UPS and Fishing Rods (A Nasty Combo) 2024

llPa1nll reply :

Well I thought I had made the "Indestructible" shipping rod tube, I was wrong. I started off with a 10ft section of schedule 40 PVC. I cut this down to 6ft 8 in I then got a solid end cap and used the pvc cleaner and glue to seal it. The other end I used a threaded cap and a thread insert to seal that up that I yet again sealed with pvc cleaner and glue. I packed each end with paper and packed the rods tip to butt tip to butt. Well I shipped it down to South Carolina and I insured it for $1000. Well I signed for it down in South Carolina at the place I was staying and got a very uneasy feeling in my stomach when I notice that the threaded cap I had put on was completely loose and cracked from one end to the other. I unpacked the rods and one spinning rod had the tip broke and one bait caster rod had one of the ceramic insert guides knocked out of the eye guide. Well I am giving my local UPS store a call to start a claim for 2 new rods I will let you all know how I make out. I honestly dont know what more I could have done to prevent this kind of damage.

=Matt 5.0= reply :

Bummer :-/ Before the Holidays I was delivering rods from Cabela's every week. They were in long cardboard boxes...

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Pain- Be sure to keep that tube and the cap handy. MOST IMPORTANT is that you keep ALL ORIGINAL PACKING MATERIALS. This means the foam or paper, anything you used. This is how they get you, by saying "well you threw the packing away, how can we be sure it was packed right?". It is also in writing somewhere that it is your responsibility to do so.

Being insured, you shouldn't have an issue.

Papa_Tom reply :

You should see what they can do to a trolling motor also. Dealer gave me new covers that he had, but how can they (UPS) deliver something that looks like it went through a wringer washer and then challenge you on damage??? You may be (sorely) surprised about the coverage on the insurance as well.

=Matt 5.0= reply :

Russ, no work today? You're home early

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Nope, on the main st EG route, stopped home for a 20 min break.

=Matt 5.0= reply :

:DLOL, nice. I actually wish I was working.

guest reply :

Wow I have had rods shipped UPS over the last 4 years both me shipping them out and recieving them without one problem From Hazleton PA where in PA are you shipping from

muddy

cart7t reply :

I've heard this before with rods being shipped in PVC tubes. Everyone thinks because it's PVC and so durable that some part time dock worker at UPS couldn't find a way to damage it. ;D

Of course, my brother worked at UPS years ago in the loading department. He always told me to never send anything via UPS that you wanted to get there in one piece.

That said, I've shipped quite a few rods in the heavy cardboard tubes through the postal service. In all those shippings I've had a tip break 1" off and another person say they recieved the tube badly damaged but the rods survived.

It seems no amount of packing can safely protect any rod shipment.

Maxximus Redneckus reply :

Well im not trying to get all political here or trying to offend anyone but ..............this is what you call affirmative action in action we all deal with it from service at fast food joints to the TELEPHONE calls we make customer service in america is a JOKE and now they are raising the prices on stamps .I remember not too long ago 20 yrs to be exact UPS ,USPS, FEDEX all made it a PRIORITY to make the customer happy from the loading docks to the drivers deliveriing ur goods ...for example The USPS motto was rain sleet snow or shine you will get your mail now if ur mailbox is blocked by snow they wont even get out and put it in your box SAD how america has become so lazy and careless.Dont get me wrong i LOVE america but it is changing so fast its not even close to the promised land anymore ...expect it to get worse before it gets better UNLESS we change it

guest reply :

DID I MISS SOMETHING HERE WHAT DO DAMAGED FISHING RODS HAVE TO DO WITH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION???????? WOW THAT IS OUT OF LEFT FIELD :-?

Redlinerobert reply :

Affirmative. UPS broke his rods, so he is taking ACTION to get it corrected.

HPBB reply :

I work in the shipping business. Not UPS but a LTL trucking co. You would not believe what happen to some stuff. But it all comes down to the mighty $. people ship with what ever is the cheapest To make it cheep companies try to put as much on a truck as they can. putting things on top of other thing. Smashing things in. "Make it fit" is heard all the time. The companies that do not cram as much in as they can, don't stack anything, are falling away. They cannot compete since they are more expensive.

