Damaged Rod from Plat

**D10** · 03-04-2020, 02:00 PM

Update - I do not think that Plat was too pleased with me filing a claim with PayPal. I think they are more upset with how the process works with the USPS. There initial response through PayPal was a little heated, not at me, but frustrated with the process. And to be honest, I don’t blame them. If you think about it, how could have Plat have prevented damage to the rod? They packed it in a very rigid hard plastic tube and there was plenty of bubble wrap in the tube. Really it is not their fault that the tube ended up on the ground and got smashed by a really heavy object. Despite all of this, Plat has stayed in communication with me and tells me that they are still trying to work with the JPS and USPS to fix this. My understanding is that the JPS does not offer insurance on shipping, like the USPS does here. This may be part of the issue. Really this is all just an unfortunate incident. Like many others have said, hundreds (or thousands) of rods have been shipped to the US by these companies with no incident. The previous three rods that I ordered were received in perfect condition. I kind of feel a little bad that I contacted PayPal but I felt like I had to because of the 20 day time frame.

So the take home message here is that an incident like this is likely very rare and should not be looked at like the norm. I will likely order the same rod from the same company later this week while I am waiting for resolution and I the broken rod. The one thing that I have learned is, if you suspect that the package has been compromised in any way, do not sign for it. Even if it looks just a little out of sorts. Also, I will start having packages held at the post office, so that I can be 100% sure that I am the one inspecting the package. I don’t want my wife (home delivery) or coworkers (work delivery) signing for a damaged package because I wasn’t around to inspect it first. Also, I am going to look into whether or not the package receiver can purchase shipping insurance from the USPS. If so, this issue would be resolved quickly.

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**BobC** · 03-04-2020, 02:49 PM

PayPal was the way to go. You had no other choice. Plat will probably have to eat the loss, and that is a shame as it sounds like USPS insurance is worthless. I have learned that from your experience. I would hope that losses like this are factored into their business plan. That all said, if they turn down your next order you will know why. Hope all goes well.
Bob

**D10** · 03-06-2020, 07:25 PM

Update - today I was contacted by a representative of the USPS International Claims Investigation. They had me take the package down to my local post office and have them inspect both the package and fishing rod for damage. They then took possession of the package and rod and provided me a receipt of them taking possession. The postmaster was going to take pictures of the damaged package and rod and submit a report back to the USPS International Claims Investigators. The post master said this is the first time he has ever had to do this. He said he would keep me up to date on the progress but it was his understanding that I should be reimbursed for the package. Before I took the rod to the post office, I took the rod to a local specialty tackle shop who also does cleaning, maintenance, and repair, for an estimate for repair. They wrote me a short report that said the rod blank was damaged beyond repair and would have to be replaced. I provided this to the post master and he said it was good documentation for my claim. I needed this third party damage report for PayPal anyway.

I think this will be resolved without needing to follow through with the PayPal claim (at least I hope so). This should prevent Plat and me from loosing money in the deal. I’ll be ordering a replacement real soon!

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**Alphahawk** · 03-06-2020, 07:41 PM

Originally Posted by D10

Update - today I was contacted by a representative of the USPS International Claims Investigation. They had me take the package down to my local post office and have them inspect both the package and fishing rod for damage. They then took possession of the package and rod and provided me a receipt of them taking possession. The postmaster was going to take pictures of the damaged package and rod and submit a report back to the USPS International Claims Investigators. The post master said this is the first time he has ever had to do this. He said he would keep me up to date on the progress but it was his understanding that I should be reimbursed for the package. Before I took the rod to the post office, I took the rod to a local specialty tackle shop who also does cleaning, maintenance, and repair, for an estimate for repair. They wrote me a short report that said the rod blank was damaged beyond repair and would have to be replaced. I provided this to the post master and he said it was good documentation for my claim. I needed this third party damage report for PayPal anyway.

I think this will be resolved without needing to follow through with the PayPal claim (at least I hope so). This should prevent Plat and me from loosing money in the deal. I’ll be ordering a replacement real soon!

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Good to hear.

Regards

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**MtnFisher** · 03-06-2020, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by D10

Update - today I was contacted by a representative of the USPS International Claims Investigation. They had me take the package down to my local post office and have them inspect both the package and fishing rod for damage. They then took possession of the package and rod and provided me a receipt of them taking possession. The postmaster was going to take pictures of the damaged package and rod and submit a report back to the USPS International Claims Investigators. The post master said this is the first time he has ever had to do this. He said he would keep me up to date on the progress but it was his understanding that I should be reimbursed for the package. Before I took the rod to the post office, I took the rod to a local specialty tackle shop who also does cleaning, maintenance, and repair, for an estimate for repair. They wrote me a short report that said the rod blank was damaged beyond repair and would have to be replaced. I provided this to the post master and he said it was good documentation for my claim. I needed this third party damage report for PayPal anyway.

I think this will be resolved without needing to follow through with the PayPal claim (at least I hope so). This should prevent Plat and me from loosing money in the deal. I’ll be ordering a replacement real soon!

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Glad it's working out for you and thank you for updating us just in case it happens to one of our orders.

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**D10** · 04-08-2020, 08:53 AM

I wanted to wrap up this post on a positive note. Yesterday I was informed by PayPal that I would receive a full refund when I shipped the he damaged rod back to Plat. This would mean that Plat would have to eat the money on the damaged rod from shipping and I would have to pay to ship the rod back to Plat. Although not ideal, I could live with it. I informed Plat that I would have to do this by April 17th or I would not get a refund from PayPal. I also explained to Plat that I didn’t want to do this but I felt like I had no choice because I wasn’t making any headway with the USPS and JPS. Play replied to me last night that they finally heard from the JPS and the damaged rod is going to be fully insured. Plat informed me that they would like to send me a new MC Finetail Banshee but they are now out of stock and it doesn’t appear that the manufacturer will be making any more. They are going to refund my money and said I could order a new rod. So now I need to figure out what I can order from Plat that will be the equivalent cost as the Finetail Banshee (27,000 yen or $250). I have been eyeballing a higher end rod that I will likely get, so may just order a new reel to go with the new rod I’m going to order.

The bottom line is that if this happens to you, don’t get too upset about it and try to have some patients. Plat or any other JDM company want to make it right but they are a small business too and just trying to survive right now. I am by nature pretty impatient, so I thought I needed to go the PayPal route. I’m glad that I didn’t have to in the end.

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**Alphahawk** · 04-08-2020, 09:12 AM

Glad to hear.

Regards

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**skeetbum** · 04-08-2020, 05:38 PM

Thanks for keeping us up to date on this. I’m Leary of international shipping on anything for fear of long drawn out resolutions on something gone badly. Good to know that these folks aren’t that way.

**s_v** · 04-08-2020, 06:47 PM

Thank you very much for this very informative thread.

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