raytownbassclub.net - How to Get a Rod Delivered in One Piece

After the series of events Mr. Gann and I went through during our recent eBay purchases of rods, I spoke at length with the Postmaster of my local U.S. Post Office and the following is what he told me.

First things first, if you are being shipped a fishing rod, you pretty much have to hope that whomever sold you said rod is sending it in a sturdy tube. I have learned that Tackle Warehouse mails fishing rods in tubes you could back a car over and they would protect your rod. Unfortunately, through eBay, you just don't know what to expect. My advice is to request the seller send your fishing pole to you via UPS or FedEx. Offer to pay the extra money for shipping, it will probably save you a lot of cash if the fishing rod is dropped on your doorstep broken.

The postmaster said that notes written boldly on the fishing rod shipment tube will generally be followed. Writing notes like "DO NOT CRUSH" and/or "DO NOT BEND" are good ideas. I would add "FRAGILE" personally because what is more fragile than line guides on a fishing pole?

Another thing the postmaster told me was that since fishing rods are so long, they are not put through the normal sorting machines because they simply do not fit. Fishing rods are hand sorted. I asked him how 2 expensive St. Croix rods were broken at the same spot on the rod with the same bend, if that was the case. He said his best guess was that the tubes were put into a cart and other mail was thrown on top which crushed the tubes and broke the rods. With that, see the paragraph above about "FRAGILE" and other markings!

We then discussed postal insurance. His advice was to always get the amount of insurance you need to cover the full value of the item you are shipping. Did you get that last part? Insurance is for the shipper, not the reciever. Therefore, if the person/store/entity you buy a fishing rod from on eBay has the foresight to insure the rod, he/it is the one to make the claim to the post office, not you. However, if you somehow get around that little issue, here is how the claim process is done by our wonderfully bureaucratic post office.

You go to your local post office in the greater Kansas City Metro area and tell them you would like to open an insurance claim. They will give you the forms you will need to fill out (I don't know if that's in triplicate or not!!). You will also have to have the damaged property and the container it was shipped in. If the value is above a certain amount, it is sent to St. Louis for review. Below that amount and a decision is made on the spot and money can be issued.

If your claim is sent to St. Louis, it will probably take some time before you get a response. The good news is your broken rod sits right there at your local post office. When a decision is made, either to reimburse you or tell you to take a flying leap, you will be sent a letter (and a check if you're lucky). If you don't get a check, you are out of luck and you'll have to rely on eBay, PayPal, or your credit card company to try to get some satisfaction. Please refer to Mr. Gann's article for the arithmetic that seems to add up to you, the purchaser, getting the shaft.

With all that being said, from here on I will be buying my rods from Roger's Sporting Goods (http://store.rogerssportinggoods.com/servlet/StoreFront) where a 20% discount is normally offered on all St. Croix and G.Loomis rods.