# USPS Way of Handling Fragile Packages



## pierce85 (May 21, 2011)

Here's how the US Postal Service handles packages with "Fragile" "Handle with Care" written all over the box, and the result of that handling - my first Stanley #7…


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## pauljp (Jan 10, 2011)

I'm sorry for what happened to your plane.
I think that when they see "Fragile" written on a package it's like a magnet to destroy it.
I tested this at work once with my "intelligent, adult, co-workers".
I put an empty box on the kitchen table, sealed it shut, wrote in big letters all over it "Don't Touch, This Does Not Belong To You, Leave It Alone" in both official languages, and the next day it was ripped open.
It's like a magnet I tell you.
Perhaps human nature.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Can you file a claim?


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## longgone (May 5, 2009)

The only safew way to ship anything is with an excessive amount of bubblewrap followed by a couple of pounds of styrafoam packing peanuts…still not 100% foolproof however.


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## Dennisgrosen (Nov 14, 2009)

AAUUCH …........thats even hurt just to se it ….....I feel sorry for you

I can give you plenty of scary stories from the freightrsystems here in Denmark and europe too
one of the more scary is they pack a full man high cage with parcels and on top of that
they place a gearbox from a car or an engine block …......did I say place …. sorry I shuold say dumping
speciel the last month of the year I think they want to do it to all the cage of parcels they see
knowing that more than 50 % is fragile parcels 
how I know this …........have been a part of the system ….....the last man … the one who got 
to try to explain this wasn´t my fault when delivering the parcel ….......
and I don´t think any one shuold ever get a delivery that is damaged at all

see if you can get UPS to pay for this both the plain and the P&P

Dennis


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

Wow, I know someone who works for UPS that told me about using packages as footballs so its not just the postal service.

A month ago I shipped a set of 4 beer glasses from California to Maryland and the box arrived with not so much as a scratch on it and my glasses in perfect condition.


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## Loren (May 30, 2008)

Double boxing is a best practice in shipping anything remotely fragile.


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## Mickit (Feb 6, 2010)

I have had very good luck with USPS. Quick deliveries, and packages inbound and out arriving in very good shape. UPS has fallen short quite a few times…crushed boxes seem to be the norm. And our local UPS drivers sneak in and out…placing a package on the porch and haulin' a**


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## SSMDad (Apr 17, 2011)

So sorry to see this. Just hurts. Fortunately (knock on wood) I've had luck with USPS but like Mickey, UPS has been a nightmare more than once. The packages looked like someone dropped it on the floor and jumped up and down on it. As a matter of fact there was even a footprint on one of the boxes.

See if you can file a claim for damages.


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## StumpyNubs (Sep 25, 2010)

I ship hundreds of packages through USPS a year, and I can tell you that the United States Postal Service is the biggest bunch of retards this side of Chucky Cheese!

I wouldn't trust them with a roll of good toilet paper if I had any other shipping option. I ship a lot of flat packages with triple cardboard and giant letters that say "DO NOT BEND!" and guess what? Some idiot looks at it and says "I reckon it'll fit in the mailbox better if I fold it in half."

You'd think a massive, overfunded govenment agency would give better service…


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## pierce85 (May 21, 2011)

The frustrating part is that the seller did a fantastic job of packing this. It was packaged like a tank! This was entirely the fault of USPS. Unfortunately it wasn't insured. This is a first for me with the USPS. They've always been better than UPS or FedEx.

Our USPS delivery guy was great as always. He apologized for the condition when he delivered it and was truly upset. The local post office had receive it in that condition.

Anyway, I've been exchanging emails back and forth with the seller and this guy is the best of the best! Seriously, he immediately refunded my money, apologized and told me I could keep the "remains." Obviously, I couldn't let him do that because It wasn't his fault and I need to be able to sleep tonight.

In short, we compromised and I paid what I bid less the shipping costs. Tools guys really are great folks.


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## JJohnston (May 22, 2009)

Well, if you like that, take a look at their package tracking "function". If they bother to put your package in the system at all, it essentially says (Joe Pesci voice), "We got it. You'll get it when you get it. Don't worry about it."


