That's absolute BS--horrible! Who's the shipper? $5 says it's FedEx before you answer. Know that if you used a shipper, a 3rd party like a FedEx Store, UPS Store, or local shipping business, the insurance you paid for is with the actual shipping company, not the 3rd party storefront. Appeal it immediately and tell them you will take them to state magistrated court for felony fraud if they give you ANY pushback. Good luck--you're right and that's all that matters. Please tell us who the shipper is. That helps us all. I'm certain others will comment on your post.

You're correct

I've never been F--D like I have by Fedex. They straight up lost a banjo I sold to a fellow BHO-er (a sweet Kevin Fore Cockerham fretless incidentally) and they wouldn't pay a dime. It was so crazy. UPS is far better in my experience.

Also just a word (not to excuse brutal package handling), I hate peanuts SO much. Not only do they create insane messes upon delivery - I don't think they are nearly as protective as bubble wrap or bundled paper. Incidents can happen even in the best packed banjos but I have had more peanut related mishaps than otherwise.

FedEx and DHL are the worst for not honoring their own insurance. It's a total scam.

I'm sorry about the damage and the FedEx problem. It sounds like a pretty clear cut case because the box was obviously damaged, so I would hope you can get your money out of them.

My best practice for packing seems to be to wrap the banjo in several layers of small (3/16") bubble wrap, and then fill the remainder of the void with peanuts, wadded up paper, Styrofoam chunks, and such, but that can't prevent the box from being punctured, squashed, or dropped from a great height. I haven't used FedEx to ship things in several years and then only a couple of times for folks who requested them specifically, and have not had an instrument get damaged in shipping since about 2011 or so. so I have been very lucky.

I have shipped in excess of 50 banjos.

I have always used FedEx Ground.

I have never purchased any insurance, packed them all myself and have never had a single one damaged.

The best insurance is packing well.

Of course I may have just jinxed myself.  

quote:

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Originally posted by Stevespickn

About 30 days ago, I sold a 2003, near mint Gibson RB-3 to a buyer. I boxed it up in a Martin Guitar box, which has cradles, top and bottom to support the case, plus I added shipping peanuts all around the case. The case was an original Gibson case. Prior to boxing up, I added bubble wrap around the headstock and on top of the flange. Loosened the strings, layed the bridge down flat. I also, for my protection, took pics of how the banjo was padded with bubble wrap etc. Also took pics of the undamaged neck and shipping box, with no damage prior to shipping. Upon shipping, I paid for $3000 of insurance. The banjo arrived with the buyer with a hole in the box, and a cracked neck at the volute area. I filed a claim that day, which was about 10 days inside their 14 day limit to file. Today I was denied a claim stating the reasons, they did not box the banjo; they did not know it was not damaged prior to shipping. I was not told that when I shipped it, my insurance was. not covering it, due to them not boxing it.To me that’s fraud. I’m not going down without a fight. I’ve contacted a legal friend, with all pics and info.

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Hole in the box sounds like deliberate damage. Re-read the insurance form, I'm sure it does not state that they have to pack it in the event of a claim. I believe you will win this, especially since you insured it to close to the value of the sale. 

On a side note, I wonder if those bridges in the guitar box allowed pressure to be applied to the neck when the hole "occurred." I wouldn't, of course, mention this.

Almost 40 years ago, I knew a person who worked as a loader for a well-known shipping company. These guys would throw boxes that were marked fragile with the intent to break the contents. I thought that was horrible and ceased to know him. Given the climate of the world today, this is quite possible. Since all packages flow through the system with a time and date stamp, I would think that FedEx would be able to provide video of the handling of packages, and maybe yours specific, during its journey. This would expose a careless (or destructive) employee. Worth looking into, as you might hit close to the cause. This alone might cause them to fold, due to the negative publicity. It's easy to say something just "happened." It is harder to refute a destructive employee. 

Good luck, continue to be persistent, I think you'll win. 

I always take photos of the instruments I ship with the most recent newspaper to prove the instrument was in good condition before being handed to the shipper. I suppose that with the date & time stamp on digital photos the newspaper is not necessary any more. But since starting that step in my shipping process, I have not had a claim denied because I could not prove the instrument was in good condition prior to shipping.

