What to do when we receive shipment

So I was sitting around my house looking at the empty spot where my glorious Glowforge is going to live, and breathe, and create so many amazing things. And I had a horrible, awful, no-good, very bad thought.

What if it is broken when I get it?

I know that @dan and others at Glowforge have done a number of shipping tests and it passed. But it was also acknowledged that things sometimes still do happen.

What do you suggest (Dan and others who have received expensive equipment) that we do to make sure that the proper party is held accountable should something actually break in transit? I am assuming that each of the lasers are sent with insurance attached to it, so if the shipping company breaks something, it is up to them to replace or reimburse the cost of the product?

My first thought is to hand my wife the video-recording device (insert whatever you might plan on using), and then record the un-boxing. Either everything is awesome and I get a video of my first reactions of Joy as I see this device emerge in all its laser glory to create something within the first hour (15 minutes) of unboxing. Or it will record my disappointment if it ends up broken in some way and I use it as evidence against the shipping company.

Are there any other things that I should plan on doing? Any advice out there for those of us who don’t know what to expect?

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Most likely you will need to be present to sign when it arrives. If you see alot of damage on the box, do not sign until you can confirm the contents are not damaged. I receive lots of boxes that are torn, bent on the corners etc that are just fine inside.

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Very good idea to take videos or pictures as you unbox…if for nothing else, it helps you to get it all packed back together again properly, when you buy a new house.

(Cause we won’t be leaving it behind, right?) :wink:

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It’s will be interesting when that small percentage of folks needing warranty work forget to save the original packaging. It’s a very big, sturdy, expensive cardboard box. Plan to store it somewhere for 6 months to a year.

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Oh, definitely hang on to the packaging! Shipping insurance is usually dependent on if something is packaged appropriately. I would think the original shipping stuff would be best way to prove to the shipping company that it was.

Also a good idea to hang onto the box and packaging for anyone who thinks they might want to move. It’s a little bit of a pain to store a bunch of packaging, but so worth it.

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I have about 6 ft from my drop ceiling to the roof in my office. All my large item boxes are stored there…lol

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While I have complete faith in the GF team my faith in the postal service… well… much less. I’ll definitely be doing an unboxing video just for the sake of it. If it does come broken I have full faith in GF to make it right. :slight_smile:

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My attic’s full of boxes from various machines. (sigh!)

(On the other hand - great to have if you decide to sell something down the road.) :blush:

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Absolutely! My method is to mark boxes with the date the warranty expires on the item they contained (TV, monitors, 3D printer, etc.). When I clean out storage, it greatly simplifies the decision process, and you can always decide to keep them longer.

Normally, I recycle the vast majority of the “expired” boxes, but that will change when my GF arrives… :sunglasses:

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Is a shipper really going hang out whilst I unbox a laser cutter with damaged packaging… and then while I plug it in to see if it fires up and cuts?

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In my experience, no they are under extreme time pressure to make deliveries quickly. If I don’t get to the door fast enough they deliver it next door and fake my signature.

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I’m documenting like a delivery room. Here is another good topic on the subject of shipping:

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I get the impression these will be shipped with common, residential carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS) but with freight a good strategy is to write something like “cargo has not been inspected for shipping damage” near the signature line. I had one piece of freight… a big TV maybe… that I suspect was damaged in shipping. The crooks at the freight company shoved the signed waybill in my face and said something the effect of “na na, you signed, it’s your problem now”. I don’t know if my suggested note will actually help, I haven’t had to test that yet, but I doubt it would hurt.

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No, that’s a great idea. :sunglasses:

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Great idea! I think I will do that too going forward.

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He wont stay to see if it fires up but will allow you to unbox it and look for physical damage.

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A good idea decidedly, but most, if not all, companies delivering to me use electronic data loggers.

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Not :white_check_mark:'d.
I can write that small enough next to my name - even with those horrible electronic styluses. (stylii?)

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Oops, I could have been more clear. I meant to specify that adding a note is something I’ve only been able to do with freight deliveries (AKA things delivered in large trucks with lift-gates), where it’s been my experience that there’s always a piece of paper, which I think is called a “waybill”, accompanying the shipment. Or were you saying even the freight carriers in your area have electronic devices as well?

@Jules, yeah, “not checked” might fit into the little box. Then just sign with an “X”. :stuck_out_tongue:

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what’s all this talk about inspections and careful unwrapping? Must get inside and get the altar out then sacrifice all the (laser safe only) things into the vaporization chamber to the laser gods! I shall rule the world!!! or burn down the house.

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