Don't ship with UPS!

[Bladepeek]

Kevin, you're not the only lucky one. Maybe we're over due? Funny story. My dad loaned me his air pistol (I know archery related only, but this fits the thread). I went over to Germany with the pistol and started shooting in the basement. Went out to the local shooting club and was immediately put on their team. Of course my 'el cheapo' pistol had to go. They loaned me a good Feinwerkbau pistol until I could buy my own and I mailed Dad's back to him. It had to go registered mail. Never arrived and they paid my insurance claim. Nearly a year later, Dad gets a notice that he has an item to pick up at the customs warehouse in Detroit. Guess I should have refunded USPS the claim money, but i forgot.I suppose that means I'm WAY overdue.

PS, Killy, please don't rat on me  

[huntmaster80]

My new Toelke Whip that was shipped in a leather bow sock that was inside of a hard tube with lots of duct tape over the ends, and bubble wrap in the ends!!!
   

Now I will say that my postman does an absolute great job!!!  But the folks that work in the sorting places, need to be a bit more carefully sometime???

[ishoot4thrills]

The last one-piece bow I shipped out was in a PVC tube. That's the only way I'll ship a bow anymore, regardless of what carrier I use.

If you're not using a PVC tube or similar to ship, then you're playing Russian Roulette with your one-piece bows.  

[legends1]

I donated a Legends Bow to Terry Harris for the Howard Hill Classic this weekend.Its been setting in AL.for two days i just did the tracking on it.It should have been there by the very lattest yesterday.  

[rraming]

I have packages come to my office daily and rarely have anything with an "abused" look to it. They do a great job!

[Goshawkin]

Originally posted by ishoot4thrills:
 
If you're not using a PVC tube or similar to ship, then you're playing Russian Roulette with your one-piece bows.      

Sure about that??? I think you'd need more like a piece of titanium pipe with caps welded on the ends to be safe.
Here's the PVC tube one of my bows arrived in.
 

[straitera]

While living in Texas City, Tx, I wrote (3) separate letters of commendation to the Postmaster for "Exemplory Service" above & beyond for that USPS office. Here in Cleveland, Texas the exact opposite! This USPS office is a disgrace as I included in 2 letters again to the Postmaster. *No replies. Currently, I'm looking for a bow one month overdue & a knife shipped from Canada almost a week ago. Point being, the shipment is only as good as the service provided which may be entirely based upon the managers (chain of command) & subsequent work ethic involved? Just a guess & I've had great service w/UPS in Galveston County.

[WESTBROOK]

Looks like we're gonna have to use 3" Rigid metal with threaded caps...that should be cheap!

Eric

[Kevin Dill]

I guess it's just the law of averages at work. We all know (if we're honest) that automated machinery can't be made to handle long tubes, skinny boxes, and irregular shapes as well as it can a rectangular and rigid box. Some of it's going to break or get punished by the process. I've had $400 fishing rods shipped to me in rather flimsy plastic tubes...no problem. Then I see rigid plastic tubes broken in pictures. For myself, I always assume that I have to provide as much protection as the contents require. You can't squeeze a mouse turd into one of my bow boxes after it's all packed tight and ready to ship. I've shipped long shaft (read "easily damaged") power tools in cardboard cartons and they made it fine.

Huntmaster80: With absolute respect to you, I think the person who shipped you that Whip should not have relied on bubble-wrap and tape to keep the bow tip from poking through. I would have wrapped the bow tips thickly with heavy paper, and then taped bubble-wrap to the tips. The tube should have (imo) had hard or rigid end caps at least as thick as a heavy-duty cardboard carton. That longbow tip is nothing more than a dull spear needing just a push to go through bubbles and tape.

One negative about rigid plastic pipe: The pipe or caps can shatter if struck or dropped. A plastic pipe is no match for a roll-down door slamming shut. External glue-on or thread-on caps can and will catch on machinery edges during movement and sorting...which is why most companies use recessed end caps on cardboard or plastic tubes.

[arrow flynn]

Once a long time ago they ran over my shipped bow in a pvc tube.totally crushed it.I almost went to jail over it. Usps did it.

[iohkus]

I think Buddy has a good point, location and distribution points may be a factor in damaged or undamaged goods. I order quite a few items delivered by UPS, and have never received any damaged items. However, none of those items were a one-piece longbow!

[**DONOTDELETE**]

UPS, USPS, FEDEX .... they all have their share of damages....

I think the biggest problem with using that PVC pipe to ship a bow, is that they are round and they roll off the conveyor belts and spin around too easily. There's nothing wrong with using PVC pipe for protection.... but tape some card board around it or something to keep it from rolling.

USPS has those triangular priority mail boxes that work pretty good.  i use those with just bubble wrap.  You just need some reinforcement on the ends and bubble wrap the bow real well so it doesn't slide around.

insure your stuff.... and prayers don't hurt at all.

[Bobaru]

I'm 62 years old.  Been receiving package from UPS from who knows when.  Never had damaged goods. Ever. Never had lost goods.  Ever.  I think they do a fine job.

I'm not so sure about the point of a thread trashing UPS.  But, have at it if you need to do that.

[Ken Taylor]

Warning to fellow Canadians: From previous experiences, I will not purchase anything from across the border that is shipped UPS.. the way that they calculate duty, taxes, and brokerage fees is totally outrageous.