I had 3 major claims in 2021 when UPS and other shippers had employee retention problems and would hire anyone with a pulse. I have not had any kind of claim since then.

Bob Smakula

Yes, I don't do the final packing until I'm at the shipping store. Then take a photos as the employee closes the package. They actually suggested doing it that way.

I recently acquired a new banjo, and it was shipped to me in its case, in a guitar/banjo box with something that I had never seen before with the several banjos over the years I have had shipped to me. The resonator area of the case and the headstock end of the case had a very substantial molded and form fitting device that wedged the case down in the box at both ends allowing no movement of the case within the box. The resonator area had two of these pieces and the headstock area only one. It was pretty difficult to get the instrument case out of the box it was wedged in so tight, but at the same time, I realized that it really wasn't going to move around inside the box. There was no other packing material at all in the box or in the case itself. Not sure who makes these boxes, but I highly recommend them to anyone should they become commercially available. The company I purchased from sells a lot of acoustic instruments so I would guess they know a bit about shipping fragile guitars, banjos, and the like.

Bobby

Steve.. feel free to contact me to talk as I have exactly the same experience with them.
I packed up a 1993 Gibson RB 3 wreath and sent it to Georgia. Packed in the original case with the neck loosened, the reso unscrewed, bubble wrapped, foam pool noodles used for bracing. Then into a large cardboard instrument box with styrofoam pellets, newspaper, bubble wrap, completely tape wrapped. I had $1000 US insurance added to the shipment.
It got to Georgia with some exterior damage to the box. Inside, the resonator was split, obviously from an impact.
I immediately contacted FedEx and was quickly denied the claim as they hadnt boxed it or inspected it prior to being boxed. I had photos of the banjo. Still, the claim was denied.
I was able to speak directly to a claims rep. I reminded her I had paid for insurance, and refusal was paramount to fraud. They had damaged the box in shipping. She was holding the refusal line until I informed her I was retired and had lots of time. I was going to file in small claims court, and she and FedEx could come up to Canada and spent $$$$ on lawyers to defend a $1000 insurance claim. It would likely be at least a couple of days of everyones time, and being retired, I'd enjoy the chance to visit the courts.
The rep said she would speak to her supervisor. Within a week, I had a cheque for $1280 in my hands.
I don't think they expect a threat of court action from most people, so they immediately dismiss all claims initially.
Dont mess with a retired guy.

Off onto a tangent .... I've never packed/shipped a banjo, but what's left of my high school physics says that the foam/bubble wrap would work better "up the neck" a bit rather than around the peghead/headstock itself.  Is what I have left failing me?

I had a banjo that was both packed and shipped by FedEx. It arrived and the flange was broken. FedEx denied the claim, even though they had packed it. This was several years ago. I finally after multiple calls and emails just gave up. This is probably exactly what they want people to do.

It's a crap shoot shipping banjos.

It is too bad that one buys Insurance and then has to fight to collect on it. That happened to me with my car insurance. I backed into my housekeeper's car a few years back. Totally my fault for not paying attention. I called my insurance company immediately and confessed. For the next three months they tried to get me to say it was her fault for parking where I could back into her.

I hear how bad FedEx is, yet the last two guitars I bought and the three banjos I have bought from big online sellers like Sweetwater and Ross Nickerson are shipped FedEx. I would think that if they were so terrible those high volume sellers would stay away from them. I don't do any private buying and selling, so I really don't have a preference.

In 2001 I shipped my custom made banjo via FedEx, properly packed as folks descried above The neck snapped at the headstock. FedEx initially approved a claim of about $800 because it was a custom made neck and could not be replicated, they said. I pointed out that the maker (Bill Sullivan) was still in business and could easily make a replacement. They upped the claim to about $1200 or so (can't recall the exact amount).

That was then. Now the default stance is to deny all claims and only those who fight back get anywhere. Steve, fight like hell and threaten a claim in court as above. This gets their attention.

Good luck.

I've never tried it myself, but another approach that seems to work is to get the "investigative journalism" branch of a news outlet [CBC or CTV up here] interested.   I expect "the more dollars the better" would play a role in what gets investigated (?),  but almost invariably it turns out:  "....in this instance  (name of business)  has reconsidered and refunded ... etc.}