USPS broke my paddle.

[Sdrew22]

Well, I found a beautiful paddle in Maine. 83 inches long and what looks like Birdseye(not positive). I opened the package and my excitement turned to disappointment. I discovered a nasty crack. I have included pictures of the break and the repair. A lot of Epoxy,clamping and sanding was involved. I am not sure if it's going to hold, but here's hoping.

 

[Boatman53]

That is sad, I’m sorry to hear that. Looks like curly maple to me.
Jim

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Could have been stained, smudged and already hairline cracked from the seller. If the shipment was insured, maybe that would cover damage if it's not too late. Anyway, the repair looks really nice and I suspect it will hold for normal water propulsion activities, but not pole vaulting.

Just curious, in what kind of boat are you going to use a seven foot paddle?

 

[recped]

I'm in the mail order business, that's NOT a good packing job for such an item (and illegal use of Free USPS shipping supplies). Anything of that size needs to be really packed securely, the "standard" is to assume a 70lb box will fall on it from a height of 5 feet, given the length it won't lay flat in a standard USPS bin so any impact from a heavy object will give the result you see.

 

[Matt C]

I'm in the mail order business, that's NOT a good packing job for such an item (and illegal use of Free USPS shipping supplies). Anything of that size needs to be really packed securely, the "standard" is to assume a 70lb box will fall on it from a height of 5 feet, given the length it won't lay flat in a standard USPS bin so any impact from a heavy object will give the result you see.

This is a paddle Moosejaw sent me last year, took the pic before I opened the box, but got VERY lucky: No damage

 

[frozentripper]

When I got to visit the cargo loading area of the main Toronto airport (Pearson) watching planes being loaded, I saw a worker step on one of the boxes to reach up for something and could hear glass objects breaking and crunching underfoot. Business as usual for the worker, unconcerned maybe because the package wasn't protected well enough, or maybe the package wasn't labelled fragile.

Saw another package of frogs being shipped, this one clearly marked HANDLE WITH CARE - LIVE FROGS and this one was given some attention.

Something like Tom Hanks in Castaway, busy, time is everything. Also got to see the US Navy Blue Angels maintaining their F-18s, great place to visit.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I'm in the mail order business, that's NOT a good packing job for such an item (and illegal use of Free USPS shipping supplies). Anything of that size needs to be really packed securely, the "standard" is to assume a 70lb box will fall on it from a height of 5 feet, given the length it won't lay flat in a standard USPS bin so any impact from a heavy object will give the result you see.

Nothing is free in USPS. Boxes are insanely expensive these days. The trouble is senders do want to avoid paying $25 for a new box. Postage does not come with the box. The other trouble is of course private sellers usually don't know how to pack everything properly.
That said I complain when Amazon sends a 9x2x4 box for a ...camera battery.

 

[Sdrew22]

I typically send paddles wrapped in bubble wrap and saran wrap with no box. I haven't had an issue yet. We will see how this works out. The seller has been fantastic. I tried submitting a claim with USPS, but I think the seller needs to do this. USPS was asking for the original shipping receipt and proof of insurance. They also flashed a message saying these claims are backed up for MONTHS!

I hope my fix holds.