I bought two use outboards from a guy in VA, I live in Pittsburgh. He said he would "strap them to a skid" and ship them to me. I would have gotten free shipping from the company I work for. I said "no." I would drive down there myself and pick them up. I can just imagine what they would have looked like after being shipped. You get what you paid for. Atleast you were smart enough to get insurance.

FlipnFanatic reply :

This is actually a funny subject for me. I had a rod shipped to me through UPS that was broken when I recieved it. This was a couple of years ago as I was finishing college. Then I graduated, couldn't find a job right away so where do you think I ended up?

That's right... UPS... I figured out why my rod was broken. Employees there throw packages and smash boxes like it's their job. No pun intended. That's how your rods get broken. The people working there don't care. Needless to say, I packed every rod tube, Cabela's, and BPS package like it was one of my own.

Everybody, do yourself a favor and be wary about shipping anything fragile through UPS.

cart7t reply :

The bulk of the rods I recieve from a guy come in the cardboard tubes which I save to ship later. He's used UPS and Fedex to ship. I've recieved at least 4 or 5 shipments where the tube was damaged, sometimes nearly broke in half and yet THE RODS WERE OK INSIDE. The key I've found is to NOT pack the rods completely tight in the tube. I use that styrofoam sheeting to wrap around both ends so it's snug in the tube and then wrap around the middle to provide support there. That seems to be better than stuffing packing into a tube so the rods are incapable of flexing.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Quote

Everybody, do yourself a favor and be wary about shipping anything fragile through UPS.

Lets look at the facts first. I'm not defending UPS because I work there, actually, I pretty much hate the company right now BUT......

UPS has less damages than any other shipping company. Point blank, period. Check the numbers before making a decision on who to trust it with.

The nature of the business will result in some damaged pkgs. As for the employees purposely smashing stuff....not in Providence. I can't speak for any other facility but that crap don't fly here. You would be fired on the spot, immediately if you were seen damaging someones parcel. No union rep will defend you for it either. This, like drugs and alchohol, is simply not tolerated.

TrickyVT1887 reply :

Oh man i know your UPS woes, I ordered in a older model 7ft MH shimano compre from another store at work because they were on clearance for like $50 it was shipped in PVC, and the PVC was bent a little. I opened up the container and the blank was busted completely in half right above the cork. Not blaming UPS but i understood accidents happen i just wished the store that sent it woulda packed it in a cardboard tube, dont know why but seems like less break packed that way considering thats how most major rod companys ship their rods.

Siebert Outdoors reply :

Here we go again. :

All the shippers have accedents. Humans make mistakes. We all do. Thats why we need to package stuff like its going to be run over and insure it for replacement price. It is unfortunate he got his rods broke, really sucks. But any shipper can do the same thing to any package. As the old bumper sticker says "***** Happens."

I wish life was perfect.

=Matt 5.0= reply :

Quote

The people working there don't care.

Not true.

KU_Bassmaster. reply :

You could always drive your item there yourself :

llPa1nll reply :

Funny thing is I have a cardboard rod tube sitting in the rafters in the attic, I actually figured this would be a better alternative. Its stronger and rigid. I packed each end in newspaper and wrapped the rods in newspaper. For them to put a crack that ran the length of the cap had to have been a hard throw or a pretty bad drop. Im just glad I got my gear insured. I am now hoping for a hassle free claim process to get me back where I was before my vacation. Since I hope ice out here is going to happen within the month.

FlipnFanatic reply :

Sorry, I'm wasn't trying to offend anyone, but I described the facility I worked at. That kind of thing happened time after time. It may be entirely different where you guys work, but I have three other guys in my club that worked there when I did, and they would give the exact same description.

Just as a side note, I actually didn't mind working there, but with the knowledge I have as to how me old facility operates, I will never use their services unless its completely necessary.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

No offence taken at all.

So do you just never ship stuff or do you specifically NOT use UPS when you do because of fear of damage? I'm only asking because if a damged pkg is your fear, check the stats before you pick a service provider. UPS is far ahead of the pack. Just my .02 and again, not defending UPS by any means, I'm just going on the numbers. (and there is no reply, concerning this company, that would offend me )

It offends me more that the company I work for has a fisherman P/o'd

.ghoti. reply :

I guess I'll be the odd man out here. I've had several rods shipped to my house by UPS, and all arrived in fine condition.

Thanks guys, whoever you are.

