The good: Receiving a Gotland from Albion with a custom dark-blue grip.
The bad: Coming home to find that UPS dropped the box and the sword tip poked through one end.
The ugly: The tip that poked through is now chipped and flattnened.
I emailed Mike about this but he's in Atlanta until Monday (or whenever the show ends) :(
I'll post pics of the damage soon :(
This is what greeted me as I came home...
[ Linked Image ]
Close up of the tip.
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I unpacked the rest of the sword and it is beautiful, but this damage just makes me want to cry :(
[ Linked Image ]
Close up of the tip.
[ Linked Image ]
I unpacked the rest of the sword and it is beautiful, but this damage just makes me want to cry :(
AFAIK, the Albion packaging is very good (bought a Shinto katana from them some years ago, and it arrived in great shape after the flight across the Atlantic), but the UPS gorillas are infamous for their (mis)handling of packages. Knowing Albion, I think they will fix it for you - they are great people!
UPS wil be the one to pay for the damage, and replace your sword. You have excellent photos of the results of their abuse.
I had an Albion sword package arrive in a frightening state a couple of months ago. Luckily no damage like yours, but the sword was rattling around loose inside the box.
I had an Albion sword package arrive in a frightening state a couple of months ago. Luckily no damage like yours, but the sword was rattling around loose inside the box.
Oh, I know... I've never had a problem with Albion's packaging before, even with UPS. Figures that my first NextGen gets this treatment :(
Albion is top-notch when it comes to customer service and I know they'll make it right. I hollared at UPS and they're taking it back to Albion, so at least I don't have to pay for that.
Albion is top-notch when it comes to customer service and I know they'll make it right. I hollared at UPS and they're taking it back to Albion, so at least I don't have to pay for that.
You know, the damage to your sword looks as if it was done deliberately. I would imagine that it is pretty damn hard to take off the very tip of an Albion sword. UPS are a bunch of barbarians.
| Jay Barron wrote: |
| You know, the damage to your sword looks as if it was done deliberately. I would imagine that it is pretty damn hard to take off the very tip of an Albion sword. UPS are a bunch of barbarians. |
I've seen this very thing before and it happened to my Salamander Armoury bastard sword some time ago when I shipped it back to Jim. I think that once they discover that it's a blade poking through they deliberately destroy the point for reasons of safety.
That's very sad news but I know it will all work out for you.
That makes a strange sort of sense... UPS breaking the tip off deliberately, I mean. But if it poked out, it was THEIR fault. The one end of the box is scrunched like an acordian. It certainly didn't magically get like that... you'd think they would have sent it back if they thought it was dangerous. :(
Sigh. I hope my Gaddhjalt arrives in better condition. At least that is going to my workplace.
Sigh. I hope my Gaddhjalt arrives in better condition. At least that is going to my workplace.
Yeah, I can see some tip damage from going thru the end like that, but the way that tip looks, it looks like someone took a grinder to it.
If it was a bit of a hazard {and it could be} then you'd think that someone that cared about their job would have stuck some foam on the end of blade, and taped that to the rest of the box. Take a minute to do, and it would have helped UPS rep, not continued to hurt it.....
If it was a bit of a hazard {and it could be} then you'd think that someone that cared about their job would have stuck some foam on the end of blade, and taped that to the rest of the box. Take a minute to do, and it would have helped UPS rep, not continued to hurt it.....
Mike is here in the hotel room right now.. he says Albion will take care of it, file a claim with UPS, and get a new one in your hands as soon as they can.
My first Albion sword arrived in good order, but it's short hop with less opportunity for the UPS Compactor Corps to bugger things. I think I'll pick up any future purchases. Mike has my hat since my last visit anyway.
JSA
JSA
| Timothy Gulics wrote: |
| The good: Receiving a Gotland from Albion with a custom dark-blue grip.
The bad: Coming home to find that UPS dropped the box and the sword tip poked through one end. The ugly: The tip that poked through is now chipped and flattnened. I emailed Mike about this but he's in Atlanta until Monday (or whenever the show ends) :( I'll post pics of the damage soon :( |
We'll get started on a new one for you immediately and should be able to have it ready next week.
Sorry about that.
Our boxes have done very well over the last five years, but we are currently in a redesign with a new box manufacturer. These will have double walls and will (hopefully) stand up to the worst that UPS can dish out. They also will be banded rather than taped and glued, so they will make nice storage boxes for your sword as well.
Sorry again, but you will have a new one as soon as it can be put together.
Best,
Howy
Now this is what I'm talking about... you don't usually get this sort of service these days! And here I thought I wouldn't be able to reach Albion since they're in Atlanta. :)
Thanks guys! I'll be looking for the replacement Gotland and also the NG Gaddhjalt I ordered. The damaged Gotland will be on its way back to you today (Friday).
