Why I hate buying rods sometimes / P.S.A. 2024
buzzed bait reply :
I guess this is a PSA if you want to take it that way.... if or when shipping/buying a used rod it can sometimes be painful and cost some extra money, but insurance and most especially PVC can go a long ways! I much prefer the PVC route as it's nearly bulletproof. Even at that, there are different levels of thickness/quality of cardboard tubes (TW seems to be about the best). All it takes is one careless worker in the shipping process to break a guy's heart!
I bought 2 rods over the last week, both Dobyns Champion Extremes, both used. One came in yesterday from @kickerfish1 all nicely packaged, bubblewrapped, butt end taped to avoid any tip issues and shipped in a PVC tube, arrived as good as new via UPS.
Today i had one arrive from a guy on another site, shipped in a fairly thin cardboard tube, no wrap, no tape on the butt end via UPS. When i saw the tube, my heart sank a bit (see the NSFW pic below). Clearly broken in the middle and UPS put some tape over it to try and mitigate their damage. I was amazed when i pulled the rod out and found that it was still in 1 piece and seems to be undamaged.
Just a friendly reminder to all those who sometimes ask about the best method to ship/most cost effective/etc. sometimes cheap ain't easy! if you need to recoup the money for the PVC or insurance or whatever it may be, add that to the cost of the item you're selling and package it properly so a guy like me doesn't have to have a mild heart attack when the package arrives! thankfully looks like all turned out well today, but it could have been one ugly day at the office!
Raul reply :
On 4/15/2016 at 11:04 PM, buzzed bait said:if you need to recoup the money for the PVC
You are cheap sob if you ship a rod other than in PVC pipe and PVC end caps, it ain´t like´s worth gazzzillllion dollars a foot. 
buzzed bait reply :
On 4/15/2016 at 11:17 PM, Raul said:You are cheap sob if you ship a rod other than in PVC pipe and PVC end caps, it ain´t like´s worth gazzzillllion dollars a foot.
deaknh03 reply :
I just had an interesting scenario play out at my local post office. I have shipped rods before so I kinda know the rules. I went there the other day with a rod packaged in pvc, the pvc was 3" around and 93" long and weighed 5lbs. The woman calculated the destination and the size and came up with $37, to which I protested politely that I had done the calcs online, and based on that and previously shipped rods it should be $25 max. No dice, she told me $37 was cheapest, that I had to pay a balloon charge. There was a line behind me, and I pretty much had to pay it to get this guy his rod, so I did. After i left I did the calc online again, and sure enough, it was actually $17. I went online and submitted a complaint thru the USPS site. The next day I received a call while working, from the same PO, the manager, and she tells me that she did it online and came up with $37, a couple of times, and that she is sorry that she cannot help...me too. After my job is finished, I get on my mac and do the calcs AGAIN, and there it is, $17. Now I call the PO looking for the manager again, she is gone for the day. I then have the associate get online and I walk her thru the steps while on the phone with me, and lo and behold, she gets $17! She does it again, then does it with another associate, $17 every time. The next morning I get the manager calling me to apologize and offer me my $20 back. Apparently when entering the info, ground shipping comes up as the cheapest option, but it is not..you have to find priority 2 day and choose that, as ground is the cheapest but a balloon charge is added on AFTER, bumping the price way up..not so with priority. They all told me that I taught everyone in that PO a lesson, as they had never known that..I wonder how much extra money they charged customers over the years? So, just an fyi, but check priority 2 day when shipping those rods.
