It's a miracle!

[Dave W]

UPS tells CA customer his guitar is destroyed and discarded, but he then finds it for sale

[gearHed289]

WOW! That is some shady stuff right there. Shame on UPS! Glad they seem to have it resolved.

[Son of Dave W]

While no carrier is perfect, I avoid USPS and UPS like the plague.  Never have had a major issue with FedEx shipping instruments.

(cue someone telling of FedEx horror stories  )

[Ken]

I think they all suck in different ways.  Seems to depend on where you live.  I've had the worst experiences with USPS.

[Dave W]

Important: if you're involved in a lost or stolen situation and you're offered a settlement,you normally give up ownership in exchange for the settlement. If your shipment shows up later, it belongs to the party who paid you the settlement.

Reminds me of a situation a member at the Pit posted about, almost 20 years ago. Sold a bass that never reached its destination. He accepts a settlement. A couple of years later, he sees it for sale on eBay. He contacts the seller and demands the return of his bass, but the guy had bought it from Guitar Center. He contacted GC, they bought it legitimately from UPS.

He kept ranting and raving about it, I kept telling him, it's not your bass any more. No matter how the bass got "lost", no matter how shady UPS might have been, you gave up ownership in exhange for payment from UPS. I think I finally got through to him.

[gearHed289]

Good info Dave. As hard of a pill as it is to swallow, that's how insurance settlements work. I've been super lucky in my 25 years of buying and selling basses, etc. online. I use UPS as much as possible and never had a problem.