Michelle sold her engagement ring to a friend, and shipped it from a UPS Store in the Midwest. The ring was valuable, so she purchased $200 worth of shipping insurance on the ring and sent it on its way to New England. When the box arrived, it had been cut open and the ring removed. Michelle’s insurance claim was denied because the item was “improperly packaged.” [More]
SHIPPING
Frederick's Of Hollywood Can't Get Un-Mangled Corset To Customer
By 2.22.11
As years of Stupid Shipping Gang posts on this site have illustrated, some items can easily be mailed in plastic bags, and other really require something with more structure. A t-shirt, for example, or a pair of pants can easily be mailed in a plastic bag, rolled up, crammed in a mailbox, and otherwise squished around. Corsets, however, have just enough structure and rigidity to serve their figure-wrangling purpose, but not enough to withstand being rolled up or crammed in a mailbox. Stephanie ordered a corset from Frederick’s of Hollywood. When it showed up in her mailbox, she learned that for a major lingerie retailer, Frederick’s isn’t great at shipping shapewear so it arrives intact. [More]
Feds Find $9 Million In Opium Inside Adorable Acrylic Kitty Cats At JFK
By 2.18.11
Customs agents at JFK International Airport in New York City have seized $9 million of pure opium hidden inside a shipment of acrylic cats. [More]
In The UPS Time Zone, End Of Business Day Is Midnight
By 2.9.11
When you order something for “next day” delivery, what constitutes a day? Travis wrote that his very important package didn’t arrive that day. Normally not an issue, but he had taken a vacation day from work to wait for it. UPS told him that the package absolutely would show up by the end of the business day, where “end of the business day” is defined as “midnight.” Not only does Travis find this a strange way to define “business day,” but the package didn’t show up then, either. [More]
Verizon Refuses To Believe That They Have Your Router And DVR
By 2.3.11
Andre has had issues with a Verizon equipment return spanning almost an entire year. Verizon claims that they never received the FiOS equipment that he sent back in March of last year. Andre sent the equipment back, and has the UPS tracking information to prove it. Verizon doesn’t think that he did, and has sent a collection agency after him for the $1800 he supposedly owes. [More]
Happy 2011, Your Calendar Comes With Year's Supply Of Packing Material
By 1.5.11
Reader Cyndi ordered a calendar from Amazon.com, but what she actually got was more like she’d ordered a bunch of packing material and got a free calendar. Like when you order Chinese food, ya know? Except less tasty. [More]
Man Rigs UPS Package With Car Alarm In Attempt To Catch Thief
By 12.14.10
After receiving a box full of sheets and soda cans instead of a laptop, a man in California became convinced that someone at UPS had opened and stolen his computer. So he took matters into his own hands in an attempt to catch a thief in the act. [More]
Beat These Deadlines To Ship Your Gifts On Time
By 12.14.10
If you’re shipping out gifts to friends and family, you may have to start sending out packages this week if you want to get them to their destinations by Christmas. Here are links to domestic shipping deadlines for some of the more popular shipping services: [More]
Eddie Bauer Goes Above And Beyond, Even To Afghanistan
By 11.19.10
Derek is serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. military. He writes that he ordered a fleece jacket from Eddie Bauer, but didn’t provide a necessary part of his APO address. Eddie Bauer came through with fantastic awesomeness and sent a free replacement fleece….with two-day shipping [More]
Put A Lid On Shipping & Handling Charges
By 11.16.10
The price of a clock radio we found at Target.com: $9.99. The cost of shipping and handling said clock: $6.13. That’s reasonable, based on what UPS or the post office would have charged, but who wants to pay two-thirds of a product’s price to have it sent? Especially at holiday time, you’ll want to avoid S&H gotchas. Here’s how: [More]
Walmart Offers Free Shipping
By 11.11.10
Starting today, Walmart.com is offering free shipping on gift items, including toys and gadgets. [More]
When Target's '2-Day Shipping' Really Means 5 or 6 Days
By 10.20.10
Shipping estimates for many online sellers come from realms in which the customary rules of math do not apply. Not only do ends of business days and weekends tack on time to shipping estimates, but additional bonus days tend to pop in as well. [More]
You Can Get Any 42" Samsung Plasma TV From Target, As Long As It's Smashed
By 9.14.10
Steve’s TV buying experience with Target has not gone well. If he wants to try this a third time, the store is more than willing to let him, but they say he has to pay full price now and there’s still no guarantee a broken TV won’t show up on his doorstep. [More]
Apple: Puerto Ricans Aren't Americans And Can't Have Free iPhone 4 Cases
By 7.31.10
Sorry Puerto Ricans, even though you bought your iPhone 4s with U.S. dollars, endure AT&T’s shoddy “national” coverage, and are United States citizens, Apple doesn’t think you’re entitled to a free case like real Americans. Apple originally told Puerto Ricans that they would qualify for free apology cases, but decided to cancel all orders being shipped to Puerto Rico after claiming that they were “unable to ship to an international address.” [More]
Get Amazon Prime Free For 1 Year With .Edu Address
By 7.13.10
Amazon is giving students a free year of Amazon Prime, which gives you free two-day shipping and some other nice bonuses. [More]
Behold One Day's Worth Of Stupid Shipping For A Retailer
By 7.12.10
Reader E works for a division of RadioShack and would like to let us know that stupid shipping isn’t exclusive to consumers — retailers are inundated with it. He sent us the following series of images. He says these photos represent one day’s worth of stupid shipments. This apparently happens several times a week. [More]
2.4 Ounces Of Paint Thinner Came In 10-Gallon Boxes
By 7.12.10
A.J. writes about her parents ordering some touch-up paint for their range. They wanted three bottles, but the company sent them four. The excess didn’t stop there, as you can see from these gargantuan boxes the paint bottles arrived in. Oh, for this much leg room on a flight. [More]
UPS Overcharges Art Gallery $650, Offers $160 Refund
By 6.19.10
Hang needed to ship three large pieces of art to Japan in time for a gallery opening, but UPS had other plans. Rather than weigh the boxes properly or fill out the right customs forms, UPS decided to charge Hang $1,600 for a job that should’ve cost $950. Because the customs forms were improper, one of the boxes was returned as undeliverable, while another was stuck in customs and didn’t arrive until after the opening. Hang only wants UPS to refund the $650 overcharge, but UPS thinks Hang is being greedy. [More]