stkbassn reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 12:04 AM, deaknh03 said:I just had an interesting scenario play out at my local post office. I have shipped rods before so I kinda know the rules. I went there the other day with a rod packaged in pvc, the pvc was 3" around and 93" long and weighed 5lbs. The woman calculated the destination and the size and came up with $37, to which I protested politely that I had done the calcs online, and based on that and previously shipped rods it should be $25 max. No dice, she told me $37 was cheapest, that I had to pay a balloon charge. There was a line behind me, and I pretty much had to pay it to get this guy his rod, so I did. After i left I did the calc online again, and sure enough, it was actually $17. I went online and submitted a complaint thru the USPS site. The next day I received a call while working, from the same PO, the manager, and she tells me that she did it online and came up with $37, a couple of times, and that she is sorry that she cannot help...me too. After my job is finished, I get on my mac and do the calcs AGAIN, and there it is, $17. Now I call the PO looking for the manager again, she is gone for the day. I then have the associate get online and I walk her thru the steps while on the phone with me, and lo and behold, she gets $17! She does it again, then does it with another associate, $17 every time. The next morning I get the manager calling me to apologize and offer me my $20 back. Apparently when entering the info, ground shipping comes up as the cheapest option, but it is not..you have to find priority 2 day and choose that, as ground is the cheapest but a balloon charge is added on AFTER, bumping the price way up..not so with priority. They all told me that I taught everyone in that PO a lesson, as they had never known that..I wonder how much extra money they charged customers over the years? So, just an fyi, but check priority 2 day when shipping those rods.
Yeah man, I know exactly what you're talking about. My PO said if I send something longer than 84 or 89 (can't remember which) then I have to pay a balloon charge....So what would have been say $14 is closer to $40...had that exact same number quoted to me. I work one block from the post office but can't/won't take rods there for that very reason. It irritates me because they "would" be the cheapest if they didn't apply that stupid charge to it....I've shipped shorter rods for as little as $12 bucks through the post office which is amazing. Fed Ex just rips you a new one every single time but they're open until 7:45 so I can make it there on time most of the time without rushing.
To the point about shipping tubes I do send some rods in PVC when I need a shorter tube than the TW tubes but I have mailed many rods in a TW tube with the plastic end caps , packed well and never had an issue with breakage. I did have one break in a well packed PVC tube once, the only time I've ever had a rod get broken. Now I don't think it was my fault because it was packed securely and well...I can't blame the PVC or my packing job. Recently I had one in PVC that had the end knocked off by the shipper...scary but no damage thankfully. But, those TW tubes are always solid so I never hesitate to use them. When you're shipping a rod you really need to make sure the tip is well packed and the rod is wrapped well. Inside of the tube you need to make sure it's not sliding at all and won't. If you do that and seal the tube well on both ends then you should have little to worry about. You can't control these shippers so that's where your worry will always be....it sucks shipping rods, period.
PS: To the point of another poster on this thread...I'm definitely not a cheap SOB when I pay for all shipping costs and usually at $25-30 a piece whether it be in PVC or a TW Tube or another cardboard tube that I feel will handle the job. Just sayin if I have TW tubes around I'm not going to Lowe's...I can handle the 8 bucks to buy PVC and end caps...just don't need to most of the time 
Logan S reply :
PVC ain't foolproof either...I recently bought (err..attempted to buy) a Legend Extreme rod from another site. Received this. I called UPS and thanked them for carefully delivering my empty PVC tube. Seller was above board and had a good reputation, swore it was packaged tight with end-caps and I believe him...Only way this happens is intentionally. He was nice enough to refund me and he eventually got his money back from UPS.
I've also had USPS 'lose' a rod for 3 weeks, only to have it finally show up unannounced. These things happen, but it's a reason that when it comes to rods I'm only a buyer and not a seller!
The prices you can get nice gear on the used market is good enough that I put up with the occasional headache.
kickerfish1 reply :
Glad the rod made it to you safely. It's always a toss up on shipping a rod no matter the carrier or tube material used to ship. Some of the damages occur on the conveyor or from mis handling from workers thinking they are toy javelins.
deaknh03 reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 12:17 AM, stkbassn said:Yeah man, I know exactly what you're talking about. My PO said if I send something longer than 84 or 89 (can't remember which) then I have to pay a balloon charge....So what would have been say $14 is closer to $40...had that exact same number quoted to me. I work one block from the post office but can't/won't take rods there for that very reason. It irritates me because they "would" be the cheapest if they didn't apply that stupid charge to it....I've shipped shorter rods for as little as $12 bucks through the post office which is amazing. Fed Ex just rips you a new one every single time but they're open until 7:45 so I can make it there on time most of the time without rushing.
