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Vintage threads from the first ten years

previous: marc A friend of mine sent this Ampeg to... -- 4/26/2003 2:43 PM

Re: a FedEx vintage amp destruction site-

4/27/2003 12:29 AM
Bob Predaina	Re: a FedEx vintage amp destruction site- I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but as others have pointed out, those shippers mean it when they tell you how to package your parcel to protect it from abuse in transit. All of shippers use automated package distribution systems where your gear gets shuffled around on (and falls off of) conveyor belts. When they specify that there has to be a minimum of 2-inches of dead space/padding around the merchandise, its because they expect that the automated sorting process will either drop your parcel 4-6 feet or spindle it to at least 2-inches in depth. That said, I once shipped a Peterson Strobe tuner in the factory package that has the foam endbells and a foam ring in the middle. When the tuner arrived there were no signs of external damage to the box upon first examination. Upon opening the box, the tuner's metal case had a "V" shaped crease in it 4-inches long and 1-inch deep. Honestly, the tuner looked like it had been hit with a fire axe or a splitting maul. Upon re-examining the box, it appeared that there was evidence that the box had been "bumped" -- the corrugated cardboard appeared to have been ented but returned to shape. Inside of the box, the tuner looked like somebody had tried to split it with a maul. I also thought of that Samsonite commercial with the gorillas, and the news expose' where they showed USPS employees at the airport shooting hoops with the packages marked "Fragile." Much to my surprise, the tuner survived and was 100% functional, even with the huge crease in the metal box!

4/27/2003 12:29 AM

Bob Predaina

Re: a FedEx vintage amp destruction site-

I don't mean to beat a dead horse, but as others have pointed out, those shippers mean it when they tell you how to package your parcel to protect it from abuse in transit.

All of shippers use automated package distribution systems where your gear gets shuffled around on (and falls off of) conveyor belts. When they specify that there has to be a minimum of 2-inches of dead space/padding around the merchandise, its because they expect that the automated sorting process will either drop your parcel 4-6 feet or spindle it to at least 2-inches in depth.

That said, I once shipped a Peterson Strobe tuner in the factory package that has the foam endbells and a foam ring in the middle. When the tuner arrived there were no signs of external damage to the box upon first examination. Upon opening the box, the tuner's metal case had a "V" shaped crease in it 4-inches long and 1-inch deep. Honestly, the tuner looked like it had been hit with a fire axe or a splitting maul. Upon re-examining the box, it appeared that there was evidence that the box had been "bumped" -- the corrugated cardboard appeared to have been ented but returned to shape. Inside of the box, the tuner looked like somebody had tried to split it with a maul.

I also thought of that Samsonite commercial with the gorillas, and the news expose' where they showed USPS employees at the airport shooting hoops with the packages marked "Fragile."

Much to my surprise, the tuner survived and was 100% functional, even with the huge crease in the metal box!