Freight delivery of a sewing machine:What should i be looking for?

[NigelQB]

Hi everyone.

I'm going to be buying a leather sewing machine soon and had some questions on receiving it. I was mostly wondering what kind of damages are most likely to happen and what I should be looking for before I sign for it. Paint chips and scratches are probably normal and probably not a cause for concern, but are there specific parts that are most likely to be broken or damaged on the machine and on the table (which will be coming pre-assembled I'm pretty sure)? This will be my first sewing machine and I'm a little nervous about it as it's a pretty major investment.

It's going to be a new machine, bought off the manufacturers website, so I'm also assuming it's going to be packaged well if that matters.

edit 1: Its a walking foot cylinder arm machine.

Thanks in advance for any information you guys can share with me

Edited November 3, 2017 by NigelQB

[Wizcrafts]

Most dealers will ship the machine removed from the table, possibly in a separate box that is secured to the pallet. The table, whatever design it is, will probably have the motor and optional speed reducer attached to the underside. If it has a reducer, there will probably be a short v-belt already attached from the motor pulley to the largest reducer pulley.

For safety sake, the flywheel should be removed from the back of the top shaft and be in its own well-wrapped box or partition. It will have two machine screws in two holes. The shaft sticking out the back of the machine will likely have a channel cut along one area. loosen the screws and slide the wheel onto the shaft. Visually line up one of the screws with the cut out channel and begin tightening that screw. You'll want to position the wheel so that the pulley lines up with the motor or speed reducer pulley under the table. Then tighten both screws to secure the wheel in place. Locate the v-belt and slide it onto the small motor or speed reducer pulley. Feed it up through the long slot in the table to the flywheel pulley and rotate the wheel as you feed the belt along side the pulley. It should slide into the pulley and have about 1/2 inch of slack when you push it in the half way position between the top and bottom pulleys. If there is too much slack, loosen and lower the reducer assembly, or just the motor adjuster nuts and bolt if no reducer is present (with an 18mm open end wrench). If too tight, raise the reducer or motor to get the proper slack.
 

[daveottawa]

Delivery companies expect us to sign that we’ve received goods in good condition but it’s usually impractical to check the item properly if it’s a heavily packaged item. No delivery driver is going to wait until we’ve taken off all the packaging and carefully inspected our machine but they expect us to sign to say it was received in perfect condition.  All you have time for usually is to carefully inspect the wrapping for tears that may indicate something poked through the shrink-wrap or crate. Take a pic of any suspicious areas. 
Best thing is to not sign or tick any box to the effect that it is in good condition unless you can see that it is, which you can’t without removing all the packaging, so you can leave that box unticked, or if you are just signing and it says “received in good condition” sign it but add “not checked in detail” or “subject to detailed inspection” and either cross out the sentence that says received in good condition or add the word ‘apparent’  to say ‘apparent good condition’.  Or add the phrase, ‘no damages apparent on the exterior’.  That’ll keep the transport driver happy and he can continue on his route.
In reality,  most States’ sale of goods acts allows us a “reasonable time” to examine new goods, usually a day or two to get back to the seller.  
Having said all that, in my opinion, the sewing machine companies most of us deal with like Cobra, Techsew, etc, have great people and if you find a damaged part soon after opening it all up, you’ll get it replaced by them, and they’ll decide whether to take it up with the transport company. 
Sorry about the wordy blurb. 

[NigelQB]

Thanks for the help guys, and wordy is always good, I like to have as much info as possible. Now I just have to make the purchase, can't wait to get my machine.

[Yetibelle]

If your buying it new you should expect it to be new when you get it.  Even a used machine should be well packaged and free of shipping damage "Paint chips and scratches are probably normal and probably not a cause for concern"  I disagree with this statement.  Your going to pay a few hundred dollars for shipping so make sure its still in "new" condition when you get it.   If your machine shows up with any damage there is a good chance it was not packaged or handled correctly and could have other issues beyond cosmetic.  Really it should be fine and the first thing you will notice is that the fork-lift or pallet-jack ran the pickup-bars right though your package or they missed the pallet and took a chunk off the machine base.  I suspect it could also get dropped off the forklift, I have seen my fair share of Nascar forklift drivers, it should be obvious that there was a mistake.  Enjoy the new machine.

