Always use 'fragile' stickers on fragile items....

[casstony]

..... so the odd angry postal worker knows which packages to target :rolleyes:.

Andrews warns against using fragile stickers because it greatly increases the chance of damage.

[supernova1965]

I asked AP once if I could get insurance from them for fragile items and they don't provide it and they said Fragile stickers would not mean special treatment. This was straight from the horses mouth so to speak.:screwy:

[leon]

Yep that is right, I was told by the Postal person that fragile means nothing, you don't get any better treatment of your article.

Leon

[supernova1965]

were your goods ok or is that a demo picture.

[renormalised]

Tell you what...if I ordered something and it was like that and the contents were damaged (and it was expensive), I wouldn't worry about insurance, I'd just sue them. There's absolutely no need to treat people's postage like that, no matter the situation. All that is indicative of is a bad attitude and lack of care for the items they ship.

If the idiots don't understand the meaning of the word fragile, they should all be sacked from their jobs. Those stickers are there for a reason, not to just cavalierly toss the packages about and tear them apart just because they're in a foul mood, don't care or just feel like it.

Quite frankly, I'd rather pay the extra money and get it shipped via private courier, knowing it was insured and they'd take care with their loads. Might take a little longer, but I'd pay that cost for peace of mind.

[Steffen]

How about putting a bio-hazard sticker on fragile shipments? :P

Cheers
Steffen.

[multiweb]

That picture is wrong. No way anyone can get away with that.

[asimov]

Yep. More chance of less damage with a sticker that reads "Please drop me several times!"

When I shipped my CGE1100 back with me on the plane from the US I specifically added fragile stickers all over the boxes. I think I saw the OTA box get dropped twice at every airport. I was lucky it get it back here in one piece..

[casstony]

The box arrived yesterday with a diagonal inside, which fortunately is hard to break (it seems ok).

I posted a Ha solar filter once but I triple boxed it with layers of bubble wrap/foam between each box. I'd previously had a new, broken filter/etalon arrive that was double boxed.

Perhaps we need to use a new type of sticker that reads 'Tough as nails so don't even try' :)

[renormalised]

If they did that to my scope, I'd hit the roof. The general manager of the airport and the people involved would be lucky to still have their jobs after I finished with them. What is it with people these days???!!!.

[renormalised]

What we need is for someone to sue them to the hilt and make an example of these companies/postal services. That way, we might get some satisfaction with our valuables.

[asimov]

Yes, & I did hit the roof more times than I can count. Basically fell on deaf ears. Had something been broken when I finally got back to AU I would have taken things further.

Not sure what the moral of the story is here, but I think the concept of someone sueing as an example that they should BE MORE CAREFUL! Is a good one.

[rmcconachy]

I'm not defending Australia Post but in my experience private couriers are no better. Packing your toys really well (well enough that you can throw them at a brick wall as hard as you can without them sustaining damage) and opting for insurance is about all you can do. When I buy stuff from overseas I always tell the seller that planes in Oz are unloaded by pushing the cargo out of the hold on to the tarmac 20ft below, it sometimes isn't far from the truth! Of course no matter what you request sometimes the seller doesn't listen and you just have to hope for the best.

[snowyskiesau]

This is why, when I listed my telescopes for sale, I specified pick up only. :)

[casstony]

That's my approach too - the more fragile it is the more bubble wrap you need.

I am amazed that SCT corrector plates survive as well as they do - it's fairly rare to hear of one being broken during shipping.

[Ric]

Hi Tony

I used to deliver telegrams for a while in the 80's and I used to watch the sorters antic first hand.

Essentially the mail sorters throw everything into the sorting bags.

The further the bag away from them then the harder they throw it. Those bags are then thrown onto delivery trucks and piled up on each other.

Basically they don't give a fig for anyones property.

[Shano592]

AP won't tell you this, but you may be able to source what is known as "Wine Label Tape." You may need to go a bit further than the AP outlet, and see if you can get them to get some from their regional office.

We use it all of the time for fragile things (like glow sticks). Because Australia Post have large contracts with many wineries throughout the country, this is one version of fragile tape that they have to pay attention to.

Basically, it states that they cannot put your goods on the conveyor system that the sorting centres use, and that these goods must be moved by hand.

Never had a damage issue with this type of tape.

With Fragile alone, however ... one CSR asked me if the goods inside a parcel were really fragile, and I answered in the positive. She said, "So what would happen if I was to drop this box right here?" My immediate answer was, "Then I jump the counter and punch you in the face!"

The manager and I went a fair way back, and he just burst out laughing, and gently took the parcel from the poor girl. I back-pedalled a bit, and explained what was inside (about $500 worth of stock), and she was fine with it. No harm done.

