sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

Oh, do I have some stories about shipping! We would order custom-made equipment at times that would take up to six months for delivery. The vendor would ship it F.O.B. via a transport that he would hire. We would arrange for our crew and subcontractors including cranes to offload and hoist it into place only to find that it had been damaged in shipment. Because it was shipped F.O.B., the vendor passed ownership to us when it left their dock. That meant that it was up to us to come to a settlement claim with some rinky-dink trucking firm resulting in us battling with their insurance company.

After that happened a few times, I changed our purchases to be F.O.B. "job site" AND because freight is part of our purchase price that we were paying for, we had the right to accept or reject the fright company that they would hire. This meant that the vendor owned the equipment until it arrived at its destination and any freight damage was between them and the firm that they hired. The vendors would scream and claim that was not their corporate policy until I would remind them that it was our corporate policy to only buy from those that accept our terms and conditions as the buyer. Thus, "Money talks and bullshit walks"

Dannj

It sounds ridiculous but it probably costs less to do it that way than to have dedicated local delivery.

djb663 Loc: Massachusetts

That is not entirely correct. The postal service receives the item for the "last mile". In other words, if you order something to be delivered in Boston, MA from Topeka, KA, UPS controls it until it is dropped to the delivery unit in Boston that handles the last mile. So, you are not at the whim of USPS, you are the whim of UPS.

Dannj

Makes sense….unless the item sits or gets lost at the local PO. Or am I missing something?

robertperry Loc: Sacramento, Ca.

If FedEx merged with UPS their new name would be FedUp.

PhotogHobbyist Loc: Bradford, PA

I hear you and feel your pain. I've had a couple small items shipped by UPS or FedEx that eventually get to the USPS for delivery. The tracking has indicated the package has been turned over to the Post Office but USPS says receipt pending. Then after several days of each company denying possession, it appears in my mail box.

planepics Loc: St. Louis burbs, but originally Chicago burbs

That's funny.