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## patcollins (Jul 22, 2010)

When I lived in an apartment I had one mailman that insisted on folding my Netflix DVD's in half and putting them in my box instead of laying them at my door which was 10 ft from the mailbox.


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## TimK43 (May 29, 2011)

I live in the country where we seem to have a bunch of "crack heads". If the post office leaves anything sticking out of the mailbox, it gets taken very quickly. Several times, I've asked the post office to leave packages at my door but they never do. Now if someone mails me a package they have to ask for a signature so it won't get left on the mailbox.


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## ChuckM (May 12, 2008)

It doesn't matter which delivery firm you use, only the person who handles your item matters. I have had both good and bad experiences with Canada Post, USPS, Royal Mail, UPS, Fedex and local courier companies. On the whole, the safe delivery of a fragile item depends on the SENDER! Double boxes, lots of foam or bubble materials and use of official/postal warning/color labels (they are free!) greatly reduce the chances of breakage. Of course, don't be penny wise if you are shipping something dear or expensive-get insurance for the full value of your goods. I once sold and shipped an item for $350 US (profit was about $100 US) and the item arrived in Europe damaged. I got everything back after filing my claim plus the postage. The buyer was happy, I was happy and everyone was happy.

P.S. Don't ever declare a value lower than the actual in order to save your insurance or fees. You may end up short on your claim. I still prefer Canada Post and USPS when I ship or want to receive my goodies.


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## DLCW (Feb 18, 2011)

Looks exactly like every box I've received via UPS (not USPS) for the last 4.5 years. I've not had any problems with USPS shipments in the same time period.


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## MedicKen (Dec 2, 2008)

The fragile was not written in their native language. They have NO idea what that means. Gotta remember English is a second language for most of them


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## pierce85 (May 21, 2011)

Ken, I shouldn't have laughed at that but I did… I'm a bad person.

Don, that's been my experience as well. In fact, this was the first time that I encountered this with the USPS.


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## NBeener (Sep 16, 2009)

Often, a box "simply" winds up at the bottom of the truck-sadly-and what you get is crushing.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Stumpy said, "You'd think a massive, overfunded govenment agency would give better service…".
Your'e kidding, right?

Best solution I have found is to make a box out of 3/4" plywood, top attached with long screws, lined with foam rubber and then filled with peanuts. Then don't say anything about "Fragile" on the outside, label it* "HEAVY". *Most of the morons see and understand heavy so they leave it alone.


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## JonathanG (Jan 18, 2010)

Sorry to both hear about and see this. I've had the same experience, but not just with USPS. Unfortunately, it doesn't always seem to matter which service you choose to ship your packages, but who is on the package-handling side of things. It's unfortunate, but it pays to really make sure things are seemingly "overwrapped/overprotected" when shipping, as you never know who might handle the package.

An unfortunate, but all-too-common occurrence.


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## pierce85 (May 21, 2011)

^funny you should mention NJ. That's where the package originated and very likely where the damaged occurred.


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## Jeff28078 (Aug 27, 2009)

I once bought a laptop for my daughter. It needed a signature and I wasn't home. The Fedex driver went to my neighbor who promptly signed for it. Neither noticed that the bottom of the box was open and the weight of the package was of an empty box. When I called Dell they said Oh well it happens and sent me a replacement the next day. Obviously Fedex doesn't hire for intelligence (can't say too much for neighbors either).


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## Flyin636 (Jul 29, 2011)

Generally have very good service from USPS…......one horror story was a delicate dial indicator w/stand,yadayada.The seller did a great job pkging/lableing.Bubble wrapped instrument and really nice factory box-crnrd, Oak case.The instrument made it unharmed but they managed to basically bust the Oak case in half.Very sad.

