Hey Guys,

Collings 002h

I have been talking to (tonosity). A lot of the problems between (tonosity) and myself has been my fault. I have 8 years of collecting cheap guitar invested in one guitar that has problems. I did not sleep for a couple of days and was pretty hot.

He has been real nice and he's going to help me with the U.P.S. claim. The guitar was packed very well.

I will let you know how things turn out.

(from the moderator: I changed the content so that nobody's real name is used)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: elambo,

Thanks for the update, Jeff. It's good to know that you and the seller have started to work things out. Hopefully UPS will take care of any damage that they've caused. Sorry to hear that you're going through this. I know that you also caused a few headaches with your initial post.

Next time around, please try to work with the other person who's involved in your sale before going to extremes. Guitars are delicate instruments and shipping damage will ALWAYS be a concern.

And also, please don't use this forum to vent your anger in the future, especially when you're not exactly sure what went wrong with the sale.

Good luck with the UPS claim. Let us know if we can help somehow.

Just shipped a guitar to Cotten in Nashville. I never shipped a guitar before. I recently bought a guitar on eBay and was surprised when it arrived FedEx. My first impulse was to ship mine UPS.

I checked with a friend who worked many years for DHL. His advice - ship anything of value FedEx.

Hey,

I think the number one killer of guitars is heat. The wood expands and the glue becomes soft
and then later the glue hardens with parts streched and bent out of shape.

This guitar is still worth alot of money but it will never be the guitar it was.

The seller did pretty good dealing with me but I don't think he realized the shape the guitar was in.
When you are in the middle of it, you don't know who's at fault or what happened.

The Martin service guy said it had gotten hot at sometime but could not say when it happened.

I want to thank everyone for your help and understanding. I would buy another guitar from the seller
or anyone of you guys on this site.

I'm no big fan of rules, but: 1. The more extreme the weather, the faster the shipping method. In the spring and fall, ground may work. In the summer and winter, 2nd day air or next day. Don't cut corners. 2. Insure the full replacement value, not the purchase price. That's all. I've shipped at least 30 guitars, and received at least that many, including when we lived in Jackson Hole, that has as extreme a climate swing as you're likely to find. The only damage ever was dummy me opening the box too soon in cold weather and having finish checking appear before my eyes on an old Guild F512. so the shipping wasn't the problem; my stupidity was the problem. I wouldn't conclude from Jeff9101's experience that shipping is all that hazardous. It isn't.

Let us also not forget the ship on a Monday rule, in order to avoid the week end slowdown.

Yep. Unless it's overnight, Monday. Warehouses and weekends are not your guitar's friend.

My company ships ~300 packages per day and the biggest issue (by far) is when the carrier says, "insufficient packaging". Unless the UPS Store or Kinkos packs the item, it's very difficult to overcome that statement.

Hi, Jeff.

The top was glass flat and the neck dead straight when I shipped it. The guitar was strung with Elixer Custom Lights (11 – 52 gauge). I’ve added a photo taken just before I loosened the strings down a tone, cased it by packing heavy paper around the headstock, put the case in a sealed plastic bag (which I got from Cedar Creak Case Co., on buying it new from them, just beforehand), and padded the case in a 49” x 20” x 9” heavy cardboard shipping box, and padded *all* sides of the case with either bubble wrap, rubber foam and/or Styrofoam peanuts. (I don’t recall the exact materials since I shipped a number of Collings at that time, but I'm absolutely clear on the method.) This is actually more shipping protection than I’ve found on a custom-ordered 11k Collings sent to me from a great Collings dealer earlier this year.

I suppose it’s possible that is was exposed to heat in transit. But then, we used UPS 2-Day Air, and I gave it to them on a Monday so that it wouldn’t sit anywhere hot over a weekend to minimize the possibility of heat damage. It’s my understanding that Collings sends all their guitars Next-Day to their dealers to avoid excessive handling and temperature swings during transit. Unfortunately, UPS’s price for that level of service is about twice that of the 2-Day Air that you opted for. It was also insured for the full amount plus the shipping cost.

In filing a claim with UPS, it should be asserted that heat exposure of the package was the culprit. It might make sense to do some research on the temperatures along the route of the shipment on the Tuesday and Wednesday of that particular week. The route was listed on the tracking information Web page when it was in transit using the tracking number. Now it only states the level or service, destination info, and proof of signature of its delivery. In retrospect, it would have been nice if that had been printed-out. Then we could see where in the country the guitar traveled, and the duration of its stays in transit stations along the way. I will contact UPS to ask if it’s possible to obtain that tracking-route info *before* you file a claim for compensation.

But also, I would be very reticent to write this guitar off and as never being what it once was, as others, in this forum, have said: a second or third opinion may produce a different prognosis. I’d suggest that they should also come from a Collings dealer’s repair department, or Collings themselves. Martins are very nice guitars, but the designs for the mechanisms for adjustment are different. It’s also my belief that Collings would be the ultimate source of information on this. If you able to take pictures of the damage—such as on sighting down the neck and top—Alex there may be able to direct you to the best Collings repair shop to contact, or arrange for repair at Collings.

Also know that some of the most awesome sounding and playing vintage acoustic guitars, that are the inspiration of Collings and other luthiers, have been repaired and adjusted one or more times.. So, again, don’t write it off. It’s potential to be the guitar of your dreams still exists.

What if UPS pays the claim, don't you have to hand over the guitar?

I've, thankfully, never had to make a claim with UPS, but I'll check into it. I've said I'd help Jeff with this, and it looks like I've got some contractual reading to do. But, I would guess no, since Jeff's looking of compensation for damages to cover repairs--I believe. That'll be his call.

quote:

Also know that some of the most awesome sounding and playing vintage acoustic guitars, that are the inspiration of Collings and other luthiers, have been repaired and adjusted one or more times.. So, again, don’t write it off. It’s potential to be the guitar of your dreams still exists.

You're so right, I've seen guitars that I thought would end up being firewood resurrected into something unbelievable.
Stories like this break my heart. I hate it when items are damaged in transit, but exercising a little patience, courtesy and respect while communicating can serve all involved parties well.
Best of luck to you, and lets hope for a happy ending.
Respectfully,