UPS Blows! or... How NOT To Ship Electronics

DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
in Off-Topic
<!--quoteo(post=1565983:date=Aug 31 2006, 11:56 PM:name=Marik_Steele)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Marik_Steele @ Aug 31 2006, 11:56 PM) [snapback]1565983[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
I'm the proud owner of an ATi Radeon 9800 Pro. Bought it for KOTOR 1. Been traveling with it a lot. Airport security personnel in certain cities haven't been too happy about this. They haven't treated it well.
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Had to chuckle when I read this part. About a month ago I blew the caps on my mobo and borked the pcb (printed circuit board) on my WD1200JB hd. Had a new mobo installed and a WD2500KS (with 16mb cache), BUT ... it's next to impossible to find a pcb for the old hard drive.

My buddy had a brand new pcb in his closet, so he UPS's it to me (along with a 1gb ramstick). It makes it from Atlanta to south Georgia, where UPS's x-ray machine flagged it as suspicious. A couple of weeks later, they refund my buddy his shipping charges, but afaik STILL have my pcb... <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":angry:" border="0" alt="mad-fix.gif" />

Plan B: Both of us have sworn off UPS forEvuh now. He decides to ship me an entire WD1200JP via Fed-X, and I can scavenger the pcb off it to recover my data.<!--coloro:#FF0000--><span style="color:#FF0000"><!--/coloro--> <b>NOT!</b> <!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->He shipped it last Wednesday and <b>I STILL</b> haven't gotten it. The tracker thing isn't helping any either.... ... .. .

With my hd O/A for a month, I finally ordered a WD1200JB from NewEgg for $56.00usd, and it'll be here today or tomorrow. Maybe. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
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Comments

  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
    Typically it helps if you contact them instead of posting anonymously on a Half-Life mod's message board.
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    My buddy sent 43 emails to three different supervisors with UPS, 2 of them in Atlanta where it was shipped, and 1 at the terminal where it still sits. This was in addition to dozens of UNanswered phone calls to the same three. In other words, UPS blows when it comes to settling claims.

    Of course, he has contacted Fed-X also, as have I. It's turning into the same damn runaround I'm afraid.

    Moral of the story: be careful of what you ship and how you ship it nowadays. Items like hard drive pcbs are not an everyday occurence. As a matter of fact, they're very difficult to even find.

    Why you would think either myself or the shipper haven't pursued this escapes me. Totally. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wow.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":0" border="0" alt="wow.gif" />
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  • BeastBeast Armonkyi Join Date: 2003-04-21 Member: 15731Members, Constellation
    ups:
    Utter Piece of S____
    Use (other) Postal Services
    Useless Postal Service

    Need I go on? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1567275:date=Sep 21 2006, 06:06 PM:name=Beast)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Beast @ Sep 21 2006, 06:06 PM) [snapback]1567275[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
    ups:
    Utter Piece of S____
    Use (other) Postal Services
    Useless Postal Service

    Need I go on? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":D" border="0" alt="biggrin-fix.gif" />
    <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    QFT!
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  • BlackMageBlackMage [citation needed] Join Date: 2003-06-18 Member: 17474Members, Constellation
    moral of the story: insure shipments of value lest they become lost in transit or held for "various reasons"
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    The shipment was insured, but as already noted pcb's for hard drives are extremely difficult to locate. Since UPS decided to "keep" the only one we could find, any monetary compensation would be rather useless, and certainly wouldn't help me get my hard drive back up and running. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wow.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":0" border="0" alt="wow.gif" />
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  • BlackMageBlackMage [citation needed] Join Date: 2003-06-18 Member: 17474Members, Constellation
    you find them on the backs of harddrives, you can pass the pcb off as being as valuable as a $20 harddrive.
    HDD GET!
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    That's true, but the money's not the issue - without the pcb I can't recover my data.

    It's all a moot point anyway. The hard drive came, I scavenged the pcb off it, installed it on my old hd, fired it up, and nothing. The old hard drive failed to recognize the newer pcb. Research revealed this will only work in a very small percentage of cases, as the pcb MUST match 100%, not just be from the same model hd.
    <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->the easiest way to get replacement parts and repair your hard drive is to buy another one just like it. Exactly like! Down to the revision!! Including the board!!! That said, the easiest way to repair an electronic problem is to replace the PCB on the drive. There are other electronic components <b>in</b> the drive.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    So, unless I can find a 4 or 5 year old hd just like mine (including revision number) I'm screwed. Unless I pay for professional data recovery. NOT!
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  • BlackMageBlackMage [citation needed] Join Date: 2003-06-18 Member: 17474Members, Constellation
    well, if you find one with the same platter/track/chunk configuration you could move the platters...
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    I considered that, but since I've never done it, am a little leary. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
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  • BlackMageBlackMage [citation needed] Join Date: 2003-06-18 Member: 17474Members, Constellation
    you're only tampering with mechanical parts that have tolerances in the partial thousandths of an inch... what could go wrong?
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1567502:date=Sep 22 2006, 11:32 PM:name=Black_Mage)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Black_Mage @ Sep 22 2006, 11:32 PM) [snapback]1567502[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->
    you're only tampering with mechanical parts that have tolerances in the partial thousandths of an inch... what could go wrong?
    <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Perhaps this is why data recovery experts make as much as they do? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/sad-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":(" border="0" alt="sad-fix.gif" />
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  • CplDavisCplDavis I hunt the arctic Snonos Join Date: 2003-01-09 Member: 12097Members
    <a href="http://www.bbb.org/" target="_blank">http://www.bbb.org/</a>

    why dont you try them, the Better Business Bureau.

    You can file a complaint with them and they will contact UPS or whoever on your behalf. They area a national organization
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  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    edited September 2006
    UPS would probably laught at the BBB< honestly. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/confused-fix.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="???" border="0" alt="confused-fix.gif" />
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