To the point about shipping tubes I do send some rods in PVC when I need a shorter tube than the TW tubes but I have mailed many rods in a TW tube with the plastic end caps , packed well and never had an issue with breakage. I did have one break in a well packed PVC tube once, the only time I've ever had a rod get broken. Now I don't think it was my fault because it was packed securely and well...I can't blame the PVC or my packing job. Recently I had one in PVC that had the end knocked off by the shipper...scary but no damage thankfully. But, those TW tubes are always solid so I never hesitate to use them. When you're shipping a rod you really need to make sure the tip is well packed and the rod is wrapped well. Inside of the tube you need to make sure it's not sliding at all and won't. If you do that and seal the tube well on both ends then you should have little to worry about. You can't control these shippers so that's where your worry will always be....it sucks shipping rods, period.
PS: To the point of another poster on this thread...I'm definitely not a cheap SOB when I pay for all shipping costs and usually at $25-30 a piece whether it be in PVC or a TW Tube or another cardboard tube that I feel will handle the job. Just sayin if I have TW tubes around I'm not going to Lowe's...I can handle the 8 bucks to buy PVC and end caps...just don't need to most of the time
It's 84", but doesn't apply to the priority 2 day..next time have them check that out, but first check online.
buzzed bait reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 12:35 AM, kickerfish1 said:Glad the rod made it to you safely. It's always a toss up on shipping a rod no matter the carrier or tube material used to ship. Some of the damages occur on the conveyor or from mis handling from workers thinking they are toy javelins.
i assure you john, the difference in your packaging and this guy's packaging were more drastic than night and day. i was confident you were going to pack it to the best of your ability.
in fact, looking now the cardboard tube the other guy shipped in had the cheap slide-in end caps and he didn't even take the time to tape them up. it's truly a wonder this rod is in 1 piece!
like everyone says, you can only do so good, it's then up to the shipping company as to how it's handled from there on.
On 4/16/2016 at 12:17 AM, stkbassn said:PS: To the point of another poster on this thread...I'm definitely not a cheap SOB when I pay for all shipping costs and usually at $25-30 a piece whether it be in PVC or a TW Tube or another cardboard tube that I feel will handle the job. Just sayin if I have TW tubes around I'm not going to Lowe's...I can handle the 8 bucks to buy PVC and end caps...just don't need to most of the time
like i said, the TW tube is pretty stout, i'd estimate it's like 3x or 4x the thickness of the one i received today. here's what kinda chaps my ___ is that he didn't insure the package as he was supposed to.... id' go as far as to say that's a cheap SOB...
On 4/16/2016 at 12:24 AM, Logan S said:PVC ain't foolproof either...I recently bought (err..attempted to buy) a Legend Extreme rod from another site. Received this. I called UPS and thanked them for carefully delivering my empty PVC tube. Seller was above board and had a good reputation, swore it was packaged tight with end-caps and I believe him...Only way this happens is intentionally. He was nice enough to refund me and he eventually got his money back from UPS.
boy i'd be upset if that's what i received.... a broken rod is pretty sickening, no rod though!!
new2BC4bass reply :
I've got 2 rods sitting in my basement that arrived broken. The first time was from a guy who said he was a Daiwa representative. I asked what I had to do to get the rod replaced or equivalent money from the shipping company because I had never received a broken rod before and didn't know what to do. Seller told me he would take care of it on his end. Never happened. Second broken rod arrived in a PVC tube but an end cap was missing. So was several inches off the rod tip. Nothing had been wrapped around the rod to protect it. This seller offered to take it back and refund my money, but the cost of shipping and insurance wasn't worth it to me as it wasn't an expensive rod. Was basically new. Not even a sweat mark on the nice looking cork handle. It was one I had been wanting to try. I hate the idea of putting a tip top on the rods. Kind of changes the action.
