Damaged Taxidermy from South Africa with Delta Airlines

[billc]

Bill,

If you take a look at the above pictures you will see that they are cardboard shipping boxes. There have been pictures on AH and on other forums where clients received damaged taxidermy were the finished goods were placed in cardboard shipping boxes.

While your and my shipper may used Plywood for shipping boxes that does not mean that every shipping company does so. That is the hunters responsibility to ask the questions and request containers that your product will not be damaged in. Weather you want to admit it or not, you get what you pay for. Shipping boxes that are made with plywood will cost more than boxes made out of card board. So in reality we do pay more and receive a quality product.

Maybe it is not that I pay more I just get more from using the right places. Plus maybe the company charged the same for that cardboard as I did for my plywood they maybe just made more. At this point we are both guessing just like you are guessing the guy ask for the crate to be built like that. Either way it is there job to get his stuff to him in one piece.

Many people at fault on this mess but it sure is not the client in anyway. I hope I never need a client to tell me to add another screw to something or use something that will not break to get the job done. People doing the work are hired to do a job they need to know how to get it done all on there own if they want to charge for a service.

 

[JimP]

When I had my trophies shipped back here to the US I didn't even think of asking what they made their crates out of. But then they said that they would be shipped in crates and not boxes. I also used a pack and ship taxidermist that had worked for a long time with our outfitter so there were no questions asked about how they were going to be taken care of as far as shipping. But you can't expect a large box that is just reinforced at the corners to stand up to very much handling and conveyors that are used for shipping large containers.

When my crate was received by my taxidermist in Colorado he was quite impressed with the crate itself and how everything was packed inside, he mentioned that he had never seen such a good packing job and he has seen quite a few that have come over from Africa.

As was mentioned there is quite a bit of blame to go around but in my opinion most of it should fall on who ever did the packing expecting cardboard boxes to stand up to rough handling.

 

[Royal27]

I'm having a hard time placing blame on anyone but whomever built that crate and packed it. I don't buy the "it has always worked before" argument. That's just plain silly.

If I put China in a soft sided bag and travel internationally I'm not going to blame Delta. Maybe they have some responsibility but certainly not all.

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

I'm having a hard time placing blame on anyone but whomever built that crate and packed it. I don't buy the "it has always worked before" argument. That's just plain silly.

If I put China in a soft sided bag and travel internationally I'm not going to blame Delta. Maybe they have some responsibility but certainly not all.

Very much agree with you, but there is one scenario I just thought of. Perhaps the "cardboard crate" would have been just fine. But a numbskull anti who was in the chain of handling found out what was inside. Because it's now cardboard, it would take only a few moments of proper foot action to kick the crap out of everything.

Now had the crate been made completely out of wood like it should have been.....

 

[Royal27]

Now had the crate been made completely out of wood like it should have been.....

Exactly....

And the reason you make it out of wood, to protect from damage, bother accidental and purposeful.

 

[BRICKBURN]

The first shipments I had come over were in plywood crates with everything screwed down tight with enough screws to fill a small coffee can.

The next shipment arrived in a cardboard box that was stuffed with shredded paper.
I was dubious about that one. Certainly when I saw a fork lift tyne hole in the side of the cardboard.
Luckily nothing was damaged.

Another lesson: asking how the trophies are going to be crated for shipment.

Another intermediary shipment was in Burlap sacks. One of these day's I'll tell you exactly how secure that was!

 

[PHOENIX PHIL]

Another intermediary shipment was in Burlap sacks. One of these day's I'll tell you exactly how secure that was!

 

[enysse]

1/4 inch plywood doesn't protect much either, sorry, especially is you put the reinforcement boards next to the animal. Sh#t this isn't rocket science. Next time someone says a better box can't be built, I call

 

[Petrus Geldenhuys]

Sorry about the shipment. That would make any grown man whimper.

 

[redriver]

I was never given any options with regard to the crate quality or shipping etc.
I was only given a final bill from Trans African taxidermy for balance due on
mounting and crating.
I was then given a separate bill from Tracker International to handle the shipping.

 

[gutterdoc]

Whoa! I read the whole thing twice. Whoa! Be sure to make a call to your credit card company and see how long you have to file a claim. I got burned once by another company telling me to wait for 90 days and they would handle it. Well, 90 days came and went and nothing happened. So, I called the credit card and found out I had to make a claim within 90 days and therefore had no recourse. Buyer beware. Just check, it can't hurt. What is another phone call to the many, many I'm sure you have made. Best of luck.