Online Shopping - No Mas

RVC

RVC

Well-known Member
Today was it. The final act in a mostly rewarding, but increasingly frustrating set of experiences over the years. Waited over a week for a logo bass drum head. Shipping was a third above the cost of the head itself. The packing material was the manufacturer’s box only. No additional materials were employed.

Not looking for any sympathy, pitchforks, or remedies. The dealer (very reputable) has been given an opportunity to make it right and I’m awaiting their response. This is just more of a general frustration post because I was looking forward to taking that particular bass drum to my gig tonight with a fresh logo head on it.

Over the last couple of years I’ve experienced an increasing number of inadequately packed items that arrive damaged. We all know the shipping companies don’t give a sh!t, so I would expect the shop to take that into consideration when packing stuff up, especially something as unwieldy and flimsy as a bass drum head.

Lesson learned the hard way.

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opentune said:
Sorry to see.
I can highly recommend buying a logo online as a sticker and applying it to your own in person, store bought, in damaged head
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100% fail safe solution^^

I’m going in a different direction now. I’m gonna get one of those DW shield logo heads. I think it’ll look sharp with my gloss black bass drum. My local shop has one of those in stock so I’ll be heading there tomorrow.
 
RVC said:
100% fail safe solution^^

I’m going in a different direction now. I’m gonna get one of those DW shield logo heads. I think it’ll look sharp with my gloss black bass drum. My local shop has one of those in stock so I’ll be heading there tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Good idea. I should tell you though that Evans is now doing logo heads and they pack properly. See photo. I have one in black also.
 

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RVC said:
Today was it. The final act in a mostly rewarding, but increasingly frustrating set of experiences over the years. Waited over a week for a logo bass drum head. Shipping was a third above the cost of the head itself. The packing material was the manufacturer’s box only. No additional materials were employed.

Not looking for any sympathy, pitchforks, or remedies. The dealer (very reputable) has been given an opportunity to make it right and I’m awaiting their response. This is just more of a general frustration post because I was looking forward to taking that particular bass drum to my gig tonight with a fresh logo head on it.

Over the last couple of years I’ve experienced an increasing number of inadequately packed items that arrive damaged. We all know the shipping companies don’t give a sh!t, so I would expect the shop to take that into consideration when packing stuff up, especially something as unwieldy and flimsy as a bass drum head.

Lesson learned the hard way.

View attachment 147779
Click to expand...
Whoa!..did the UPS driver run back to his truck right away? 😨.
 
BobC said:
Good idea. I should tell you though that Evans is now doing logo heads and they pack properly. See photo. I have one in black also.
Click to expand...
I can personally attest to the quality of Evans packing for shipping. I've bought (and cashed in points!) for many heads and I'll go as far as to saying they go overboard. I onetime received a single 10" head that was wrapped in what could only be described as an entire roll of bubble wrap and packed into a box large enough to fit a 16" tire rim.
 
@RVC sorry to hear about this! I've had many similar situations. I also understand the pain of finding and cost involved in obtaining logo heads. When you think about it... The drum companies should practically give this away! "Oh, you want to make sure our nice name and logo is the first thing people see when you are playing our nice drums live? Well, that is going to cost you more then a high quality aftermarket head from your preferred company, have a three month wait, and the shipping will cost as much as your next internet bill. Thanks for playing our drums!"

Two big things I did to remedy this: 1. Treat the original factory logo head with the most care I can and NEVER ever ever evvvverrrrr throw it away and 2. Don't be afraid to just buy decals online.

It's been a few years so I don't remember if it was reverb or eBay... Maybe even Etsy, but I found a guy who prints really nice high quality drum logo decals. I got 2 for something like $15 shipped. They don't have a big glossy clear rectangle around them like a sticker, it's just the letters that are applied.
 
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Thanks guys! Appreciate the suggestions. I’m an Evans enthusiast and @BobC, your logo head looks great! I’m just gonna go with the stock DW shield head, though.

