I just felt I needed to add to this topic, I have been using FedEx for about 3 1/2 years now, since having several bikes totally destroyed by UPS, neither were covered or insured since they deemed the cause was insufficient packing. Which I do in part agree with, but one was packed in a bike box but had tire marks across the box when I received it. The last straw with UPS was when a neighbor came to me and said he had put my package which UPS had delivered on my porch, he said the driver had left it at the curb, right next to the garbage can on trash day. Having heard that, and having had another package just tossed in my driveway under my car just a few days prior, I called UPS again, and was told that the driver had done nothing wrong, and that they didn't have time to carry every package to the door or wait for someone to answer. What if no one had seen that box? It would have been picked up with the trash that day. To make it worse, it was a "Signature Required" Package, the driver signed the pad, "Garage". The package was a bike box with several new old stock rims I had bought and was waiting for.
Fedex has been absolutely perfect so far, but I must say that most of my dealing with FedEx are as a shipper, and I do over pack most bikes. On packages that they deliver, I guess I have a good driver here, if I am not in, or if the package is large, I normally get a call from the driver in advance. So far they have never left a box outside, in the rain, or out at the curb, and I've had no lost or damaged items. But I have had a few items delivered that were not intended for me, someone had used a bike box that I gave them, and not removed the old labels and barcodes, and the bike they shipped, came to me instead. Someone had scanned the wrong barcode and never checked the written address. The sender was livid, but he should have cleaned the box of any old info and made the address clear.
I have had only a couple of items brought by DHL, but if a signature is required, it's a real pain to get my items here, they don't like to redeliver, and are nearly an hour away for me to go pick up an item. As far as shipping with DHL, I have the same problem, they are too far away, and I can't afford to plan my day around being here to wait for a package to be picked up.
Joe McKishen
Vineland, NJ
USA