Thanks guys! I'll be looking for the replacement Gotland and also the NG Gaddhjalt I ordered. The damaged Gotland will be on its way back to you today (Friday).
| Timothy Gulics wrote: |
| Now this is what I'm talking about... you don't usually get this sort of service these days! And here I thought I wouldn't be able to reach Albion since they're in Atlanta. :)
Thanks guys! I'll be looking for the replacement Gotland and also the NG Gaddhjalt I ordered. The damaged Gotland will be on its way back to you today (Friday). |
See, I told you it would work out :D
One of the first sword I got from Christian Fletcher came in a plastic gun case. No damage on the outside but when I opened the case the sword had been taken out of the wrap and was covered with little rusty fingerprints. apparently they had open the box and played with my sword. So instead of just getting to enjoy it I spent my first night working the stains out. UPS is the devils company you know.....
Yes, I'm very happy :)
Despite the trouble with UPS, the Gotland was awesome. I had to look at it despite the damage, and it is one big sword... bigger than I expected at least. Definitely worthy of a vikingr. And the custom blue grip I got was also -very- cool. It's a color you have to see in person - pictures don't do it justice. I hope the grip color on my replacement is just as nice :)
Despite the trouble with UPS, the Gotland was awesome. I had to look at it despite the damage, and it is one big sword... bigger than I expected at least. Definitely worthy of a vikingr. And the custom blue grip I got was also -very- cool. It's a color you have to see in person - pictures don't do it justice. I hope the grip color on my replacement is just as nice :)
| Gary Venable wrote: |
| One of the first sword I got from Christian Fletcher came in a plastic gun case. No damage on the outside but when I opened the case the sword had been taken out of the wrap and was covered with little rusty fingerprints. apparently they had open the box and played with my sword. So instead of just getting to enjoy it I spent my first night working the stains out. UPS is the devils company you know..... |
The gun case did it. If there had been a gun in there, it would have been an illegal shipment, due to lack of proper labeling. So maybe they were just doing their jobs to confirm that the contents were legal, but were uncouth in their performance.
| Howard Waddell wrote: |
|
Our boxes have done very well over the last five years, but we are currently in a redesign with a new box manufacturer. These will have double walls and will (hopefully) stand up to the worst that UPS can dish out. They also will be banded rather than taped and glued, so they will make nice storage boxes for your sword as well. Best, Howy |
First off - to Tim - so sorry to see that damage. Thanks for bringing it to our attention! Looks like people were on top of it before I even got to the office. :) And thanks to all of you who said we'd take care of it. It's great to see that our guys are doing such a good job of making that known. I love that.
Actually, if I could... Howy's mention of this suggests that I perhaps ask a relatively strange question to anyone who wishes to answer. Our new box design is great, but there's been one thing we've debated, and you could help with the decision.
The color. We went with white before, and we love it - it's clean, pristine, and over the years has come to say "Albion" without saying anything at all. But boy do they get dirty in transit. So we debated changing the box color to the standard brown. What say you? Will it lose anything? Since 1999 we've seen the line frequently, "I came home to the big white box and I knew my Albion sword was here." Would the white box be missed? The sole reason we're debating going with brown is the dirt that shows on the white version. But if it doesn't bother anyone else (other than me) that it shows dirt better, I'd prefer to stick with white. Any thoughts??
Thanks!
Amy
Amy, stick with white unless you can save money by using something else.
| Amy Christensen-Waddell wrote: | ||
First off - to Tim - so sorry to see that damage. Thanks for bringing it to our attention! Looks like people were on top of it before I even got to the office. :) And thanks to all of you who said we'd take care of it. It's great to see that our guys are doing such a good job of making that known. I love that. Actually, if I could... Howy's mention of this suggests that I perhaps ask a relatively strange question to anyone who wishes to answer. Our new box design is great, but there's been one thing we've debated, and you could help with the decision. The color. We went with white before, and we love it - it's clean, pristine, and over the years has come to say "Albion" without saying anything at all. But boy do they get dirty in transit. So we debated changing the box color to the standard brown. What say you? Will it lose anything? Since 1999 we've seen the line frequently, "I came home to the big white box and I knew my Albion sword was here." Would the white box be missed? The sole reason we're debating going with brown is the dirt that shows on the white version. But if it doesn't bother anyone else (other than me) that it shows dirt better, I'd prefer to stick with white. Any thoughts?? Thanks! Amy |
Stick with the white Amy. Seeing that white box come off the truck would be missed and we don't mind a little dirt anyway :-)
I would support Howard's idea of adding a double wall to the box though. I though of modifying them this way if I ever have to send one of my pieces out for some reason. Needless to say I always save mine.
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