If you can get hold of the wine label tape, it is always good to have a roll handy, for these situations (telescope parts, not punching CSRs).

[ballaratdragons]

I don't trust Courier companies either. Or Taxi Trucks, or Parcel Deliveries etc.

At the guitar shop I occasionally work at we often get $2000 - $4000 guitars with major damage, squashed bodies, and even broken necks.

It happens far too often.

I remember one day the shock the boss and I got when we unpacked a special order of Acoustic guitars we got in for a school.
11 of the 12 guitars were broken in transit!

I watched in horror when a delivery driver rolled a box off the back of his truck, allowing it to crash to the ground. Then nonchalantly put in on the trolley to bring inside. It was a $5000 Audio Mixer.
Fortunately not damaged (this time).

[Waxing_Gibbous]

Aaaiiieee!!!!!!!!
Awful. Just pitiful. My sympathies.
The noted writer/cynic/drunk and wifebeater, Charles Bukowski's proudest accomplishment was his 20 years as a postal employee and his handling of peoples mail. He never once spindled, folded or mutilated.

Technically, all mail belongs to HM the Queen, until opened by the designated recipient. You can get done for ******* with people's post.
Off with their heads!!!

According to our local postmistress "Heavy" or "Hazardous" is the new "Fragile". The circus monkies in the depot don't want to risk their compo
so they treat these a little better.

Chin-up,
Peter

[renormalised]

Some private couriers are very good, some aren't. But I've found, in general, private couriers can be a bit more careful with people's goods. Although, I have seen some real nasty cases of just sheer indifference and carelessness.

It's like I said before, what's needed is for someone to sue the pants off one of these businesses to make them all sit up, take notice and for the bosses to take some action. They're being allowed to get away with it and they take advantage of this.

[renormalised]

They do that, sue them for damages. Don't let them get away with it!!!.

[BlackWidow]

Ask a contract business with Australia post I would like to also point out the following. Insurance with Australia post is an utter Scam!..If you take the time to read the insurance Policy you will find they have a policy wording that allows them to riggle out of ANY claim. I send thousands of parcels every eyear and have done for 11 years. I have never to date had a claim paid out. One the the conditions reads somthing like. Australia Post will not pay out a claim on any item Australia Post deems not suitable for postage.


If the dude doing your claim decides that posting a pen is not suitable to post, your claim is all over. They do not have a items of suitability listing so it's ALL UP TO THEM.

I really don't like Australia Post at all and I would love to see some competition and a damm good shakeup..




Seeing Stars
Mardy

[FlashDrive]

A fair while ago in a town I used to live .... I threw some rubbish in one of those blue " clean - away " bins and missed it .... on picking it up and placing it in to the bin.. I looked into the bin and saw a stack of " mail " lying on top of the rubbish.. Out of curiosity ... I stretched in and picked up some of it and I could see it was private mail for all sorts of people.

To cut a long story short ...I phoned the cops .... who then had me climb right into the bin and retrieve all of the mail...( I HAD TO WEAR GLOVES SO MY FINGER PRINTS WOULDN'T GET ON THE EVIDENCE ) They took it from me and did an investigation .

It made the Local TV News....:
A postal worker has been summoned to appear in court on " Postal Theft " charges. On subsequent searching of his premises where he lived....the Police found his garage full of other stolen mail items. He claimed he was having financial problems and was " flogging off " property to make ends meet....and he was very sorry for what he had done.

He was immediately sacked from his job and if I remember correctly... had to serve a community assist programme for his indiscretions. ..:screwy:

[renormalised]

I'd have jailed him for theft and made him pay for the costs of the goods he stole...or those that weren't yet sold would go to their rightful owners.

[ballaratdragons]

Carl, the courier companies have paid for 90% of all damages we have had.
The other 10% was replaced by the wholesalers we deal with.
90% of the damage was the couriers, 10% was from Wholesalers not packing goods properly.

All has always been covered, but it is still no excuse for the amount of damage that gets done.

[renormalised]

That's good that they covered the damages for you, but not many do. especially big companies like AP. But as you say, it's no excuse what damage is done. I sometimes think the workers in these businesses just do it for the hell of it.

[ballaratdragons]

Carl, the awkward bit up here in the country is that goods go through several hands, courier companies and trucks.

eg: Melbourne supplier use their own company van to deliver to the freight company depot (TNT, Toll etc), then Major company trucks it to Ballarat, then local smaller sub-contract couriers deliver locally for the big companies.

Too many handlers and too many truck transfers.
One item can be loaded and unloaded 3 or 4 times, handled (dropped) by many people then finally dropped (literally) out the back of the last truck, right at your door.

As one ex-deliver said one day when he was in the shop, "what do we care, their not our boxes" :rolleyes: