UPS is absolutely, hands down, the worst shipping company I’ve had to deal with. Fedex is pretty good (only had one problem with them, minor damage to product, not enough to bother with insurance claims), Purolator has been excellent for us.
UPS has: Left $1200 worth of product at an address that doesn’t exist, signed by someone that doesn’t exist. I had a good idea where it was and found it - but I never okayed it in the first place and they never called to ask if it was okay.
Left $3200 worth of product on the deck of another business (roughly 1km away) because the driver couldn’t find our place and “it looked safe.” Open deck, NO ONE was around, it was never signed for - they got a good chewing out over this.
Refused to deliver to our place (home/business) because “twigs hit the truck.” Last week they called from the above business I mentioned and asked us to come there - it was +14c, sunny, roads were great. The driver was just lazy. Purolator and Fedex both fly up the road like it’s nothing, even in the winter with snow on the ground.
I would actually pay extra for the Glowforge NOT to be shipped with UPS.
Yes, it’s a new product, but shipping anything is pretty standard procedure, including the legalese. This is life on earth and every company needs to cover their backside. Completely.
The thing is, The manufacturer has a relationship with the carrier, and you don’t.
In my experience they work together to rectify the problem.
I may be mistaken regarding Dan’s official position, so the best thing I can do is shut up.
wow! Ive been highly considering the BigBox myself. Ive seen a few unboxing videos, and in some of them the perspex broke while peeling off the plastic. It looks really nice, but I might have to go for the wood frame when I order. Sorry to hear yours broke!
Youll have to let me know how it ends up working for you. Their hotends are awesome, and a big volume printer with awesome hotends for that price is really tempting.
Would bet a $1 that Dan’s official position is whatever the lawyers say his official position is. Now what the actual practice will be might be something decent.
Amen to that!
I am a dive photographer and need to buy a lot of gear. It is almost always cheaper to do through the US or Europe. However much of my savings are eaten up in the cr@ppy Brokerage Fees and I have recently started to make my decision to buy based on the courier used.
If anyone from Glowforge is listening to this thread Australia Post is a great option in Oz.
Love the big box dual, and soon to do the Titan upgrade (you won’t have to), and they seemed have solved it (I was backer #64 so very early ship). Looks great in polar white/slate gray, and I added lighting. They eventually solved the shipping box issues by about shipment 200, and the service was great at getting a replacement piece fedexed out from the UK to Boston arriving 2 days later…
Ah man, a thing of beauty. I see you got the dual extruder model… NICE! I was planning on getting the dual as well. I just recently picked up a kangaroo and have been using it to run my 3d printer and X-Carve, so I might skip the octoprint. Do you think it makes things easier than having a PC at hand?
I octoprint because this is in the basement, and it is so much nicer. I have that my x-carve ties up a computer… The dual Titan will be so much nicer (just waiting for a few parts) as it gives larger volume and higher quality extrusion.
Bah… I emailed support and inquired about picking up mine personally (I’ll probably be vacationing not far from Seattle when it’s released) and got shot down. I’d rather do that than let a courier lug it back across the border.
Yep. I’m sure Glowforge will do everything they can to resolve shipping problems, but the TOS we agreed to states their official position pretty clearly
If you decide to pick it up, let the rest of us Coloradans know–I bet most of us would pay your travel expenses (and some might even join you–DO I HEAR ROADTRIP?) for the peace of mind.
For residential deliveries, the best experience I’ve had of late has been Amazon. They even called me once to see if I wanted the package on the back porch so no one could walk by and take it (it was a new microwave). I was surprised that they called to check in instead of just leaving the package and running. I don’t know if they would offer their shipping services to things not bought on Amazon, though.
I have a side business that ships collectible playing cards. The people that buy my stuff are extremely picky, and even a slight dent will generate an email. Over the last few years I’ve packed up and shipped out about around 8,000 packages all around the world. I’ve learned that as the shipper, you have to do your best to pack things in a reasonable fashion that balances your cost and time vs. the level of protection needed.
You can spend a ton of time and money on every package, but the benefits start to fall off at a point. Finding that sweet spot where 99% of packages arrive safe but you don’t kill yourself is a tricky business. As the weight of the package goes up, this becomes more difficult because the shippers are not gentle. I’ve been amazed at the treatment some packages have gotten.
I will assume that the GF folks are going to design a very good box with sufficient airspace/support/padding at the corners that should minimize damage, but no matter what they do short of hand delivery on pillows towed by angels, somebody is going to get a damaged unit. And that’s where customer service comes in, and I suspect GF will be good in that regard. I’m sure they will send out a small number at first and track the results carefully to make sure things are arriving in the condition they expect.
No clue where the production line is located. And the distribution site might be near the assembly location or from a distribution center thousands of miles away. We know it won’t be from the Glowforge offices. So I haven’t purchased a ticket to Seattle.
Sold my truck a few years back when I retired but the trusty Dodge minivan will fit 4x8 plywood inside. That will fit at least 6 if they have to ride flat, more if they can stand on their ear or end. A smooth ride compared to a freight truck, and guaranteed white glove handling!
Self employed delivering and installing high end furnishings for 30 years, I constantly heard horror stories from customers about residential deliveries that amazed me. It’s really not that hard (weight aside) to do it professionally and leave a satisfied customer in your dust.
My work completed the deal, and being the last step in a long expensive process, it was very important to leave my customer with a positve experience - being a reflection on the interior design firm as well as myself.
It wasn’t difficult considering your customer had thrown their money months ago, so when I arrived with their goods, I felt like Santa they were so glad to see me! You really have to screw up to alienate a customer in that frame of mind.
I set my own schedule and was well paid, but the standard parcel delivery guy gets an hourly rate and is under the gun to keep to a tight schedule. They don’t have any of the control that I had, often jumping into a loaded truck with his schedule on a clipboard having never even seen what was loaded the night before, much less what condition it was in (UPS for example).
We dont have much control being on the recieving end, but Inspection on delivery is your job - and it is critical. Guess how I know that?
I used to work for UPS as a truck unloader at the regional hub. While I was there I can verify that the 80 lb+ 2-person–lift-rule was commonly mentioned by management but I only saw it actually followed by workers once or twice. The reason is that the pace they maintain is grueling and if you slow down a load or unload you were yelled at immediately. With one unloader per truck there was no time to wait for someone else to come help so you just did your best.
…It’s a highway song 
sing it on and on…
Guess how I know that?