mean seriously, have you ever tried to bust an Ovation on purpose? Like maybe launch one a couple hundred feet with a trebuchet and just watch it bounce... not break.
I do hope it works out. |
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Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | It was in one of those thin trapezoid boxes meant for a solid body. The headstock end of the box had good overlap but got progressively less towards the body. When I first saw the box there was a crease in the top, right about where the damage occured, and the side flaps of the box were split. It looked like something heavy was dropped right in the 12th fret area. Imagine if you tried to use the box as a bridge and you jumped on it right in the middle.
I stuck it on ebay to try and get my $100 out of it. I'm more than a little upset about the whole thing and would like to see it fixed with a new neck but that would mean adding $500 to the MasterCard and I don't know how smart that is right now.
Here's one of the pics he sent me when we were making the deal. I don't see any break there.
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Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | A Sunburst Country Artist is not that common. I would have the factory fix it. You WILL have one great sounding and beautiful guitar. |
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April 2003
Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | I'd call them but when I emailed JohnB on Monday I got an out-of-office reply. There might not be anyone there at all and I don't know who to contact. Apparently they're on a two week shutdown.
If anyone knows who I should contact (if not JohnB) please let me know. |
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April 2003
Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | It's on the mend.
Can you tell I get panick stricken easily and change my mind every five minutes?
I epoxied it last night and now begins the long process of drop filling the crack with super glue to fill it up. No idea what else to use. I'd airbrush some black on the heel, fattening up the existing sunburst a little. That would conceal the damage altogether but I would end up overspraying the whole neck with clear in hopes of avoiding a 'parting line'... and I don't now what would stick. Regular polyurethane?
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Posts: 806
Location: Seymour, Tennessee | I "talked" to Kim Keller the other day and he said they all go on vacation from 7-17 through 8-2.
That's why you couldn't get a hold of anybody :)
Good luck with the neck. |
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Posts: 354
Location: nashville | One of the main UPS Depot here in nashville is only about 2 blocks from the Gibson plant. If Gibosn uses UPS that could be one of the reasons UPS does a better job. |
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Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by james37214:
One of the main UPS Depot here in nashville is only about 2 blocks from the Gibson plant. If Gibosn uses UPS that could be one of the reasons UPS does a better job. LOL... actually there are lots of reasons.. Mainly UPS is Designed for packages (Parcels). It's not just in the name, a visit to any depot makes that readily clear. Even a list of the supplies you can buy from them... they move packages. If you something small, that needs overnight. Letters, books, documents.. FedEX is the way to go. Letters and Small packages, weight under 2 lbs, the Post Office does surprisingly well. I try to use Priority Mail when possible for small stuff, and when time is not a concern, and I don't mind it "being in the system longer".. then Parcel Post is great. There's no tracking with the post office, so I use 3rd party insurance if it's of any value. But big items, over 10 lbs. UPS.
Also, and I haven't confirmed this, but it is my understanding that FedEX is franchised. The drivers buy their equipment and routes, whereas UPS owns their equipment and routes. Again, I have not confirmed this, but it could explain a lot.
Bottom line, just go to a UPS depot and look behind the curtain, you'll see why PARCEL is part of their name. It's pretty obvious compared to FedEX... Now as I also said, they ALL screw up from time-to-time. But again, UPS is pretty quick with few hassles in making things right.
Ok... off soap box.. I appologize but the last several damaged guitars I have seen were not shipped UPS... and it's just sad to see. |
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Posts: 354
Location: nashville | I think your right about the franchied. I have a college pal that had a the downtown nashville route and I think he said it was his truck and he hand bid on the route. |
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Location: closely held secret | Yes, Fedex drivers won the routes and trucks. |
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FedEx broken neck
