Minor UPS shipping damage - what's your experience been?

[Tenacious E]

I just made a trade with another TGP member, gratefulgrafford - my USA G&L S-500 for his USA G&L ASAT Special. I got the ASAT in perfect condition. But my S-500 arrived to Dale with a small crack in the neck. I definitely want to "make it right" so we're swapping back and I will take care of the UPS claim myself. It was insured so there should be no problem there. But my concern is that, according to Dale, the box/case don't seem to show any damage. I absolutely KNOW that this neck did not have a crack in it when I shipped it. But if there's not any noticeable damage to the packaging am I just screwed? What are my chances of getting anything out of this with UPS?

Just because I'm sure someone will want to see, here's a pic of the neck 2 days before I shipped it - and I put it right back in the case after the pic. I've circled the area where the crack appears in the next picture. I don't have any closeup shots because, let's face it, I wasn't anticipating a crack!

So, am I screwed or not??

[DustyRhodesJr]

If you swap back prior to UPS getting involved, more than likely they will not honor a claim at all. They will want to pick up the item from the recipient and inspect it.

[Summa]

That's not that bad. Make it right, make your claim with UPS, then superglue that neck and play the shit outta it!