Starting to worry about uke in transit with fedex

poppy · Jul 26, 2011

I never thought to have them put a humidifier in my Uke case but I'm starting to think I should have. I have one here waiting to put in The case but its been sitting in Orlando since Saturday morning probably in a truck waiting to be unloaded. We talk about leaving them in the car for a day in the heat . Three days in a truck sitting in a yard ! I never thought they would just let it set there. It arrived at 5:56 AM Sat. At least its more humid there but their baking it and its solid KOA. Anything special I need to do when it gets here, whats the chance there is damage that won't show for a while? I was so worried gettting KOA in the first place now I gottta sweat this.

Raygf · Jul 26, 2011

I had a Koloa solid mahogany baritone shipped FedEx from Reno, NV to Hagerstown to Balitmore. Tracking showed it was in transit for 7 days from Reno to Hagerstown. It was extremely hot that week. It wasn't even the slightest bit warm when it was delivered and it was shipped in a cardboard box, inside another cardboard box. I wasn't terribly happy about the thought of it in a truck that long with it being as hot as it was, but it was fine.

Why so worried about getting koa? Hope everything works out okay.

Cliff Rogers · Jul 26, 2011

I'm starting to worry about the one I ordered for my wife.
It is in transit on UPS, took a week to get to Oz, took 18 minutes total to get through customs & then it disappeared.
That was 6 days ago, nowhere inside Oz is 6 days away from anywhere else unless you are walking or on a bicycle.

zac987 · Jul 26, 2011

If worse comes to worse, you could always contact the shipping company and report the damage to your delivered item. It's not your fault that they allowed it to "cook", you shouldn't have to deal with it.

hmgberg · Jul 26, 2011

It is distressing to wait, especially given the heat and humidity last week throughout much of the US. Try not to speculate that it's been sitting in a truck all of that time.

When you get the box, as painful as it may be, do not open it right away. Let the box acclimate to the temperature inside your home. It is very unlikely that the instrument needs further humidification (Florida to Illinois, if I understand correctly); indeed it has been too humid, but not so much so that you should expect swelling over so short a period of time. Check for obvious signs - swelling, cracks, etc. The excessive heat, from what I know, is the most likely source of problems under the current conditions. Heat can soften glues and finishes, so you'll probably know right away if there is a problem.

Good luck! Please let us know.

Mandarb · Jul 26, 2011

Raygf said:
Why so worried about getting koa?

I was curious about this as well. Good luck - hope everything works out.

RyRod · Jul 26, 2011

I have family friend that works for FedEx and the stuff usually doesn't sit in the truck for too long. Basically just the ride to and from each location and the rest of the time it should be in the FedEx buildings. It arrived at 6am but I'm sure they unloaded everything to sort it. I don't think they let stuff sit in an unsecured truck anyway.

It should be alright.

RyanMFT · Jul 26, 2011

RyRod said:
I have family friend that works for FedEx and the stuff usually doesn't sit in the truck for too long. Basically just the ride to and from each location and the rest of the time it should be in the FedEx buildings. It arrived at 6am but I'm sure they unloaded everything to sort it. I don't think they let stuff sit in an unsecured truck anyway.

It should be alright.

I agree with RyRod, what makes you think they store things in trucks? If a business were to use trucks for storage while waiting to deliver, they would be losing money very quickly. I bet it is inside waiting to get on a truck for delivery.....hang in there, shouldn't be to much longer!

poppy · Jul 26, 2011

You have arrival and departure scan, there is a pompano departure no orlando arrival.
Everything I have read on here says KOA is the most likely to crack in air conditioned and winter heated spaces so I have avoided KOA. We run our air a lot and in winter, well its 40 miled to Wisconsin from here.

hoosierhiver · Jul 26, 2011

hmgberg said:
When you get the box, as painful as it may be, do not open it right away. Let the box acclimate to the temperature inside your home.

QUOTE]

I second this!

Mandarb · Jul 26, 2011

poppy said:
You have arrival and departure scan, there is a pompano departure no orlando arrival.
Everything I have read on here says KOA is the most likely to crack in air conditioned and winter heated spaces so I have avoided KOA. We run our air a lot and in winter, well its 40 miled to Wisconsin from here.

Never read that - must have missed it. Any solid wood uke (koa, mango, mahogany, etc.) should be humidified in the winter when the air is dryer - best to keep the relative humidity at about 40-45%. Good luck - hope your uke arrives safely.

Moore Bettah Ukuleles · Jul 26, 2011

I'm a firm believer in keeping the transit time down to a minimum. That's why I always ship via Express mail with their 24 to 48 hour delivery time. It's more expensive but it makes me sleep better. I also throw one or two Hercos in the case as well. Good packing and lots of insulation also minimizes the risk of damage. Customs is a different story however. The last uke I shipped to Australia sat in customs for a month before it was release. Even so it arrived at the destination in good shape.

Starting to worry about uke in transit with fedex

poppy

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Raygf

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Cliff Rogers

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hmgberg

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Mandarb

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poppy

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