Had another rod arrive with no cap on one end. Imagine my surprise to find the rod in one piece, and I am still using it today. I've also had about 3 tubes bent in the middle...one was parting like a Pillsbury biscuit tube, but all rods were in good shape.....luckily.
Yup. Being able to buy locally is easier on the heart. Unfortunately money constraints (and being a bit frugal) has me buying Online. Even some companies ship their rods in packaging I wouldn't send a pair of pants in much less something fragile like a rod.
S Hovanec reply :
I tried a couple times to send rods in those heavy St Croix cardboard tubes. 100% failure. PVC only for me now. It's no guarantee it'll make it in one piece, but I'll make them work a little harder to break it!
PitchinJigz reply :
The amount of abuse put on packages from USPS and sometimes UPS even is unbelievable. You see those commercials of how they're all great people who work hard, but then a package arrives to your door like some of the pictures above. There is no excuse for anything like that. It is just straight carelessness at that point, and people who are that disrespectful towards others' packages shouldn't be working in a post office. I don't think they realize they're just a service sometimes. Not enough people have integrity in the workplace anymore.
deaknh03 reply :
I bumped into the mail carrier for my neighborhood the other day delivering..i said to him "75% of the stuff you deliver must be junk mail"..his response? "I think its all junk"..theres your broken tubes and dented packages in a nutshell.
DelcoSol reply :
I agree PVC is the only way to go. I've shipped two rods in cardboard and somehow on both times the tube was crushed or broken but the rod ended up being ok. From now on PVS and USPS only. I make it a point to charge an extra $10 for shipping to cover the cost and explain to the buyer how I am shipping it. If they don't like the price then the risk is on them.
Cyacnba reply :
This is why I stopped focusing on rods because if you ever decide to sell them, you run into all these issues of packaging and shipping. So far I sold 2 rods shipped in a PVC tube, but since I was so worried, I put a lot of bubble wrap around it and taped the ___ out of the caps. I'm really grateful they made it in 1 piece, but I'm done buying and selling rods (shipped). It's too risky. I bought a G. Loomis NRX, which I will keep forever and that's it.
Nowadays, I buy different reels to try out as many as I can since they are much easier to sell and ship.
buzzed bait reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 9:12 AM, Cyacnba said:This is why I stopped focusing on rods because if you ever decide to sell them, you run into all these issues of packaging and shipping. So far I sold 2 rods shipped in a PVC tube, but since I was so worried, I put a lot of bubble wrap around it and taped the ___ out of the caps. I'm really grateful they made it in 1 piece, but I'm done buying and selling rods (shipped). It's too risky. I bought a G. Loomis NRX, which I will keep forever and that's it.
Nowadays, I buy different reels to try out as many as I can since they are much easier to sell and ship.
i won't let this one deter me from buying any rods in the future. i'll just try to get them to ship in pvc even if i have to pay a little extra...
Kevin22 reply :
I HATE selling rods. Only ever had one damaged, and thankfully @stkbassn was cool about it and we worked it out. The entire time from when it leaves my hands to when I hear from the buyer I am stressed to the roof... I know how the shipping companies handle items.
Jeff H reply :
I won't buy used rods anymore unless they are local pick up. I want to be able to look them over before I buy. I miss a lot of good deals but I get over it.
Mosster47 reply :
I just had this same thing. I bought a Megabass Orochi shaky head rod and the guy packaged it like a six year old in some flimsy cardboard tube. Now he has vanished and won't reply.
