Quote:
I knew you could insure them but I think insurance only helps if the package is severely damaged. Even then I'd bet collecting would be like pulling hens teeth, pun intended.
You are right, simply writing "special handling" on the box can be done by anyone and it's doesn't help any more than writing "fragile, Handle with Care", so why pay extra for it. But that's the point! If it did work, wouldn't it be worth paying a little extra for?
YES!!! It would be worth it....that's why I gave it a try. It costs $7.20 extra and I only charge a flat $8.00 for shipping no matter where they go. I am able to secure all my packing supplies at work and pass the savings on to the buyer. I use small but extra heavy duty styrofoam shippers that have a 2-3 inch thick wall and everyone says that they make have a few dents, but have NEVER been crushed like boxes are.
Interestingly, I had someone report 2 broken eggs last week....a first.
She said the shipper was completely fine but 2 eggs were cracked. I'm wondering if I packed them too tightly and cracked them myself??
At any rate...I may go to a different PO and give it a try again. Surely there MUST be something that the PO does to let the handler know.
Another thing I've been looking at is using cardboard "pet shippers". Kind of like the bird shippers but smaller. They have a handle so they can't have anything stacked on top of them. Of course, I guess they could still sling them around by the handle.
Sounds like you do a great job packing. I don't know if the PO does anything to let the handler know. Surely they expect them to notice a fragile label and at least put a little less arch on it when they toss it.
But other than that, it's pretty much "move it, move it, move it!"
Your two broken eggs may have been caused by shock from that sudden stop.
Going to another PO, I wouldn't expect too much. I think most of the damage is at the sorting facilities. They run to a schedule so there's not much pampering going on there if any. I think they think if it's packaged correctly it will stand their "normal" handling.
I had a similar issue with UPS a few years back. We had a business where we shipped product packaged in glass containers. We had special packaging made, took every precaution. The boxes were printed on all sides with "Glass Handle With Care". Everything was fine for a few months, but then all of the sudden, we started having excessive breakage issues. The boxes looked fine except for the leakage from the broken bottles. Of course we began filing claims and before we knew it our UPS rep came to visit. He was sent to check on our packaging procedures. We took him through every phase. He even commented that it looked like we were doing everything right. But about a month later he came back by to let me know that they would no longer honor our claims except in cases where the box is crushed or broken open. And then would require photos.... Sorry to get off topic, I tend to do that sometimes.
It will be interesting to see if the "pet shippers" were to make a noticeable difference. I guess it depends on the mood of handler at any given time.