 

 

 

 

[NigelQB]

Thanks yeti. If anything major like that happens I'm sure I'd be able to spot it. But about the scratching and chips, if the plastic wrap and packaging of the skid is intact, should I contact the sewing machine company about this? Or as long as I try the machine out and its working well, I should assume it won't have any longer term issues?

I know this is a lot of questions about something that will probably turn up in pristine condition, I just want to be ready for any eventuality.

[Evo160K]

You might want to Google "shipping FOB" and read the information below from Wikipedia regarding legal liability for shipping costs and damage in North America. While I was active in business in the US, I tried to write purchase orders as FOB Delivered.  That way the seller is responsible for the cost of any damage and for handling the claims process.  As an individual, you may be able to negotiate for this, at the least discuss freight damage and hidden damage with the seller.......just a heads up.

North America[edit]

In North America, FOB is written into a sales agreement to determine where the liability responsibility for the goods transfers from the seller to the buyer. FOB stands for "Free On Board" or so there is no line item payment by the buyer for the cost of getting the goods onto the transport. There are two possibilities: "FOB origin", or "FOB destination". "FOB origin" means the transfer occurs as soon as the goods are safely on board the transport. "FOB destination" means the transfer occurs the moment the goods are removed from the transport at the destination. "FOB origin" (also sometimes phrased as "FOB shipping" or "FOB shipping point") indicates that the sale is considered complete at the seller's shipping dock, and thus the buyer of the goods is responsible for freight costs and liability during transport. With "FOB destination", the sale is complete at the buyer's doorstep and the seller is responsible for freight costs and liability during transport.^[6][7]

The two terms have a specific meaning in commercial law and cannot be altered. But the FOB terms do not need to be used, and often are not. In this case the specific terms of the agreement can vary widely, in particular which party, buyer or seller, pays for the loading costs and shipment costs, and/or where responsibility for the goods is transferred. The last distinction is important for determining liability or risk of loss for goods lost or damaged in transit from the seller to the buyer.^[7][8]

For example, a person in Miami purchasing equipment from a manufacturer in Chicago could receive a price quote of "$5000 FOB Chicago", which would indicate that the buyer would be responsible for the shipping from Chicago to Miami. If the same seller issued a price quote of "$5000 FOB Miami", then the seller would cover shipping to the buyer's location.

 

Edited November 3, 2017 by Evo160K

[strathmoredesigns]

What's a ballpark price range for shipping something like a sewing machine within the US?

[CowboyBob]

Average for us is $235.00-275.00 but some people might have a freight terminal close to them where they could pick it up.Now for some people in the boonies might cost a little more.So when we do a shipping quote we let people know the terminals in their area & let us know which one would be best for them.

[strathmoredesigns]

Thanks Bob. Good to know, I had no idea

[NigelQB]

I'm not sure if i should start a new thread, so i figured I'd just add it here. I got my machine yesterday. The pallet was in good condition, no damage. I just started putting it together and on the underside of the table there are cracks in the plywood where there are holes and/or screws (one of which seems to be a completely random screw that doesn't seem to have a purpose), about 5 or 6. It seems to only be the outermost layer of the plywood.

I don't really know anything about wood, woodworking, tables, or sewing machines for that matter. I was just wondering if this is something i should be concerned about, like my machine isn't just going to fall over one day is it? I'm assuming it's not a big deal and just something that happens when working with plywood, but figured I'd make sure. 

 

[garypl]

It would help if you post pictures of the table/cracks.  Minor cracks in plywood may not affect integrity at all, depending on where they are located.  

Gary

[NigelQB]

Here you go. Again it only looks like it's affecting the outermost layer of the plywood. But with my knowledge of wood, that could mean it would spontaneously catch fire.

 

[OLDNSLOW]

In my own opinion what you see there is normal when a bolt is installed through a sheet of plywood due to the nature of the material,  I wouldn't worry about it mount the rest of the equipment and start sewing, have a good time, and good luck!

[tomsmith85717]

Yep, that's just plywood, you are fine. There are versions of plywood that wouldnt do that, but they dont make industrial sewing machine tables out of it.

[NigelQB]

Alright thanks guys.

Time to get to work, lol