Sounds like your seller did the right thing which is very cool.BW


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## Maverick44spec (Aug 7, 2011)

Maybe if we started putting "please beat the heck out of this package" insted of "fragile" on the packages, they would be delivered in one piece since they tend to do the opposite of what their told to do.  Most of my USPS experiences have been pretty good but that's mostly because just about the only thing I order is wood and supplies for pens. The wood is pretty much stacked around the pen kits so they would just about have to take a hammer to it to do any real damage. I have had packages that said "do not bend" stuffed into the mail box though.


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## rance (Sep 30, 2009)

Guaranteed not to wear, tear, rust, bust, or collect dust. And if it breaks, you get to keep BOTH piecess. Sorry it wasn't insured.


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## bdjohns1 (Jan 11, 2011)

Not to defend the postal service abusing packages, but looking at the picture of the box, I'm thinking that whoever packed it didn't stuff the carton tight enough. Seeing a section of the box that could be compressed that far suggests the cushioning wasn't dense enough.

If I'm shipping something as dense as a plane, I'm going to first wrap the plane in at least a couple of layers of the big-bubble (1" dia) wrap and tape it tightly. Then, I'm going to go with some kind of loose-fill material which I'll overfill the box with, shake it around to settle out, then overfill again and compress it to seal.


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## pierce85 (May 21, 2011)

^ the plane was so thoroughly wrapped and taped in bubble wrap that it took me several minutes to get the damn thing out - it was wrapped in several more layers than what you recommend. The box was densely packed with newspaper - so much so that it came out of the box as a block, such as it was. The outside of the box was also wrapped over and over with packaging tape. But despite all that, all the bubbles on the the bubble wrap surrounding the toe as well as the heal of the plane had been popped because of the mishandling. Accidents happen. This was not an accident but deliberate.

As I stated: "It was packaged like a tank!"

Several weeks earlier, I had a package shipped from NYC to Western Massachusetts via priority mail and it took a week to get delivered - I can drive that distance in three hours. It went through the same hub (Jersey City, NJ) as did the above damaged package. The priority mail package sat in the Jersey City hub for four days before eventually leaving to my location. I regularly receive priority packages from the West Coast in three days.

The problem here was neither the packaging nor the USPS as a whole. The problem is the USPS Jersey City hub. pariswoodworking, nailed it. Apparently for postal workers at the USPS Jersey City hub, "Fragile, Please Handle With Care" means beat the royal hell out of this and "Priority Mail" means whenever the hell we feel like getting around to sending it off.

By the way, I'm not the victim here. The seller is. He insisted on refunding nearly the entire selling price, even after I gave him glowing feedback and asked him not to issue the refund. The contrast between the ineptness of the USPS Jersey City hub and the beyond-the-call-of-duty professionalism of this ebay seller could not be more stark.

This thing is still pissing me off - the system like any mega organization protects itself at every level, which means nothing will be done about this. Sorry for the follow-up rant, but I needed to vent.


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## BarneyTomB (Jul 5, 2011)

I have to say I have a very good UPS delivery person. I built a lock box that looks like a bench, that sits underneath my mail box and he puts all my mail in there and actually locks it.


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## BarneyTomB (Jul 5, 2011)

Send a copy of this picture to your Congressman and the Postmaster General stating this is why nobody wants to use their service. With them complaining about funding etc. perhaps you'll get a favorable response. If nothing else send a pic to one of those morning news shows. It would play right in with UPS funding reports.


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## MoshupTrail (Aug 11, 2011)

Actually I suspect the plane was packaged too tightly and in too small a box. Not to fault the sender, but I've learned from experience that a large box and small item surrounded by lots of air is the best combination. And by air, I mean lightweight packing, like Styrofoam peanuts, or those little plastic bag pillows. So in this case, the box that the plane was in should have been packed into another box about twice it's size in each dimension and then surrounded this way. It's so sad to see something nice like the knob ruined. I just hope the plane is till true and square - have you checked it?


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## parkerdude (Dec 13, 2008)

I apologize up front, this is only a related rant.

You can only ship firearms legally via UPS. It used to cost $4 - $6 each way. Now it costs $25 - $40 each way because UPS requires overnight delivery to cut down employee theft.

That's a Federal Felony, you would think that they would watch the work areas and have them arrested.

Go figure.


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