I couldn’t find a pic of one on a gloss black drum but this one’s pretty close. I think it’ll look great and I’m gonna do the felt strip behind it as well. It’ll be on my 24” bass drum and I’m gonna run it with no port. Time to bring the BOOM!


IMG_4058.jpeg
 
opentune said:
Sorry to see.
I can highly recommend buying a logo online as a sticker and applying it to your own in person, store bought, in damaged head
Click to expand...

I agree. There are a few folks on eBay and reverb who do this and they are really quick to print and ship. I actually have one of those coming tomorrow. I always like to run a logo head on my kits, and I always order mine with great results.

I know you’re going with the DW shield, but if ever decide to do your initials or something, https://vintagelogos.com/ does a fantastic job. I’ve had one or two of these done.
 
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It sucks that it's gig night too!

Your duo partner will be like, "hey man, you don't seem like yourself tonight?"

And you'll be like, "I'm fine. You wouldn't understand!"
Mad Napoleon Dynamite GIF by Searchlight Pictures
 
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RVC said:
Thanks guys! Appreciate the suggestions. I’m an Evans enthusiast and @BobC, your logo head looks great! I’m just gonna go with the stock DW shield head, though.

I couldn’t find a pic of one on a gloss black drum but this one’s pretty close. I think it’ll look great and I’m gonna do the felt strip behind it as well. It’ll be on my 24” bass drum and I’m gonna run it with no port. Time to bring the BOOM!


View attachment 147784
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Ya know, I never really noticed this DW shield logo head before. I'm going to see about getting one. The finish on this DW set looks like Mardi Gras Pearl, which I know DW never offered.
 
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When I’ve bought bass drum heads from Sweetwater, they always pack them in bigger flat boxes with packing material and they always arrive safe. Maybe you could discuss with the online store how they ship before you buy next time - and maybe get reassurances that they’ll ship it correctly?
 
opentune said:
Sorry to see.
I can highly recommend buying a logo online as a sticker and applying it to your own in person, store bought, in damaged head
Click to expand...
Right. Or get a cutting plotter if you need logos regularly.
I bought one a while ago and it is awesome, I can make whatever logos I like, whenever I want.
Also custom t-shirts, hats, etc.

That being said, especially a custom head should be packed properly.
I recently bought a coated amp from Amazon and they just stuck the label to the thin cardboard box.
It arrived in good order but that was a matter of luck, I guess.
 
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criz p. critter said:
Not relevant to your original post but… what kind of drum rug is that and where did you buy it? I need a new one. Hopefully I can get it locally so it’s not effed up in shipping!
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Home Depot special right there! I think it was $15 or so. Had it forever. Rubber-backed and outdoor rug material on top of that.
 
RVC said:
Home Depot special right there! I think it was $15 or so. Had it forever. Rubber-backed and outdoor rug material on top of that.
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Home Depot? Good to know, as my current drum rug is wearing out. I have patched holes in it with black Gorilla tape.
 
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Made the run up to Bentley’s today. Feeling much better about things now. The shield logo head really pops with the gloss black finish, in my opinion. Tried the felt strip but didn’t like the sound as much as the stock DW pillow.

Oh yeah, the shop from my OP made everything right. They offered a replacement or a refund. I chose the refund and the shop handled it immediately. 🙏 Overall, it was an excellent outcome to an unfortunate situation.

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man, sorry to hear/see this happen!

I have manged to almost completely avoid having items shipped. I think I can count on 2 hands how many times I have used Amazon...and it was never for drum stuff.

if i need drum stuff from far away, I order it at the drum shop. am lucky enough to have a great drum shop to do that, and realize that most people don't

I agree with people that Sweetwater are the kings of solid shipping. We use them for stuff at school - like for the winds - and they ship stuff pretty well. We had $15000 worth of low brass instruments shipped last summer, and you could have run them over with a truck in the packaging....
 
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