I’ve had my share of shipping nightmares. One incident, in particular, stands out.

At the time I was making a lot of very expensive chessboards. These were intended to pair with some top quality sets of chess pieces being made by a company in Alabama. After experiencing a number of delivery problems, I began shipping in plywood crates with tons of padding and Styrofoam linings to protect the boards.

On one occasion, the company returned several boards that arrived in deplorable condition. They had been carelessly tossed into a cardboard box that looked like it had been run over several times. There was no padding and most of the boards were broken and otherwise damaged beyond repair. I immediately called the company, which said the boards had been repacked in the same plywood crate they arrived in.

The carrier denied any repacking had been done. Since neither the shipper nor I had any proof (pictures or any other documentation) that the boards were indeed properly packaged, all claims for damage were denied.

D.D.