Bad News Bow Shipping

[Rob DiStefano]

What happens when you ship a T/D longbow in a sock, wrapped in layers of bubble wrap, stuck inside a brand new USPS triangular shipping box, with bubble wrap padding at both ends ....

 

 

 

Needless to say, all T/D's will now ship in PVC tubes, just like one piece bows.         :mad:  

Only the tip overlay was ripped off, and this good Mohawk longbow will go back to Vince for complete restoration, and then back home safely to me.  

Karma had intervened - she didn't want "Magua" to get separated from me.  I'll welcome the warrior back home with open arms and a promise never to let him go again.    

[Benny Nganabbarru]

Rough, eh. I'm glad it's repairable.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

You did have Insurance right.

[Rob DiStefano]

Yes, fully insured and with confirmation - you can see the crumpled sticker on the box.

In this case, for me, turning this over to the Post Office for the insurance dollars would only be an option if the bow was killed (do note that the usps will pay for the restoration of damaged bows).        

If it's only the limb tip overlay that's shattered, and Vince sez it's repairable, this bow deserves a new lease on life.

[TexasTrad]

Sorry that happened.  That is exactly the way I ship bows.   So far I have been lucky and havent had any issues -- I guess it is probably a matter of time.

I wonder how that happens...does the box get caught in some kind of machine, dropped out of a moving truck, smashed with heavier boxes?????

[Rob DiStefano]

Can you imagine the nerve of the US Postal System to deliver the box in that condition????

From now on I'm treating ALL shipped bows as if they had to endure a road trip through Afghanistan.

[JRY309]

Ouch,sorry that happened! When I ship anything in boxes I always completely tape the ends of the box to help reinforce it.I have had when I bought brass inserts and they were mailed in a simple envolope,as fast as they go through the machines at the post office they become like projectiles.They rip right through the envolope.But stuff happens,I mailed a money order for a bow I bought here by Priority mail envolope and it took 17 days for it to arrive.It was ripped apart and put back together,but he did finally recieve the money order.That was rough because he mailed the bow the same day I mailed the money order,I recieved the bow in two days.

[rastaman]

People laugh at me when i ship a bow...it is usually shipped in the thickest, heaviest, pvc pipe there is..it costs extra but you could literally run over it with a truck and not bust it!
Thank goodness yours can be repaired!

[hayslope]

I cringe when I look at those photos!

I bought a used one piece from down south and it was shipped wrapped in bubble wrap inside a long cardboard box.  When it arrived, the box looked as though a rugby team had used it in a practice session.    

Amazingly, the bow survived without a mark.  Sometimes you get lucky.

Rob, thankfully yours sounds like it can be resurrected, but it still doesn't ease the initial shock.  I'm sure it will come back to you good as new.

[sw]

Had that happen not long ago. Same type of box, wrapped well. Have switched over to the cardboard piping now when i can get it and am looking at PVC as well.

Glad to hear the bow is repairable.

[John3]

Glad it is fixable... I've shipped close to 30 bows over the years packed just like that and never had any issues..  I will pack my next in PVC.


JDS III

[Shifting Shadow]

A few years back there was a bow company shipping bows wrapped in bubble wrap only.

[PAPA BEAR]

i always ship boxes with the ends fully taped with gorilla tape.tough stuff and really does a good job keeping the box intact at the ends.a little exspensive but beats the alternative.

[hunt it]

Ouch! Light(white)pvc only way to go I'm afraid.

[Bjorn]

Glad the bow can be fixed Rob. I got this one a while back.

 

[TommyBoy]

After all the horror stories on this site about shipping, I'm surprised that every bowyer/seller does not ship in PVC pipe.  I know it costs a little extra, but why take the chance of ruining a bow?  It just seems like it's penny wise and pound foolish to me.

[SELFBOW19953]

I received a recurve I bought on the site whose name we don't use.  It arrive with a limb tip, 6 or 8 inches of it, sticking through the side of the two priority mail boxes that were taped together.  There was no-nada, none-insulation, bubble wrap, newspaper in it.  Amazingly, there was no damage to the limb of the bow.  Guess what kind of feedback they got from me!!!

[Rob DiStefano]

lightweight drain pipe pvc tube is the minimum for longbows (unless the limbs are really aggressive snakey), heavyweight pvc schedule 40 for all other stick bows - 1pc and t/d.  

insure, confirm/track, make sure you have some means to prove the value of the bow shipped.

anything else is dumb - and i admit to being dumb when i shipped out this t/d longbow in cardboard box.  never ever again.

[ballen28115]

Ken Rohloff at Whippen Stick bows builds wooden boxes to ship his bows, simple and really sturdy!

[missagain]

i always go to a carpet store and get the 4" cardboard tube and shipp a longbow in,i just recived a new dywer and they shipp them in a carboard tube with round wood ends with 4 small screws and tape..works good