Shipping a carburetor

[brad hibbard]

It's that time of the year when many folks are shipping their carburetors off to engine builders or carb shops for freshen up.

PLEASE package your carburetor properly
literally more than half the carburetors that are shipped to us for service are damaged in shipping

it does not matter what parcel service you use --they all treat boxes like boxes
they do not know there is a delicate component inside that shoe box

it seems like everyone wants to use the smallest box possible to save on shipping
the difference in shipping cost from a shoe box to a 14" cubed box is probably less than $2

you can probably tell I am a bit frustrated with broken carburetors due to poor packing
It's NOT the parcel shipping companies fault---the packer is to blame.

I am not going to run on with packing instructions but what I tell people is --if your not comfortable throwing your boxed up carburetor 8 to 10 feet across the floor then you need to pack it better

rant is over
Brad
www.race-1.com

PS:--if your going to PRI in Dec stop by booth 2944 and see us
(Walker Performance Filters)

[fastford]

my woman appreciates your words of wisdom , she is a post master and you would not believe the claims the post office pays for poor packaging , which isnt really there fault.......

[brad hibbard]

Exactly----
there is a box at the post office that ships flat rate and a carburetor fits in them exactly perfect
makes a really nice looking package but 100% of the time the vent tubes are broken when they get here

this is the packers fault not the shipping service

Brad
www.race-1.com

[Krooser]

I shipped a carb to a guy in MA... the box made the trip but the carb didn't!

[50j]

Using a small box for an expensive part makes as much sense as pulling pennies into copper wire. When it gets damaged, and it will, good luck filing a claim.

[over4T]

Shipped a steering box to a friend in Atlanta in a flat rate box from USPS. Somehow it was destroyed and lost in a 45 mile ride in a USPS truck from my house to Sacramento airport. Ironically, the one piece of the box they found got sent to Atlanta as that's where all damaged shipments are sent for investigation.

Eight months later, after considerable discussion with the post office they gave up ,and sent me $50 for insurance settlement. Certainly didn't cover the box's value.

[fastford]

was that all the insurance you purchased was 50 $ ? I dont talk shop with the ole lady , but i have shipped a ton of stuff over the years and have had a few claims over the years , never had a claim take that long , usually they trace , if lost , for a couple of weeks and then they settle , maybe ive just been lucky , but if i purchased insurance , it was usually more than shipment was worth .

[brad hibbard]

making a claim is after the fact---
its like a fire extinguisher---you use it after the fire starts and the end result is never good

my point is ---don't let the fire start
don't let the package contents get damaged

we ship every day and sometimes we are shipping 10's of thousands of dollars in content
call me stupid but we insure nothing

back in the day when we used to insure our out going packages ---I had 2 claims that the shipper drug out for months and paid only a portion of the value

our policy now is that other than a lost package --any damage is our responsibility
any of you that have received anything from Race-1 know what I mean
we package a set of plug wires in double bubble wrap---just imagine how package a carburetor

Brad
www.race-1.com

[over4T]

FF, Nope I didn't insure it but probably should have. It was an old worn out GM box that I sent to my friend to rebuild. It's been years since I lost anything comparable to the post office.

The main problem was the idiots at the local P.O. it was shipped from. Kept getting the run around that the Postmaster was out of town, sick, etc. and that he was the only one that could do anything. Finally got someone to fill out the forms and then went months with form letters arriving every few weeks that they were looking into it. Think they just gave me the basic $50 insurance to get rid of me. It worked and I still got the same form letters for several more months. Live & learn.

[fastford]

every one gets the basic 50 $ ins , you have to purchase more , as for your problem , definitely sounds like a local issue......