Cheers,

KU_Bassmaster. reply :

Quote
I guess I'll be the odd man out here. I've had several rods shipped to my house by UPS, and all arrived in fine condition.
Thanks guys, whoever you are.

Cheers,

GK

Me too.

Jimzee reply :

Every Rod I have ever ordered has come by way of UPS. As a matter of fact, getting two Kistlers delivered tomorrow. I think it must vary from place to place. I haven't had a problem yet with this company, besides I think the delivery guy must be a fisherman because every time we talk we always get on the topic of fishing. I think he knows what is in those tubes....LOL ;D ;D ;D

HappyHooker reply :

Well, I hate to say it but ive been an employee at ups for 4 years now unfortunatly and i have seen my share of smashed rods, trolling motors, bulk line spools, etc. if at all possible i would say to save yourself the greif and agonny of your fishin goodies if its within reason to drive to the destination to pick up your product. If not i would track the progress on you product via internet and once you see that it has reached the terminal closest to you to go pick it up because that is one less ride it has to take to your house in the little brown truck and one less chance to be broken. Ive done it with all my purchases that have gone through that place and ive had seen so people do some nasty things to boxes. I also work for an LTL company and it brings a tear to my eye when you get brand new mercury outboards going to your local boat dealer with giant forklift holes in the side of the crate :'(. Its not a pretty picture. It is nice to see the skids of senkos and lucky crafts that fall over though because you get to test out all the new products before they hit the stores hehe. heres a pretty funny site to check out for all you haters of ups. www.unitedpackagesmashers.com

Jimzee reply :

Well one of my Kistler rods (He2 7' MHC) came by way of UPS just 10 minutes ago and guess what? The tube was bent in half!!! >

I took the rod out in front of the UPS guy and he said, "Is it a two piece?" I said," It is now!" He took the rod back and I guess I will have to file a claim or something. I really wanted to fish this rod this weekend. :-/ Oh well.......Doo Doo Happens!!

=Matt 5.0= reply :

U.S.P.S (post office) and Fishing Reels

Just got an email from a member here that I bought a reel from in the flea market section. He said that he sent it out through the Post Office the other day, and today it was returned to him. He states that the box was crushed and the reel was folded in half like a pretzel. Please don't blame all of us who wear Brown 8-)

dollarbill reply :

I am going to lake wylie in 2 weeks and I was going to ship my rods down there with UPS. They wanted over 70 bucks just to ship 3 rods. I also wasn't sure how safe it would be. Today, I decided to buy a plano airliner telescoping rod case and take that with me to the airport. I will be flying out of newark, nj. Hopefully nothing bad will happen. It is supposed to be airline approved, but someone told me I will not be able to lock it.

burleytog reply :

It is a crapshoot with all of the shipping companies. I've gotten packages from all three major (FedEx, UPS, USPS) shipping companies that were in bad shape. Heck, I once had a set of golf clubs shipped from Chile. They came via DHL and were in darn good shape when they got to me.

I guess my worst experience was getting two canoe paddles in a long box via UPS. How those paddles stayed in one piece is beyond me. There was barely a box left.

GAMEOVER reply :

Now that is scary, I just recieved an F4-610XDti (600 dollar) rod from UPS it traveled from MA to MI and it was only in what looked cardboard like tube with a 3rd of another tube connected to it and the caps stapled by think brass staples. I open the tube up yesterday (day I recieved it) and was shocked to see only about an 8 or 9 inch foam tube that was held by tape only covering the top 4 guides. The SIC guides seem to look okay, some minimal bending nothing more then youd get from a good day on the lake so I gently bent them back as directed and considered myself lucky. Whenever you guys get a rod through UPS always run part of a panty hose through your guides to make sure their okay and look for any hairline cracks near the guides. Hairline cracks may sound like their small but they are very obvious on a dark graphite blank when bending the rod gently in all directions.

guest reply :

MAKE SURE YOUR GIRL FRIEND IS OUT OF HER PANTY HOSE BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS ;D

justfishin reply :

Man, with the girls I date a pair of their panty hose would never fit through the line eyes. Maybe on a BIG saltwater rod.

Low_Budget_Hooker reply :

Dollar- I sent 10 rods yesterday from Providence, RI to Dallas Tx. Packed in a Flambeau bazooka pro. Dimensions were 93x8x8. Insured for $2000, and it only cost me $50.49. Many airlines hit you an extra $50 for the tubes and they don't guarentee (like a delivery service does) that it will be there when you are,lol. Last yr I had a direct flight so I took them with me (American Airlines-no charge). This yr we have a connector so we sent the rods ahead to Dallas to avoid them getting lost. Well worth the $50 IMO.

(PS-If the airlines lose that tube, I'm SURE they wouldn't hand me 2k like UPS will if they lose it. Just a thought.)(they also broke the clasp off my bazooka )

Panty hose comment- Cotton balls work also.

Again, every company is going to have damages. It's the nature of the business. Some facilities process up to 2 million pkgs per day. Miles of conveyor systems and so on. My point is that of the 4 major competitors, UPS has the lowest percentage of damages. This is the reason many of you are getting your rods via UPS, the companies that sold them to you know this. UPS buildings are set up better to handle "bulk" as opposed to "letters" unlike the other companies. Fedex makes it's money on their overnight business (next day air letters). It has always been their niche and their buildings equipment reflects this. Same with the post office (everyday letters). UPS has always had it's roots in maintaining the lions share of parcel or bulk post packages, therefor, the buildings design and equipment cater to this type of volume.

I've been lucky, I get rods all the time, from most of the carriers (UPS, USPS and Fedex so far) and have yet to have an incident.

susQbassman reply :

i had a rod shipped to my place of work by UPS it was a 6'6" all star one piece. but when UPS

was done the shipping tube was broke in half. TWO 39" ice fishing rods nice!susQbassman

Jimzee reply :

Hey LBH I'm with ya on the UPS thing. I was just looking forward to getting this rod and then I get it delivered yesterday in that kind of condition. Luck of the draw sometimes, can happen to any company or individual. At least the UPS guy was in good humor about it! :)

llPa1nll reply :

Well I filed the paper work as well as some Photos of the rods and tube. I know its inevitable but just s@#ks when it happens thats all. Its not like I am never going to order rods and have them shipped I guess the lesson learned here is Insure away and keep your receipts, or have some friends behind the counter of your favorite tackle store.

llPa1nll reply :

Well I just wanted to keep all of you updated on the claim process. I have been told that there is a +$300 check going to be waiting for me soon at my local UPS store where I shipped the Rods from. So I guess all in all it ended in a positive light and I will be upgrading to a Gloomis jig rod courtesy of UPS. I did ask my local driver how he would have shipped the rods and when I showed him the broken end of the rod tube he was surprised/amazed that they could have broken it.

SBM-RL reply :

I hate how people dont take care of customer searvice i work in a deli but run the seafod department i inform people in the seafood department with facts i know my job very well I work at leominster's Marketbasket and I am able to help customers with any question they have.

cart7t reply :

I asked about why the price of shipping a rod skyrockets so much even though the weight of rod and tube isn't all that much.

I was told that since the package is over 6' long, the thing can't go down the usual conveyor belt system and must be "hand carried". OK, I'm paying more for something to be hand carried but if that's the case, why should a hand carried package get damaged easier than something rumbling down a converyor belt system?

llPa1nll reply :

Quote
I asked about why the price of shipping a rod skyrockets so much even though the weight of rod and tube isn't all that much.
I was told that since the package is over 6' long, the thing can't go down the usual conveyor belt system and must be "hand carried". OK, I'm paying more for something to be hand carried but if that's the case, why should a hand carried package get damaged easier than something rumbling down a converyor belt system?

It defies logic doesnt it. I cant complain UPS is making it right by me, just dont know what I could have done to prevent that.

Jimzee reply :

Quote
Well one of my Kistler rods (He2 7' MHC) came by way of UPS just 10 minutes ago and guess what? The tube was bent in half!!! >
I took the rod out in front of the UPS guy and he said, "Is it a two piece?" I said," It is now!" He took the rod back and I guess I will have to file a claim or something. I really wanted to fish this rod this weekend. :-/ Oh well.......Doo Doo Happens!!

I received one of my rods today by way of UPS and all was fine. I still have to receive the other, just thought I would give an update on the situation.

dollarbill reply :

I shipped my rods down to NC with UPS and they made it there with no problem at all....

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UPS and Fishing Rods (A Nasty Combo) 2024

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