Never had this happen before. Stevens Tip up rifle was delivered by UPS today. Driver just left it on the front porch. Box was bent in the middle. Barrel poking out the end. Stock was broken at the wrist. It could be repaired but will never quite be the same. Gun was decent cosmeticaly, far from perfect, but has a very good bore in .25 Stevens Rimfire. Contacted the seller immediately and he is to contact UPS and let me know. What kind of  a mess am I in for? Gun was in cardboard box wraped in bubblle wrap.

Thanks for the referal. Seller just emailed me and said I should have my money in 72 hours. ??? This I got to see! UPS is to pick up the gun. Actualy I would like to keep the gun depending on what UPS will do money wise. Gun has a realy good bore and that is hard to find. The idiot owner buffed the nickel plated frame but I knew that when I bought it and the price was right. Will advise what happens. I could repair it myself but the repair would be visiable. Like your idea better.

Best ship in a hard case. The cheap Diskoll cases at Gander Mt or Bass pro are less than 15 bucks.  Hate to say it but UPS is probably not going to allow the claim if shipped in cardboard only.  Whats bubble wrap going to do if the box is run over by a fork lift ?

I would hold the seller responsible

Boats

KAF my perspective is loading and unloading ships for 40 years all of the cargo coming to us from inland pre packaged. I have seen a whole lot of damage.  

If the carrier takes responsibility for improperly packed and pays the claims all of the other shipments have to contribute to the cost.  No free lunch.  Remember they only see the outside of a cardboard box have no idea of how well it's packed inside and have to transport it using mechanized methods that don't sort out for fragile particularly if not marked as such. 

 We, the gun owner get raked over price wise for shipping firearms now by the parcel companies, more liberal claim payment policys would make it worse. As a gun owner and frequent shippper of firearms I say Anybody that bubble wraps a nice single shot and put's it into a soft box is making a mistake. Buy a cheap hard case then box it.

Boats

I was planning on shooting it. Not a lot. I have a supply of Canuck ammo. Been buying it off Gunbroker when I can pick it up for $50 to $60 a box. Yes it is expensive, but have you tried to buy.380 automatic lately at  a gun show? I have a 44 and a Favorite in .25 Rimfire.
You guys are right about packaging, but the buyer is the one doing the packaging. When I ship a gun I make sure it is done as well as possible. I am not sure that a cheap plastic hard case would have survived what happened to this box. The ups guy left it on my porch and left in a hurry. I was home at the time. By the time I saw him he was halfway out my driveway. If I had personaly been handed the box, I would have refused delivery due to the obvious damage to the box.

IIRC, James Julia (a high-end auctioneer) uses 3rd party insurance when shipping, after a number of bad experiences with the shipping company's own insurance.  I can imagine UPS getting very twitchy if presented with a multi-thousand dollar claim.  Might be best if nobody at the shipping company knows what something is worth-- it they know, a valuable item might be more likely to walk off.

Doug

Makes you wonder what they consider adequate? The way the box was bent in the middle, I don't think a plastic hard case would have survived either. Got a call from UPS today. There adjuster is supposed to call me by end of business tomorrow to set up an appointment to come to my house to inspect the damage. Since it is a firearm they apparently do not want me to bring it to their office to inspect. Funny, you take it there to ship! They told me they will pay the shipper IF they pay. Depending on the settlement, I may also want to keep the gun if the seller gives me the insurance money. This makes sense to me because if he takes the gun back, he then has to try to sell a broken gun. It will be interesting to see how this comes out.

The UPS adjuster was supposed to call me by end of business today. 6.53pm here and no call yet. If I do not hear from them by late monday I will call the guy back who said I would be called today.