Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The title pretty much sums it up.....

I knew the UPS truck was supposed to arrive sometime, so I was listening carefully. All I heard was the truck start up and pull away. I went downstairs and opened the front door to find this......

There was a trail of peanuts all the way up the driveway to the box. Probably because of this.....
The bottom of the box was soaking wet and held shut by one strip of tape and some soggy cardboard. I was torn between taking it out of the box immediately or waiting for a while. When its very cold, I usually wait 24 hours before I take a case out of the box and wait another 24 before I open the case.

All that said, given the circumstances, I wasn't sure exactly what to do. Because its been cold, I decided to wait, but after a couple of hours of checking on it every 10 minutes, I shoved my hand up inside the box and discovered that the case felt wet too. Not soaked, but damp. At that point, I decided to skip the first 24 hour step and take it out of the box.

Other than being wet, the case doesn't look badly damaged...one good sized scrape on the back and some dings on the corners.

Now I wait.......

So far, so good, John. Let it dry out. BUT I'd take it outside and open the case to see if the instrument's wet...

UPS does this stuff frequently:

-I came home from the airport after a retail convention in Nashville once to find my brand new Gretsch Silver Jet and Roland keyboard in boxes on the back porch...not sure how many days they'd been there.

-One day last year I heard the rumble of a UPS truck pull up to the house, stop, the rattle of a two wheeled dolly, then heard the truck start up again before I could get to the door. Finding nothing on the front porch, I went around to the back of the driveway to find the box containing my Vox HW Anniversary AC 30 just sitting on the driveway next to one of the cars.

Oh dear sweet God. I have a vested interest in this. That's Rosie in that box.

John, please let me know how things are ASAP. I'm very upset.

And that red tape was not on the box when I sent her.

johneek wrote:When its very cold, I usually wait 24 hours before I take a case out of the box and wait another 24 before I open the case.

There's absolutely no reason to keep the guitar in the shipping box for 24 hours, as it is inside it's own case. All you're concerned with is the air immediately around the guitar. Keeping the case surrounded by the packing material only insulates that air (like a cooler), making the air inside the case rise much more slowly than it needs to.

I hope everything is alright with your guitar.

I think I'd feel safer with gorillas handling a package rather than UPS.

I've had a couple of horrific experiences with them.

Fedex is GREAT! I've used them for the past few years now and have never had a problem...GO FEDEX!

I've got Rosie in my prayers (and my fingers crossed).

jingle_jangle wrote:So far, so good, John. Let it dry out. BUT I'd take it outside and open the case to see if the instrument's wet...

All this actually took place yesterday afternoon, but I didn't have time to post until this morning. At this point, the hardware on the case feels (to the touch) about the same as my other guitars that have been inside. At this point, I think I'll wait until after lunch (that will be just under 24 hours) and cautiously crack open the case.

I'll keep everyone posted.....

Good luck John! I hope all is well with Rosie.

There can be no greater frustration after waiting for a parcel than to see it arrive in a compromised state. There is surely value for the receiver in photographic documentation and in understanding how to make the best out of a difficult situation.

That being said, such complaints are seen by the companies identified and they come to demand that threads be removed, not infrequently with some clout. While many people may comment, at the end of the day these parties want to have a response, not from the shipper, not from the receiver, not from those who share in the horror and comment on the injustice of it all, but from admin.

To this end, I would ask that you make comments of a more generic nature in the future and omit titles that identify the party directly. The thread in its present form amounts to, at least in part, taking a grievance and setting it here. I will let this stand for a short while and then it will be removed.

I know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of a damaged parcel with expensive comments, but this thread cannot stay. I hope those who have commented understand.

I'm not sure how to indicate a huge sigh of relief....maybe it's a super-sized WHEW!!!

Rosie appears to be in fine shape. The inside of the case was bone dry, as was the guitar. The outside of the case had clearly been damp, maybe even wet, I think the moisture may have gotten under the tolex, but doesn't appear to have penetrated the wood.

I think what saved the day was the extra care Bob took in packing her. Not only was the box filled with peanuts, but the bottom of the case had been lined with Styrofoam padding, which I'm sure is what kept the case as dry as it was. He also reinforced the inside of the box with other sections of heavy cardboard as well as more foam padding. As rough as the outside of the box was, the case was actually in really good shape/ no structural damage. Anything I could find was purely cosmetic and not out of line for a 17 year old guitar. Rosie and I both extremely thankful for the extra TLC Bob showed in sending her off.

If there is a lesson in this I guess it would be that some extra care in packing can help a guitar weather a lot of abuse.

Alls well that ends well...... Enjoy it.

Ah, that's good news indeed, and a lesson for anyone who's shipping a guitar.