Snapped right before the first eye. Lame!
smalljaw67 reply :
One good thing about living in a small town is that the mail carriers know you. I got a rod and the cardboard tube was bent. The mail man actually knocked on my door to deliever it and he said the thing was broke when it came in off the truck, he knew it was a rod and he wanted me to open in front of him so he could witness it and get me a refund quicker. Well to my surprise, and his, the rod was unscathed and we looked for a nick or some sort of mark and it was in perfect condition. He told me as the hubs there are certain items like rods, that don't go on conveyors or rollers but some workers are lazy and they just put everything on the rollers and without fail anything shaped like a rod ends up getting caught, if you're luck some sees it before a big box runs into it and breaks it in half, if not it ends up broke and at that point workers don't want to go through the process of returning items that were broke during shipping so they do quick tape jobs and the line keeps moving. The same applies for Fed-Ex and UPS.
buzzed bait reply :
unfortunately sounds like this happens even more than i had imagined!!
Mike L reply :
I've had 3 rods shipped to me separately in the last 3 yrs. One was a Phenix X11 and then a M1. The other was a Loomis MBR GLX 843C. (Still not sure if I like it, but that's for another thread)
All three were shipped in a heavy cardboard tube with pvc caps on both ends sealed with duct tape. The 2 from Phenix were individually wraped with bubble wrap from the tip to butt. The GLX was also but not as completely. All 3 containers were stuffed with bubble wrap also...All 3 came direct from the factory,
I guess I got lucky
Mike
PitchinJigz reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 1:07 PM, Mosster47 said:I just had this same thing. I bought a Megabass Orochi shaky head rod and the guy packaged it like a six year old in some flimsy cardboard tube. Now he has vanished and won't reply.
Snapped right before the first eye. Lame!
I don't think I would be able to get over this...
Mosster47 reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 11:25 AM, buzzed bait said:i won't let this one deter me from buying any rods in the future. i'll just try to get them to ship in pvc even if i have to pay a little extra...
I have 23 setups and they range from the highest end stuff to fairly high end. I bought one in person. The rest were online, most were used. This was the one that didn't go well.
Like Meatloaf once sang; Cause' 1 out of 23 ain't bad.
Maybe he said something different, but you get the idea.
dave reply :
I've got all of you beat. I bought a couple of rods off Amazon. Both came with the clear plastic "condom" that a lot new rods are sheathed in. No cardboard, no PVC, just the plastic bag. They were both broken...go figure. Amazon asked no questions, just refunded my money and told me to keep them. One was actually fishable withe a new tip top.
S. Sass reply :
Guess I've been lucky so far. I've had about 4 rods come lately all from ffo-tackle or st croix in cardboard tubes and all tubes and rods were in perfect condition. I have 2 more rods showing up this Friday from ffo-tackle I hope my luck holds.
dam0007 reply :
They had the balls to deliver it like this. The rod miraculously survived.
blckshirt98 reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 1:07 PM, Mosster47 said:I just had this same thing. I bought a Megabass Orochi shaky head rod and the guy packaged it like a six year old in some flimsy cardboard tube. Now he has vanished and won't reply.
Snapped right before the first eye. Lame!
Megabass has a good warranty, see if they'll replace it -
Megabass of America will repair or replace your Megabass® rod free of charge for a period of one (1) year from date of initial purchase. After the first year, or the first claim (whichever comes first), all repairs will be charged at cost (for time and labor only; we will not charge for parts). No-questions-asked replacements will be charged a flat-fee equal to 60% off of listed MSRP (for example, a $299 rod would be $119.60 to replace).
kickerfish1 reply :
On 6/9/2016 at 11:17 AM, dam0007 said:They had the balls to deliver it like this. Brand that shall not be mentioned, Rod miraculously survived.
You sure that wasn't a Megabass Slant bridge!
Master Bait'r reply :
On 4/16/2016 at 1:07 PM, Mosster47 said:I just had this same thing. I bought a Megabass Orochi shaky head rod and the guy packaged it like a six year old in some flimsy cardboard tube. Now he has vanished and won't reply.
Snapped right before the first eye. Lame!
That makes me sick to my stomach 
thehooligan reply :
Better believe i say a prayer everytime i ship a rod !!
PVC and usps 2-day priority is the only way i roll. The last few mb x7's and poison ultima i sold had me stressed for days...
related Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic
most viewed Fishing Rods Reels Line Knots topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.